Genshin Impact has several gacha banners that change on a three-week basis. Read on for an analysis of the current and upcoming banners and see where you should spend your wishes!
Current Banners
Current banners end on:
September 5, 2023
Genshin Impact’s current rate-up 5-star characters are Lyney (Pyro Bow) and Yelan (Hydro Bow). They are accompanied by the 4-stars Bennett (Pyro Sword), Barbara (Hydro Catalyst), and Lynette (Anemo Sword)
Genshin Impact’s current rate-up 5-star weapons are The First Great Magic (Bow) and Aqua Simulacra (Bow). They are accompanied by the 4-stars Sacrificial Bow (Bow), Sacrificial Sword (Sword), The Widsith (Catalyst), Favonius Lance (Polearm), and Favonius Greatsword (Claymore).
Upcoming Genshin Impact 4.0 Banners
4.0 Second Half
Confirmed:
Tartaglia (5-star Hydro Bow character)
Zhongli (5-star Geo Polearm character)
Freminet (4-star Cryo Claymore character)
Speculated:
Polar Star (5-star Bow)
Vortex Vanquisher (5-star Polearm) or Staff of Homa (5-star Polearm)
4.1
Confirmed:
Wriothesley (Cryo character)
Neuvillette (Hydro character)
Speculated:
The 5-star characters who have gone the longest without a rerun are Venti (15 banners), Albedo (14 banners), and Arataki Itto (11 banners). One or more of these may rerun in Version 4.1, but there is no way to tell until official announcements.
How good are the current Genshin Impact 4.0 banners?
Disclaimer: There is no pity for a specific 4-star character or weapon. Do not pull for a specific 4-star unless you are prepared to pull several 5-stars along the way. The weapon banner is even more punishing than the character banners. Do not pull unless you are okay with receiving at least one of each featured weapon.
5-Star Characters
Lyney is a Pyro DPS character who specializes in mono Pyro teams. He performs best in a team with Bennett, an Anemo character to buff his damage, and either Xiangling or a shielder. That said, there’s nothing preventing him from doing fine in other team archetypes too. Lyney also has the advantage of having a Pneuma-aligned Arkhe that can be activated with a ranged Charged Shot, making him great for solving puzzles in Fontaine’s overworld! Time will tell where Lyney ranks among the DPS characters, but he’s definitely not weak.
Yelan is a powerful Hydro off-field DPS. Many players consider her a 5-star version of Xingqiu — and that’s a compliment! She has great off-field damage that synergizes well with Normal Attackers and applies Hydro fairly quickly. You can use her to replace Xingqiu if you don’t like him, or even better, use both together as a potent double Hydro core. On top of this, she grants a ramping damage buff to whomever is on-field while her Burst is active. There are no “must-pulls” in Genshin Impact, but Yelan is about as close to one as you can get.
4-Star Characters
Bennett is a Pyro support and one of the best characters in Genshin Impact. Though his value has fallen a bit with the introduction of Dendro, his massive ATK buff makes him integral to many ATK-scaling teams. Constellation 6 provides a Pyro infusion to Normal Attacks within his Burst circle, and this may interfere with some characters like Razor, Eula, Ayaka, or Keqing. Still, there are more characters who benefit from his C6 than are actively hindered.
Barbara is a Hydro healer. She’s not the best option for any team, but she can function in some budget Freeze or Bloom teams, or just as an all-purpose healer. You’ll obtain one Barbara for free toward the end of Mondstadt’s Archon Quests, and her Constellations are decent if you plan to use her. Charged Attack DPS Barbara can be a fun option if you want to see a healer do big numbers.
Lynette is a generic Anemo support. As of Genshin Impact Version 4.0, Lynette is the only playable character who has an Ousia-aligned Arkhe. This gives her a niche against content with Pneuma-aligned enemies or as a puzzle-solver in the overworld. You’ll get one copy of Lynette for free by reaching Adventure Rank 25, and her Constellations are good to have if you plan to use her. C6 in particular gives her Anemo-infused Normal Attacks, allowing you to use her on-field. Arkhe mechanics aside though, there are better Anemo character options for most teams.
5-Star Weapons
The First Great Magic is a CRIT DMG bow tailor-made for Lyney. It increases the damage from his Charged Shots, including the follow-up damage from his exploding hats. It will also grant ATK and movement speed based on his team members, incentivising Pyro teammates. This is the best weapon for Lyney, though there are always alternatives.
Aqua Simulacra provides even more CRIT DMG than The First Great Magic, albeit with a lower Base ATK. Its passive requires you to be somewhat close to an enemy, but unless your whole team specializes in ranged damage (i.e., Yoimiya), it’s not difficult to maintain full uptime on this passive. This is Yelan’s signature weapon, but Favonius Warbow still works great on her, so don’t feel pressured to pull for her signature. If you are pulling for Lyney’s weapon, then Aqua Simulacra is still a great option for him, allowing you to stop pulling early even if you don’t get The First Great Magic.
4-Star Weapons
Sacrificial Bow can sometimes reset your Skill cooldown, allowing you to cast your Skill twice in quick succession. This is great for Diona to produce double the Cryo particles she normally would. It can also be used on Yelan if you don’t have Favonius, or Aloy if you want to try to make the best of her. Refinements are very useful.
Sacrificial Sword has the same Skill cooldown reset passive as Sac Bow. This Sword is most often used on Xingqiu to allow for double Skill casts. You can also use it on Nilou to shorten her rotations or maintain greater uptime on her Skill effects. It’s usable on Kazuha, though this will increase his field time. Refinements are very good.
The Widsith is often the highest-damaging 4-star option for DPS Catalyst users in Genshin Impact. Its passive effect is random though, and has 10 seconds of uptime with a 30-second cooldown. This means that anyone equipping Widsith has spikes of high damage where they get lucky with Widsith’s buff effect, and stretches of lower damage where the passive is inactive or the random buff is not useful.
Favonius Lance generates clear Energy particles when you land a CRIT. This can only activate when the equipping character is on-field. Many polearm characters can make use of Favonius Lance, including Shenhe, Zhongli, Yun Jin, Mika, and Thoma.
Favonius Greatsword also generates clear particles when you land a CRIT. This makes it a great utility option for the likes of Sayu or Kaveh.
