Genshin Impact Overview: Why It Dominates the Gacha Landscape
Released by HoYoverse (formerly miHoYo) in September 2020, Genshin Impact fundamentally changed what players expect from a free-to-play game. Before Genshin, most gacha games were essentially gambling wrappers around thin gameplay loops. Genshin arrived with a fully explorable open world, a sweeping orchestral soundtrack, real-time action combat, and over 60 hours of voiced story content — all completely free to experience without spending a single penny.
The game is set in Teyvat, a fantasy world composed of seven nations each ruled by a god representing one of the seven elements: Anemo (wind), Geo (earth), Electro (lightning), Dendro (nature), Hydro (water), Pyro (fire), and Cryo (ice). Players take the role of the Traveler, a wanderer searching for their lost sibling while uncovering Teyvat's deep political and mythological secrets. The narrative quality is unusually high for a gacha game, with some story arcs receiving near-universal praise from critics.
Genshin's gacha system, called "Wishes," is what monetizes the experience. Characters are obtained through Wishes, and the most powerful or newly released characters are locked behind limited-time banners. This creates the core tension of the game: the free content is genuinely excellent, but the most exciting new characters cost real money or significant time investment to acquire. Understanding the system completely is the difference between enjoying the game for years as a free player and burning out after feeling manipulated by the monetization.
As of 2025, Genshin Impact has generated over $4 billion in revenue globally and remains one of the highest-grossing mobile games ever made. Despite this commercial dominance, the game maintains an enormous free player base because — crucially — every piece of story content, every world boss, every region is playable without paying. The gacha is entirely cosmetic and character-based, not a paywall for core content.
The Wish System Explained: Standard, Character Event, and Weapon Banners
Genshin Impact uses "Wishes" as the currency of its gacha system. Each Wish consumes one Intertwined Fate (for limited banners) or one Acquaint Fate (for the standard banner), and each of these fates costs 160 Primogems. You can also buy fates directly with Genesis Crystals, which are purchased with real money (160 Genesis Crystals = $0.99 at the most basic rate, though bundles improve this significantly).
Standard Banner (Wanderlust Invocation)
The Standard Banner is the permanent, never-changing pool of characters and weapons. It contains five established 5-star characters — Diluc, Jean, Keqing, Mona, Qiqi, and later additions like Tighnari and Dehya — plus a rotating selection of 4-star characters. This banner uses Acquaint Fate, which is rarer than Intertwined Fate. The Standard Banner matters for two reasons: first, you accumulate guaranteed pity from Standard Wishes, and second, when you lose the 50/50 on a Character Event banner, you receive a Standard 5-star, not the featured limited character.
Character Event Banner (Limited Banner)
This is where most players focus their Wishes. Every three to four weeks, HoYoverse releases a new limited banner featuring one 5-star character with a dramatically increased rate. Limited characters — like Raiden Shogun, Hu Tao, Kazuha, or Neuvillette — are only available on these banners and occasionally return during "rerun" banners. If you miss a character's banner, you may wait 12–18 months before they rerun. The 50/50 system applies here: when you hit 5-star pity, you have a 50% chance of getting the featured limited character and a 50% chance of getting a random Standard 5-star. If you lose the 50/50, your next 5-star pull on a Character Event banner is guaranteed to be the featured character.
Weapon Event Banner (Epitome Invocation)
The Weapon Banner features two 5-star weapons and rotates alongside Character banners. It operates on a 75/25 system rather than 50/50, and the hard pity is 80 pulls rather than 90. It also includes the Fate Points mechanic. The Weapon Banner is generally considered the worst value in the game for free players, and we cover this extensively in the Weapon Banner Warning section below.
Chronicled Wish
Introduced in Version 4.6, the Chronicled Wish is a rotating banner that includes a curated selection of past limited characters and weapons. It operates on a different system: you can pick one specific character as your "target," and the pity system works toward guaranteeing that character. This is an excellent feature for returning players who missed characters, though it costs Intertwined Fate and doesn't replace limited banners for newly released characters.
Pity System Deep Dive: Soft Pity, Hard Pity, and the 50/50
The pity system is the mechanic that guarantees players will eventually get a 5-star character, regardless of luck. Understanding it in detail is the single most important piece of knowledge for any serious Genshin player.
Base Rate and Soft Pity
The base rate for pulling a 5-star on a Character Event banner is 0.6%. This is quite low — in a single 10-pull, you have roughly a 5.7% cumulative chance of getting a 5-star. However, Genshin has a "soft pity" mechanic that kicks in at 74 pulls. Starting from your 74th pull without a 5-star, the probability of getting a 5-star dramatically increases with each additional pull. By pull 80, the rate has climbed to over 30%, and it continues accelerating toward 100% at pull 90.
In practice, most players pulling without any saved pity will hit a 5-star somewhere between pulls 74 and 90, with the average sitting around pull 80. This is important: if you're planning to guarantee a character, you shouldn't budget 90 pulls — budget 80 as your average, but keep 90 in reserve for safety.
Hard Pity at Pull 90
Hard pity is the absolute guarantee. On pull 90 without a 5-star, the game is programmed to deliver one. No exceptions. This pity counter carries over between banners of the same type — so if you pulled 60 times on a previous Character Event banner and switched to the next one, you start at 60 pity, not 0. This carry-over is crucial for planning and is one of Genshin's more player-friendly mechanics.
The 50/50 System
When you hit a 5-star on the Character Event banner, the game runs a second check. There's a 50% chance you get the featured limited character (the one displayed prominently on the banner) and a 50% chance you get a random Standard Banner 5-star instead. If you lose this 50/50 — say you get Diluc when you were pulling for Furina — your next 5-star on a Character Event banner is guaranteed to be the featured character. This guarantee also carries over between limited banners.
The practical implication: if you're starting fresh with no pity and no 50/50 guarantee, you should budget for 180 pulls (two full pity cycles) to guarantee the character. The worst case scenario is: you pull 90 times, get a Standard character (lost 50/50), then pull 90 more times to guarantee the featured character. Most players will be luckier than this, but 180 is the safe budget.
4-Star Pity
4-star characters also have a pity system. You're guaranteed a 4-star within every 10 pulls. On Character Event banners, three 4-star characters are featured with increased rates, and approximately once every three 4-star pulls, you'll receive one of the three featured 4-stars. This makes the Character Event banner an excellent source of specific 4-star characters like Bennett, Xingqiu, or Fischl when they appear as featured picks.
Primogem Farming Guide: Every Source Ranked
Primogems are the premium currency in Genshin Impact, and farming them consistently is the F2P player's primary job. Here are every significant source of Primogems, organized by reliability and yield.
Daily Commissions (60 Primogems/Day)
Daily Commissions are the most reliable source of Primogems. Each day, four commissions appear — short quests that take 5–15 minutes total to complete. Each commission rewards 10 Primogems, and completing all four and then speaking to Katheryne at the Adventurers' Guild grants an additional 20 Primogems. This totals 60 Primogems per day, or 1,800 per month. Missing a day of commissions is the single most impactful mistake a F2P player can make in the long run.
Spiral Abyss (600 Primogems per Reset)
The Spiral Abyss is Genshin's endgame challenge — 12 floors of increasingly difficult combat that resets every two weeks. Floors 9 through 12 each offer up to 150 Primogems for achieving three stars on all chambers, for a total of 600 Primogems per reset. Players who can consistently clear Floors 9–12 earn 1,200 Primogems per month from this source alone. The Abyss resets on the 1st and 16th of each in-game month, giving you two opportunities. For newer players, even clearing Floors 9–11 perfectly earns 450 Primogems per reset.
Imaginarium Theater (420 Primogems per Reset)
Introduced in Version 4.7, the Imaginarium Theater is a roguelite mode that refreshes monthly. Completing it fully can reward up to 420 Primogems, making it the second-largest recurring endgame source. Unlike the Abyss, it requires a broad roster of different characters, incentivizing players to invest in multiple characters rather than hyper-focusing on a single team.
Limited Events (500–1,500 Primogems)
Every major game update brings new limited-time events that reward Primogems for participation. The total varies, but a full patch cycle typically offers 1,000–1,500 Primogems across all events. These range from simple daily check-in events (trivial) to multi-stage story events that require an hour of gameplay. Logging in during active event periods and completing event quests is essential for maximizing monthly income.
Exploration and Chest Opening
Every region in Genshin Impact contains chests, puzzles, quests, and collectibles that reward Primogems. New regions typically offer 1,000–2,000 Primogems worth of exploration rewards when first released. However, this is a one-time income source — once you've opened every chest in a region, it's gone. Tracking exploration completion through the game's map markers or third-party tools like the Genshin Impact Interactive Map is worthwhile for players who want to extract maximum value.
Redemption Codes
HoYoverse regularly releases redemption codes during livestreams, anniversary events, and special celebrations. Each code typically grants 60–100 Primogems plus enhancement materials. Codes expire within 12–24 hours of release, so following the official Genshin Impact social media accounts or community sites like the Genshin Impact subreddit is recommended for catching them immediately. Over the course of a year, codes contribute several hundred Primogems.
HoYoLAB Daily Check-In
The HoYoLAB app (HoYoverse's social platform) features a daily check-in calendar that rewards Primogems on specific days of each month. The total is modest — roughly 60–90 Primogems per month — but requires zero in-game effort. Enabling the HoYoLAB companion app on your phone takes 30 seconds to set up and pays dividends for as long as you play the game.
Monthly Primogem Income: The F2P Math
Let's do the math on what a consistent free-to-play player can realistically earn per month in 2025. These figures assume daily commission completion, regular Abyss clears through Floor 11 minimum, and active event participation.
- Daily Commissions: 60 × 30 = 1,800 Primogems
- Spiral Abyss (2 resets, Floors 9–12): ~900–1,200 Primogems
- Imaginarium Theater (1 reset/month): ~300–420 Primogems
- Events and Quests: ~500–800 Primogems
- HoYoLAB Check-In: ~60–90 Primogems
- Codes and Miscellaneous: ~100–200 Primogems
Total Monthly Range: approximately 3,660–4,510 Primogems. At 160 Primogems per Wish, this equals roughly 22–28 Wishes per month. Over six months — the typical time between a character's debut and their first rerun — a dedicated F2P player accumulates approximately 130–168 Wishes. Since 180 Wishes is the worst-case guarantee, consistent players can realistically guarantee one character per banner cycle without spending money, provided they save carefully and don't spread pulls across multiple banners.
The key insight here is discipline. Many F2P players fail not because the income is insufficient but because they pull on every banner that looks appealing, spreading their resources too thin to guarantee any single character.
Best F2P Characters 2025: The Permanent Free Roster
Genshin Impact gives away several powerful characters for free through story progression, events, and its standard systems. These characters form the backbone of most F2P team compositions.
Bennett — The Best Support in the Game
Bennett is a Pyro sword character obtainable from the Standard Banner and frequently featured on Character Event banners as a guaranteed 4-star. His Elemental Burst, Fantastic Voyage, creates a circle on the ground that simultaneously heals all characters inside it and massively buffs their attack stat based on Bennett's own base attack. The healing is so strong that Bennett can solo-heal most content, and the attack buff is so powerful that he appears in the majority of high-level Spiral Abyss teams. If you play Genshin and don't have Bennett at C1 (first constellation), pulling for him whenever he appears as a featured 4-star on a banner should be your first priority.
Xiangling — The Best F2P DPS Enabler
Xiangling is given free to every player who clears Floor 3, Chamber 3 of the Spiral Abyss — which is achievable within the first two weeks of starting the game. Despite being a "free" 4-star, she is one of the strongest Pyro characters in the entire roster. Her Pyronado burst creates a tornado of fire that deals continuous off-field Pyro damage, making her an incredible sub-DPS or main DPS in the right team. Paired with Bennett for energy and attack buff, Xiangling enables powerful Reverse Melt and National Team compositions without requiring any limited characters.
Fischl — The Best F2P Electro Unit
Fischl is a Standard Banner and event 4-star who summons Oz, a mechanical raven that fires Electro bolts continuously for 10 seconds. Fischl is a cornerstone of Aggravate and Quicken team compositions introduced with the Dendro element in Version 3.0. Her consistent off-field Electro application makes her invaluable for triggering elemental reactions, and she remains meta-relevant three years after release. Players who obtained her during her initial event banner or accumulated her from Standard Banner pulls have a powerful unit that pairs with virtually every team archetype.
Xingqiu — The King of Off-Field Hydro
Xingqiu is another 4-star from the Standard Banner who has stood the test of time. His Elemental Burst creates rain swords that deal Hydro damage every time your on-field character attacks, providing constant Hydro application that enables Vaporize, Freeze, and Bloom reactions. The "National Team" — consisting of Xiangling, Xingqiu, Bennett, and a fourth flex slot — is one of the most effective and consistent team compositions in the game, and it's entirely buildable by F2P players. Xingqiu's one weakness is his high energy requirements, but pairing him with a Hydro Resonance partner resolves this easily.
Traveler — The Free Main Character
The Traveler, your main character, is given free at game start and can equip different elements by visiting Statues of the Seven throughout Teyvat. In 2025, the Traveler has Anemo, Geo, Electro, Dendro, and Hydro forms, with more planned. The Electro Traveler is particularly useful as a battery for Electro teams, and the Dendro Traveler provides excellent Dendro application for F2P teams that lack dedicated Dendro characters. While the Traveler isn't top-tier in any element, they're a serviceable unit for every stage of the game.
Welkin Moon Value Analysis: The Best $5 You Can Spend
The Blessing of the Welkin Moon is a monthly subscription costing $4.99 USD. It grants 90 Primogems per day for 30 days (2,700 Primogems total) plus 300 Genesis Crystals upfront. The total Primogem equivalent is approximately 2,700 + 300 = 3,000 Primogems (or roughly 18–19 Wishes per month).
At the direct exchange rate, 2,800 Genesis Crystals (the closest equivalent purchase to Welkin's value) costs approximately $32.99. Welkin delivers comparable value for $4.99. For players who decide to spend any money on Genshin, Welkin is by far the highest return on investment available in the game. It roughly doubles a non-spending player's monthly Wish income, turning 22–28 monthly Wishes into 40–47, which is the difference between saving for 6 months per character versus 3 months.
The catch: Welkin requires logging in daily to collect the 90 Primogems, because they're delivered as daily login rewards rather than granted upfront. Players who miss days lose those Primogems permanently. If your schedule allows daily logins, Welkin is an excellent value. If you're an irregular player, the daily login requirement makes it less efficient.
The Gnostic Hymn — the Battle Pass costing $9.99 — is the second-best value purchase, adding 4 Intertwined Fates plus a 5-star weapon selector (from a small pool) per month. However, it requires active gameplay to level the Battle Pass, making it better suited to dedicated players than casual ones.
Constellation Guide: C0 vs C6 — Which Characters Need Constellations?
Constellations are obtained by pulling duplicate copies of a character. Each constellation unlocks a passive ability that enhances the character in various ways. A character can have up to six constellations (C6), requiring seven total copies — a staggering investment for limited characters.
Characters Who Are Complete at C0
Most 5-star limited characters are intentionally designed to be fully functional at C0. Characters like Hu Tao, Neuvillette, Furina, Raiden Shogun, and Alhaitham are excellent at base constellation. Their constellations improve performance but aren't required for clearing endgame content. F2P players should aim for C0 on limited characters and be content with that.
4-Star Characters Who Benefit Greatly from Constellations
The calculus changes for 4-star characters, who appear more frequently on banners. Bennett's C1 removes a restriction on his burst (it no longer prevents the healing portion from working at full HP — his base behavior is actually a bug-like limitation). C1 Bennett is such a significant upgrade that the community considers C0 Bennett "fundamentally incomplete." Similarly, Xingqiu's C2 and C6 dramatically increase his damage output and Hydro application frequency. Since 4-stars reappear on banners regularly and cost far fewer resources per constellation than 5-stars, targeting C4–C6 on key 4-stars like Bennett and Xingqiu is a realistic F2P goal.
5-Star Game-Changers at Higher Constellations
Some 5-star characters have constellations that are so powerful they functionally change the character's role. Nahida's C2 adds a third count to her signature skill, roughly doubling her damage output. Raiden Shogun's C2 removes the energy cost debuff from her burst, enabling off-field EM builds. These are whale-level investments — C2 on a limited 5-star requires spending thousands of dollars — and F2P players should treat these as irrelevant to their planning. The content that requires C2+ 5-stars does not exist in Genshin Impact.