#if that man did not come i would have sued hoyoverse

[flokali]

What if I told you all I already have Luocha even though his banner just started like… a little less than an hour ago, then what?

[hematomes]

HI as most of you know last month my genshin account was hacked and it was one of the most stressful situations of my life, essentially because I did not know what to do at first. Recently I've seen people going through that too, so I thought I'd try and help them out. Also added preventive measures in case it happens, because you need a fair amount of information to prove its your account.

This comes from my personal experience and also compiles advice from the subreddit r/GenshinHacked. I'd advise against looking elsewhere because Twitter threads are a confusing mess full of contradictory info, and this subreddit is really well-done. You can directly see other people's experiences and they answer rather quickly when you make a post so!!

Also I'm severely sleep deprived right now so english hard. Obviously reblogs are very much appreciated since it's to help the community but you know. Whatever let's get into it

1. What NOT to do

- DO NOT try to buy it back. This is actually the reason I'm putting this guide together, because I've seen people buy their account back and, seriously, don't. Buying an account is against the ToS and could result in your account being banned, which is way worse than hacked because then you most likely won't get it back. Additionally, it doesn't mean the hacker won't somehow steal it again. There's no security, you'd be depending on the asshole who literally stole your account. Do not. Do that.

- DO NOT buy accounts in general. It doesn't do any good. Like I said it's against the ToS and exposes you to it getting banned or even, in the worst case, sued by Hoyoverse. Most accounts put to sale are also stolen accounts, btw. There's at least half a dozen websites dedicated to selling and buying accounts, and a shit ton of them are stolen. It's not worth it, even if the account has your fave 5* character(s) c6r5.

- DO NOT contact the hacker or, if your account has been bought, the buyer. This will just increase the chance of it getting trashed, weapons and artifacts destroyed etc. Make sure to tell your friends not to contact them either even if they want to, it's extremely important. Even when you get your account back, just block everyone from the friendlist that you don't recognize and, if someone joins your world on behalf of the buyer, block them too. I don't co-op often but I did get like half a dozen of co-op requests after getting my account back.

- DO NOT attempt to hack it back. It could result in a much worse state, e.g your account being banned. Also if you fail, higher chance of getting your account trashed.

- DO NOT assume the worst. This is mostly for your own mental health. There's a good chance your account was bought or at least the hacker's trying to sell it, so deleting weapons and artifacts would be stupid. And even if they do (which sucks), keep in mind that you'd still have your characters. If you end up with no artifacts and are on the EU server, send me an ask or a dm and I'll help you farm them back for as long as it takes! /srs

2. What to do INSTEAD

- Allow yourself to panic. It's a really stressful thing to go through, so it's only natural to be distressed. I cried for hours, man. It's okay, you'll be fine, but for now just let it happen.

- Immediately go to the aforementioned subreddit r/GenshinHacked, specifically the menu tab, and click "Recovery Form Guide". You can also reach it directly using this link: Recovery Form Guide. It tells you how to get the form, and every step of the process. Don't hesitate to make a post asking for help, they're really sweet and understanding. However if anyone contacts you through dms or even comments about some random guy being able to get it back, ignore it. It's a scam.

- Follow each step carefully, and wait. It typically takes 5-10 working days to get a response from hoyoverse, sometimes less and sometimes more. It's hard, but you can't really do anything about it. I'd say distract yourself with something else but that shit did not work for me. Just know you're not the only one going through that and I'm mentally hugging you.

- Don't give up. It can take a few tries to get it back, but as long as you have the necessary informations and can prove it's your account, you'll get it back.

3. Preventive mesures

- Don't give anyone information on your account, unless you trust them. If someone joins your world and offers to buy you a welkin, a battle pass or even just crystals but need your info to buy it, it's a scam. There's an affiliate website to gift crystals to other players - and I think you only need their UID), so they can go through there if they're sincere.

- Only buy crystals directly from Hoyoverse or affiliated websites. Same with your info.

- Install Malwarebytes on your device and let it check it for malwares. If there's anything, even if you haven't been hacked yet, completely reset your device and change your passwords.

- Enable 2FA (two-factor authentication) on your hoyolab account AND your e-mail address. I use the app Authy, so far it's been working great. I can't vouch for any other. For the hoyolab account, you can link your phone number for example.

- Collect the following information on your account:

The date you created your account. You can verify it by logging into Genshin. Menu > Character Archives > Amber. Bottom right you'll see the day you acquired her, which typically corresponds to the date you created the account.

The device you created your account with, with information about it. The form usually says what they need, and the guide from r/GenshinHacked also help. Keep it safe!

The receipt for your first top-up, if you're not f2p. A screenshot of the e-mail will suffice as far as I know (I use Google Pay tho so I'm not sure how it works for other payment options).

Information on the device you play the most with. The form is pretty clear about it.

Additional information you can get now: 5* characters (with the day you obtained them + constellations), 5* weapons (with the date you obtained them + refinements), event weapons, which characters you picked from the Liyue Lantern Rite these past 2 years (NOT absolutely necessary, I didn't add that). You can provide screenshots of getting the characters and weapons with the UID visible, but keep in mind that these can be forged so it's not fool-proof.

I got reasonably lucky: they answered in roughly a week and my form was accepted on the first try, essentially because I provided the information mentioned above. If you can access it, keep it somewhere safe.