Genshin Impact The Game Before the Gate boss guide: How to unlock, tips, and best strategy to beat

Genshin Impact version 5.6 was released on May 7, 2025, along with a new Mondstadt Archon Quest and Weekly boss. This new boss has unique mechanics and designs compared to others in the game. Players might also feel that the new The Game Before the Gate is more complicated than other weekly bosses like Magatsu Mitake Narukami no Mikoto, All-Devouring Narwhal, and Lord of Eroded Primal Fire.

This article will discuss the location, unlocking it, and the best tips and strategies for beating The Game Before the Gate boss in Genshin Impact.

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Location and how to unlock The Game Before the Gate boss in Genshin Impact

Location of The Game Before the Gate boss in Genshin Impact (Image via HoYoverse)

You can only unlock the location of the new weekly boss fight after completing the new Mondstadt Interlude Quest, Paralogism. However, you could still challenge the new boss with the quick start feature. The only requirement is for players to be AR 40 to unlock this feature.

Once you complete the Paralogism quest, you will unlock the location and the domain for The Game Before the Gate boss. This new enemy's domain is located in the Mondstadt region, and you can also unlock a secret area along with the domain.

Unresolved Chess Game domain in Genshin Impact (Image via HoYoverse)

Since this is a new weekly boss, you can only claim rewards once per week. Moreover, you would need the materials dropped from this enemy to upgrade Ifa's talents from level 6 to 10. As of version 5.6, only Ifa can use these materials. However, future characters might also need these boss drops. You can obtain any of these drops for the new enemy:

• Ascended Sample: Knight
• Ascended Sample: Rook
• Ascended Sample: Queen
• Artifacts of 3-star to 5-star rarities.
• Dream Solvent
• Northlander Sword Billet
• Northlander Bow Billet
• Northlander Claymore Billet
• Northlander Catalyst Billet
• Northlander Polearm Billet

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Tips and strategies to defeat The Game Before the Gate boss

The Game before the Gate boss has two phases, which you need to complete. This boss also has two enemies, Chess Game: King Piece and Chess Game: Queen Piece. The main requirement to defeat these bosses is to use the freeze reaction.

The Phase 1 of this boss is straightforward, as the King Piece will attack you first. Moreover, you can deal with him easily, as he has two types of attacks. One is a wide-range attack, and the other is a smaller one.

Second phase of The Game Before the Gate boss in Genshin Impact (Image via HoYoverse)

Once you bring its HP down to a certain level, the Queen Piece will be summoned to attack you. If you defeat the Queen Piece, the King will automatically be stunned, making it easy for players to beat it.

Phase 2 is a bit tricky, as both pieces attack you simultaneously. Moreover, the King deals Pyro damage, and the Queen deals Hydro damage. They will also have special combo moves that deal with electro damage, which you need to be wary of. The game will play some voicelines before they unleash their combo attacks.

Lastly, the boss has a special movie where you need to use the Freeze reaction to interrupt it. Doing so will stun them, and you can deal a lot of damage to the enemies. Try to dodge most of the boss's attacks, as they deal much Elemental damage. You must also defeat both of them quickly due to the boss's mechanism. If you defeat only one, the other can resurrect the fallen Piece after a specific time.