The standard banner in Genshin impact has remained largely unchanged in the game’s history in terms of 5-star character offerings. However, in the upcoming 3.1 update, the new Dendro bow user Tighnari will be added to the Standard Banner’s 5-star roster. Tighnari was featured on a fare-up banner in the first half 3.0, which ran alongside the limited-run banner for the Geo Archon Zhongli. Some players used this rate-up banner to ensure they get Tighnari before being added to the Standard Banner, and the surprisingly high banner sales could be a reflection of that.
Now that Tighnari will no longer have a fare increase banner in Genshin impact, players will only have to rely on getting it by losing the 50/50 on Limited Banners, or by wishing good luck on the Standard Banner. These bad odds of getting a brand new character for the brand new element are rough. Fans have long advocated some sort of change to the default banner, and Tighnari’s introduction of the default banner is the perfect opportunity to highlight the flaws in the default banner in hopes of overhauling the system in the future.
The problem with standard banner
Genshin impact‘s Standard Banner (Wanderlust Invocation) uses Acquaint Fate to draw characters, and these are given out much more frequently and are easier to grind compared to the Limited Banner wishes, Intertwined Fate. The Wanderlust Invocation banner will feature a total of 16 5-star rarity characters or weapons after Tighnari’s introduction to the banner: six 5-star characters and ten 5-star weapons.
Overall, there is a 0.6% chance of pulling a 5 star Genshin character or weapon on each pull, and players are guaranteed a 5-star every 90 wishes. Fans have teamed up by submitting data to show that there is a sliding scale of probability for 5-star draw, with increased odds of wishing 76 to 90. However, since that hasn’t been officially confirmed by HoYoverse, it’s purely theory, and only the 0.6% probabilities have been officially confirmed.
The real problem with the Wanderlust Invocation banner is that there is no way to determine which 5-star character or weapon players will get. While the 5-star weapons are randomly displayed as a possible option on the weapon banner, 5-star characters are not displayed in a way that would allow players to guarantee that character. All 5 stars on the Wanderlust Invocation banner can be obtained by losing the 50/50 on a limited run, but there is no guarantee that players will get Diluc instead of Qiqi or Keqing for example. With the Wanderlust Invocation banner growing and possibly growing again in the future if HoYoverse decides to add a 5 star Geo character to that banner, there must be a way to somehow get specific Standard Banner characters to guarantee.
How to make the default banner better
The main thing players want from a rework of the default banner is that they have a way to guarantee specific 5-star characters when they finally get a 5-star character on the default banner. One way to achieve this is through an Epitomized Path feature that players can now see in the second half of the 3.0 Weapon Banner. The Epitomized Path allows players to select a specific weapon listed on the Weapon Banner, and after drawing the wrong 5-star weapon twice, the third time a 5-star draw is guaranteed to be the selected weapon. While this requires players to draw up to three 5-star weapons to get their selected weapon, it’s still a better solution than not having a guaranteed system at all.
Since the Wanderlust Invocation is so watered down with both 5-star characters and weapons, the Epitomized Path could perhaps be more generous than that of the Weapon Banner, but there are other, more creative options that can be taken if the Epitomized Path isn’t used. Perhaps a new system can be created that is more tailor-made for the Wanderlust Invocation. It could be reworked to work similar to the Limited Banners where if players don’t get the desired character or weapon after the first 5 star pull, the next 5 star pull is guaranteed to be their desired character or weapon. Either that, or just reduce the required banner Jammer needed to guarantee a 5-star rating on the Wanderlust Invocation.
Another option could be to show standard 5-star characters in addition to Limited Banners. Currently, Standard Banner 5-star weapons can be displayed on the Weapon Banner, as Amos’ bow now appears, even though it is on the Standard Banner’s offering. For example, during a Limited Run banner, such as Cyno’s banner in 3.1, it can contain one of the standard banner 5 star characters (such as Keqing), and players can set an Epitomized Path for Keqing instead of Cyno.
While this would burn Intertwined Fate instead of the Acquaint Fate to get the character, it would be a way to 100% guarantee that particular Standard Banner character. The question for this method would then be whether the probability of the featured 5-star character changing resemble the weapon banner, or if they would stay the same. Regardless of the possible rework, however, something needs to be done to make the default banner more forgiving for those looking for specific 5-stars, especially if the banner will continue to expand as the game progresses.
With 16 potential 5-star offers, trying to obtain specific characters or weapons through Wanderlust Invocation is a brutal experience. For those who have not played during the first half of 3.0, it will be quite a tough experience for players to acquire Tighnari beyond some solid luck after the massive upcoming Genshin impact 3.1 update. There is only a 0.6% chance of getting a 5 star character on a pull, and from there the player must get lucky and get a character instead of a weapon, then even better luck getting the desired character from the six to get offers. It’s a punitive experience and it’s time some changes were made to make this process at least a little more forgiving.
Genshin impact is now available for mobile, PC, PS4 and PS5. A Nintendo Switch version is in development.
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