Genshin Impact: no, Chthonic Carnage doesn't end on August 29 — the event runs until September 22, only the resin has a deadline

The “Chthonic Carnage” event in Genshin Impact opened this Wednesday, August 19 at 10:00 AM server time. Its official announcement carries a subtitle that almost no one repeats — “Disturbed Energy Lines Challenge” — and it contains two end dates, not one.

The confusion between the two is spreading through French-speaking calendars, and it has a direct consequence: it creates the impression that everything must be wrapped up before August 29.

The two windows, and what closes at each one

In other words: the event runs for more than a month, until September 22. What closes early in the morning of August 29 is the first-ten-days bonus — not access to the content.

Watch out for the time as well: the instability period ends at 3:59 AM on August 29, meaning during the night between Friday and Saturday, not at the end of the day on Saturday. In practical terms, for a European player, the last useful evening is Friday, August 28.

What the instability period exactly allows

This is the real stake of the first ten days, and the mechanic deserves to be quoted word for word:

“During the Instability Period, when a player with an Adventure Rank of 45 or above completes a challenge at Threatening difficulty or higher, they can consume Resin to obtain rewards from the Blessing Dungeon of their choice, while accumulating Carnage Honor.”

Three cumulative conditions, then: Adventure Rank 45 minimum, a challenge completed at Threatening difficulty or above, and Resin to spend. The gain is twofold — the artifacts from the dungeon you choose, plus Carnage Honor points that unlock “additional artifacts and Enlightenment Dust.”

The studio is explicit about what disappears on the 29th: “At the end of the Instability Period, you will no longer be able to consume Resin to obtain rewards from the Blessing Dungeon of your choice after completing a battle.” The challenges remain; the Resin conversion does not.

The six difficulties, and the staircase unlock rule

The announcement lists the tiers “from easiest to hardest”: Normal, Advanced, Hard, Threatening, Extreme, and Grim. The higher the difficulty chosen, “the more restrictions related to energy disturbances there are, and the more powerful the enemies you face.”

Two rules structure the progression, and they run in opposite directions:

• The lock. "Starting from Hard difficulty, you must complete a challenge on one difficulty to unlock the next difficulty." It's therefore impossible to jump straight to the grim tier.
• The catch-up. "By completing a challenge on a higher difficulty mode, you can collect the rewards from lower difficulty modes." Once the lock is passed, there's no need to redo the lower tiers.

The optimal strategy is therefore clear: climb the tiers one by one as fast as possible up to the highest one you can manage, then stop there. Every victory at a high tier banks everything below it.

Format reminder: each challenge requires you to "complete three time-limited battles and defeat all enemies within the given time." The challenge is only validated once the enemies in all three battles have been defeated — a failure on the third cancels out the first two.

Exalted characters: 16 maximum, and zero effect on the last tier

The event's support system relies on exalted characters, who "receive bonus effects" and make the challenges easier. Three official clarifications:

• There are 16 maximum.
• The list changes depending on the challenges — it's not a fixed roster for the whole event.
• On Grim difficulty, exalted characters receive no bonus effects whatsoever.

This last point is the most important for anyone aiming for the maximum tier: building a team around the exalted characters works up to the Extreme tier, then stops dead. The Grim challenge needs to be tackled with your best characters, not the ones the event puts in the spotlight.

Multiplayer isn't open the same way everywhere

Co-op mode is available "for up to 4 players on any difficulty level," but under two distinct regimes:

Translation: as soon as you enter the tier that actually matters — the one that unlocks resin conversion — public matchmaking disappears. You need teammates already present in your world.

One line in the announcement adds a further restriction, and it contains an oddity: "On Fearless and Grim difficulty, you can only obtain rewards by completing the challenges in solo mode." The word "Fearless" appears nowhere else in the list of the six tiers — this is presumably the "Extreme" tier, referred to by a different term in the translation. HoYoverse has not corrected the wording. In practice, treat it as though the last two tiers are played solo in order to receive the rewards.

Access requirements

They are lower than you might think:

• Minimum Adventure Rank 20 to participate;
• having completed the Archon Quest Prologue - Act 3 "Song of the Dragon and Freedom."

The studio also recommends first completing the Archon Quest "Perilous Trail" "in order to fully enjoy the event." That's a recommendation, not a prerequisite.

The Adventure Rank 45 mentioned above only affects resin conversion, not access to the challenges.

The new weapon appearance, and the rule that prevents an unpleasant surprise

Final point of the announcement, slipped in as a note: “Starting from this event, a new weapon appearance will be added to the Radiant Illusion and the Radiant Illusion (Sublimated). When you obtain them, you will get both the new and the old weapon appearance.”

This is rarely explicit good news: claiming the reward for this iteration doesn't deprive you of the appearance from previous iterations. Both come together.

The plan to follow

Until Friday, August 28 in the evening: climb the tiers until you reach at least the Threatening difficulty, then spend your resin on the Domains of Blessing of your choice and raise your Sanguine Honor. This is the only window where your resin buys targeted artifacts.

After August 29 and until September 22: you'll have more than three weeks left to finish the upper tiers and secure the weapon appearance. There's no rush — as long as you don't mix up the two dates.