Genshin Impact: How Wishes Work

After getting to know a little about the game, let's talk about the real stars of the game and, mainly, how to get that dream 5-star character that you thought was so cool, or that deals monstrous damage or maybe is that waifu/husbando that you fell in love with.

There are currently over 80 characters in the game, lots of weapons and few wishes to get them all, so you have two options: choose only the ones you like the most or spend money to increase your chances of getting your favorite character. But what are wishes? How do I get them, and what are my chances of getting the characters and weapons I want? We’ll explain everything about wishes and, if you have any questions, leave a comment.

As previously mentioned, Genshin Impact is an Action-RPG game with Gacha, which means you'll need luck to get a character on your team. You can't unlock them as you progress through the story (with a few exceptions) or buy them directly. To get a new character, you'll need one of the following items:

- Intertwined Fate – A rare item that can be used to obtain characters and weapons from limited banners.

- Acquaint Fate – Also rare, but less so than Intertwined Fate, and can be used to get characters on the game's default banner.

- Primogems – These are gems that can be acquired by opening chests, events or completing quests, among other things, and are used to purchase the Intertwined Fate or Acquaint Fate items. Each wish costs 160 Primogems.

Each Intertwined Fate grants you a wish on the banners, the Limited Banners, where the game's newest or most popular characters will be the stars, or on the Weapons Banner, called Wanderlust Invocation where you can get a 5-Star signature or standard weapon from the game for your character.

In general, there are two limited banners, one with a new character and one with a character who has returned to the game after being unavailable for some time. The weapons banner has the two signature weapons of the two characters that are on the limited banner at that time. Both last for 30 days.

Each Character Banner comes with an increased chance of getting the featured 5-Star character and 3 4-Star characters. Typically, one of them is a newcomer to the game and the other two are good teammates for the 5-Star character.

Acquaint Fates can be used on the game's default Banner, called the Wanderlust Invocation. This banner never expires, and the characters and weapons you can get there are always the same. There is never a limited character on the Wanderlust Invocation Banner.

Acquaint Fates can also be used on the Beginner's Wish Banner. This banner remains in the game until you make 20 wishes on it and gives you a 2-wish discount on a 4-Star character. It also guarantees that you’ll get the character Noelle for your team.

How do Wishes Work?

In Genshin Impact, characters and the best weapons are always acquired through wishes. You choose which character you want to get on the banner and make the wishes on the corresponding banner. However, there are some things to consider:

- It’s guaranteed that within 90 wishes, you’ll get a 5-Star character or weapon. Can it happen before? Yes! Can it happen after 90? No!

- Every 10 wishes guarantee that you’ll get a 4-Star character or weapon. No exceptions.

When you shoot the limited character banner, there is a 50% chance that you’ll get either the limited character from that banner or one of the characters from the Hitchhiker's Banner (Mona, Jean, Diluc, Qiqi, Keqing, Tighnari, or Dehya).

If you picked a Hitchhiker's Summon Banner Character from the limited character banner, your next 5-Star character is GUARANTEED to get the character from the limited banner. This is "being 50/50". Example:

You made wishes on the limited Zhongli character, but got a Hean, a character from the Hitchhiker’s Banner. It’s what we call Lose the 50/50.

However, at this point you’re “Guaranteed”, meaning that the next 5-Star character that comes to you on the Limited Banner (regardless of whether it’s the current banner or the next one) is guaranteed to be the Limited Character of that banner.

If you’re at 50/50, and you made wishes on the Limited Character Banner and got the character from that banner, then you have “won the 50/50” and are automatically at “50/50” again.

It’s important to note that your “Pitch”, that is, the number of times you have shot a banner, is not transferable between the Limited Banners and the Hitchhiker’s Summon or the Weapons Banner. Each banner has its own independent pitch! Your pitch could look like this:

- Limited banner is at pitch 30 (i.e. far from a guaranteed 5 Star);

- Weapons banner is at 45 pitch;

- Hitchhiker's Banner is at 70 pitch;

In other words, if you wished 70 times on the Hitchhiker's banner, you’re no closer to getting a 5-Star on the Limited and Weapon banners, since they’re separate pitches!

However, the "pitch" of the Limited and Weapon banners is transferable to the next Limited and Weapons banners, which will come with the game updates. In other words, if today, you made 50 wishes on the Zhongli banner and his time ran out before you managed to make 90 wishes, it means that in the next banner that comes (assuming it’s Ganyu's) you’ll already be at the "50 pitch", that is, closer to getting a 5-Star on the banner because "you have already made 50 wishes on that banner"! The same goes for the Weapon banner.

In version 5.0, a new Capturing Radiance mechanic was introduced that helps “save the 50/50” by adding another 5% chance to get the game’s limited 5-Star character (giving you a 55/45 chance of winning).

In the case of the Weapons Banner, there is a mechanic called Epitome Patch, in which you choose the weapon you want to get. It works the same as the Limited Banner, but it’ll only give you weapons. All the rules for chances of getting the 5-Star item work the same.

The Hitchhiker's Summon does not give you the chance to "lose the 50/50", as you’ll always get a 5-Star weapon or character within 90 wishes, and you’ll always get a 4-Star weapon or character every 10 wishes. You cannot choose which character or weapon you’ll get here. The chances are the same for all characters or weapons available on the banner.

Regardless of the banner, the items you’ll get the most are 3-Star weapons, which will give you Masterless Stardust, a special type of currency that you can exchange for more wishes. For each 3-Star weapon, you’ll earn 15 of these coins. Another special currency is the Masterless Starglitter, you get 5 of them when you get a 4-Star character or weapon, or 15 if you get a character again whose constellations you already have 6 of (we’ll elaborate on constellations another time).

How do I get these Wishes??

Getting wishes is the karma of every Genshin Impact player! But there are a few ways to do it, and you'll want to explore them all!

Acquaint Fates from the Hitchhiker's Summon Banner can be obtained:

- Completing Battle Pass levels (you get one every 10 levels);

- Leveling up your characters (you get one every 20 levels);

- Seasonal Web or In-Game Events;

- Trading at Paimon's Bargain Shop. You can buy up to 5 Wishes with Masterless Stardust, for 75 Dust each, every 30 days;

- Trading at Paimon's Bargain Shop for 5 Masterless Starglitter;

- Trading for Primogems (you don't want to do this) or Genesis Crystals (these are crystals that you can only get using real money in the game);

The Intertwined Fates, for the limited or weapons banners, can be acquired:

- By completing levels of the game's PAID battle pass (every 10 levels gives you one wish);

- By exchanging them at Paimon's Bargain Shop. You can buy up to 5 wishes with Masterless Stardust, for 75 each, every 30 days;

- By exchanging them at Paimon's Bargain Shop for 5 Masterless Starglitter;

- By seasonal Web or In-Game Events;

- By exchanging them for Primogems or Genesis Crystals (these are crystals that you can only get using real money in the game);

And where can you get these Primogems? These rare items can be obtained in several ways:

• Unique Abyss Corridor Treasures from Floors 1 to 8 in Spiral Abyss (2,400 total);

• Archon Quests, Legendary Quests, and World Quests;

• Adventure License Rewards (900 total);

• Unlocking tutorials (reward 1 or 2 depending on the tutorial unlocked);

• Opening chests (reward 0, 2, 5, or 10 depending on the chest opened and its rarity);

• Discovering Teleport Points and Statues of the Seven (350 total);

• Leveling up Statues of the Seven (180 total);

• Some other random interactable items in the game can give you some;

• The Unusual Hillichurl attacks you with them!;

• Seasonal Web or In-Game Events;

• Character Trials;

• Periodically distributed Promo Codes

Where do I Invest My Wishes?

This question is important, and the simple answer is: it depends on you!

Most of the community will always tell you to never spend Primogems on the Hitchhiker's Summon banner and only spend on the Weapons banner when there is an excellent weapon that is practically indispensable in the game! However, I don't share that point of view.

Unlike many, for me, every character is good! So, if you want to have a C6 Mona (which means having all six Mona constellations, that is, having gotten the character 6 times in the gacha), go ahead! Shoot for the Hitchhiker's banner until you get it! However, be aware that your chances of getting the same character every 90 wishes are very low!

Getting the Acquaint Fate item is easier than getting the Primogems and Intertwined Fates, so it's easier to save them and just wish on the Hitchhiker Banner when you get one. Eventually, you'll get your C6 Mona.

Regarding the Limited Banner, one thing to remember is Don't wish on it if you don't want the character!! Especially if you're in Guaranteed! Even though you can only get a guaranteed 5-Star at a pitch of 90, that doesn't mean the character can't come sooner! In other words, you can try to make only 10 wishes "just to increase the pitch" and get a character you don't want and still get out of Guaranteed.

So, keep that finger away from the Wish button and wait patiently for your character.

I suggest you wait for our next article, which will explain even more important things about the characters and the world of Teyvat! You’ll learn a lot more and run a lot less risk of making mistakes with your account!

And remember: Paimon is not emergency food!