Do you need to spend money to win in Genshin Impact? See if the game is Pay-to-Win, all the pros and cons of Spending versus Grinding, and everything you need to know about it here in this guide!

Is Genshin Impact Pay to Win

Depends on What "Winning" Means

Is Genshin Impact Pay to Win? The general and safest answer is an astounding no, Genshin Impact is not Pay to Win. However, to fully understand why, it's better we first talk about what "to win in Genshin Impact" means.

Beating Content is Not the Same as Winning

Time and time again, you've heard of players preaching the game is pay-to-win because the content becomes harder as you progress—the overworld exploration becomes tedious, and the Spiral Abyss has become unfriendly to F2P players.

But the most vital thing most of these players overlooked, is that defeating Abyss or making the overworld exploration easy, is not akin to "winning" the game. In fact, there's no real concept of winning or losing in Genshin Impact because of the lack of PVP elements, except in Genius Invokation TCG.

Genius Invokation TCG Full Guide

Genshin Impact is Primarily Single-Player

Since the game is considered to be a single-player most of the time, the concept of winning against someone, or more aptly, preparing for a fight against other players is a makeshift idea that is likely an outgrowth of the competitiveness within the gaming community.

And because the PVE content of Genshin Impact is what it's all about (aside from its rich lore), the focus of improving any character's potential; whether it be thru ascending their level, equipping them with the right weapons, or logging them with the right artifacts, will only contribute to making the content easier, and not winning against it.

"No" Because You Can't Buy Luck

As of now, Genesis Crystals, Blessing of the Welkin Moon, and the Battle Pass, are three in-game things you can purchase directly with money. You can get a bunch of helpful resources from all of them, but no amount of spending can help you get the required luck to win in character and weapon banners, and ultimately getting decent artifact stats from domains.

Which is why, the only ultimate advantage of shelling out is giving you more N-chances of wishing for a weapon and character. It won't mitigate any chance of getting an HP% stat for your DPS Alhaitham, or any irrelevant stat on any artifact piece, for that matter.

"No" Because There are Alternatives

Building a character is a multifaceted enterprise—and an extremely tedious one, at that. There are plenty of factors to consider, like team compositions, personal preferences, play-style, among others. Because of this, making a character "strong", is never a single-step task that is requisite of money to complete.

Free-to-Play Weapon and Character Options

Genshin Impact offers a number of free-to-play alternatives for every team composition and play-style. And since you can equip any character with any artifact and any weapon from their own class, building your character is not gated by money, by any means.

While it's true that some 5-star limited weapons outperform some of their F2P-counterparts, it doesn't take away the fact the latter can perform decently, and can still defeat enemies and clear out Abyss stages. And all these, premium or not, must still be appendaged with artifact pieces with awesome stats.

"No" Because You Can Save

The amount of available free sources of Primogems in-game is massive. From the list of events, one-time domains, chests, quests, and the like, you're not gonna come home empty-handed after a long long day of grinding.

And as a cherry on top, you can't also buy your way into finishing any of these, which means, premium or not, you're still gonna have to go through all these!

To Pay or Not to Pay: Conclusion

Should You Pay to "Win"

Spending real money for the game surely makes getting premium characters and weapons easy, but it doesn't mean you're missing out on a lot if you're a free-to-play player, or just a casual spender. Having said this, the final verdict would be no: you shouldn't spend money to "win" the game.

Genshin Impact Related Guides

All Tips and Tricks Guides

All Tips & Tricks Guides

Before Starting The Game

• Everything to Know First

Element Guides

• Pyro Element
• Cryo Element
• Electro Element
• Hydro Element
• Anemo Element
• Geo Element
• Dendro Element
• Crystallize Reaction
• Swirl Reaction
• Melt Reaction
• Frozen Reaction
• Shatter Reaction
• Superconduct Reaction
• Electro-Charged Reaction
• Hyperbloom Reaction
• Burgeon Reaction
• Bloom Reaction
• Quicken Reaction
• Aggravate Reaction
• Spread Reaction
• Overloaded Reaction
• List of Elemental Reactions
• Best Elemental Resonance

Leveling and Grinding Guides

• How to Level Up
• Character Ascension Guide
• Adventurer Handbook
• How to Level Up Statue of the Seven
• How to Increase Stamina and Effects
• How to Raise Your Adventure Rank
• How to Raise Your World Level
• How to Raise Elemental Mastery
• How to Unlock Constellations
• How to Level Up Talents
• How to Get the Best Artifact Stats
• How to Refine and Enhance Weapons
• Ore Chunks and Crystals Farming Guide
• Artifact Farming Routes
• How to Farm Artifacts
• Treasure Chest List
• List of Trophies

Tips to Remember

• How to Farm and Spend Mora
• How to Use Primogems
• How to Farm Primogems
• How to Get Free Fates
• What to Trade Primogems For
• Stardust and What to Trade it for
• Starglitter and What to Trade it for
• How to Use and Restore Original Resin
• How Do Artifacts Work
• How to Cook Food
• How to Process Ingredients
• How to Use Gadget Quick Swap
• How to Use Oculus Resonance Stone
• How to Use Treasure Compass
• How to Convert Character Materials
• How to Go On Expeditions
• Ley Line Outcrop Guide
• Daily Commissions
• Teleport Waypoints
• How to do a Charged Attack

Miscellaneous Guides

• How to Unlock Shrine of Depths
• How to Add and Play With Friends
• Character Customization
• What Happens on Your Birthday?
• How to Solve the Luhua Pool Fire Puzzle
• Where to Find the Nameless Treasures
• Elemental Burst Guide
• Dandy's Time Trial Challenge
• How to Increase Friendship Level
• How to Do Plunging Attacks
• Secrets, and Tricks to Make Your Life Easier
• CRIT Rate and CRIT DMG Guide
• Bond of Life Guide
• Weekly Bounty Guide
• Electric Lamp Puzzle Guide
• How to Avoid Balethunder Damage
• How to Increase Clearance
• How to Fix Error 31-4302
• How to Fix Error 4201
• How to Uninstall Genshin Impact
• How to Activate Global Illumination
• Quest Profile Icons and How to Unlock
• Search in the Sea of Algae Brainstorm Answers
• How to Decode the Levels' Puzzles
• How to Undergo the Garland Trials
• How to Connect the Oracle Pillars
• What are Astral Marks?

FAQs

• What is the Battle Pass?
• What is Energy Recharge?
• How to Leave Co-Op
• Can You Erase Save Data?
• How to Unlock Online Multiplayer
• How to Change the Main Character's Name
• How to Revive Characters
• How to Get Characters
• Which Main Character Should You Choose?
• How to Switch Characters
• Character Creation Guide
• What Are Elite Bosses?
• When Do Treasure Chests Reappear?
• What to Spend Genesis Crystals On?