How to Get Characters in Genshin Impact Without Wishing
While Genshin Impact’s gacha system (Wishes) is the primary way players acquire new characters, it’s not the only avenue. Fortunately, the game offers several methods to obtain characters without spending a single Primogem on Wishes. These free methods allow you to build a decent roster, especially during your early adventures. So, how exactly do you get characters without wishing?
The most common way to get free characters is through completing certain quests and reaching specific Adventure Ranks. Some characters are directly given as rewards for progressing through the main story, known as Archon Quests. Others become available after conquering specific challenges, or reaching Adventure Rank milestones. Additionally, the game often features limited-time events that reward players with characters as a part of the event’s rewards. Let’s delve into the specifics.
Free Characters Through Main Story and Adventure Ranks
The Main Character
The most obvious free character is the Main Character – either the Traveler (Aether) or Traveler (Lumine). You choose your protagonist at the very beginning of the game. The Main Character is not just free; they are also fundamental to your Genshin Impact journey, playing a vital role in the storyline. The Traveler is unique, as they can resonate with different elements (currently Anemo, Geo, Electro, Dendro, Hydro) and this adds a lot of flexibility to team compositions.
Barbara
Barbara is a 4-star Hydro character obtainable by progressing through the game. She is a valuable healer and is obtained by leveling up your Adventure Rank. While she does not come through a single quest, she becomes available upon reaching a specific Adventure Rank. She provides great support in your early team, so getting her is an important milestone. Her healing abilities make her extremely useful during exploration and battles.
Xiangling
Xiangling, a 4-star Pyro polearm user, is acquired by completing certain floors of the Spiral Abyss, a combat-focused dungeon, after reaching Adventure Rank 20. Specifically, you will need to complete floor 3, chamber 3 of the Spiral Abyss. Xiangling’s pyro abilities and ease of use makes her a key damage dealer in early game and well into end game content. Her Guoba, is a great damage dealer.
Free Characters Through Limited-Time Events
Limited-time events are a crucial part of Genshin Impact. These events often provide a way to obtain 4-star characters as part of their rewards. These are usually time-sensitive, so it’s important to keep an eye out for announcements and participate in ongoing events to grab the available characters. These characters sometimes come as direct rewards from an event. However, they are sometimes purchased from a designated event shop using a special event currency.
Other Ways to Acquire Characters Without Wishing
While the above methods are the most straightforward ways to get characters for free, it’s important to note there are no other consistent methods for free characters. You will have to engage in gacha mechanics if you want to get more characters. While they technically involve using Primogems, if you manage to collect Primogems without spending real world money, then you may consider getting these characters “free”. Primogems can be obtained by:
- Completing Quests: Main story quests, side quests, and world quests all give Primogems.
- Exploring the World: Opening chests, activating waypoints, and exploring the overworld are great ways to acquire Primogems.
- Reaching New Adventure Ranks: You get a one-time reward for leveling up your Adventure Rank.
- Completing Daily Commissions: Each day you can complete four simple tasks and obtain a good amount of Primogems.
- Participating in Events: Participate in any active event. These often reward you with lots of Primogems.
- Using Active Codes: From time to time, Genshin Impact redeem codes are released through social media, or during Livestreams. These codes give primogems for free.
- Spiral Abyss: Once you reach Adventure Rank 20, you may access the Spiral Abyss, which will give you primogem for clearing each floor.
- Livestream Redeem Codes: Hoyoverse livestreams, usually for new patch announcements, provide codes that grant free primogems.
These free Primogems can then be used to wish on a banner to obtain characters. However, getting more than a few 4-star characters without relying on gacha mechanics is nearly impossible.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Can you get 5-star characters for free in Genshin Impact?
While you cannot get a 5-star character as a direct reward, it’s technically possible to get a 5-star character without spending real money by saving up free Primogems. Every 90 Wishes on a banner guarantees a 5-star character or weapon. It is important to consider that it could be either a character or a weapon. Accumulating enough free Primogems through gameplay and events to reach this guarantee is challenging but achievable over time for free-to-play players.
2. How do I get Xingqiu for free?
Xingqiu was obtainable for free during the 2.6 version through an event called “Irodori Festival”. As of now, he isn’t consistently available as a free character and you will need to use wishes to obtain him.
3. What are the best free characters to use?
The best free characters in Genshin Impact include the Main Character (Traveler), Barbara (healer), and Xiangling (damage dealer). These characters fulfill essential roles in a team, making them extremely useful, especially in the early game.
4. Can you get characters from Paimon’s Bargains?
Paimon’s Bargains, available in the in-game shop, allows you to use Masterless Starglitter and Masterless Stardust (obtained from wishing) to exchange for characters or weapons. However, this isn’t technically considered “free” since these resources are obtained from wishing. Characters available are rotated on a monthly basis.
5. Are there codes for Genshin Impact that give characters?
Genshin Impact codes typically reward players with Primogems, Mora, and other in-game resources, but not directly with characters. Keep an eye out for active codes on social media channels or during live streams and redeem them to get the rewards.
6. Can you guarantee a specific character when wishing?
No, you cannot guarantee a specific character when wishing on a banner, except for a 5-star character during a character banner. The pity system guarantees you will get a 5-star character after a certain number of wishes, but it does not guarantee it will be the character featured on the banner. There is a 50/50 chance that a featured character will be obtained during a 5-star pull.
7. How do you get free wishes in Genshin Impact?
You can get free wishes (Acquaint Fates or Intertwined Fates) by reaching specific Adventure Rank milestones, participating in certain events, and sometimes as compensation gifts. Primogems can be earned through gameplay and then converted into wishes in the shop.
8. What are the different types of banners?
There are three main types of banners: Character Event Wish, Weapon Event Wish, and Standard Banner. The Character Event Banner features an increased drop rate for a specific character, the Weapon Banner is for specific weapons, and the Standard Banner includes all available characters and weapons.
9. Is it possible to get all characters in Genshin Impact for free?
No, it is virtually impossible to get every character in Genshin Impact without using wishes. The game is designed to encourage players to use its gacha system, and thus, relying solely on free characters will severely limit your roster. You’ll have to acquire characters through the wishing system.
10. What is the pity system?
The pity system in Genshin Impact guarantees you a 4-star character or weapon within 10 wishes, and a 5-star character or weapon within 90 wishes. The pity count does not reset between banners of the same type.
11. How do you get Primogems quickly?
The quickest ways to get Primogems include completing Daily Commissions, participating in time-limited events, completing the Spiral Abyss, and exploring new regions for chests and puzzles.
12. What happens if I get the same character twice?
If you get a character you already own, it will be converted into character constellations. Constellations provide various passive buffs for that character, making them more powerful. If you get a character that is fully constellated, it will give you Starglitter.
13. Is Genshin Impact playable without spending money?
Yes, Genshin Impact is completely playable without spending any money. However, spending money will greatly increase the speed in which characters are obtained. It also provides a large number of resources that makes progression faster and easier. The game offers plenty of free content to experience and characters to obtain through free methods and accumulated free wishes.
14. Are the free characters strong enough to beat the game?
Yes, the free characters in Genshin Impact are strong enough to beat the main story and complete most of the game’s content. Many experienced players clear difficult challenges by using mostly free characters, showing their capabilities when paired with the right strategy.
15. How often do the limited-time event characters change?
The availability of limited-time event characters varies depending on the version update and the specific events. Generally, new events with new characters or a rerun of an older event character happens every few patches. Keep up to date with game announcements and patch updates to learn when free characters will be available.
While wishing is the primary way to acquire a wide variety of characters, it is reassuring to know that Genshin Impact also provides opportunities to build a strong roster for free. By understanding how to obtain these free characters, and by taking advantage of all the available opportunities, you can have a very enjoyable adventure through Teyvat.