While Genshin Impact does have a slate of quite a lot of wonderfully designed characters, there’s no doubt that the game’s most appealing units are locked behind its roster of 5-Star characters. Although the player’s choice of “best” 5-Star likely ties to their choice of gameplay and not just the game’s meta element, the design and the overall nuances attached to 5-Star units make them so coveted among players.

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Such is the rarity of 5-Star characters in Genshin Impact that players often make acquiring them a big deal, especially with how they affect the potential meta and the way their characters work. And while the game does make getting 5-Star characters quite a journey to finish, there are ways to make the Genshin Impact’s gacha element work in the player’s favor.

Updated on June 6, 2024, by Rhenn Taguiam: With Genshin Impact teasing not only the Furina’s gun-toting Champion Duelist bodyguard Clorinde, but also the mysterious region of Natlan that serves as the abode of the Pyro Archon. Of course, with the reveal of a new region comes the reveal of more 5-Star characters, expanding Genshin Impact’s ever-evolving roster of characters in the action-packed gacha experience. For both fans and newcomers to the game, such a prospect of collecting all these units can be a daunting experience - especially with so few means of earning Primogens in the gacha game. However, prospective pullers still have ways of securing their favorite 5-Star characters, especially if they apply certain tips and mindsets to their experience. These include understanding the more intricate mechanics of the Standard Banner, waiting for the new Chronicled Wish, doing their Daily Check-ins in HoYoLAB, as well as choosing to buy Genesis Crystals during resets.

22 Wanderlust Has A Hidden 50/50 Ratio

Every 270 Pulls Should Have A 5-Star Character And Weapon

It’s reasonable for fans to feel frustrated when they get yet another Qiqi or Keqing from their event banners, especially since they’re already present among more “standard” 5-Star Genshin Impact characters in the Wanderlust Invocation. This doesn’t mean they’re any weaker than other more exclusive characters, however, especially when Jean can accommodate different roles while both Tighnari and Keqing can pull off decent DPS stats and off-world duties (Tighnari for tracking, Keqing for the teleport).

On the off-chance that fans want to acquire these Monstadt and Liyue mainstays, there’s a way to do so more efficiently than just randomly pulling in the standard banner. Players have observed that Wanderlust Invocation may force a 50/50 ratio the closer players get to 270 Wishes. This means it’s unlikely for players to get to 270 pulls without getting a 5-Star Character and Weapon, practically becoming a guarantee while players count their 50/50s, lucky pulls, and unlucky Hard Pities.

21 Watch Out For Chronicled Wish

Get A Rerun Character As A Guarantee When Pulling

Fans who wanted to acquire specific Genshin Impact characters usually had to wait for reruns every few months, hoping that a specific 5-Star unit would be included in these new banners. Thankfully, the Chronicled Wish changes the dynamics of these special banners should they be included in a player’s roster of events. This new Wish Type essentially focuses on reruns of 5-Star Characters and Weapons, specifically those that already had at least three reruns.

Similar to the weapon banner’s Epitomized Path, players gunning for Chronicled Wish will first choose a preferred unit via the Chronicled Path system. The game guarantees this 5-Star unit if they fail to acquire them during the first 90-Wish Hard Pity cycle. Unlike other wishes, Chronicled Wish pulls are carried over to the next Chronicled Wish but not to other banners. Players who are looking for a specific older unit should wait for Chronicled Wish for a better roster instead of a traditional banner.

20 Watch Out For Crystal Top-Up Resets

When They Reset, They Provide 2x Genesis Crystals For The Purchase

Being primarily a gacha title, Genshin Impact gameplay does include dedicated purchasing mechanics for its pulling currency. In this case, the game has a Crystal Top-Up shop where players can purchase Genesis Crystals, which are converted into Primogems at a 1:1 ratio, which can then be used to pull for characters. Normally, buying certain amounts of Genesis Crystals will net a small bonus. However, players should wait for Crystal Top-Up resets as they provide twice the Genesis Crystals on a one-off basis.

Resets happen randomly but are usually timed close to major updates once a year. Considering the USD 99.99 tier (6480 Genesis Crystals) nets 12,960 Crystals during the reset, players can get 81 pulls - almost enough to score a guaranteed 5-Star Character. Players who plan on saving up to secure their favorite characters should consider these other numbers in mind:

19 Log In To HoYoLAB Daily Check-In For Rewards

Some Days Reward Primogems

Players who love their Genshin Impact gameplay and lore can check out HoYoLAB, the official community forum for all things MiHoYo. On top of Genshin Impact content, HoYoLAB is a community with dedicated sections for other Hoyoverse IPs - but more importantly, Genshin Impact and all those IPs have special features for players inside HoYoLAB. For instance, Genshin Impact has a dedicated Teyvat Interactive Map, Lineup Simulators for teams, and even a Card Plaza for looking at deck compositions for the in-game Genius Invokation TCG.

More importantly, active pullers should consider the Daily Check-In for various rewards every month. HoYoLAB usually gives away 20 Primogems every 4th, 11th, and 18th day of the month. While the additional 60 Primogems won’t do much in terms of Wishes, it’s another source of consistent Primogems that could be integrated into a player’s Wish-hunting setup.

18 Watch Out For Free Primos During Update Livestreams

Primos Are Up For Grabs With Special Codes

One of the easiest ways players can earn Primogems for Wishes in Genshin Impact is through watching its livestream events. These always happen before updates are released and are avenues used to tease new characters and features.

In these events, hosts often reveal codes that can be plugged into the Hoyoverse website, which then sends rewards to the player's email. Three codes are almost always released in these livestream videos, netting players up to 300 Primogems in just a single viewing.

17 Skip Out On Weapon Banners

Weapon Banners Are Not Visually-Appealing Expenditures

Powerful 5-Star characters in Genshin Impact often have dedicated weapons that are built specifically to maximize their potential builds. Thankfully, weaker 4-Star characters can settle for forgeable weapons and rollable armaments to bolster their combat potential. While it's tempting for players to Wish in the Epitome Invocation to get their 5-Star's recommended weapon, players may want to skip this opportunity to save up Wishes.

At first glance, it's much more worthwhile looking at an entirely new character to control instead of just decorating an existing character with a new weapon. Moreover, failing in the Weapon Banner has a higher chance of getting an undesired Weapon and a lower chance of getting a Standard Banner 5-Star Character. This is more worthwhile in the Character Banners that have the opposite effect, where an undesired 5-Star Weapon only has a lower chance of appearing among Standard Banner 5-Star Characters.

16 Save Primos By Skipping On Constellations

Skip Same Character Acquisitions To Maximize Wishes

Being a gacha title, Genshin Impact also has systems in check to make sure that getting the same character is worthwhile for players who make Wishes. Such is the case with Constellations or a special ability tree per character that provides special bonuses only when players acquire copies of the same character.

For powerful DPS characters like Nahida or support characters like Bennett, leveling up their Constellations can be a surefire way of creating a solid party. However, players who want to maximize character acquisitions may want to skip out on building their Constellations and instead save Wishes for banners of characters they have yet to acquire.

15 The 50-50 System Is Merciless

Characters Are Obtained At Early Pity Every Other Rotation

Similar to other gacha titles, Genshin Impact also has a Pity System that is usually capped at 90 Wishes for a guaranteed 5-Star in the banner. However, players who are gunning for specific 5-Star characters need to take note that the game does have a 50-50 System for its character acquisitions.

At its core, this means that players can only have a guaranteed chance of getting the featured 5-Star character every other rotation. Once players get the guaranteed 5-Star, the next rotation that grants them the 5-Star only has a 50% chance of having the featured character. If this 50% chance results in a non-featured 5-Star, then the next rotation is the banner's 5-Star, and so on.

14 Complete Statues Of The Seven For Rewards

Find Oculi For Primogem Rewards

When players explore Teyvat in Genshin Impact, they will likely encounter the Seven Statues. Bearing a statue of the Archon worshipped in the region, Statues of the Seven reveal parts of the immediate map and provide free heals and revives for the party. However, what’s more important in a player’s quest to get 5 Star Characters is gathering Oculi or floating elemental crystals to offer to these Statues.

Each region has a different number of Oculi, but every Statue of the Seven needs offerings of 5 (for the first three levels) and 10 to 15 (for the fourth level and beyond) Oculi to level up these structures. Leveling up Statues not only increases the player’s Stamina, but they also provide 10 Primogems. Each set of Statues can be leveled 10 times, giving players up to 90 Primogems per region they unlocked.

13 Mind The Adventure Rank

Delay Advancing Adventure Rank For Easier Progress

Players have their best shot at acquiring Genshin Impact’s best characters through spamming Wishes, which they can only do with enough Fates or enough Primogems to convert into their desired Fates. On top of in-game events, doing Archon Quests and World Quests can net some of the best Primogems for sustainable Wishing. However, players can hit a stump should they level up their Adventure Rank too early, significantly since raising this Rank also raises their World Level, which increases the difficulty of all opponents in the area.

Granted, hitting World Levels 7 and 8 gives players access to guaranteed 5-Star Artifacts and Character Talent Materials to ascend characters fully. However, players who come to these World Levels unprepared can find it much harder to accomplish otherwise easy Quests and even Dailies, which can unnecessarily delay Primogen acquisition.

12 Complete Daily Commissions Consistently

Finish Daily Commissions As Often As Possible

Gacha fans who like Genshin Impact gameplay may soon realize that speedrunning through the game will have them run out of Archon Quests and World Quests to farm Primogems with, leaving them undersupplied should cooler characters arrive in the future. However, the game does have two more ways of giving players access to Wishing materials: Daily Commissions. The game gives players four Commissions per day, each rewarding 10 Primogems with a bonus of 20 Primogems upon completing the set. Combined with the Welkin, players can earn 140 Primogems every day.

Given how a banner lasts for three weeks, players who don’t need the character in the banner can simply login daily without Wishing. Doing so can net them 2940 Primogems, which can earn them around 18 Wishes. Saving up for two more days after that can give players an additional 280 Primogems, which should bring their total to 3200 Primogems - enough to pull 20 times.

11 Finish Achievements

Complete Odd Tasks For Primogems

A game as large as Genshin Impact likely has a lot of activities in store for players, and the gacha title actively rewards those who accomplish unique tasks throughout their adventure. What makes the Achievements section so intriguing in Genshin Impact is that many of its objectives are often ambiguous, with players unlocking some of them just through exploration, defeating enemies, or even leveling up their characters.

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However, while Achievements provide several Primogems that barely reach the 160 Primogem requirement for wishes, completing multiple objectives at once can get players to this number quickly. When looking at the Achievements tab, players should strategize which goals they can accomplish in a single playthrough. That way, they can rake in Primogem rewards much faster and accomplish segments more efficiently.

10 Remember The Pity System

90 Pity Is The Hard Cap

One of the best first steps in working towards a 5-Star character is to work around the existing pity system of the game. As with any gacha mechanic, rolling for characters and weapons in Genshin Impact gameplay also relies heavily on a pity system, which guarantees the acquisition of a high-rated item after a certain number of tries.

Players aiming for a 5-Star character should understand the hard numbers of the Genshin Impact pity system to plan their rolls accordingly. Here are some basic principles to remember:

• 5-Star characters often have a 0.6% chance to be present in any banner
• 5-Star items are guaranteed at 90 pity, meaning players get a surefire 5-Star for their next pull if they haven’t gotten them yet at 89 pity

9 Gun For A Character In The Banner

Wait For A Favorite Banner

Various kinds of banners exist in Genshin Impact, but only the Character Event Wish and Character Event Wish-2 matter in the context of 5-Star acquisition. Whereas the Wanderlust Invocation/Standard Banner and Weapon Event Wish can still “accidentally” give away a 5-Star character, the Character Event Wishes are more purposeful in this regard as they have featured characters.

Players should aim for 5-Stars presented as featured characters, as they have a higher probability of appearing when they do get that jackpot pull. At its core, there is a 50% chance that the 5-Star acquired from a Character Event Wish is the character featured in that banner. Instead of relying solely on chance, players should wait for their favorite character to be featured in a Character Event Wish before rolling for them.

8 Build Pity For Banners

Players Can Skip Banners They Don't Like

Probability is proven to be a fickle thing in Genshin Impact gameplay, which is why it’s always ideal for players to try and turn the tide of gacha whenever possible. One of the best things in Genshin Impact gameplay to support this is pity-building, where the game has made it possible for players to “stock up on pity” by carrying over existing pity to the next banner. Pity carry-overs only work for the same banner, however. This means the Weapon Event Wish’s pity carries over to the next patch’s Weapon Event Wish, and the same applies to the rest of the banners.

However, players can also turn this strategy to their advantage by timing their pity-building. Since the game is known to start giving away 5-Stars along with 73 to 89 pity, players may want to stop pulling around this mark across random banners and instead only Wish once their ideal banner has arrived. This can scratch the itch of players who love Wishing without risking the arrival of an unwanted 5-Star character.

7 Go For Practical Wish Spending

Stop 10-Pulls Around The 50 To 60 Pity Mark

Wishing in Genshin Impact gameplay can be done in two ways - either pulling for characters solo where it costs one Fate or 160 Primogems each or doing a 10-pull that costs 10 Fate or 1,600 Primogems. While these numbers seem redundant at first glance, the more economic players understand how important the math can be when maximizing their Primogem spending.

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At its core, it’s important to remember that the game gives away a 5-Star character from the 73 to 90 pity mark. It’s easy to just whip out a 10-pull or two since the 5-Star is practically guaranteed. However, players are advised to stop their 10-pulling at around the 40 to 50 pity mark and begin single-pulling from there. While players might have enough resources to shell out another 50 pulls for the guaranteed 5-Star, the possibility that the character might arrive at a much earlier pull can mean more Wishes saved for players. This can give them an extra stock of Wishes to use in another banner that they like.

6 Switch Banners For The Unsure

Pity Builds Up Across Banners

One of the most interesting parts of Genshin Impact's gameplay is how its Character Event Wish banners share the same pity. The main difference between these two banners is that the Event Wish-2 is always relegated to a rerun, while Wish-1 is either for new arrivals or another rerun (a la content bridge between one patch to the next). While this can make it extremely convenient for players to choose which character banner they want to invest in, they can also use this knowledge to their advantage if they’re unsure as to which character they want to get.

At its core, by the time players haven’t gotten a 5-Star at around the 30 to 40 pity mark, they should consider switching banners. They can easily just continue pulling until they get the character in that particular banner at 90 pity, but this 40-mark switch is the last safe chance they could get at switching banners

5 Spam The Spiral Abyss

Create Strong Builds To Last In The Spiral Abyss

The endgame is one of the most awaited aspects of any lasting RPG, as an entertaining endgame can make progress worthwhile for players. This can take the form of the Spiral Abyss in Genshin Impact gameplay, where 12 whole Floors of three Rooms each can force players to meet progressively challenging foes that will test their mettle and character builds. Perhaps more entertaining is how the Spiral Abyss can constantly reward players for their progress. While completing all three Rooms of the first eight Floors at 3-Star ratings can give players as much as 2,400 Primogems, it’s the last few Floors that players should pay attention to.

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At its core, Floors 9 to 12 of the Spiral Abyss contain some of the most challenging portions of the game. Yielding 3-Star ratings across all three Rooms of Floors 9 to 12 can give players as much as 600 Primogems, with these rooms resetting twice a month. Creating a proper build for the Spiral Abyss can have players farm it for around 1,200 Primogems monthly, which can give around seven pulls in any banner.

4 Paimon’s Bargains Make Everything Useful

Save Up Masterless Dust For Fates

During a player’s gameplay in Genshin Impact, they likely have acquired a handful of Masterles Starglitter and Masterless Stardust depending on their activities. If they head to Paimon’s Bargains, they can actually exchange these items for Fates, which they can use for Wishes to further their pity. At its core, players who get unlucky and acquire copies of the same character not only get materials for Constellation boosts, but they also get Masterless Starglitter. Players can get one Acquaint or one Intertwined Fate for five Masterless Starglitter and may use the same currency to acquire various high-level materials, any weapon from the Blackcliff set, as well as Ningguang and Xingqiu.

Meanwhile, accomplishing various tasks in the game can reward gamers with Masterless Stardust, which they can also exchange for materials and Fates. In this case, players can exchange 75 Masterless Stardust for one Acquaint or Intertwined Fate, up to five times every month. If players participate in the game often enough and save up Fates, they can have around five each of these Wishes by the time a new banner begins.

3 Secure Acquaint Fates Via The Battle Pass

Get The Battle Pass And Ascend Characters For Wishes

Similar to other gacha games, Genshin Impact gameplay also gives players access to a free Battle Pass. With points and progression tied to certain accomplishments, players can easily complete levels in the Battle Pass without much effort if they play often enough. Moreover, tied to every 10 Battle Pass Levels is a free Acquaint Fate, which players can use in the Standard Banner. Additionally, upgrading characters across various Ascension Phases can also grant Acquaint Fates.

There is a limited selection of characters in the Standard Banner. However, players who plan on exclusively spending Primogems and Intertwined Fates on limited-time Character Wish Events anyway may as well work towards these Acquaint Fates. Getting to 50 Battle Pass levels without spending a dime is still four steps closer to a guaranteed 5-Star unit in the Standard Banner. If players get all characters in the game, they can even get up to 159 Acquaint Fates once all of them are upgraded to Ascension Phase 5.