Genshin Impact: Unlock New Characters & Build Your Roster

Dive into Teyvat: Your Quest for New Characters

Hey there, fellow Travelers! Ever found yourself wandering the vast and breathtaking world of Teyvat in Genshin Impact, wishing you had a few more awesome characters to join your squad? You're definitely not alone, guys! Unlocking new characters is one of the most exciting aspects of this incredible open-world adventure. It's not just about collecting them; it's about expanding your combat strategies, enjoying new elemental reactions, and bringing fresh voices and personalities to your journey. Whether you're a newbie just starting out or a seasoned veteran looking to optimize your roster, understanding how to get new characters is absolutely crucial. This comprehensive guide is here to walk you through every single method available in Genshin Impact, making sure you know all the ins and outs of building the ultimate team. We're going to dive deep into the famous Wish system, explore alternative ways to add fantastic heroes to your collection, and even share some top-tier strategies to help you make the most of your hard-earned Primogems and Fates. Get ready to power up your team, discover amazing new elemental combos, and experience Teyvat like never before! We'll cover everything from the basic mechanics of banners to advanced tips on saving your resources and planning your pulls effectively. So, buckle up, because your roster is about to get a serious upgrade!

The Wish System: Your Primary Gateway to New Heroes

Alright, let's talk about the big one, the one everyone thinks about when they hear "new characters": the Wish System. This is your main method, the go-to, for bringing fantastic new faces into your Genshin Impact squad. Think of Wishes like a gacha lottery, but with a super generous safety net! You use various types of Fates to pull on different banners, each offering a unique set of characters and weapons. Understanding how this system works is paramount if you want to effectively unlock new characters and build a powerful, versatile team. It's not just about blindly pulling; it's about strategic decision-making and knowing when and where to invest your precious resources. We're going to break down the different types of banners, explain the all-important pity system, and give you the lowdown on how to gather those essential Fates.

What is Wishing? Understanding Banners

So, what exactly is Wishing? It's the act of spending Fates on specific banners to receive random characters or weapons. There are primarily three types of banners you'll encounter:

1. Character Event Wish: This is where the magic happens for most players! These banners feature a specific 5-star character that is rate-boosted, meaning you have a significantly higher chance of obtaining them. They also include three 4-star characters who are also rate-boosted. These banners rotate roughly every three weeks, bringing new or returning limited-time characters. This is often where you'll find the most sought-after and powerful characters in the game, making strategic pulls here vital for unlocking new characters that can really elevate your gameplay. Each pull on a Character Event Wish banner costs one Intertwined Fate.
2. Weapon Event Wish (Epitome Invocation): Similar to character banners, but these focus on weapons. They feature two rate-boosted 5-star weapons and several rate-boosted 4-star weapons. While important for powering up your characters, these aren't directly for getting new characters, so we'll focus less on them for this specific guide. However, sometimes the 4-star characters can appear here as well, though it's not the primary focus. These also use Intertwined Fates.
3. Standard Wish (Wanderlust Invocation): This banner is always available and features a pool of permanent 5-star characters (like Diluc, Jean, Keqing, Mona, Qiqi, and Tighnari/Dehya after their initial limited banners) and 5-star weapons. It also includes a vast array of 4-star characters and weapons. While you can get new characters here, it's generally not recommended to spend your valuable Intertwined Fates on this banner. Instead, this banner is primarily for spending Acquaint Fates, which are generally more readily available through in-game activities, Battle Pass rewards, and character ascension. Think of it as a bonus banner rather than your main hunting ground for specific new heroes.

Understanding these banner types is your first step towards strategic wishing. You'll quickly learn that timing your pulls on the Character Event Wish is often the best way to secure specific, powerful new additions to your team.

Understanding Pity and Soft Pity

Now, this is where Genshin Impact's gacha system becomes much more player-friendly than many others. The Pity System guarantees that you will eventually receive a 5-star item. For both Character and Weapon Event Wishes, you are guaranteed a 5-star item within 90 pulls. For the Standard Wish, it's also 90 pulls for a 5-star. This guarantee resets once you obtain a 5-star. But wait, there's more! There's also Soft Pity, which means your chances of getting a 5-star character or weapon significantly increase starting from around pull #74-75 on a banner. This is a crucial detail for anyone serious about unlocking new characters, as it means you rarely have to go all the way to 90 pulls to get your guaranteed 5-star. The odds just keep getting better and better as you approach that 90-pull mark!

What's even better for Character Event Wishes is the 50/50 rule. When you get a 5-star character, there's a 50% chance it will be the featured character on the banner, and a 50% chance it will be one of the permanent 5-star characters (Diluc, Jean, etc.). If you lose the 50/50 (meaning you get a standard 5-star), your next 5-star character on any subsequent Character Event Wish banner is guaranteed to be the featured character. This guarantee carries over between banners, so if you lose the 50/50 on one character's banner, the next limited 5-star you pull on a future banner will definitely be the one advertised. This makes long-term planning for new character acquisition much more predictable and less frustrating, as you're never truly at the mercy of pure luck for an extended period. Knowing your pity count (how many pulls you've made since your last 5-star) is absolutely essential for managing your resources and deciding when to pull.

Fates: Acquiring Intertwined and Acquaint Fates

To make Wishes, you need Fates. There are two types:

• Intertwined Fates: These are used for Character Event Wishes and Weapon Event Wishes. They are generally considered more valuable because they're used for limited-time content. You can obtain them by converting Primogems (the premium currency), buying them directly with Starglitter from Paimon's Bargains, as rewards from the Battle Pass (both free and paid tracks), or occasionally from special in-game events and quests. Primogems are primarily earned through daily commissions, completing quests, exploring the world, participating in events, and Spiral Abyss. So, doing your dailies, folks, is crucial for hoarding those precious Primogems which then turn into Intertwined Fates to unlock new characters!
• Acquaint Fates: These are used exclusively for the Standard Wish banner. They are generally easier to come by. You get them from character ascensions (a free one at levels 10, 30, 50, 70), Battle Pass rewards, Adventure Rank rewards, sometimes as part of event rewards, and by converting Primogems (though again, generally not recommended unless you specifically want a standard banner item). You'll accumulate these naturally as you play, giving you bonus pulls on the Standard Banner without needing to spend your precious Intertwined Fates.

Understanding the distinction between these Fates and how to acquire them is key to efficient resource management. Focus your Primogem-to-Fate conversions on Intertwined Fates if you're aiming for specific limited new characters.

Beyond Wishes: Alternative Character Acquisition

While the Wish system is undoubtedly the primary method for unlocking new characters in Genshin Impact, it's certainly not the only way. HoYoverse, the developers, are pretty cool about giving out freebies and alternative paths to expand your roster. These methods might not bring you every single character, but they are fantastic for free-to-play (F2P) players or anyone looking to diversify their team without spending a single Primogem. Don't underestimate these options, guys! They can provide powerful characters that perfectly complement your existing team or open up entirely new elemental reaction possibilities. Let's explore these often-overlooked avenues for character acquisition, which are essential for any player aiming to strategically get new characters without solely relying on the gacha.

Paimon's Bargains: Stardust and Starglitter

Ah, Paimon's Bargains! This in-game shop, accessible through the main menu, is a treasure trove for various items, including a rotating selection of characters. The shop operates on two special currencies: Stardust and Starglitter. How do you get these? Every time you make a Wish and receive a 3-star weapon, you'll get Stardust. When you pull a 4-star or 5-star character/weapon that you already own (i.e., a