Genshin Impact wishes explained: the standard banner

Genshin Impact comes with several banners you can wish on to obtain rare characters and weapons. Each banner is a different type of slot machine, and understanding their probabilities is key to avoiding disappointment.

This article is part of a series on Genshin Impact’s convoluted gacha system. It’s important to understand exactly what you’re getting into when you engage with predatory gambling mechanics like these. By knowing your chances, you can get a realistic idea of what to expect from your pulls and make smarter decisions when spending your precious Primogems.

Genshin Impact wishes, explained

The standard banner is a great place to start learning about Genshin Impact’s complicated wishing system. The character and weapon banners function similarly, with small differences. The Chronicled Wish banner is the most unique, and it’s only available on rare occasions. You can read about these special banners on their own pages.

Genshin Impact’s standard banner uses blue Acquaint Fates as its pull currency at a rate of one Fate for one pull. No other banner uses Acquaint Fates. You can spend Primogems on the standard banner, but doing so is a mistake. Save your other pull currencies for the event banners. Only use Acquaint Fates to pull on the standard banner.

When you make a wish (or “pull”), you’ll usually receive a blue-rarity 3-star weapon. I recommend keeping at least one Refinement Rank 5 copy of these weapons in your inventory. Some of these 3-star weapons, like Harbinger of Dawn or Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers, are actually worth using.

Occasionally, you’ll get a rarer purple 4-star prize. On the standard banner, this can be either a character or a weapon. The 4-star prize pool is massive, and you can see exactly what’s in it from the banner details in-game. The base rate for getting a 4-star on any given pull is 5.1%.

Very rarely, you’ll get an orange 5-star prize. On the standard banner, the 5-star prize pool includes both characters and weapons. The base rate for getting a 5-star on any given pull is 0.6%. There is no way to home in on a specific 5-star of your choice; it’s always random. As of Version 5.0, the list of standard 5-star characters and weapons is as follows:

Genshin Impact soft and hard pity

All banner types in Genshin Impact have a pity system. This means that after a certain number of wishes (or “pulls”), the game will take pity on you and give you a rare item. The base probabilities for 4-star and 5-star prizes are pretty low, but the pity system effectively bumps up those rates to achieve a more consistent pulling experience.

After a certain number of pulls without a 4 or 5-star prize, your chances of pulling a rarer prize will gradually increase. This is called soft pity. As you continue to pull on the standard banner, the probability for a rarer item keeps increasing until it reaches 100%.

Hard pity is the absolute maximum number of pulls you have to make in order to get the rare item. If you reach hard pity, you are guaranteed to pull a rare prize. The number of pulls you have to make in order to reach soft and hard pity is different for 4-stars and 5-stars.

Genshin Impact’s standard banner rates and pity

From your last 5-star pull, you’ll need to do 74 pulls to reach the soft pity range. Additional pulls from here on out have increased chances of getting a 5-star prize. Your 90th pull is guaranteed to be a 5-star. When you see the golden shine indicating a 5-star, your prize can be any of the standard 5-star characters and weapons from the table above. 

From your last 4-star pull, your 9th pull has an increased chance of being a 4-star prize. If this fails, then your 10th pull is guaranteed to be a 4-star.

Does the standard banner guarantee pulling a weapon after a character?

There is a slight weighting system that ensures you don’t get too many 5-star characters in a row with no weapons and vice versa. It’s definitely possible to pull three Jeans one after the other, but your next 5-star will probably be a weapon. Your 4-stars are also weighted, so you don’t get too many characters or weapons in a row. I’ve never pulled more than three consecutive 4-star characters or weapons.

Additions to Genshin Impact’s standard banner

Occasionally, new 4-star and 5-star characters are added to the standard banner’s prize pool. All new 4-star characters make their way to the standard banner in the Version after their debut. Dehya and Tighnari are the only 5-stars to be added to the standard banner, and HoYoverse made this clear when the characters were first announced. Unless you’re waiting for a specific 4-star character to be added to the standard banner, there’s no real reason to hoard Acquaint Fates without spending them.

Now that you understand the standard banner, try looking at some of the special event banners that are Genshin Impact’s bread and butter.