Which characters can you get without wishes in Genshin Impact

Genshin Impact does a good job of welcoming free-to-play players as none of the content is locked behind a paywall and the game gives players a chance to get free genshin characters really easily. Some of these characters get unlocked as you progress through the story but there are those that can only be claimed when their events are available.

Characters Available to All

Players do not have to do much to unlock free characters as there are six that are just available to them for free. These characters showcase the combat of the game pretty well and can be built to handle pretty much anything the game can throw at you. They are classified as starter characters in Genshin Impact and are fairly obvious to replace once you have better characters.

The Traveler

The Traveler is the most important member of the party whether they are on field or not. They are the only character that have the ability to change their elemental affinity which is an extremely useful ability for exploration, puzzles, and building combat parties. They are also one of the two 5-star character that players got for free.

They are also the main character of Genshin Impact, so you’re going to be seeing a lot of them. A lot of people don’t like being pigeonholed into building and playing as The Traveler but they can be a really good investment, especially since Dendro was released.

The Traveler’s Dendro abilities are really good at applying Denro to a wide area and they scale really well as well so they are still useful at higher levels. Electro Traveler is another elemental resonation that works really well. Electro Traveler can be one of the best electro characters in the game if they are built right.

The ability to resonate to the element of the region also makes The Traveler a valuable addition to any overworld team. This free character allows players to explore freely and solve most of the elemental puzzles that the game presents.

Their prowess in combat is also something to take note of as they have very good passive traits for most of their elemental affinities and are perfect for triggering elemental reactions. This makes them a valuable asset to any Abyss team as they can fulfill various roles at the same time.

Building up The Traveler is an investment to be sure but is one that is worth the effort as they are going to be featured more prominently in upcoming updates and are only going to get stronger as the game progresses.

Amber

Amber is the first free character that you get in Genshin Impact, and is the second character that you can play as. The community was and is hesitant to accept Amber as a good playable character but she has a lot of things going for her. She is introduced as The Outrider of the Knights of Favonius and is one of the only two Pyro bow users in the game. That is not an ability that should be taken lightly because of two main reasons.

1) Ranged Damage

Genshin Impact takes a very simplistic approach to dealing damage with weapons in the game. You can either get up close through swords, claymores, and polearms, or you can choose to damage from afar using bows and catalysts. Giving Amber a bow reduces her exposure to damage and allows early game players to take out threats from afar.

2) 4-star Weapons

She also benefits from the way that Genshin Impact handles weapons. There are many 4-star weapons that are available to players without wishing a single time. These 4-star weapons are spread throughout the world but most of them are easy to get and are extremely powerful. She herself is also easy to unlock as all you need to do is complete the quest Wind Riding Knight.

As free characters go, Amber is one of the best when it comes to exploration as there are countless Pyro activated puzzles in Teyvat and innumerable ranged ones which makes Amber a great addition to the overworld team. Her Elemental Skill and Burst are spectacular at triggering elemental reactions and applying Pyro damage.

Kaeya

Kaeya is one of the other free characters that you get when you start Genshin Impact. He is a sword wielder who deals Cryo damage. Kaeya is a better character than Amber but he still ranks lower in tier lists as his normal attack is nothing special.

He is one of the many Cryo characters in Genshin Impact and has one of the best backstories in the game.

He has decent use early game as a free character as he is vital for elemental puzzles, dealing with hydro enemies, and triggering elemental reactions. Unlocking Kaeya will have you completing quests as he is unlocked through the quest Crash Course, a story quest available to all players.

Lisa

Lisa is the last of the three free characters that players can get right off the bat. She is a powerful character players can get through completing the quest Sparks Amongst The Pages. Lisa is the best electro character that you could get as she is one of the few that uses a catalyst, the Sumeru update buffed her Elemental Skill through Dendro reactions, and her Elemental Burst is one of the best in Genshin Impact, for a four star character.

Dealing damage is where Lisa shines as she makes for a great main DPS, but being a decent DPS is not her only strength as you will need her for electro puzzles and for certain enemies that are resistant to other elements.

Barbara

Barbara is a character that is available to players that have reached adventure rank 18. She is locked behind the Baptism of Song event which players can do once a playthrough. She is a very useful character to get early on as she is a hydro character and is one of the few healers in the game.

Barbara ranks high amongst the support characters in Genshin Impact because not only is she a healer but her being a catalyst user gives her access to a lot of support weapons. Her Elemental Skill is also really effective at triggering reactions with a lot of elements allowing you to defeat enemies easily. Her Elemental Burst also makes her an amazing support character as it instantly heals your party members.

Xiangling

Xiangling is the only character in Genshin Impact that is not tied to quests or events. To unlock Xiangling you will need to reach and clear Floor 3 Chamber 3 of the Spiral Abyss. The Spiral Abyss itself is locked until you reach adventure rank 20 so this might be the character that you get last. Once you beat Floor 3 Chamber 3 she will become available to you as you get her when you obtain rewards from that floor.

Xiangling is an excellent main DPS as she scales really well. Both her elemental burst and skill are powerful and she can skirt the line between DPS and support really well. Her weapon of choice is a Polearm and her normal attack is fast and effective which means she deals a decent amount of damage per combo. She is the best character for players just starting out as she can scale extremely well and ranks high as a Pyro character.

Gated Characters

There are other characters in genshin impact that you can get without wishing but it revolves around timing and luck.

Limited Time Events

Genshin Impact has really mastered the skill of presenting your game as a service rather than a product which means they continually provide chances for players to unlock new characters. they do this through certain events through which you can earn the character by taking part in the event.

Genshin Impact regularly has such events and the rewards have been very powerful characters such as the 5-star character Aloy and 4-star characters like Collei, Fischl, and Xingqiu.

Paimon's Bargains

Paimon's Bargains are technically another way to get characters in genshin impact without wishing as you can just unlock characters that are in the current rotation. You will need to have the required Masterless Starglitter which you can only get through wishing. If you are looking for a sure shot for a certain character then this is the best way to get them.

The Bargains change every month so keep your eye out for characters that you want to add to your team as you can just unlock them from there instead of trying to luck out with wishes.