Genshin Impact’s Upcoming Event Banners Are a Huge Bummer for F2P Players

Genshin Impact is one of the most successful mobile games on the market right now, thanks in no small part to MiHoYo supporting it with consistent updates and events. Update 1.4 has been officially unveiled, and players will be able to take part in a new Mondstadt-themed event in a few weeks.

And of course, like with every update that’s been released thus far, players will also get the chance to roll for more characters on the event banners with an increased drop rate. With the event taking us back to Mondstadt, it’s no surprise that Venti, who was the first timed exclusive 5-star character in the game, would be making a return.

I don’t have Venti myself, but from all reports, he’s great to have in almost any team composition. He’s great. But there’s a second banner coming with this update, and that’s where players will be able to pull for a brand new 4-star character named Rosaria.

We don’t know all that much about Rosaria, though we have seen glimpses of her play style and she’s even made an appearance in the story during the Dragonspine update. Either way, getting new 4-star characters in the game is exciting because they’re supposed to be a little easier to obtain than the elusive 5-stars, and they can help fill out your team quickly.

The catch? She’s going to be on the second banner of the event with one of the least popular 5-star characters in Genshin Impact, Childe.

Now don’t get me wrong; story-wise, Childe’s a great character. He’s one of the most chaotic personalities in Genshin Impact, and he’s a joy to be around.

The problem is that he’s a Hydro character, which is certainly one of the least popular elements in the game. It also takes some effort to build him into a DPS character that can carry your party, and his play style takes some getting used to.

Childe’s inclusion seems kinda out of left field as well, since he has literally nothing to do with the goings-on in Mondstadt. But with the Oceanid pet being introduced with this update, and the new Abyssal Herald enemy looking suspiciously connected to Childe, I can see why MiHoYo has opted to bring him in for a rerun.

Of course, if you’re still fairly new to the game, none of these would really concern you. New players would want to take whatever 5-star character they can get, especially if they’re still starting out, but for those who have been playing for a few months now, this presents an annoying dilemma.

Specifically, F2P players who don’t spend any money on the game, or even those who do spend, but only on the monthly passes, are going to have a tough time deciding which banner to pull from. If you’re like me, and you dropped all your primogems on the current Hu Tao banner, and you haven’t been blessed with a Venti just yet, you’re likely going to be tempted to try to pull for Venti.

But here’s the dilemma: do you try to go for Venti, or do you want the shiny new character Rosaria?

It’s unsurprising that MiHoYo would choose to split up the characters this way. If Rosaria and Venti were on the same banner, you’d inevitably end up with Rosaria on your team while trying to pull for Venti because of how the pity system works.

But with Rosaria on a separate banner, you end up having to do even more pulls, and on a banner for a 5-star character you might not even want or need.

This guarantees more money for MiHoYo, but leaves F2P and low-spending players in a tough situation where they’ll likely have to pick and choose just one. Such is the life of a gacha player, though; MiHoYo has to make money somehow.

As of right now, the logical step seems to be to try save as much as possible for Venti. If you’re already near pity, you’ll be able to get him without spending too many primogems, and you can dump the rest into Childe’s banner and hope you get lucky quickly with Rosaria.

But the unpredictability of Genshin Impact’s wish system is always scary, and without knowing when these characters might roll around again, trying to decide between two of them can be stressful.

The bright side is, now that we know that these timed characters will get a rerun again eventually, even if we miss them now, there’s always another chance to get them in the future. The question is, will you be able to keep resisting the temptation to spend real money?