Soon, Shanghai-based developer MiHoYo will roll out the Version 1.1 update for Genshin Impact which will enhance the action-adventure game with new quality of life features but will also include the opportunity to earn Fischl for free through her upcoming Ureconciled Stars event.
Though she’s a four-star bow-wielding character, unlike Amber, Fischl isn’t to be taken lightly. Even without maximum constellations, the Electro user is considered S-tier among many players for her high DPS abilities and is an excellent addition to the party, especially in terms of Elemental Mastery. This is a big deal for free-to-play players because Genshin Impact pushes for the acquisition of five-star characters in order to pull through to late-game content, but players have come to the realization that this simply isn’t the case.
Still, it’s a great opportunity for F2P players to get their hands on a versatile S-tier Electro character to replace the underwhelming Lisa and get some variety in their team opposition going. But looking at the timeline of Unreconciled Stars’ release in comparison to past events tied to free four-star characters may point in an interesting direction that could very well benefit low-budget players.
Past Four-Star Character Events
While Noelle is available to new players on her Beginner’s Wish Banner, more interestingly, Xiangling and Barbara are two excellent four-stars who are obtainable through in-game events. Xiangling seems to be unlockable indefinitely based on her People’s Choice event, which requires the player to beat Floor 3, Chamber 3 of the Spiral Abyss and she’ll be rewarded to the player.
The Hydro mage Barbara, on the other hand, operates a bit differently. Most Genshin Impact players already know, but as long as they reach Adventure Rank 20 before the 1.1 update rolls out on November 11th, Barbara will be automatically rewarded to the player. This may require some grinding for those newbies who are just jumping on, but still, they’re getting one of the highest-rated healers in the game for free.
Fischl’s Unreconciled Stars Event
Coincidentally, Fischl’s Unreconciled Stars event looks to be directly succeeding Barbara’s Shining Debut event with the release of the Version 1.1 update. So far, Genshin Impact release timelines seem to follow a pattern. For example, each Banner will seemingly rotate every three weeks. Similarly, content updates are coming out every six weeks, with 1.1 on November 11th and 1.2 on December 23rd.
Thanks to MiHoYo’s roadmap of Genshin Impact, the 1.3 update has been confirmed for early February, and if the pattern remains the same, this means that 1.3 should land on or around February 3rd. Though Fischl’s event is said to only last two weeks, different from Barbara’s that will have lasted the full six weeks, it’s possible that a new four-star character will become free-to-unlock with each new content update, every six weeks for the foreseeable future.
This is purely speculation and the game itself is still very young compared to others in the gacha genre, but so far, Genshin Impact has been following a predictable and similar pattern since its release. However, one strong argument against this theory is that this likely means MiHoYo would miss out on some revenue from the Wish system.
It’s interesting (yet not surprising) that MiHoYo has continued the trend and release four-star characters for free through events. It means the Chinese development studio is catering to F2P players who can’t afford to throw down hundreds of dollars on Wishes or simply don’t want to, while still making money off of those who do. Because it’s unlikely that five-stars will see the same treatment, or at least, not nearly as often, they still remain the main draw of the game which means MiHoYo will continue to make the big bucks this way.
Genshin Impact is available on mobile devices, PC, and PS4 with a PS5 and Switch versions in development.
