Genshin Impact is receiving a significant change thanks to its latest update, version 2.0, with its weapon pity system being overhauled.
Every gacha game has a loot box mechanic tantamount to gambling; perhaps it may have even pioneered it. Even the word gacha itself comes from gashapon, toy vending machines that dispense capsules in exchange for money. Of course, Genshin Impact’s wishing mechanic is no exception to the genre. However, it does stand out in its surprising generosity through the pity system. Here is a brief explanation of how the pity system works and the changes brought to the weapon banner in Genshin Impact’s update 2.0.
What is the Pity System?
On any other gacha game, you already have to contend with low drop rates for characters or items that you desire. This is compounded by the fact that there is no guarantee you will get what you want even after endless attempts and likely thousands of dollars. The pity system removes that uncertainty. The basic concept is that upon reaching a certain number of attempts, the game will take pity on you and give you what you want. Furthermore, you are also guaranteed a 4-star roll every 10th roll. However, there is a little more naunce to the intricacies of this system as the required amount of wishes varies across banners. So, here are the details.
Character Banner
Genshin Impact’s 5-star characters have the worst drop rates in the game, with only a 0.6% chance for players to obtain one. If we do the math, then you will theoretically obtain your 5-star character at the 166th roll (100/0.6). But worry not because the pity system caps your unluckiness at 90 rolls and simply grants you a 5-star character. It’s also the only banner where 5-star limited-time characters will be obtainable.
Weapon Banner
The weapon banner allows the player to obtain exclusive weapons, but only weapons. Meanwhile, the character banner can also grant standard weapons, but not 5-star ones. That said, the weapon banner is more generous with the pity being set at the 80th roll. Changes will be brought to this banner, but more on this later.
Standard Banner
The standard banner has the same pity as the character banner. The only differences are no limited-edition characters and worse drop rates for some items than the character banner. For those reasons, it’s better to avoid this banner as much as possible and roll on the other banners instead.
Soft Pity
Even though the hard pity count is at 80 or 90, players will rarely reach that number of rolls before getting a 5-star. Based on statistical analysis from a sample of players, there is a hidden soft pity mechanic around the 75th pull. In summary, between the 70th and 80th roll, your likelihood to obtain a 5-star increases up to 20%. At the 90th pull, you will receive a 5-star character no matter what. For the weapon banner, the same applies around the 65th and 80th roll, respectively. When a 5-star is obtained, the pity count resets to 0.
The 50/50 Rule
For every character banner, you have a 50% chance of obtaining the featured character as your first 5-star roll. However, if you do not obtain said character as your first 5-star, your chance to get the featured character the next time increases to 100%. At worst, this means it will take you 180 wishes to get the limited edition 5-star character.
The weapons banner has a similar mechanic. On that banner, you have a 75% chance of obtaining one of the weapons featured on the banner. Similarly, if you obtain a generic 5-star weapon the first time around, you are guaranteed a 5-star featured weapon the next time around. However, do keep in mind that there are usually multiple weapons featured every time on the weapons banner, so you are never guaranteed to obtain any single weapon.
Cross-Banner Pity
Each banner has its own individual pity count that you can follow on the wish history. Therefore, if you rolled 30 times on the standard banner, 30 times on the weapons banner and 30 times on the character banner, you have not reached pity. You have to build the pity count on each banner if you want to obtain a 5-star.
That said, pity does carry over for banners of the type. This means that the count doesn’t reset if an event ends. Therefore, the pity count for each individual banner is always continuous across different banners and updates. The same applies to the 50/50 rule. If you rolled a generic 5-star character on the last character banner, you are guaranteed the featured character for your next 5-star character even if it’s a new banner.
Changes to the Weapons Banner
In the 2.0 update, a new system called “Epitomized Path’’ will be implemented. As mentioned before, there are usually several 5-star weapons featured on a weapons banner with no guarantee to obtain a specific weapon. Epitomized Path allows the player to chart a course towards the weapon they want. Therefore, if a player rolls a weapon they did not want, they can recycle it to obtain Fate Points. Once they have accumulated enough Fate Points, they automatically roll the desired 5-star weapon as their next one.
Besides this new weapon pity system alteration, there are many other features introduced in the 2.0 update. Read here to find out more.