Five years into Genshin Impact, most players know the drill: pull a character, build them, field them. Lynette quietly broke that pattern. With her arrival came a mechanic nobody else in the game has — a personal field journal that turns exploring the Nation of Nod into something that actually changes how your character looks. The backpack on her shoulders isn’t decoration. It’s a record of everything you’ve done together.
Here’s everything you need to know: where the Naturalist’s Encyclopedia comes from, what each chapter asks you to do, and exactly where to find every plant, mineral, and creature along the way.
Table of Contents
Why Lynette’s Backpack Customization Is Different From Everything Else in Genshin
Almost every cosmetic in Genshin Impact comes from a shop or a gacha banner. This one doesn’t. Every badge and companion style for Lynette’s backpack has to be earned through actual gameplay — no shortcuts, no purchases. That’s what makes them worth having.
There are two types of decorations:
Badges — attach to the lower-right corner of the backpack. There are three in total, each unlocked by completing one chapter of the Naturalist’s Encyclopedia.
Companions — come in personal and shared variants. The shared companion is the more interesting one: its expression and background color change depending on which style you’ve selected. The new style unlocks alongside the final chapter.
How to Get the Naturalist’s Encyclopedia in Genshin Impact
The gadget doesn’t appear automatically — you have to catch the moment yourself. Once Lynette is in your roster and friendship starts building, an exclamation mark will appear on one of the tabs in her character menu. That’s your entry point. After interacting with it, the Naturalist’s Encyclopedia shows up in your gadgets inventory — the same place where all similar items live in Genshin.
From there, the system guides you forward: each chapter activates when the conditions are met, and a beam of light on the map marks where to start each investigation.
Chapter One — Plants: Four Tasks With No Friendship Requirement
The first chapter is the most accessible. It unlocks the moment you get the gadget, with no friendship grind needed. Four plants, four map markers.
Spurflower — Galesong Hills Plains
Look for the beam of light in the center of the plains. Interacting with it starts the investigation: Lynette marks the exact bush on your map — all you have to do is walk over and collect it.
Frostbloom — Hiisi Island
The quickest task in the chapter. Teleport to the nearest waypoint on Hiisi and head to the main road — the flowers grow right along the roadside, no detours needed.
Twinleaf — Mossy Wastes
This area sits on the main island of the Nation of Nod, west of Noshgrad. After starting the investigation, a short exchange with nearby treasure hunters kicks in. Pay attention to the rightmost plant specimen — that’s the one tied to the cutscene that closes out the task.
Nightbloom — Lempo Island, Three-Mountain Crossroads
A bit further to travel, but two rare flowers hiding behind a gray branch make it worthwhile. After collecting them, speak to the two children nearby — that’s the final step. Then head back to Noshgrad: Lynette gives her botany lecture, and you receive the Nightbloom Badge.
Chapter Two — Minerals: Unlocks at Friendship Level 3
This chapter mixes things up mechanically — expect both resource gathering and a small puzzle inside the city.
Rainbow Crystal — Small Islands Off Hiisi’s Coast
Teleport to the Archon Statue at the island’s edge, then work your way along the chain of small islands hugging the shoreline. The crystal is tucked behind a large rock — use Lumi to retrieve it.
Pine Amber — Hillside Near the Pyramid, Galesong Hills
The pyramid structure on the plains is your landmark. Climb the hill, start the investigation, and use your companion to clear the stone residue from the mineral. The task completes automatically on collection.
Moonset Silver — Stone Exhibition in Central Noshgrad
The standout task of this chapter. Teleport to the city center and find the mineral exhibit. A cutscene plays, followed by a request from a young visitor: pick the purest sample on display. The correct answer is the one in the middle. If you get it wrong, Lumi flags it with a red marker — there’s no penalty for retrying. After that, collect all 24 stones scattered around the exhibit area.
Ice Pebble — Hiisi Island Coastline
The chapter’s low-key finale. Head to the island’s shoreline, start the investigation, have a brief exchange with two characters near the stone idol, then pick up the remaining pebbles. After Lynette’s lecture back in Noshgrad, you get the Crystal Badge.
Chapter Three — Animals: Final Chapter at Friendship Level 5
The last chapter unlocks two items at once — the Capybara Badge and a new shared companion style. It’s also the most varied chapter mechanically, mixing archery, net-throwing, combat, and even photography.
Dapper Badger — Southwest Hiisi Island
Interact with the beam of light on the shore — the badger will appear right in front of you. Shoot it with Lynette’s bow. It stays still, so this one is hard to miss.
Golden Axolotl — Central Galesong Hills
Standard net capture. The axolotl spawns at the beam of light in the plains’ central area — approach carefully and throw the net.
Capybara — Near the Pyramid, Galesong Hills
The most involved task in the chapter. Eavesdrop on a pair of treasure hunters, clear two waves of enemies, climb the slope, and free the capybara from a cauldron. Once it’s loose, catch it with the net.
Frostwhale — Northwest Lempo Island Reefs
The chapter’s closing task is a photography assignment. Find two kids with a camera on the reef, agree to photograph the whale, and wait for a clean shot before snapping the picture. Talk to the kids afterward to wrap it up.
Head back to Noshgrad for Lynette’s final lecture — and the backpack gets its last upgrade: the Capybara Badge and the new shared companion style.
Do You Need to Grind Friendship Just for the Backpack?
Short answer: no. The first chapter is available immediately, and friendship with Lynette builds naturally whenever you have her in your active party — domains, daily commissions, open-world exploration. Levels 3 and 5 come quickly at a normal pace without any targeted grinding. The one thing worth doing proactively: make sure Lynette is actually in your active roster instead of sitting on the bench.
