Genshin Impact (in patch 3.1) has 56 released characters. The count is split in the middle, with 28 5-stars and 4-stars. This doesn’t count the Traveler, who is the player character and isn’t in the game’s Character Archive. Due to various considerations such as design, abilities, personality, etc., not everybody will pull on all the characters. This also means that player rosters have different combinations of characters in their roster. This article will go over the rarest Genshin Impact characters.
Rare characters can mean different things from different perspectives. In this article, we’ll look at the most infrequent characters in Genshin by various categories.
Who are the Rarest Characters in Genshin Impact
All the Limited Event Characters are in this category. Since they are available only for short periods, they are rare because you can’t get them anytime. Among all the characters included, one stands out: Aloy.
Because she was distributed as a collaboration/promotion character, she doesn’t have a banner. Players who logged in while she was available got her with no restrictions. She stands out because banners will eventually have a rerun. Still, the developers have no intention of repeating Aloy’s event (so far). She doesn’t have constellation upgrades, which is what duplicates are for.
As banner reruns rotate and appear more frequently, more players can get those characters. Limited units will become more commonplace. However, the number of accounts that have Aloy will stay the same. That is unless the developers decide to distribute her again (has an almost 0 probability).
Rarest Constellation Upgrades in Genshin Impact
This category also includes Limited Event Characters in Genshin Impact. With luck, the minimum number of pulls you need to guarantee a C6 limited 5-star is 630. Converting that to Primogems, it’s 100,800 of the star-shaped currency (around $1,680 without deals). While it can be less because you can get the character without reaching pity, losing 50/50 would add to the required pulls. Only the top whalers (or the incredibly fortunate ones) can achieve it.
Similarly, C6 starter characters could be rarer than the above. These three characters are only available in the Standard Banner. They have never received a rate-up in any Limited Banner. The odds of getting them are pretty low because of all the other 4-stars you can get. Players sometimes equate obtaining them through pulling to receiving a 5-star character or weapon.
Players can get their constellation upgrades by buying them when available in Paimon’s Bargains, but this process will take months. You can only buy one every rotation, and they come back in half a year.
In Terms of Characters in Co-op
Some characters just aren’t built for co-op with other players. For example, Gorou’s kit revolves around supporting other players. It also comes with the additional condition that the team must be made of Geo units. His damage output is lackluster, so don’t usually use him as an on-field DPS (there are unique exceptions).
Since co-op teams are random and you can’t switch (unless there are 2-3 players and you’re the host), Gorou won’t be an efficient pick. Players would instead use an on-field DPS or another kind of support character.
Other uncommon sights to see in co-op are the starter characters. Kaeya is more common than the other two but rarer than other DPS characters. A large portion of the player base doesn’t like Amber, and Lisa is a little unwieldy without constellation upgrades. Despite that, her C6 isn’t applicable in co-op situations.
Other notable mentions are Xinyan and the Traveler, with Lumine being less frequently seen than Aether.
In Terms of Spiral Abyss Usage
Because of the optimization that the Spiral Abyss requires, some characters fall to the wayside as they can’t contribute to fighting efficiency. As a result, there are characters considered ‘meta’ (Most Effective Tactics Available) and non-meta.
In patch 3.0, not many people use the following characters in the Spiral Abyss (<1% usage):
- Thoma
- Qiqi
- Amber
- Chongyun
- Ningguang
- Yanfei
- Geo Traveler
- Sayu
- Xinyan
- Razor
- Aloy
- Electro Traveler
- Anemo Traveler
However, this can shift because the Spiral Abyss regularly changes its mechanics. Then again, these characters have niche applications, and meta favors versatility and function. Any change would be very slight if it ever does.
Why Rarity Doesn’t Matter in Genshin Impact
Genshin Impact has around 63 million active players. Even if 1% of them have one specific character, that’s still 630,000 players with that character. That’s uncommon at best, and you’ll see that unit often enough (especially if they’re strong).
There are other factors, such as your area, culture, or the players you interact with. Also, as you read above, there are many ways to classify rare characters. If you’re looking at the big picture, there are only uncommon picks, but no one can be labeled rare except Aloy. Considering she’s a collaborative character, that’s only to be expected.
In smaller sample sizes, however, things become different. Imagine a group of six friends who play together. Because of varying preferences, they pull for various characters. Everyone can wish for a specific unit, but only one pulled for another. In that sample, there certainly would be rare units.
There’s also the factor of players being either big spenders or F2P. The latter kind has to be selective about which ones to wish for because they don’t have the cash reserves of whalers for guarantees.
Lastly, as more playable characters are added, some limited ones will be moved to the Standard Banner. That will inflate the number of accounts that own them since losing 50/50 is a common enough phenomenon.
Eventually, if you play long enough, you’ll have all the characters in the game.
Enjoy Genshin Impact!
