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Genshin Impact is a gacha game, meaning acquiring new characters and weapons quite literally involves wishing and hoping. However, unlike some other games of this type, it has a built-in pity system. This means that different types of weapons and characters are linked to a tracker that guarantees you will pull a four-star or five-star if you've not got one by a certain point.
We take a look at the basics of the Genshin Impact gacha system as well as the pity system and specific rules for different types of banners. There's also a change to weapon banners coming in Version 2.0 in the form of the Epitomized Path, which we will cover as well.
Genshin Impact's Different Wishes
Characters and weapons are all acquired by wishes and there are two different types.
- Acquaint Fate
Also known as blue wishes or standard wishes, these are used on the Wanderlust Invocation banner, which is always available. This banner contains permanent characters and weapons.
- Intertwined Fate
Often referred to as limited-time wishes, these are often seen as the more desirable currency as they are used to pull on limited-time banners for both characters and weapons.
How The Genshin Impact Pity System Works
At certain points, you will be guaranteed either a four-star weapon, four-star character, five-star weapon, five-star character, or five-star banner character or weapon. There are also some other mechanics that vary depending on the banner.
The basics of the pity system are that if you have nine consecutive wishes on any banner without a four or five-star pull then your next wish is guaranteed to be a four-star weapon or character. If you go all the way to 89 wishes without a five-star then your next wish is guaranteed to be a five-star character or banner, depending on which limited-time banner you are pulling from.
Note: If you are wishing on the standard/permanent banner it will be either a character or a weapon.
Do Individual And Batch Wishes Affect Pity In Genshin Impact?
You can buy wishes in batches of ten but this can be a false economy compared to buying single wishes. This is because while every group of ten "guarantees at least one four-star" the pity system will assume that the last wish you made in that batch of ten was the four-star and thus your four-star pity will be reset after the batch of wishes is made. With individual wishes, it is reset as soon as the four-star is pulled.
Making individual wishes also allows you to easily track your pity on the history list, making it simpler to ensure you know when pity will kick in.
Here's when pity is triggered on each type of banner.
Genshin Impact's Pity System On The Permanent Wanderlust Invocation Banner
This standard banner is always available and contains both characters and weapons. Despite showcasing Mona, Keqing, and Qiqi, as well as the Skyward Spine, all permanent four and five-star weapons and characters have the same chance of being pulled from this banner. Here's the pity breakdown.
|
Reward |
Pulls Needed To Trigger Pity |
Primogem Cost |
|---|---|---|
|
Five-Star Guaranteed |
90 Wishes |
14,400 Primos |
|
Four-Star Guaranteed |
10 Wishes |
1,600 Primos |
There is also a "soft pity" system in place on both this banner and the limited-time character banner. This means that pulls from 75-89 have around a 20 percent chance of being a five-star, up from around 0.6 for pulls below 75. Wish 90 gives a 100 percent chance of a five-star pull.
Genshin Impact's Pity System On A Limited-Time Character Banner
Each limited-time character banner will have one five-star character, available only for the duration of the banner, and then boosted rates for three standard four-star characters. Here's how many pulls you'll need to make for each if you're unlucky enough to hit pity each time.
|
Reward |
Pulls Needed To Trigger Pity |
Primogem Cost |
|---|---|---|
|
Five-Star Banner Character |
180 Wishes |
28,800 Primos |
|
Any Five-Star Character |
90 Wishes |
14,400 Primos |
|
Four-Star Banner Character |
20 Wishes |
3,200 Primos |
|
Any Four-Star Character |
10 Wishes |
1,600 Primos |
The double wishes relating to banner characters for both four and five stars are because of the 50/50 system.
Genshin Impact's 50/50 Banner Character Pity System
You have a 50 percent chance of pulling a banner character, every time you pull a four or five-star on a limited-time banner.
However, if you fail the 50/50 - by pulling a none-banner character on the limited-time banner - then your next pity pull for that level of character is guaranteed to be one of those on the banner.
This means that a minimum of every other four-star pull will be one of the characters with increased pull rates and at least every other five-star pull will be the currently featured character. The other pity pulls could be any of the permanent four or five-stars. As with the regular pity system, this 50/50 chance carries over between banner changes so if you pull say Diluc on a banner just before a changeover, your next five-star will be whatever the current banner character is.
Genshin Impact's Pity System On A Limited-Time Weapon Banner
The current pity system on weapon banners is similar to the character banner. The main difference is that there are two limited-time weapons, rather than one. The pity is also slightly lowered so each pull has a 0.7 percent chance of a five-star pull, rather than a 0.6 percent one. Here's how the pity system breaks down.
|
Reward |
Pulls Needed To Trigger Pity |
Primogem Cost |
|---|---|---|
|
Five-Star Banner Weapon |
160 Wishes |
25,600 Primos |
|
Any Five-Star Weapon |
80 Wishes |
12,800 Primos |
|
Four-Star Banner Weapon |
20 Wishes |
3,200 Primos |
|
Any Four-Star Weapon |
10 Wishes |
1,600 Primos |
Currently, although this banner still has a 50/50 system, the five-star guaranteed banner weapon can be either of the two available. This means that it could take up to 340 wishes or 51,200 primos to pull the banner weapon you want. However, the development team has recognized this issue and the Epitome Invocation banner will be the last to work on this system.
Genshin Impact Version 2.0: The Immovable God and the Eternal Euthymia, will bring with it a new way to get the banner weapon you want more easily - via the Epitomized Path.
Genshin Impact Version 2.0's Epitomized Path System
This new mechanic will be linked to the Epitome Invocation banner and all future weapon banners. It will allow you to increase your chances of obtaining the five-star banner weapon of your choice.
To do this you'll need to click the Epitomized Path button just above the shop button on the banner screen. Here you'll see the menu above, allowing you to select the weapon you prefer. Once this is selected, any five-star pull on this banner that doesn't give you the chosen weapon will instead reward you with a Fate Point, alongside the weapon you received.
Fate Points are tracked on the banner screen and you can have a maximum of two at once. If you hit two five-star pulls with no luck then the third one will be guaranteed to be the weapon of your choice.
This essentially means that while the weapon pity system is still not as good as the 50/50 system on characters, it is now much closer thanks to the reduced pity level of 80 and the guarantee of your preferred weapon every third five-star pull.
Note: Unlike pity, Fate Points do not carry over to a new banner, since you will need to choose a new weapon when a new banner arrives. Every time you change your weapon choice - either mid-banner or because of a banner change - your Fate Points will be reset.
How To Track Wishes And Pity In Genshin Impact
When you spend wishes the game tracks your pulls, and flags when you are given a four-star or five-star weapon or character by highlighting them in a list you can access. Each banner has its own tracker.
Accessing The Wish Tracker
You can use the history function to track how close you are to pity, although we still want a proper counter. Simply click the History Button at the bottom of the banner screen. This button is always in the same place, whichever banner you have selected.
Understanding The Categories
At the top of the list is a drop-down menu next to where it says "select wish type." This has four options to choose from. These are the options and what they track.
- Permanent Wish - Tracks wishes on the Wanderlust Invocation banner
-
Novice Wishes - Tracks wishes made at the beginning of the game.
- Note: This banner is only available to new players so you can ignore it.
-
Character Event Wish - Tracks wishes on any limited-time character banner
- Note: This pity tracking carries over from one banner to another.
-
Weapon Event Wish - Tracks wishes on the limited-time weapon banner
- Note: This pity tracking also carries over from one banner to the next.
Every four-star pull will be highlighted in purple, while five-star pulls are highlighted in a yellowy-orange. You'll see the item type, name, and time received on each page. The pages have six entries each with the most recent pulls appearing first on the list. You can navigate the list with the arrows and numbers in the bottom right.
Tip: Make sure to check the most recent pulls as you may need to close the wish screen and restart it in order to ensure the entries are up to date. If they still don't show you may need to restart the game.
You can use these lists to monitor how many wishes you've made since your last four or five-star pull. With this information, you can work out when you will hit pity. May the 50/50 be ever in your favor!