Genshin Impact

Genshin Impact: Free-to-Play or Pay-to-Win? Understanding the Money Side!

Genshin Impact is a free game you can download and play right now. It lets you explore a huge world and enjoy the whole story without spending any money! But, like many free games, it also has ways for you to spend money to get new characters and weapons faster. This is called a “gacha” system, and it’s important to understand how it works.

1. Primogems and “Wishes” (The Gacha System):

The main way to get new characters and weapons is by using Primogems to do “Wishes” (like pulling from a lucky draw).

• How to Get Primogems (Free Ways):
  • Doing daily quests (“Daily Commissions”).
  • Playing the main story and side quests.
  • Exploring new areas (finding chests, unlocking teleport points).
  • Participating in special time-limited events.
  • Completing challenges and achievements. You get a good amount of Primogems just by playing the game!
• How to Get Primogems (Paid Ways):
  • You can buy Primogem packs with real money if you want to get them faster.
• “Banners” (Where you Wish): There are different “banners” where you can spend your Primogems:
  • Character Event Banners: These feature special 5-star characters for a limited time. These are usually the most popular.
  • Weapon Event Banners: These feature powerful 5-star weapons.
  • Standard Banner: This has a mix of regular 5-star characters and weapons.
• The “Pity” System (Your Safety Net!):
  • Genshin Impact has a “pity” system that guarantees you a 5-star item after a certain number of pulls (usually by your 90th pull for characters).
  • Also, if your first 5-star character isn’t the one on the banner, the next 5-star character you get is guaranteed to be the featured one! This “guarantee” stays even if the banner changes. This makes sure you don’t keep pulling forever without getting what you want.

2. Other Ways to Spend Money:

• Blessing of the Welkin Moon: This is like a small monthly subscription. You pay a little bit of real money, and then you get Primogems every day for 30 days. It’s usually the best value if you want to spend a small amount.
• Battle Pass (“Gnostic Hymn”): Every few months, there’s a Battle Pass. There’s a free track with basic rewards, but you can pay to unlock a premium track with much better rewards, including a strong 4-star weapon.
• Character Outfits: You can buy special new clothes for some characters with Genesis Crystals (which you buy with real money).

3. Is It “Free-to-Play Friendly”?

Many people say Genshin Impact is very “free-to-play friendly” because:

• You Can Play Everything for Free: You can complete the entire story, explore all the regions, and do almost all events without ever spending money.
• Enough Free Primogems: If you play regularly, you’ll get enough free Primogems to get new 5-star characters every now and then. You don’t need to spend money to get good characters.
• 4-Star Characters Are Strong: Many 4-star characters are very powerful and can easily clear all the game’s content, including tough challenges. You don’t need a team full of 5-star characters.
• Skill Matters More: While strong characters help, knowing how to use elemental reactions and building a good team is more important than just having the rarest characters.

4. The Debate:

The gacha system can be tricky. Some people spend a lot of money to get every new character or to make their existing characters super strong (by getting duplicates). While you don’t have to spend, the desire to get new and exciting characters can be tempting.

Genshin Impact balances being a free game with offering tempting purchases. It’s a fun game that anyone can enjoy, whether they spend money or not!