Genshin Impact F2P Beginner's Guide v6.6
Target Audience: Players starting Genshin Impact with zero spending. This guide covers efficient progression from Adventure Rank 1 through AR45, where artifact farming begins. Following these priorities will save you months of wasted Resin.
Quick Navigation
Week 1: Day-by-Day Roadmap
| Day | AR Target | Key Actions |
|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | AR 10-15 | Complete Mondstadt prologue. Unlock daily commissions. Get Kaeya, Lisa, Amber. Start using Resin on Ley Lines (Mora). |
| 3-4 | AR 16-20 | Reach Liyue. Complete Xiangling's quest (Spiral Abyss Floor 3) — she's a free S-tier Pyro DPS. Begin farming character ascension materials. |
| 5-7 | AR 20-25 | Unlock all Statues of the Seven for stamina. Clear as many World Quests as possible for AR XP. Pick 4 characters to focus on. |
Resin Priority (in order)
- Character Ascension Bosses — level your main DPS to 60/70, supports to 50/60
- Talent Domains — talents to level 6 on all 4 main characters before anything else
- Weapon Ascension Domains — weapons to level 70+ on main DPS
- Weekly Bosses — 3 per week at 30 Resin each (discounted). Do them every week
- Ley Lines — Mora (gold) leylines. You will always need more Mora
- Artifact Domains — ONLY after AR45. Before AR45, use whatever artifacts drop from bosses and chests
Free Characters: Priority Build Order
| Priority | Character | Role | Why Build |
|---|---|---|---|
| S+ | Xiangling | Off-field Pyro DPS | Free from Abyss Floor 3. The Catch R5 (free fishing weapon). Best F2P DPS investment. |
| S+ | Bennett (if pulled) | ATK Buffer + Healer | Available in Paimon's Bargains (May/Nov). Craft Sapwood Blade. Mandatory for any ATK-scaling team. |
| S | Xingqiu (if pulled) | Hydro Sub-DPS | Best off-field Hydro applicator. Sacrificial Sword from gacha. Core for Vape/Freeze/Hyperbloom. |
| S | Sucrose (if pulled) | Anemo Grouper + Buffer | Budget Kazuha. 4pc VV shred. EM sharing. Thrilling Tales for even more buffing. |
| S | Dendro Traveler | Dendro Enabler | Unlock Sumeru statue. Free Dendro application. Sapwood Blade craftable. Core for Hyperbloom. |
| A | Barbara | Healer | Free from story. Thrilling Tales R5 for 48% ATK buff. Sufficient healer until you get a 5-star. |
Primogem Strategy
- Never spend Primogems on the Standard Banner (Wanderlust Invocation). You get free Acquaint Fates from battle pass and character ascension.
- Only spend on limited character banners with Intertwined Fates
- Pity carries between limited banners — your 50/50 loss on one banner guarantees the next limited character
- Soft pity starts at 74 wishes — your chance of a 5-star jumps from 0.6% to ~20% per wish after 73
- F2P income is ~50-60 wishes per patch (6 weeks) — that's a guaranteed 5-star every 2-3 patches
Top 5 New Player Mistakes
| # | Mistake | Why It Hurts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Farming artifacts before AR45 | You get 0-1 five-star artifacts per run before AR45. At AR45, you're guaranteed at least one per run. Months of Resin wasted. |
| 2 | Leveling 8+ characters simultaneously | Resources are scarce. One strong team of 4 clears all content. Eight weak characters clear nothing. |
| 3 | Using Fragile Resin before AR45 | Save all Fragile Resin for artifact farming at AR45. Using them early reduces your endgame potential by dozens of 5-star artifacts. |
| 4 | Spending Starglitter on wishes | Save Starglitter for Paimon's Bargains. Bennett (34 Starglitter in May/Nov) and Xingqiu (34 Starglitter in Mar/Sep) are guaranteed upgrades. |
| 5 | Following whale guides | Content assuming C6R5 5-star characters with 5-star weapons does not apply to your account. Follow F2P-specific guides instead. |
Character tier overview — prioritize S+ and S tier for early investment
Combat System Deep Dive — Reactions for F2P Success
Understanding Elemental Reactions is the single most important combat skill. Here's a quick reference for the reactions you'll use most as F2P:
| Reaction | Elements | Damage Type | Scales With | Best F2P Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vaporize | Pyro + Hydro | Amplifying (1.5x or 2x base DMG) | ATK, CRIT, EM, DMG% | Xiangling + Xingqiu |
| Melt | Pyro + Cryo | Amplifying (1.5x or 2x base DMG) | ATK, CRIT, EM, DMG% | Xiangling + Rosaria |
| Hyperbloom | Dendro + Hydro + Electro | Transformative (flat DMG) | EM, Character Level ONLY | Kuki Shinobu trigger |
| Burgeon | Dendro + Hydro + Pyro | Transformative (AoE flat DMG) | EM, Character Level ONLY | Thoma trigger |
| Swirl | Anemo + any element | Transformative + VV shred | EM, Character Level | Sucrose grouping |
| Superconduct | Cryo + Electro | -40% Physical RES for 12s | None (utility reaction) | Fischl + Rosaria |
Key Insight: Transformative reactions (Hyperbloom, Burgeon, Swirl) scale ONLY with EM and character level. They completely ignore ATK, CRIT, and DMG% bonuses. This is the F2P advantage — you don't need expensive CRIT artifacts when your damage comes from a full EM build. A level 90 Kuki with 900 EM deals Hyperbloom damage comparable to a C2 Raiden with Engulfing Lightning.
Daily Routine — 15 Minutes for Maximum Efficiency
- Daily Commissions (4 quests): 10 Primogems each = 40 total. Plus 20 bonus from Katheryne. Total: 60 Primogems/day. Time: 5-8 minutes.
- Spend Resin (160/day): Auto-clear domains or bosses based on your current farming priority. Time: 2-3 minutes with condensed resin.
- Expeditions: Send 5 characters on 20-hour expeditions for Mora and ore. Claim and resend daily. Time: 30 seconds.
- Teapot (Serenitea Pot): Collect Realm Currency. Buy Transient Resin (60 Resin once per week, costs 1,200 currency) and artifact EXP materials. Time: 30 seconds.
- Weekly Bosses (3 per week at 30 Resin each): Do on Monday. Billets, Dream Solvents, and talent materials. 90 Resin total. Time: 5-8 minutes.
Total daily time commitment: ~15 minutes. This is all you need to maximize F2P account progression. Everything beyond this (exploration, quests, events) is bonus.
Event Participation — Your Biggest Primogem Source
Limited-time events provide 1,000-1,500 Primogems per patch. Always complete events before they expire. Flagship events (the big patch event) typically provide: 800-1,000 Primogems, a free 4-star character or weapon, Crown of Insight, and talent materials. Smaller events (3 per patch) provide 420 Primogems each. If you're short on time, prioritize the flagship event — it has the highest Primogem-per-minute ratio.
Boss Material Farming — Ascension Quick Reference
| Character | World Boss | Local Specialty | Enemy Drop |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bennett | Pyro Regisvine (Mondstadt) | Windwheel Aster (Mondstadt) | Treasure Hoarder Insignia |
| Xiangling | Pyro Regisvine | Jueyun Chili (Liyue) | Slime Condensate |
| Xingqiu | Oceanid (Liyue) | Silk Flower (Liyue Harbor) | Hilichurl Mask |
| Sucrose | Anemo Hypostasis (Mondstadt) | Windwheel Aster | Whopperflower Nectar |
| Kuki Shinobu | Ruin Serpent (Chasm) | Naku Weed (Inazuma) | Spectral Husk |
| Collei | Jadeplume Terrorshroom (Sumeru) | Rukkhashava Mushroom (Sumeru) | Arrowhead |
Resin Efficiency — The Numbers Behind the Advice
The "don't farm artifacts before AR45" rule exists for mathematical reasons:
- AR40-44 domain: ~33% chance of 5-star artifact per 20 Resin. Expected: 1 five-star per 60 Resin.
- AR45+ domain (highest level): 100% chance of at least 1 five-star per 20 Resin. Expected: 1.07 five-stars per 20 Resin (guaranteed 1 + 7% chance of 2).
- Efficiency difference: AR45+ is 3.2x more 5-star artifacts per Resin than AR40-44. Every 20 Resin spent on artifacts before AR45 costs you 2+ five-star artifacts you could have farmed later.
Meanwhile, character ascension bosses drop the same materials regardless of AR. Farm those before AR45. Farm artifacts after.
Weapon Priority — Free and Craftable Weapons You Need
Weapons are the single biggest damage multiplier for your characters. Here are the F2P weapons you should prioritize obtaining, in order:
| Priority | Weapon | Best For | How to Get |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Catch (R5) | Xiangling, Raiden | Inazuma Fishing Association. Catch 5 types of fish. Takes 3-4 days casual fishing, ~5 hours speedrun with co-op world hopping. |
| 2 | Sapwood Blade (R1) | Bennett | Sumeru craftable. Blueprint from Aranyaka quest (Dream Nursery). Highest base ATK craftable sword — Bennett's buff scales with base ATK only. |
| 3 | Favonius Warbow (R1+) | Collei, Yelan, Gorou | Gacha (4-star). If you get one copy, lock it immediately. ER substat + white particle generation. Best support bow in the game. |
| 4 | Prototype Amber (R1) | Barbara, Kokomi, any healer | Craftable at any blacksmith. Heals entire party on Burst cast + regenerates Energy. Turns Barbara into a viable team-wide healer. |
| 5 | Iron Sting (R1) | Kuki Shinobu, Kazuha | Craftable at any blacksmith. EM substat. No need to refine — R1 is sufficient. The passive effect is irrelevant for Hyperbloom Kuki. |
| 6 | Prototype Archaic (R1-5) | Razor, Chongyun, Diluc | Craftable at any blacksmith. Universal claymore. Outclassed by 5-star claymores, but the best F2P option for most claymore characters. |
Exploration — Hidden Primo Sources New Players Miss
Genshin's open world contains over 15,000 Primogems in permanent one-time content. Here are the most-overlooked sources:
- Statue of the Seven upgrades: Each Oculi collection level awards Primogems, Adventure EXP, and Stamina increase. Maxing both Anemo and Geo Statues (Mondstadt + Liyue) gives approximately 800 Primogems + max Stamina (240). Max Stamina changes exploration entirely — you can sprint, climb, and glide for longer.
- Sakura Tree (Inazuma): Offering Electro Sigils to the Sacred Sakura awards Intertwined Fates (limited banner wishes) at levels 5, 10, 15, 20, etc. — up to 20 Fates total by level 50. That's 3,200 Primogems worth of wishes.
- Tree of Dreams (Sumeru): Same concept. Dendro Sigils for rewards. Unlocks after completing Aranyaka quest.
- Fountain of Lucine (Fontaine): Hydro Sigils. Same concept. Unlock during Fontaine Archon Quest.
- Shrines of Depth: Each region has 10 Shrines. Each Shrine gives 40 Primogems + significant loot (artifact fodder, weapon XP crystals, 4-star artifacts). 10 Shrines = 400 Primogems per region.
- World quests: Major world quest chains (Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual, Tatara Tales, Aranyaka, Golden Slumber, Dirge of Bilqis) award 50-100 Primogems per quest. The Aranyaka questline alone is 1000+ Primogems across its 4 parts.
Daily Routine — 15 Minutes for Maximum Efficiency
Once you've caught up on story content, this daily routine maximizes your passive Primogem and resource income:
- Commissions (5 min): 4 daily commissions = 60 Primogems. Always do these. Talk to Katheryne at the Adventurers' Guild for the bonus reward (additional Primogems + Companionship EXP).
- Expeditions (30 sec): Dispatch characters from the Adventurers' Guild. Send them on 20-hour expeditions for Mora and Crystal Chunks (weapon XP). Bennett, Fischl, Chongyun, and Keqing have expedition time reduction passives — use them.
- Spend Resin (5 min): Condensed Resin at the Alchemy Table (costs 40 Original Resin + 1 Crystal Core). Condensed Resin doubles your domain/boss rewards for the same time investment. AR45+: use Condensed Resin to farm artifact domains.
- Teapot (1 min): Collect Realm Currency. Buy Transient Resin (limit 1 per week, costs 1,200 Realm Currency) and artifact EXP bottles from Tubby. Transient Resin expires after 2 weeks — use it or lose it.
- Check Parametric Transformer (30 sec): Place 150 items (berries, mint, iron chunks — anything) every 7 days. Awards Mora, weapon XP, talent books, and occasionally weapon billets.
Spiral Abyss — When and How to Start
Spiral Abyss is the primary source of repeatable Primogems (up to 1,200 per month from Floors 9-12). As a new player, here's when to tackle each tier:
- Floors 1-4 (AR20+): Tutorial floors. Clear with any characters. Floor 3-3 awards Xiangling (free). Complete these as soon as possible for the free Xiangling.
- Floors 5-8 (AR30+): Requires 2 teams of 4. You likely have only one invested team. Clear what you can — partial clears still give Primogems. Don't stress about full-clearing 5-8 as a new player.
- Floors 9-10 (AR45+): 2 full teams with +16 artifacts. 150 Primogems per floor (3 chambers x 50 gems per 3-star). These floors reset on the 1st and 16th of each month.
- Floors 11-12 (AR50+): 2 fully built teams with 25+ CV artifacts. Very difficult for new accounts. Floor 11 is achievable with good teams. Floor 12 is endgame — don't expect to clear it before AR55.
Event Strategy — Never Miss Limited Rewards
Genshin runs events every patch (6-week cycle). Major events (flagship) award 800-1,000 Primogems + a free 4-star weapon or character. Minor events award 400-500 Primogems each. Key tips:
- Events unlock at AR20+ with story progress requirements. If you can't access an event because of AR or story, use the "Quick Start" button — it skips story prerequisites.
- Complete events in the first 3 days after release. Events open in phases. Finishing Phase 1 early means you're not rushing Phase 3 on the last day.
- Event weapons are often best-in-slot for F2P: Festering Desire (1.2, no longer available), Dodoco Tales (1.6), Cinnabar Spindle (2.3), Missive Windspear (3.1), Toukabou Shigure (3.3), and more. Event weapons are typically R5 for free and competitive with R1 5-star options.