Genshin Impact has caught the hearts of fans around the world since its release in September 2020. From the interesting story to the great gameplay, it’s easy to see what keeps the player base of over 21 million coming back. Some are even dedicated enough to create fan art. However, there’s one other thing to take into consideration. A question we’ve been asking ourselves for ages. Is Genshin Impact pay to win?
Genshin Impact’s gacha system lures you with its promises of great rewards that you must have. But why exactly do people think the game is pay to win? What factors contribute to that? And is it possible to play Genshin Impact without spending a single dime? We’ll try to answer all of these questions below!
A quick intro to Genshin Impact
We’ve already mentioned that Genshin Impact saw its release in late 2020 on Android, iOS, Windows, and the PS4. As the PS5 came out and became more popular among gamers, they moved on to this new platform not too long after. There have even been talks about the game coming to the Nintendo Switch!
It’s an action RPG featuring both single-player and multiplayer mode. On top of that, Genshin Impact is free to play. The game features an open-world environment and you can choose one of four characters to control. It’s also very easy to switch between characters even mid-combat. This is part of what makes Genshin Impact so fun and easy to play.
On the other hand, the story has received some mixed feelings. While there are definitely those who have immersed themselves successfully in the plot, others aren’t too thrilled. You can, of course, play the game without following the story if it’s too boring. Simply focusing on gameplay isn’t all that bad. However, it can be too easy to get hooked on the story of the Traveler, who is in search of their lost twin sibling.
Is Genshin Impact Free to play? Or Is Genshin Impact Pay to Win?
But it seems like the aspect that Genshin Impact has paid most attention to is the microtransactions. There aren’t a lot of in-game purchases to make, and they’re not too pricey.
Regardless, some players seem to be asking the question “is Genshin Impact pay to win” a lot more often than you would expect. This is especially true if you haven’t had much contact with the game.
It’s nothing new, of course. Games like Fortnite and Rocket League have been doing the same thing for years. League of Legends has offered microtransactions in exchange for skins for more than a decade. However, most of these games have you pay for things like battle passes and the newest skin. In other words, you don’t really have to buy them, and this rings especially true for the skins.
Additionally, Genshin Impact utilizes the Gacha system. In contrast, the other games we’ve mentioned are much keener on giving you what you want without much fight. Let’s unpack this problem a bit more, shall we?
Genshin Impact: Gacha System
We’ll start off by explaining the Genshin Impact gacha system.
Essentially, a gacha game is a game that trades your in-game currency for a random item. You can earn this in-game currency just by playing the game. However, the faster and easier way to do so is to just buy the currency with real money. Some games drop this aspect completely and head straight to spending your real-life money.
This game system has become increasingly popular since the 2010s and is most prominent in Japanese mobile games. However, there’s a growing trend of the system’s implementation into Chinese and Korean games as well. And, well, surprise surprise, the developers of Genshin Impact, miHoYo, are Chinese.
The biggest problem people have with gacha games is the RNG factor. You could spend up to $150 to get the outcome you want, be it a skin or other random items. This is most prominent in Genshin Impact’s wish system. The chance of you going through plenty of pulls before you get the one you want is very high.
But do you really need to spend money to get these wishes? Are these wishes crucial for endgame in Genshin Impact? In other words, is Genshin Impact pay to win?
Do you need to spend money to finish the game?
To put it shortly, no.
Many people have already finished and regularly play Genshin Impact, and they haven’t spent a single dime on the game. Of course, that means they probably don’t have the best gear available, but you can definitely finish the game without the best gear.
You can get wishes in Genshin Impact through completing some tasks and gaining levels, essentially meaning you don’t have to spend real-life currency at all. The amount you get for free is just enough. Not to mention you don’t really need to spend money on unlocking characters as you get decent ones by naturally progressing through the game.
Grinding VS spending money – good idea?
In fact, you can get most of the artifacts and materials you need through grinding.
It’s important to note that grinding isn’t really present in the early game if you do everything right. Doing all the Archon Quests, leveling all the characters. However, once you progress through the Archon Quests, it’s natural to expect them to start getting more difficult. The mobs are higher level, they hit harder, and they die slower. It’s only natural to expect some grinding prior to entering these areas (or after entering and realizing you can’t kill them after all).
So, yes, grinding is actually a great idea if you don’t want to spend any money. It’s also absolutely possible, so don’t feel pressured to spend your money if you’re hesitating!
Can you still enjoy Genshin Impact for free?
So, we suppose our final answer to the question “Is Genshin Impact pay to win” would be… no!
You can most certainly enjoy the game without the pressure of spending money. Of course, you’ll have to spend a lot more time grinding (and maybe even more time feeling tempted to just buy your way through), but it’s completely possible.
There are a lot of people that already enjoy the game without spending any money. There are also people who have stopped playing the game because they didn’t really find the grind very enjoyable. We think it all boils down to whether you truly enjoy the story and gameplay enough to justify the grind.