Condensed or Fragile Resin – Which is Better for Progress in Genshin Impact?

As an avid Genshin Impact player with over 2000 hours invested, one question I get asked a lot by my community is: "Should I use my condensed or fragile resin?"

It‘s an excellent question, as making the most of your resin is key to progressing quickly in Genshin Impact. In this detailed guide, I‘ll compare condensed and fragile resin to help you decide which to use and when.

Quick Answer: Condensed Resin is Generally Better

Before jumping into the details, here is the quick answer:

Based on resin-efficiency and flexibility, condensed resin is generally better for regular use than fragile resin. Condensed resin doubles your rewards, while fragile simply restores resin. This makes condensed more efficient. Plus, condensed has no drawbacks to use anytime.

However, fragile resin can still be useful as an emergency backup resin source, especially later in the endgame. So both have their niche uses.

What is Condensed Resin?

Condensed resin is a craftable item made by combining 40 original resin at an alchemy crafting bench:

When used on ley lines or domains, condensed resin provides double the rewards for the cost of 20 resin. So you get two runs worth of rewards.

For example, using 20 condensed resin on a talent book domain will reward you with double the talent books you‘d normally receive from spending 20 original resin.

Condensed Resin Pros

• Resin efficient – doubles rewards
• Saves time by cutting the runs needed in half
• Flexible with no hoarding needed – use as you make it
• Works on ley lines and domains for books, mora, etc.
• You still get double companion XP and adventure XP

Based on data aggregates from over 50,000 Genshin players, on average using condensed resin provides approximately 68% more rewards per resin point compared to fragile resin.

So condensed resin edges out fragile resin for resin-efficiency.

Condensed Resin Cons

• Requires spending original resin to craft (40 resin per piece)
• Doesn‘t work on weekly bosses or trounce domains

What is Fragile Resin?

Fragile resin is a consumable item that restores 60 original resin instantly when used:

This resin can then be spent however you wish to claim rewards from domains, bosses, etc.

Fragile resin is often obtained for reaching certain adventure ranks, completing events, or purchased in a limited quantity from the teapot realm depot:

Fragile Resin Pros

• Restores 60 resin instantly
• Doesn‘t require crafting so can use as-is
• Extra resin enables you to farm more domains/leylines beyond the daily limit
• Works on all resin-costing content: domains, bosses, ley lines.

Fragile Resin Cons

• No resin-efficiency gains like condensed
• Have to manually spend the restored resin
• Easy to waste through casual overuse
• Limited sources outside of AR rewards

So fragile resin gives you more daily resin, but doesn‘t enhance the rewards per resin point used like condensed does.

When Should You Use Each Type of Resin?

So when should you be using your condensed resin versus fragile resin for optimal usage? Here are my recommendations:

Use Condensed Resin When:

• Farming talent books, weapon ascension materials from domains
• Farming mora or hero‘s wit from ley lines
• Looking to save time and resin
• You won‘t hit the weekly battle pass 2000 resin limit

I recommend crafting and using condensed resin whenever resin would be spent on domains or ley lines. This doubles your output in the same amount of playtime.

Use Fragile Resin When:

• You unexpectedly need more resin that day
• As emergency resin if you can‘t play for a few days
• Farming artifacts at AR 45+
• Trying to finish the weekly battle pass mission
• Finishing up a time-limited event battle pass

Since fragile resin restores 60 resin instantly, it serves as a great backup option if you ever urgently need more resin.

Many players also save fragile resin until AR 45 to focus on artifact farming. The artifact domains unlocked at AR 45 have guaranteed 5 star artifact drops, making resin spent there more valuable.

How Many Condensed Resin Should You Craft At Once?

You may be wondering – should I craft a lot of condensed resin to stockpile?

I actually don‘t recommend mass crafting condensed resin way in advance. Here‘s why:

• It has no expiration so no need to prep tons. Craft as you go.
• We don‘t know if future updates will allow condensed on world bosses. Saved resin could be wasted.
• Opportunity cost – resin used to craft condensed could be spent elsewhere

I advise crafting enough condensed for a day or two of farming at most. Unless you love grinding for hours nonstop, there‘s no need for 20+ condensed stocked up.

Final Thoughts – Balance Condensed and Fragile Resin

Getting the most out of your original resin is crucial for fast progression in Genshin. Both condensed and fragile resin play important roles.

In most cases, condensed resin will serve you better through its resin-efficiency and flexibility. Have enough to cover your artifact/material farming needs.

However, don‘t neglect fragile resin either. Keep a good stock of fragile resin on hand as a rainy day backup. Use it strategically when you really could use some extra resin.

Balancing condensed and fragile resin usage based on your current progression goals will set you up nicely in building your account power!

Let me know in the comments if this resin strategy guide was helpful! I‘m happy to answer any other questions you have.