Genshin Impact standard banner and weapons banner pity explained

Genshin Impact standard banner and weapons banner pity explained
Genshin Impact banners implement 'pity' to help players get rare summons (Image via miHoYo)

Gacha is a core element of Genshin Impact as many players farm Primogems to try their luck at summoning new characters and weapons. The title regularly offers three gacha banners for players to wish from. The standard banner is permanent and rarely changes. However, the two event banners often rotate their featured 5-star and 4-star drops in the game.

All the banners in the game feature a pity mechanic that guarantees a rare summon after a certain number of pulls, and this article explains how pity works on the standard banner, limited-time character, and weapons banner in Genshin Impact.


How does pity work on Genshin Impact's standard banner?

The standard gacha banner (Image via HoYoverse)
The standard gacha banner (Image via HoYoverse)

In Genshin Impact, pity refers to the number of wishes spent on a banner since a player last received a 5-star summon. On the standard banner, gamers are guaranteed to get a 5-star item within 90 pulls.

However, it is a rare scenario where a player has to reach 90 pity to get a 5-star. To improve the odds, HoYoverse has put in place a hidden mechanic called soft pity that sharply raises the odds of obtaining a 5-star after performing 75 wishes.

On the standard banner, players can either receive a 5-star character or a 5-star weapon. Although, it is observed that if a player does 270 wishes, they're guaranteed to get a character and weapon once each.

The pity mechanism also applies to 4-star summons. As per it, a 4-star character or weapon is guaranteed on every 10 pulls on the standard banner.


How does pity work on Genshin Impact's limited-time character banner?

The limited-time character functions similarly to the standard banner, however, with two key differences. Firstly, it features a unique character that cannot be obtained via any other method, and secondly, it does not feature 5-star weaponry in the prize pool. Otherwise, it shares the same 90 pity for 5-stars, and 10 pity for 4-stars.

Every time a player obtains a 5-star from the event banner, they have a 50/50 chance of receiving the featured 5-star entity. If they lose the odds, they'll receive one of the seven 5-star characters that can be availed from the standard banner.

In such a scenario, their next 5-star will be guaranteed to be the featured character. At any given time in Genshin Impact, two such banners are available.

It is important to note that pity for these banners carries over after the featured character leaves.


How does pity work on Genshin Impact's Epitome Invocation weapons banner?

Epitome Invocation gacha banner (Image via HoYoverse)
Epitome Invocation gacha banner (Image via HoYoverse)

Genshin Impact's weapons banner pity is notably different from the other two banners. Unlike the limited-time character and standard banner, gamers are guaranteed a 5-star weapon by the time their pity reaches 80, instead of 90. Consequently, the soft pity for this banner also starts at 65, instead of 75.

Like with the character banner, pity on the weapons banner carries over when it rotates. This means that any 4-star and 5-star pity a player has on the weapons banner is maintained when the featured weapons change.

Thus far, the Epitome Invocation banner has always featured two 5-star weapons. Initially, gamers have a 75% chance to get one of the two promoted weapons on their 5-star summon. If they obtain a different weapon, their next 5-star is guaranteed to be one of the featured weapons. Each promoted 5-star weapon has an equal chance of dropping in the game.

Epitomized Path (Image via HoYoverse)
Epitomized Path (Image via HoYoverse)

The weapons banner in Genshin Impact also features a mechanic called Epitomized Path. Here, players can select one of the two featured 5-star weapons that they prefer. For every 5-star weapon they pull, that's not their selected choice, they get one Fate Point. Obtaining two Fate Points guarantees the next 5-star to be their chosen weapon.

However, it is important to note that, unlike pity, the Fate Points do not carry over after a weapons banner ends.