How To Get New Characters In Genshin Impact

One of the biggest complaints that some players have about Genshin Impact is about the gacha system, something notorious for being difficult to acquire your preferred characters though. However, Genshin Impact's quests and the game world are doable with just about any character.

That means even those cheap four-stars that the game throws at you in the main quests are good enough. Give them the right kind of love and attention as well as the proper tools and voila! Who needs that Diluc or Keqing anyway? These "free" characters should alleviate the hurt in your wallets while still providing you full access to Genshin Impact's game world.

Updated August 11, 2021, by Sid Natividad: Just when you thought Genshin Impact couldn't get any better, the game's developer, Mihoyo, started giving out free characters as a reward for several updates and events. These only last for a few weeks so it's best to maximize those freebies and be picky with which free character to select in the game right now.

With that said, we know your time might be limited and that working hard for some characters is out of the question. That's why we summed up which among these periodically or permanently free characters are worth the grind to level up and kit out. Expect this list to expand even more as new characters are added.

15 Aloy - Upcoming at the time of writing

Update 2.1 for PS4 & PS5 players, 2.2 for other platforms
Requires Adventure Rank 20+

She's not out yet but Aloy is already making quite a splash in Genshin Impact. The developers recently announced that Aloy will be available for PlayStation players (PS4 & PS5) by the end of August or early September. Mobile and PC users will have to wait until update 2.2 which is still several months away at the time of writing.

Regardless, she will be a five-star character, meaning there's a big chance she's going to be a powerful figure in terms of gameplay. At the moment, there's no calculating how she'll perform compared to the rest of the roster so she sits at a comfy spot outside the ranking.

14 Amber

Obtainable through the main questline via Paimon

Amber can be a mixed bag for a lot of players. Despite being the only free bow-user in the game, Amber is still generally avoided because not only is she the weakest in that category but she's also the weakest among all the fire users in the game.

This is statistically speaking. Still, Amber is necessary for free-to-play players with no access to other bow users. Certain bosses like the Oceanid and The Wolf of the North can be hard with pure melee. Besides, Amber is very useful for exploration where her ranged fire attack can light up torches easily.

13 Lisa

Obtainable through the quest "Sparks Amongst the Pages"

Lisa is best used for producing some lovely electro-reactions. While she's really slow on her own as an electro damage-only character, she shines well when paired with others who can unleash some consistent frost or water damage. Her area damage can easily cover groups of enemies.

Her Elemental Burst ability can easily serve as both DPS and crowd control because it also has innate knockback. You can also safely switch to another damage dealer to combo off Lisa's electro fields and status effects.

12 Kaeya

Obtainable through the quest "Crash Course"

Kaeya is not just great for exploring the open water in Genshin Impact until you run out of explorable space and it starts booting you out but he's also a decent cryo damage dealer. He has a low-cooldown Elemental Skill that does well, especially when it's raining or when you have a hydro character in the party.

What Kaeya might lack in area of effect damage, he makes up for with a good sword move set with a final strike that puts him out of harm's way. Meanwhile, his Elemental Burst ensures that any wet enemy within melee range gets frozen out of combat for several seconds. Not a bad deal for a free character.

11 The Traveler

Default game character

Whether it's Aether (boy) or Lumine (girl) these two siblings are the only free five-star characters you will get, at least until Aloy shows up. They might not feel like they're worth five stars just yet but future updates and expansions should expand their affinity to all seven elements.

For now, it's just three, anemo, geo, and the recently added electro. Traveler can be rather underwhelming compared to other support characters in the wish banners. Still, when it comes to versatility, not many can beat the Traveler. There's also the fact that anemo produces quite a devastating combo when combined with either pyro, electro, hydro, or cryo, and electro traveler has added a new dimension to gameplay.

10 Barbara

Obtainable through the Baptism of Song event
Requires Adventure Rank 20+

For dedicated healing and for those who want to outgrow a reliance on tanks, Barbara can be a good transitional character. Both her Elemental Skill and Burst can heal for a ton and you can even use the latter as a panic button for when someone's about to die.

The good news is that Barbara is readily available to the players once they reach Adventure Rank 20 which shouldn't take too long. Just be aware that her water attacks can be worryingly inflexible against hydro enemies, so it's best to use her for her intended role, which is a healer/support.

9 Xinyan

by @DHA

Was obtainable through the Stand by Me event (February 10, 2021 - March 7, 2021)

Xinyan is a relatively unpopular character since her abilities don't exactly synergize in an awesome way compared to other more available sub-DPS characters like Xiangling. Still, any Genshin Impact character is viable and can reach dizzying numbers if built well.

Her abilities make her a bit similar to DPS like Noelle since her Elemental Skill scales off her defense. Meanwhile, her Burst makes everything explode and deals pyro damage. It's not the most exciting combination but Xinyan works decently enough.

8 Chongyun

Was obtainable through the Stand by Me event (February 10, 2021 - March 7, 2021)

Chongyun is one of the fastest cryo DPS in the game and can lay out some icy burst damage in a few seconds with his Elemental Burst. When not using that, he out giving some impressive cryo support with his Elemental Skill that infuses every attack into cryo damage.

The beauty in Chongyun's abilities is that he's not required to be on the field all the time, paving the way for some heavier hitter to deal damage or synergize well with some Melt reactions, courtesy of his Elemental Skill.

7 Beidou

Was obtainable through the Stand by Me event (February 10, 2021 - March 7, 2021)
Obtainable through the Thunder Sojourn event

Beidou remains an underrated gem who can dish out some incredibly high damage numbers with her counter ability. The problem is that this requires tons of patience and when she's defending herself, she doesn't exactly deal consistent damage.

Still, she can be a useful powerhouse as Beidou can function independently from a healer. She can act as a tank and return some obscene damage inflicted her way. Besides, a claymore user is always welcome as a main DPS.

6 Xiangling

Was obtainable through the Stand by Me event (February 10, 2021 - March 7, 2021)
Obtainable through the Spiral Abyss Event - People's Choice
Requires Adventure Rank 20

Sadly, not many free Genshin Impact characters are as viable for dedicated DPS roles compared to the ones in the wish banners. Xiangling is an exception since, in most tier suggestions, she's an A-list and a DPS. In fact, she can be a good alternative for those who haven't gotten Diluc yet and might never do.

Anyway, Xiangling's Gouba bear is a better version of Amber's TNT stuffed toy and does a consecutive stream of pyro damage. Her most devastating function, however, lies in her Elemental Burst which is a good-sized area sweep of flame damage that can hit enemies like a truck. Besides, Xiangling's fast jabs with her spear make her great for weapons with attack or critical buffs.

5 Noelle

Obtainable through the Beginner's Gacha Banner (100 percent chance)

Noelle is likely the first character that most players will get on their wish since her eight-wish banner discount can be alluring. If you spent your first ten wishes on that, then there's no need to feel any regret since Noelle is a decent DPS and tank. In fact, she's the only tank in the game that can sustain herself without help from other characters.

Noelle's breastplate is one of the most straightforward skills in the game and just straight-up makes her or other characters invulnerable. This also heals so Noelle is a good choice for those who don't have dedicated party healers yet. Her DPS is low but that's easily fixed with her Elemental Burst.

4 Fischl

Was obtainable through the Unreconciled Stars event (November 16, 2020 - November 30, 2020)

Fischl is often considered as the best support and is even placed in S-tier despite being only a four-star character. That should be impressive enough, but considering she uses a bow, then it makes her all the better.

The bow coupled with her consistently damaging Elemental abilities also make her a decent damage dealer. If you can pull her from the wishes you get from free Primogems then she's well worth leveling.

3 Ningguang

Was obtainable through the Stand by Me event (February 10, 2021 - March 7, 2021)

With the recent buffs to geo damage, Ningguang has become a go-to for high-level play, particularly in level 90 domains. Geo isn't an oft resisted element and its reactions also generate a lot of shields, for better survivability.

Even with the shields notwithstanding, Ningguang is easily a monstrous character capable of machine-gunning enemies to death with some rocks. The damage numbers could easily reach tens of thousands at frequent intervals.

2 Diona

Was obtainable through the Energy Amplifier Initiation event (April 30, 2021 - May 17, 2021)

It's a good thing Diona went free in the past updates and events, giving hope to those who haven't been lucky enough to acquire Bennett. That's because Diona is considered to be the Cryo version of Bennett since she's also a support character with one of the most consistent healing abilities in the game.

Diona is also a shielder, making her ideal for parties who are sorely missing a certain Geo Archon to improve their survivability. If you manage to get a C6 Diona, then consider yourself lucky as that's a huge damage boost for elemental reaction teams that capitalize either Melt or Vaporize.

1 Xingqiu

Was obtainable through the Stand by Me event (February 10, 2021 - March 7, 2021)

Xingqiu might not look the part but he's usually placed alongside top-tier characters, among the five-star ones in most tier lists. Along with Bennett, he's one of the two most in-demand four-star characters in the game.

Like Ningguang, Xingqiu is a beast in his respective element. He can deal tens of thousands of water damage and do it fast. His abilities are also flexible and the best of them don't even require him to be on the battlefield.

NEXT: Genshin Impact: Ways To Prepare For New Events & Banners

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