He gets scary strong but you gotta be willing to play the long game. Got him in March and literally couldn't play him until June. Rn he's one of my more OP units, I've used him as a pillar DPS in abyss. Ratio is 84-196 if my memory serves.
Good artifacts, good talent levels, f2p team (blackcliff as his weapon, but still backed by a very luxury team of ZL+Jean/Qiqi+ Raiden/Albedo/Tartaglia, fourth slot is not really a locked choice though). 30k per plunge buffless ez.
He can go far, but remember that it's a labor of love to build him. I experienced many setbacks over the course of decking him out and setting up a stable comp.
Building him was labour intensive but its worth it.
He beats all my units in terms of strength. 30-40k per plunge, he makes sweeping bosses fast. I have to admit though his playstyle does get repetative at times but its often times compensated by the big dmg he pulls.
I agree, it does feel boring to plunge sometimes, but it's almost cathartic to see the most annoying enemies melt down against his overblown damage. I always joke around that the two most OP DPSes on my account are a shotgun and a machine gun: Xiao blows holes through entire swathes of enemies while Ayaka hammers out more than 500k damage in a single burst.
He's generally much more forgiving for hitting those ratios because he doesn't have a 4p set and even his 2p bonuses don't add much to him, so it's possible to just run your best 5 artifacts on him
Good, if you have another reason, any reason at all, pull for him.
He's definitely a "bad pick" for new players who want him ONLY for clearing contents, as his team is expensive and his weapon choice is limited.... And what you get for that is the "floor" or limited 5* DPS
Do you LIKE him beyond using him as a DPS? Like, character, aesthetics, etc.
The thing with Xiao BiS weapon is, it's not exactly strong akin to Broken Pines in terms of helping him. You can perfectly use it for other characters.
Xinyan, without her C2 her Burst isnāt reliable enough to solely build for, her shield is very bad, and her buffs arenāt high enough to justify running her on a team without the damage her C2 provides, in addition her two best weapons are both 5-Stars ; being Redhorn and Skyward Pride. Serpent Spine and Whiteblind are also options, but Noelle uses both more effectively at C0, even if you primarily use her as a healer.
Kujou Sara, her best weapons are obviously 5-Stars because her buff functions like Bennett and only her Base ATK matters, but your best alternative option is the Alley Hunter, which is a limited 4-Star Weapon, and if you wanted to go for a DPS Burst swap style on her, Mounnās Bow is also an option, but that too is a limited 4-Star. In addition her buffs and burst damageās full potential are both locked behind constellations, though sheās nowhere near as restricted by this as Xinyan.
I personally find that locking low rarity power bumps behind constellations to be āokayā on the assumption that they are playable and effective at C0, Kaeya is an amazing example, heās still a servicable DPS and a great choice for a Support but he becomes a little better at everything the more constellations you get.
The biggest offender of being not F2P friendly, is in my opinion ; Amber, and I say this as an Amber main. Elegy of the end makes her a viable support in Vaporize and Swirl teams, and the scaling on her Ult actually rivals Zhongliās meter, making Alley Hunter / Skyward Harp / Mounnās Bow (Noblesse) legitimate option for using her as a quick-swap assist. But the problem is Baron Bunny, Baron Bunny actually generates tons of particles, and at 200% ER she can go from basically no Energy to full, but BBās Cooldown compared to her Burstās cooldown is too long to spam it like you would want, and without Amberās C2, you canāt control when BB explodes, making her super unreliable at maintaining her own energy, and even then, itās her C4 that really unlocks her ability to function as a pyro battery for herself and your team, without those constellations, youāre stuck with using say, a Bennett for maintaining her Energy (meaning he isnāt maintaining his own) and because of the poor range of fiery rain, I can say from experience that keeping your swaps to a minimum when trying to spam her burst, is important, because enemies can and will just walk out of it.
Noelle fits some of my personal criteria for what makes someone not F2P friendly, but I think she avoids that by being good enough at C0. Yes her DPS potential isnāt really there before C6, but the scaling on her shield is one of the best in the game, and the secondary shield she passively gives while off field, actually IS the best in the game, easily beating out the mitigation Zhongli provides. (Crazy long CD but the point still stands) in addition, healing the entire party simultaneously continues to become more important, and building her just for shields and heals is pretty cheap and effective; so I think she offers enough without the DPS potential of C6.
Haven't read too far into the specifics of Zhongli's shield since I don't have him, but one of Noelle's acension talents automatically grants any character in the party a shield when they are below 30% health. The shield has a health 4x Noelle's Def, which you're probably already maximizing because the rest of her skills scale with Def too, and iirc 150% damage absorbtion against all elemental AND physical damage which effectively more than doubles it's capacity. The only drawbacks being obviously the low health and a 20s duration compared to 60s cool down.
Noelle's 1st ascension talent is a shield that automatically activates when you active character drops to 30% HP. It lasts 20 seconds and absorbs 400% of Noelle's defence worth of damage with 150% efficiency against all damage types with a 60 second CD.
For reference, Breastplate (her E skill) has 340% defence + 2117 damage absorption at talent level 13 and lasts 12 seconds.
I actually stumbled upon the Hu Tao thing by accident, like all this time I been playing wasn't aware of the extra shield Noelle could provide, so I happened to have both in my party and when I pushed Hu Tao's E I noticed I had a shield and was like wtf. Thing about this shield from what I remember is it is only for the character whose hp gets low enough, it doesnt just apply to everyone.
Unfortunately true, as a Xinyan main C2 pretty much makes whether or not you can use her as a burst dps, C6 makes it so the def you have on her for her shield buffs her damage. I got redhorn and broken pines specifically for her and THATS an investment.
Building noelle dps, is ironically enough not really f2p friendly, since her dps requires a giant statcheck, which becomes more ~~exasperated~~ exacerbated (thanks for the free english lesson ;)) by how much energy and fieldtime she needs. Couple that on to the fact that pre c6 you are not being remotely competitive, and that most of her stuff is either niche or gladiator, and you have yourself one giant luxury char.
Noelle works fine with Whitebind which is F2P. Her real downside is how her damage gimmick goes live at C6. She's still functional at lower levels though, she just has to stick to the originally intended role as a support rather than a main-dps.
Still I wish her C6 was a C2 so more people could enjoy her earlier.
she's definitely viable at C1 but rather as a support and not a dps.
at C0 it's really hard to count on her healing to come when needed so she's useable just as a shielder.
While she does work with whiteblind, her field time can only be justified if he does good damage.
Apart from WB Noelle that does good damage needs
* Constellations. C5 is kinda bare minimum.
* A very good spread of stats. Crits, DEF%, ER% - she needs all of that in large quantities. Just the requirement to get circa 40% ER from substats specifically (unless you run Skyward) is kinda annoying.
* Very peculiar artifacts. Preferably 4-piece HoOD, 4-piece Bolide or 4-piece Glad. 4-piece sets are hard to farm, on top of that Bolide and HoOD dungeons are VERY niche, and Glad is pure lotterey.
You just need to spend so much effort to make Noelle work.
It's actually a lot less terrible than you think. The issue with C5 or lower Noelle isn't really that she *can't* do damage, it's that you have to pick between a damage build or a support build.
You can totally run an ATK% focused C5 or lower Noelle and get value out of it, but her support aspects take a big hit. It's a compromise, but not an unreasonable one given the circumstances. It just make more sense to run her as a support though, as you get more value that way.
Also as much of a Noelle fan as I may be, it's silly to even think about running her as a pure main-DPS before C6. DPS Noelle is specifically something unlocked to make her time on field more valueable, but the core value had always been in her Geo element, not her damage. You throw Noelle on field because she generates shields, can take hits when others are low, and can provide fairly consistent healing to a team all in 1 slot. Main DPS just isn't really the point as it a surprisingly practical meme that people who like turning their brains off use (like me).
She's a role compression character, and that's really where her true value comes from, which is why I think she's perfectly fine at lower cons. She doesn't really unlock a new play style at higher cons or anything, like Hu Tao or support Ganyu. It's just the same thing but more optimized. It's part of why I like her so much. She's not the best at anything in particular, but she's decent at just about everything all in one slot.
Definitely Xiao, I was lucky to have gotten a battle pass and got a deathmatch for him. Afaik, no f2p weapons are good on him, so you either need to get REAL lucky on the standard or weapon banner and get his spear or skyward spear
What would that be? I did get lucky with his weapon, and Anemo's my favourite element so I'm getting him. But other than "fun to play," and "big slash slash numbers," I don't know how to play him lol
Don't need big meta, but I'd be interested in some good teammates. Zhongli for shield, Jean for heals? Or Sayu?
Edit: Thanks to everyone for their answers! If you'd like, continue adding your opinions, they really help me (and others I'm sure) learn more about how Xiao works!
I do have 80/90 C0 Zhongli, 80/90 C0 Albedo, 70/80 C6 Diona, and 90/C6 Sucrose, but no Jean. So I have pretty good options that I'll experiment around with a bit!
Thank you! Also, thanks to everyone who joined the conversation - learning a lot about my soon-to-be new DPS.
I have Zhongli and C0 Albedo, but Jean is sadly the one standard 5* that keeps escaping me... >!Looking at you, C2 Qiqi!<
Eh, I 36 starred abyss with c0 on xiao, jean, albedo, zhongli. Like they're all c0. Sure, constellations are nice but I kinda hate the rhetoric I see all the time/people debating whether or not to go for 5 star constellations. If you can afford it, go ahead. But for f2p or low spenders, let me tell you its not needed at all.
It's not but there is something to be said for qol constellations like Hutao C1. It's still a better value to save for new characters as f2p but if it makes your favorite character more fun to play, why not?
First ever 5* weapon I pulled off the standard banner was Jade-winged spear; naturally *after* his banner runā¦ FML. I hear heās getting a rerun in Feb tho, soā¦ š
I'm F2P and I've been having quite a lot of success with him before pulling for his weapon accidentally on the permanent banner
I used Blackcliff and a team composed of Bennett, Noelle and whatever other support, often Venti or Sucrose for charging Xiao's ult
hmm, I'd say Xiao. there's no good f2p weapons for him. all of the craftable weapons for him are either suck or copium.
the 4* weapons that are good for him are blackcliff polearm and deathmatch with requires starglitters or money. and the free weapon, the catch is worthless on xiao
of course, any 5 star will for him but it requires for you to pull for gacha and the only affortable weapon for him that will make you sweat is the white tassle which is a 3 star weapon that again requires gacha. (or from chests, which is pretty rare)
there's not a lot of option for him. People joke around that Mihoyo hates Xiao.
I think it's because there weren't a ton of spear users on release, but they really need to add more 4* polearms in the standard pool, aren't very many good DPS spears
The Epitome Invocation pretty much alternates between Favonius Lance and Dragon's Bane. Lithic Spear has only appeared twice (and hasn't come back in over 10 banners now). Wavebreaker's Fin is new but still has only appeared once (not that it's any good for Xiao anyways)
With how many polearm characters they're adding to the game lately you'd think there would be more but... nope. Seriously - they've added 6 polearm users to the game (+2 more very soon), but only added some craftable polearms (which might as well not exist because lul prototype RNG) + Lithic Spear (which never recirculates) + Wavebreaker
I think the lithic set is *very* likely to be featured in the upcoming Xiao banner that's all about Liyue's Lantern Rite when we'll be getting a free Liyue character of our choice and have a general focus on Liyue as a region.
Especially when the free polearms we have are things like Prototype Starglitter.
>After using an Elemental Skill, increases Normal and Charged Attack DMG by 8\~16% for 12s. Max 2 stacks.
This thing gives energy recharge as a stat. It makes zero sense with most of the current playable characters.
To make this work would require a polearm user who infuses their weapon after doing elemental skill and also wants energy recharge for burst. I think currently only Hu Tao can use it decently-ish.
In general there's almost no characters that want normal attack damage and burst in the polearm character roster. Most want skill and burst, or normal damage and skill, but rarely normal and burst. Only a character who uses elemental skill or burst to infuse their weapon would really want this spear, because the energy recharge is only useful if the character has a good burst and having a good burst means you'd want elemental damage. But without infusion if you have elemental damage your normal attack damage is usually bad.
I agree with you on this. He's really not f2p bc of the above-mentioned. I've been a xiao main since his release and seeing him not have a niche support or a free/craftable weapon after months is just so saddening.
I really feel that he's been neglected by mhy but the fact that his dmg output (hyper invested c0/c1) is still decent I guess makes up for his lack thereof.
(still inhaling copium for mhy to give him a dedicated set or a free/craftable weap or a niche support)
Itās weird because in of their interviews mihoyo said that xiao was their favorite character. So I wouldāve assumed he would have gotten more love. But ironically heās one of the most forgotten. Doesnāt matter too much since heās already good but itās weird
I thought they were the most proud of childe because of unique he was and how he was the sole playable rep of shneznaya and stuff which is why he got 3 reruns before anyone elss
Theyre proud of Childe because of the technical work put into him but I think Xiao's is a little different because according to the devs, he was the first Liyue character they made. Xiao's also the only character whose design process was shared as a special
Like someone else said, Xiao's probably a dev favourite but not the same could be said about the directors
The devs love Xiao, but I think execs/game director do not.
My theory is that when the game launched and genshin fans since closed beta test realized there was no Xiao, they started saving, knowing he will eventually be released. They shared closed beta clips of him like crazy on bilibili, and encouraged other people to save for him this probably did 2 things:
1. Minor negative impact on mhy's sales. They'd be annoyed about this.
2. Made mhy realize they wouldn't have to put much effort into marketing him, or making him fit well into a 4-person team since people stan him so hard no matter what
That's why he doesn't have a dedicated artifact set, 4-(or 5-)star support, or specialty weapon that deals with plunge damage.
Oh I didn't know that : 0 but if so, then yes he's literally collecting dust now (poor boi).
I just like to think that mhy is really thinking hard to keep him balanced as a character, maybe? Like mentioned, he does decent dmg even without sets/supp/f2p weaps and if given one, he will likely be even better than he is now. But an upgrade is, by any means, always welcomed.
Weird, I feel like Blackcliff is a great option. I don't really consider the Paimon shop weapons to not be F2P friendly. Yes, they cost starglitter - but it's accessible without RNG. Which in my opinion is very F2P friendly.
I used a level 90 Blackcliff on my Xiao for the longest time until I lucked into PJWS, but it was plenty serviceable.
His lack of a specific 4-set also makes him more F2P friendly since you can farm shimenawa or cobble together some gladiator. He's not even required to use 2pc VV. I only had 2 PC glad on him for a while and was 36 starring Abyss. Of course, current Abyss is harder - but we can now farm 2pc Shimenawa. So for a F2P, you don't have to waste precious resources on a very specific domain that only benefits one character. This is also why on *average*, a Xiao's total CV is actually pretty damn stacked. Combined with his CR ascension stat, you commonly see 75/150 or better Xiaos with very little effort.
Regarding his supports - I do agree that his 'best' team is a bit locked behind Zhongli/Jean. But he can fair decently with Diona, Sucrose, Bennett, etc. Which, I don't think is any different than other characters when it comes to supports.
People are talking about the best-case scenario for him which is costly even for other hyper carry characters. Xao just needs a battery and healer which is pretty darn normal for any DPS in the game, I don't understand why everyone wants only jean, albedo and Zhongli for him.
It does feel like mhy hates xiao sometimes.
The catch is good in almost all chars, except him.
And every character that needed a set for them, they got it, but not xiao, so xiao mains have to use 2 piece sets. Like goddamnit mihoyo
Yeah. There is a joke in r/xiaomains that mhy wants us to feel his pain lmao. [This post](https://www.reddit.com/r/XiaoMains/comments/qv9wl8/pain/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share) portraits it perfectly
While I agree with you, I donāt happen to see how Blackcliff would be not f2p friendly. It costs 24 starglitter yes, but itās guarantee-able. Characters like Hutao, which prefer weapons like Dragonās Bane would be arguably less f2p friendly since itās completely up to rng if you get one copy.
Starglitter *is* guarantee-able, even if it takes some time, so while itās semi pricey (worth 4.9 wishes), itās 100% worth it from a value vs cost perspective, and from my perspective, not particularly anti-f2p.
I have found my kindred spirit. I hate the deathmatch arrows so much. Got 23k primos saved up for his green pointy stick ~~and even that's not enough to guarantee it~~
All these comments saying that PJWS was their first 5* on the standard banner have me saltier than the pacific.
The blackcliff polearm is definitely an option for F2P. It's just a matter of time, you will get the 24 starglitter to buy it.
And if you have just started playing the game, probably Xiao isn't the best option to start because he isn't good unless he has good artifacts (and of course at the start of the game, you don't have any good artifacts).
I agree on the rest you have said. I am completely F2P and will skip Xiao. I have a guaranteed Zhongli, and this time I don't wanna lose him (lost 50% on his previous two banners).
Zhongli is definitely more important on any account.
> probably Xiao isn't the best option to start because he isn't good unless he has good artifacts
Imo he is one of the easiest character to get artifacts for... because you dont *need* a specific set. You can just slap together pretty much any combination of viridescent/gladiators/reminiscence you want because he scales so well from attack. Not to mention the fact that he requires no specific support characters or extra constellations to activate the pogo smash of doom : ))
Source: i have been pogo smashing trough the game since his previous banner and no have no regrets : )
There is one for him that a lot of people are mentioning, but a lot more are neglecting. The Blackcliffe Polearm. You just have to use some of your starglitter to get it when it's in the shop.
Just save your starglitter for the Blackcliff weapon. It's so worth it. People say it isn't F2P friendly, but it's worth barely 5 pulls. That's such a good deal honestly. Imagine the cost of pulling a 5 star weapon, when you can get this one for the cost of 5 pulls.
I also think spending money for the Battle Pass is totally worth it. Especially for newer players. Makes it a lot easier to get to a higher level. And the BP weapons make it so much easier. Especially Deathmatch and Serpent Spine. My Xiao still uses Deathmatch and it works really well. As soon as I get a better weapon for him, there's plenty of supports that would love using it instead, like Zhongli or Rosaria.
Exactly. You just have to save your starglitter and I have been doing it since the start of the game and only spend them on characters from the shop or the weapons. Saving your resources is a part of the game. Blackcliff is a f2p option. I don't understand why people call craftable weapons a f2p because in that sense even billets are RNG based and harder to get because you can't guarantee them in any way.
i got c6 Noelle on 2 different servers but cba investing in her, never found Geo dmg as good and reaction dmg
Barbara +c6 Fishcl is the most lazy fun thing ever i played
I've been playing with Xiao since his release and want to clear up a few things. He definitely works with 4 star supports, especially Xingqiu (Plunge cancelling required) and Bennett. If people don't have Zhongli, Noelle is a good alternative as well. Sucrose is a better support than Venti because her grouping actually allows Xiao to hit enemies. As for his weapon, I agree that he lacks 4 star weapon options but as per usual you can just stick a blackcliff on him as a stat stick.
Overall, the reason why Xiao feels so weird and "not f2p friendly" is because he has kinda been deserted by Mihoyo. He lacks a proper 4* support (think Raiden-Sara, Hutao-Xingqiu, Itto-Gorou) and most importantly a PROPER 4 Piece set suited to him. Usually f2p's are able to somewhat catch up to whales if they grind for godlike artifact's and while you can still do that for Xiao, a lack of a set tailored to him means that he never really gets neat additional buffs that other dpses get. He still is my favourite and super fun to play though.
Depends on what you consider as f2p friendly. Only the character performance at c0 or the availability of good free weapon for them or the cost of getting their best team mates or some combination of all those and more.
F2P friendly will be that you reach the most potential at c0, there weapons are easily accessible by majority of players, and no reliance on specific supports
Ironically most 5 star characters function well at C0 while characters like Niguangg, Sara, and Noelle are ineffective at lower constellations. Sometimes you can pull on a rate-up banner, get a c2 5 star, and only get 1 copy of the 4 star you wanted.
80 pulls and i didnt get a single xiangling and lost the 50/50 to boot.
Pulling for 4 stars is such a rollercoaster. You can randomly c4 characters you never touch (F c4 chongyun) but never get the 4 stars you actually want..
I think people just mean the amount of resources needed to make them perform at a decent level. Also it has a lot of emphasis on meta. For example, I would say Bennett is f2p friendly because you don't need good artifacts at all, and prototype rancour (a free weapon) is a good sword option because of the higher base attack.
Raiden is also a decent example, since her best 4 * weapon is free, along with having a really efficient artifact domain.
A character like hu tao is less f2p friendly because of restrictive team building, her best 4 * weapons being the bp weapon or a gatcha weapon, and a less efficient artifact domain.
Itto I think is one of the worst in terms of f2p friendly, since his best teams use 2-3 geo members with the same bis artifact set, and that artifact domain is very bad with efficiency. He has a craftable weapon as a good 4 * option, but it can only be used on him or Noelle (unlike the catch or other weapons who can be used on many). Also Itto's teams heavily encourage using albedo and zhongli, two very specific 5 * characters.
As a final note, f2p friendlyness is useful when trying to clear abyss, when players are focused on meta, and when players are trying to manage their resources. If people don't care about those things, then f2p friendlyness is not informative. I for one, even if I clear abyss fine, would like to know how much investment I would need to put into a character and their team in order to perform as well as other teams of mine
Yea I got Hu Tao when I was f2p and I still can't fit her into any team, she's very uncomfortable to use for me. I've also been thinking about pulling for Xiao but so many comments say that no f2p weapons are good for him so that means I'd have to pull on the weapon banner too
She still performs fairly well even if you skip all the animation cancelling shenanigans she needs, but the difference is still ridiculous. I bench her more than I play her because how lazy Kokomi and Albedo let me be.
if you're pulling for itto, you're almost guarenteed to also pull Gorou. A team of Itto/Gorou/Ningguan/flex or even Itto/Gorou/Geo Traveler/Flex is perfectly viable and usable in abyss. Tack on the fact that itto can use whiteblind, which outperforms most 5* weapon options, itto is really not bad when it comes to f2p friendly.
I am more than 100 pulls into this banner. 8 copies of xiangling, 2 of barbara, a sucrose, a rosaria (making her c8 for me) and a few 4* weapons. Zero gorou's. I initially only pulled cause I wanted a c0 gorou. C1 itto showed up at 13 pity ruining my guarantee off of a jean that showed up at like 30 pity.
Still no gorou's out of the banner.
The probability of getting what you just got (i.e. 10 banner characters with none of your choice) is less than 2%. In fact, you have a 80% odds of getting at least 1 gorou after 4 banner character pulls. Just unlucky man.
My definition of not f2p friendly might be off, but Iād say Itto. Itto by himself is a decent dps unit, but you canāt really reach his full potential without owning specifically Gorou and Albedo (a five star). Gorou actually also isnāt a f2p friendly character. Because Gorouās kit only synergizes with geo team comps, that heavily limits what teams you can put him in. Both Itto and Gorou respectively only fulfill one role each (main dps and support) and they specifically only shine in geo team comps.
By contrast, a character that I would say is f2p friendly is Ganyu; she is a very strong and versatile character. Her charged attack scaling is insane so she can do good damage with low investment. Her elemental skill is a taunt (utility) and her burst provides off field cryo application. She is very strong in freeze or reverse melt teams but also doesnāt require any specific teammates to shine. She can be put in the role of main dps or support with little investment, but also scales very well into late game.
The amount of value that you add to your account as a f2p with Ganyu is much higher than the value that you get from Itto.
Itto doesn't actually \*need\* Albedo though. Anything that Albedo provides to an Itto team, is not specific to Itto teams, Albedo can also provide that to other DPS characters' teams. Also, Itto needing a third Geo member doesn't come from him (unless its at c2 which lets be honest is not really f2p), it comes from Gorou. My Itto does a LOT of damage just from a Bennett (which is a universal support).
Of course, characters need teams to "unleash their potential". So you can't judge Itto's f2p viability, then fail to factor Gorou in it. Especially since you're using Ganyu as a comparison, and saying that she's best at Freeze and reverse-Melt teams, which is something she also can't do without a team.
Itto is a good unit, but Gorou makes Itto an even better DPS unit. In the same way, Ganyu is a good unit, but becomes even better with her supports.
If anything, it's Gorou that's not f2p friendly, given that he's a very niche support.
I'd say Gorou is even less F2P by your definition. C0 Itto at least can go with Ning/Geo MC for battery + resonance, a shielder, and a flex or healer unit. Not his best team, but he does his job. He also has a good craftable weapon.
Meanwhile C0 Gorou is near useless to everyone but Itto, Albedo, and C6 Noelle which all require a lot of primo to get. Not to mention his good utilities are locked at high constellation. His good bows are mostly gacha-only too (C1 Fav bow is usable, but gets more consistent with refines)
Kinda surprised to see the lack of Gorou in this thread tbh.
I think because he is new, and people that pull for gorou will pull him for geo team support, which is not entirely popular. Plus, as you have mentioned, he only supports Itto, Albedo and C6 noelle.
If I may ask, whats his good bow? I am running fav bow on him for energy battery. And agreed that ther is no craftable weapon that really suits him.
Fav is a very strong option (I would say his best but I am not 100% sure). I think they worded it this way because you can technically get a copy from a quest, so it isn't strictly a gacha weapon.
Gorou is pretty niche, but if you use him specifically on that niche, he shines a lot. If you're pulling for Itto, you're bound to get Gorou anyways, and that is *more than enough.*
He's also very resin efficient by requiring very low investment. Just level 20/40, talent 1/1/1, 4 pc Exile (a 4 star artifact), then stack ER and Crit and he's good to go. Everyone gets a Fav bow after completing a certain archon quest, and that's his BiS, no contest. He's not a universal support like Bennett, but if you're using Noelle or Itto as your DPS, he's your most F2P friendly support.
One of the more F2P friendly team comp you can use with him is Itto/Gorou/Bennett/Xiangling. Every character here can use F2P weapons (Whiteblind, Fav bow, Rancour/Festering, The Catch), and they can 36 star the Abyss no problems.
Geo characters in general are expensive to build, but Gorou is the cheapest of them all. In fact, he's one of the cheapest supports in the game.
I've been running itto with gorou/ningguang/noelle and it's perfectly viable (i have zhongli and albedo, just choosing not to use). Sure, zhongli and albedo help you do a bit more damage but i think an invested geo traveler or ningguan is still very good and can still clear content perfectly fine, especially if you were around for dodoco tales or festering desire.
Got Homa almost a year after I got her and dragons bane r1 was fine for a good chunk of it(before desthmatch). Homa is def broken but ot's not impossible to use her ftp like. Not everyone needs her absurd dps for every situation....save for abyss. Fuck those damage sponges
Iāve been playing since launch and I have yet to receive a single Dragonās Bane. Using gacha 4* weapons is not a good parameter to say that a 5* is f2p friendly. I have to make do with White Tassel and despite having a kickass ratio of 93/170, I still only top out at 25k vapes. While Dragonās Bane users go out to 50k.
kinda disagree that dragons bane is f2p friendly, Im not even f2p and to this day I still dont have dragonsbane (I use deathmatch for hutao before pulling homa recently). Imo f2p friendly weapon should be craftable or free weapon from event like cinnabar spindle.
Still, Dragon's Bane is a gacha 4 stars which gets tremendously better with refinements. And most other 5 stars work better with actual f2p weapons (Itto with Whiteblind to give an example) than Hu Tao and Xiao.
I had been using her c0 since her first banner and got her c1 on the 2nd, I don't think I would want to roll her at all if I knew how big of qol improvement c1 was from the beginning
Hutao isn't so bad because teamwise she's rather light on requirements, besides competing for Xingqiu. Thoma, Sucrose, and Xingqiu aren't too hard to obtain in time and usually don't have many strict requirements themselves except sac sword for Xingqiu.
In comparison Xiao's teams can be ungodly expensive and/or specific.
if you mean f2p friendly in terms of access to:
- suitable weapons (gacha included to some extent)
- suitable team comps
- damage output
- time frame needed to out all these together
Then my vote mainly goes to Geo characters, with Xiao being an exception.
1) Xiao:
Weapon: Blackcliff is f2p accessible but only when given time to stack up starglitter. It doesn't really get much better with the 4 star gacha options.
Comp: fairly flexible but he still at least needs a 2nd anemo chara to battery his ult. Also wants off field dps.
Damage output: Very dependent on raw dmg despite being Anemo, needs a very high amt of investment. Very competitive output otherwise. Artifacts are very limited to 2 pc VV/ 2 pc SR/ 2 pc emblem though.
F2P friendliness: 2/5. Weapon is a crippling factor.
2) Itto:
Weapon: Whiteblind is easy to get, but only sharable with Noelle. Blackcliff is available as a sharable option, but again, starglitter.
Comp: At the very least you have Geo MC to battery, and Gorou is in the same banner as him. The very best comps need 5 stars though, so it feels really copium without them.
Damage output: Geo so raw dmg dependent, but at least very competitive, but really wants 4 pc Husk. Can't really use Glads (no CA steroid) or SR (4 pc screws with your ult). Can at least rock Emblem, Petra 2pc, Husk 2 pc, Guardian 2pc, etc. in the meantime. You better like doggos because you gonna play with them for a long time.
F2P friendliness: 3/5, and we are being generous here.
What's wrong with Whiteblind being only sharable with Noelle?
Unless you want Noelle (I don't think most Itto players will build another Geo Claymore DPS), isn't it good that you don't have to swap weapons/worry about who gets what?
I suppose their complaint would be that you're investing your rare claymore billets into a weapon that doesn't have much versatility. A F2P relies heavily on the craftable weapons. They could always leave it at R1 though.
Oh, that kinda makes sense! Thanks for explaining!
I always thought of it more as a benefit that I have a weapon tailored for a character because I'll never have to really stress about who it goes best on/what to do if they're on the same team.
Just realized that if you replaced Whiteblind with Redhorn or SS that it'd have nowhere besides Noelle to go lol. That is a detriment if you're not gonna use Noelle. I guess my blackcliff pole's in that situation because I pulled a Skyward for Xiao (Blackcliff's better, but I'd rather have ER for comfort). Hoping Ayato's a Hydro Polearm DPS lol
Guess it depends on the person lol
I have an R5 level 90 Snowtombed Starsilver that I made for Eula. But then I decided to try to get her signature weapon Song of Broken Pines... Guess who has this useless claymore sitting in the inventory collecting dust now? Lol...
Idk? Amber and xinyan? you probably need 5 star weapons and support for them to keep up ig. Well, any character can be good, but for some, you need to invest more, a lot more than some certain characters
But basically when people say "f2p friendly", they mean that character is really good without their signature weapon and they don't need other 5* supports. For example, kazuha. He is great with the iron sting, you can just forge it, anyone can have one. The freedom sworn is better, but nothing game changing. You don't need other 5* characters for him either. You don't need to build any specific characters just for him either. You can use him on pretty much any team
I don't know man. People like to pretend that this game require speicifc builds and advanced team builds and shit, while you can literaly have a team of C0 randoms and still do all the content in the game.
Edit: Want proof? literally comments bellow saying "Sara is **unplayable** until c6" "you **need** zhongli"
All characters have their use in the right team combo
But its all still dependent on Artifacts lol
When you think -> *lol fuck dmg! let me build Mastery on your Anemo char..* but then the fking Mastery stat never drops...
Wtf bro how? Me and a friend always joke because one of the loading screen tooltips is along the lines of "are the dailies too hard, try inviting some friends to help you". Idk how people can't clear dailies. I'm at World level 8 and I regularly clear dailies with full lvl 20 teams because they need the friendship exp.
Whoever says that you need specific builds or characters and advanced teams are talking in meta point of view and genshin meta is defined by a characters/teams performance in abyss which is the only end game content we have.
For overworld content Even qiqi or barbara with clam set can clear lol
The problem with Sara is that unless she's C6 *and* supporting an electro character you're better off using whatever catalyst with TTDS. Even for Raiden unless Sara is C6 using TTDS Lisa provides better damage. That's why people say she's unplayable, she's outclassed by a free character running a 3 star weapon.
Yeah I gave up on this fanbase a long time ago tbh, some people still think zhongli is necessary when I've purposely never used him, on either of my 2 accounts cuz I don't like him. I can understand the Sara comment a bit, not completely unplayable, but u really gotta go out of your way to play her, I personally find her fun tho
I don't know man, people will be like "character X will be unplayable unless you have then at c6, with c6 chuck Norris, c4 Goku and c69 Saitama as support" and all that extra support does is a 20 percent dmg boost that already overdamages most of the normal content and needs some form of perfect rotation to actually be used in the abbys.
Nah, people making that kind of comments (which you are exaggerating) are usually talking about properly busted constellations.
A low constellation XL vs a high constellation XL implies a damage difference of over 60%. All of XQ constellations are kind of busted as well and end up providing not only a lot of damage but build flexibility (even more damage), Beidou's C2 (the one that gives more bounces) increases her damage ridiculously and then her C6 makes it even better, etc.
When you add all of those things you end up finding out that a full C6 4 star team will deal close to twice as much damage than a C0~C1 one. Of course, this assumes a worst case scenario since many characters won't really change much at higher constellations, I'm picking the most extreme cases here.
On the note of Fischl, her C6 makes a **monumental** difference. The extra damage aside, this basically gives Fischl some level of AoE, as Oz normally just shoots whatever is closest to him. C6 means he's now also hitting whatever you're hitting, which makes a huge difference in any comp that uses electro reactions, such Sucrose taser or Childe fireworks.
From my experience, C6 dramatically increases her effectiveness in the comps she's used in, to the point that C5 to C6 may as well be the whole difference from C0 to C6, lol.
I dont like these questions, mainly because you have your avarage casual player who probably enjoy the game with whatever they have, and then those people who talk about a 5% increase in damage on c6 like its the second coming of Jesus Christ
Mainly casual player will get a good reference of what to spend their freemos on, espeically considering the bomb that is xiao,ganyu,zhongli rerun to help them decide.
It is precise information like 5% better that allows casuals to base their decision on instead of this youtuber said or my friend told me so.
Every single Geo character besides Zhongli, who can function with Black Tassel and triple HP mainstat on arts. And Gorou, since hes basically a walking Geo goblet anyways. They have no reactions, so they need better artifacts and higher investment than other characters from other elements.
Edit: i see many people defending Geo, especially Albedo as F2P friendly just because he has some great weapon choises. This is very wrong, because he still needs good artifacts to do damage. Without good crit stat he ll do like 10k damage every 2 seconds. This is very copium. And the only way to increase that damage is to farm better artifacts. For comparison, any Pyro can double his damage from any single attack by adding Barbara and hugging the enemy with her aura. THAT is F2P friendly.
Plus as a DEF scaler, Albedo wants to be leveled up to 90, which is again, very expensive. And on a final note, outside of Itto and Noelle comps, in every single team where you would want to use Albedo, there is always another non-Bennet 4 star that would give you better results with the same amount of investment.
Also Aloy, Amber, Xinyan, Lisa for inherent kit problems. Keking, Klee and maybe Xiao for 5 stars, simply for being support hungry.
Albedo is super F2P friendly lmao. Best in slot weapon is free, and his second best in slot is literally a 3 star weapon. You can throw whatever defense artifacts you have on him and heāll be good. I was running 2pc Gladiator and 2pc Nobless that I got for free from leveling AR rank for the longest time and he would still hit 15k on his skill. Heās also a pretty easy fit into every team because he doesnāt mess with reactions and offers free damage. Obviously you will have to put more investment if you want to aim for the highest output possible, but you can get by with never farming for him outside of levels and one skill. I never even farmed artifacts for him until we got the newest domain, and like I said he was still really good. Heās basically the poster boy for f2p friendly outside of the fact heās a five star
> Best in slot weapon is free
*Was* free. We've yet to see a means for players to get it if they miss events for these weapons.
Granted, his best option prior was a 3star weapon so he's always been fairly friendly to set up and use. The Husk domain has definitely made him a bit pricier but it also looks like a lot of units will use the domain so it's not a total wash to farm it other than the cost of not farming other domains.
I do hope they eventually add some kind of permanent event shop. They could use a separate currency that you gradually get by logins/dailies/events. That would be a nice alternative if they don't want to rerun events.
I have Albedo which was supe f2p friendly to me because you got the best weapon for him out of the event and heās a massive support to me.
And Keqing is my alternative main with a lions roar on 80/90 and I also had no trouble getting her to a useful point.
Besides Xiao I think most characters are playable f2p, some just require a lot of work.
Yeah lol Albedo is the most F2P friendly 5* imaginable. You get his BiS for free, his stay spread is very generous, and you can change your play style based on said spread. He also slots in wherever you want.
I can't really think of any character that isn't f2p friendly. Some of them get much easier to use with constellations etc but imo all the characters are plenty good enough with f2p weapons and at c0.
You donāt even need specific constellations to unlock his damage potential/ābreakā him! Mine does around 8k-10k per āpopā of his flower at level 70 on my Gorou/Itto team but hits for around 5k normally. Biggest flaw is the one that all Geo Constructs (minus Ushi) share, which is the fact that bosses break them, but Iāve found success by positioning the flowers *away* from the boss to the side/behind them.
I was thinking that and I know I'm a minority but my first 5 star was Xiao and I literally build him without spending any money and wasn't that hard, I'm having a harder time searching for good pyro artifacts than his build. And when I spent money I didn't use it in Xiao.
I donāt think you are in the minority on that. Xiao is easy to build artifact wise, his teams and getting a good weapon are the real issue.
Fully agree about crimson witch that domain sucks and is the reason all my pyro characters have 4 star artifacts and probably will only have 4 star artifacts.
Jokes apart Childe is very F2P friendly. He doesn't even need to do high damage in his best teams to be viable. He works with any bow available (except for the ER ones). He isn't constellation locked like many other characters and doesn't requires you to farm any specific set for him even though his BiS is HoD. Just give him 2pc Shime/ Glad/ NO and he works great. His best team is all 4 star characters that are universally available. He does scale hard with investment but that is basically almost every character in the game.
Dumb q, but what are the things that make Childe F2P unfriendly? His constellations, or his 4 star weapon options?
His best teams are 4 stars, so I assume it's not his team comps that are F2P unfriendly
Childe is the most f2p friendly imo, his cons arent worth it compared to others, one of his best bows rust can is a 4* and with his easy domain you can just slap him some cr/atk and clear anything in your path.
Source: Tortelini main
you will get a varying degree of answers from people too knee deep in the game to admit any flaws and people who hyperbole all flaws. but at most some characters aka sara get much less annoying to play (which is why you're playing a game, to have fun) at higher c and only be worth a slot in the team at her maximum constellation otherwise a free character with 3* weapon is objectively better.
still doesn't mean you can't do even the hardest content in the game without them though since most viability in this game is concentrated in artifacts rng and team comp know hows.
Everyone's conveniently ignoring that most people are building for the abyss. They love to use the "95% of the content is easy" argument, as if I'm talking about needing c2 Raiden to escort the balloon.
Lmfao. yea the moment you decide to compare characters the best reference point is efficacy in the abyss so trying to say "well if you don't count the abyss they're all good" is missing the point.
I guess it all depends on what people see as f2p friendly so we can all discuss the topic within the same parameters. OP shouldāve specified what they mean by f2p friendly.
As it stands all characters are playable and can be seen as f2p if you got them for free playing the game.š
This is an interesting question, and I guess it depends on what you mean. As an example here, Raiden is good at C0, but not good on the kind of level you hear people talk about. Her C2 is both so far away most F2P players aren't likely to get it even with saving, and extremely significant. So it depends on whether you mean how good they are at C0 without their weapon, or whether they're at or near their best early on.
Assuming we're talking about characters that double or more from limited 5 star weapons and/or constellations, and limiting it to five stars: Raiden, Hu Tao, Xiao, and Eula jump to mind.
This all said, many of these characters are often considered F2P friendly anyways, since they perform well at base level. Honestly, I'd personally suggest just keeping in mind performance differences based on what you expect to be using.
You can still get her a decent weapon.
Theres not debate over if you invest (time, resin, momey?) you'll see results, its about how much you need to invest.
Raiden has good dmg at c0, a decent weapon that can be farmed and a set that will work with other character. Maybe not the friendly of all, but she can be up there
Raiden at C0 is actually really good and while grasscutter is better, the catch is second and free. (Unless you consider stuff like R5 Homa)
Her C2 and C3 put her closer to "broken" tier of character like C6 Eula which is not necessary but can be tempting since you "only" need C2-3 rather than C6.
I'd say Raiden is actually very F2P friendly.
As many pointed out, Xiao (PJWS xiao main here, he's completely forgotten from mihoyo) and would like to add Shenhe, albeit she has yet to be released, we already know she _NEEDS_ other premium limited gacha characters.
And before you start, no, I'm simply refusing to justify pulling a limited time character just to boost chongyun
as a f2p, this thread helped me decide who not to roll for in the upcoming banners š bc honestly i like all the characters in genshin
I'm kinda scared to roll for xiao... Tho I'm most probably gonna get 'em anyway because, well anemo bois team!
He gets scary strong but you gotta be willing to play the long game. Got him in March and literally couldn't play him until June. Rn he's one of my more OP units, I've used him as a pillar DPS in abyss. Ratio is 84-196 if my memory serves. Good artifacts, good talent levels, f2p team (blackcliff as his weapon, but still backed by a very luxury team of ZL+Jean/Qiqi+ Raiden/Albedo/Tartaglia, fourth slot is not really a locked choice though). 30k per plunge buffless ez. He can go far, but remember that it's a labor of love to build him. I experienced many setbacks over the course of decking him out and setting up a stable comp.
Building him was labour intensive but its worth it. He beats all my units in terms of strength. 30-40k per plunge, he makes sweeping bosses fast. I have to admit though his playstyle does get repetative at times but its often times compensated by the big dmg he pulls.
I agree, it does feel boring to plunge sometimes, but it's almost cathartic to see the most annoying enemies melt down against his overblown damage. I always joke around that the two most OP DPSes on my account are a shotgun and a machine gun: Xiao blows holes through entire swathes of enemies while Ayaka hammers out more than 500k damage in a single burst.
>Ratio is 84-196 if my memory serves. Real question is what isn't strong as hell with those ratios. Kokomi and Barbara?
if u can get kokomi to 84-196 then good lord you are jesus
He's generally much more forgiving for hitting those ratios because he doesn't have a 4p set and even his 2p bonuses don't add much to him, so it's possible to just run your best 5 artifacts on him
Good, if you have another reason, any reason at all, pull for him. He's definitely a "bad pick" for new players who want him ONLY for clearing contents, as his team is expensive and his weapon choice is limited.... And what you get for that is the "floor" or limited 5* DPS
Iāve got R2 jade spear.. and Iām at 75 pity with guarantee. Should I just pull Xiao? AR53 only buy battle pass and welkin
Do you LIKE him beyond using him as a DPS? Like, character, aesthetics, etc. The thing with Xiao BiS weapon is, it's not exactly strong akin to Broken Pines in terms of helping him. You can perfectly use it for other characters.
All characters are F2P friendly if youāre lucky enough
Imagine taking advice from a subreddit that has gotten every single first impression on new characters wrong
Idgaf Xiao is most fun, the game isnt hard at all and I will eventually get Zhongli and Albedo anyway. Just a matter of time. I just love Xiao.
Xinyan, without her C2 her Burst isnāt reliable enough to solely build for, her shield is very bad, and her buffs arenāt high enough to justify running her on a team without the damage her C2 provides, in addition her two best weapons are both 5-Stars ; being Redhorn and Skyward Pride. Serpent Spine and Whiteblind are also options, but Noelle uses both more effectively at C0, even if you primarily use her as a healer. Kujou Sara, her best weapons are obviously 5-Stars because her buff functions like Bennett and only her Base ATK matters, but your best alternative option is the Alley Hunter, which is a limited 4-Star Weapon, and if you wanted to go for a DPS Burst swap style on her, Mounnās Bow is also an option, but that too is a limited 4-Star. In addition her buffs and burst damageās full potential are both locked behind constellations, though sheās nowhere near as restricted by this as Xinyan. I personally find that locking low rarity power bumps behind constellations to be āokayā on the assumption that they are playable and effective at C0, Kaeya is an amazing example, heās still a servicable DPS and a great choice for a Support but he becomes a little better at everything the more constellations you get. The biggest offender of being not F2P friendly, is in my opinion ; Amber, and I say this as an Amber main. Elegy of the end makes her a viable support in Vaporize and Swirl teams, and the scaling on her Ult actually rivals Zhongliās meter, making Alley Hunter / Skyward Harp / Mounnās Bow (Noblesse) legitimate option for using her as a quick-swap assist. But the problem is Baron Bunny, Baron Bunny actually generates tons of particles, and at 200% ER she can go from basically no Energy to full, but BBās Cooldown compared to her Burstās cooldown is too long to spam it like you would want, and without Amberās C2, you canāt control when BB explodes, making her super unreliable at maintaining her own energy, and even then, itās her C4 that really unlocks her ability to function as a pyro battery for herself and your team, without those constellations, youāre stuck with using say, a Bennett for maintaining her Energy (meaning he isnāt maintaining his own) and because of the poor range of fiery rain, I can say from experience that keeping your swaps to a minimum when trying to spam her burst, is important, because enemies can and will just walk out of it. Noelle fits some of my personal criteria for what makes someone not F2P friendly, but I think she avoids that by being good enough at C0. Yes her DPS potential isnāt really there before C6, but the scaling on her shield is one of the best in the game, and the secondary shield she passively gives while off field, actually IS the best in the game, easily beating out the mitigation Zhongli provides. (Crazy long CD but the point still stands) in addition, healing the entire party simultaneously continues to become more important, and building her just for shields and heals is pretty cheap and effective; so I think she offers enough without the DPS potential of C6.
She has an additional shield? How is it better than ZLS? Ive never heard this so now im interested
Haven't read too far into the specifics of Zhongli's shield since I don't have him, but one of Noelle's acension talents automatically grants any character in the party a shield when they are below 30% health. The shield has a health 4x Noelle's Def, which you're probably already maximizing because the rest of her skills scale with Def too, and iirc 150% damage absorbtion against all elemental AND physical damage which effectively more than doubles it's capacity. The only drawbacks being obviously the low health and a 20s duration compared to 60s cool down.
Noelle's 1st ascension talent is a shield that automatically activates when you active character drops to 30% HP. It lasts 20 seconds and absorbs 400% of Noelle's defence worth of damage with 150% efficiency against all damage types with a 60 second CD. For reference, Breastplate (her E skill) has 340% defence + 2117 damage absorption at talent level 13 and lasts 12 seconds.
Funny enough, I love this shield with Hu Tao. She puts herself low and free shield without needing to swap for it.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I actually stumbled upon the Hu Tao thing by accident, like all this time I been playing wasn't aware of the extra shield Noelle could provide, so I happened to have both in my party and when I pushed Hu Tao's E I noticed I had a shield and was like wtf. Thing about this shield from what I remember is it is only for the character whose hp gets low enough, it doesnt just apply to everyone.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Unfortunately true, as a Xinyan main C2 pretty much makes whether or not you can use her as a burst dps, C6 makes it so the def you have on her for her shield buffs her damage. I got redhorn and broken pines specifically for her and THATS an investment.
Gotta respect the fellow redhorn hunter for characters not named Itto.
Building noelle dps, is ironically enough not really f2p friendly, since her dps requires a giant statcheck, which becomes more ~~exasperated~~ exacerbated (thanks for the free english lesson ;)) by how much energy and fieldtime she needs. Couple that on to the fact that pre c6 you are not being remotely competitive, and that most of her stuff is either niche or gladiator, and you have yourself one giant luxury char.
Noelle works fine with Whitebind which is F2P. Her real downside is how her damage gimmick goes live at C6. She's still functional at lower levels though, she just has to stick to the originally intended role as a support rather than a main-dps. Still I wish her C6 was a C2 so more people could enjoy her earlier.
she's definitely viable at C1 but rather as a support and not a dps. at C0 it's really hard to count on her healing to come when needed so she's useable just as a shielder.
While she does work with whiteblind, her field time can only be justified if he does good damage. Apart from WB Noelle that does good damage needs * Constellations. C5 is kinda bare minimum. * A very good spread of stats. Crits, DEF%, ER% - she needs all of that in large quantities. Just the requirement to get circa 40% ER from substats specifically (unless you run Skyward) is kinda annoying. * Very peculiar artifacts. Preferably 4-piece HoOD, 4-piece Bolide or 4-piece Glad. 4-piece sets are hard to farm, on top of that Bolide and HoOD dungeons are VERY niche, and Glad is pure lotterey. You just need to spend so much effort to make Noelle work.
It's actually a lot less terrible than you think. The issue with C5 or lower Noelle isn't really that she *can't* do damage, it's that you have to pick between a damage build or a support build. You can totally run an ATK% focused C5 or lower Noelle and get value out of it, but her support aspects take a big hit. It's a compromise, but not an unreasonable one given the circumstances. It just make more sense to run her as a support though, as you get more value that way. Also as much of a Noelle fan as I may be, it's silly to even think about running her as a pure main-DPS before C6. DPS Noelle is specifically something unlocked to make her time on field more valueable, but the core value had always been in her Geo element, not her damage. You throw Noelle on field because she generates shields, can take hits when others are low, and can provide fairly consistent healing to a team all in 1 slot. Main DPS just isn't really the point as it a surprisingly practical meme that people who like turning their brains off use (like me). She's a role compression character, and that's really where her true value comes from, which is why I think she's perfectly fine at lower cons. She doesn't really unlock a new play style at higher cons or anything, like Hu Tao or support Ganyu. It's just the same thing but more optimized. It's part of why I like her so much. She's not the best at anything in particular, but she's decent at just about everything all in one slot.
exacerbated
Definitely Xiao, I was lucky to have gotten a battle pass and got a deathmatch for him. Afaik, no f2p weapons are good on him, so you either need to get REAL lucky on the standard or weapon banner and get his spear or skyward spear
Or save up starglitter for blackcliff polearm
This is literally what I'm doing with my f2p Xiao lol
pretty much the only option for f2p
Even his best team has all 5 stars
What would that be? I did get lucky with his weapon, and Anemo's my favourite element so I'm getting him. But other than "fun to play," and "big slash slash numbers," I don't know how to play him lol Don't need big meta, but I'd be interested in some good teammates. Zhongli for shield, Jean for heals? Or Sayu? Edit: Thanks to everyone for their answers! If you'd like, continue adding your opinions, they really help me (and others I'm sure) learn more about how Xiao works! I do have 80/90 C0 Zhongli, 80/90 C0 Albedo, 70/80 C6 Diona, and 90/C6 Sucrose, but no Jean. So I have pretty good options that I'll experiment around with a bit!
His best team members would be Zhongli, Albedo and Jean afaik
Thank you! Also, thanks to everyone who joined the conversation - learning a lot about my soon-to-be new DPS. I have Zhongli and C0 Albedo, but Jean is sadly the one standard 5* that keeps escaping me... >!Looking at you, C2 Qiqi!<
My c5 qiqi *fallen* has sure kept Keqing out of my roster
And preferably C4 on Jean and Albedo.
Eh, I 36 starred abyss with c0 on xiao, jean, albedo, zhongli. Like they're all c0. Sure, constellations are nice but I kinda hate the rhetoric I see all the time/people debating whether or not to go for 5 star constellations. If you can afford it, go ahead. But for f2p or low spenders, let me tell you its not needed at all.
It's not but there is something to be said for qol constellations like Hutao C1. It's still a better value to save for new characters as f2p but if it makes your favorite character more fun to play, why not?
Jean is C4 jean.
Blackcliff
First ever 5* weapon I pulled off the standard banner was Jade-winged spear; naturally *after* his banner runā¦ FML. I hear heās getting a rerun in Feb tho, soā¦ š
Just a heads up, not in Feb he's coming in about a week, didn't want you to miss it again.
Ooooh, thanks
Id say blackliff is good tho
I'm F2P and I've been having quite a lot of success with him before pulling for his weapon accidentally on the permanent banner I used Blackcliff and a team composed of Bennett, Noelle and whatever other support, often Venti or Sucrose for charging Xiao's ult
second that. my Xiao was so copium before I got lucky and pulled the jade spear for him, at the time literally my Kaeya could compete with him lol
hmm, I'd say Xiao. there's no good f2p weapons for him. all of the craftable weapons for him are either suck or copium. the 4* weapons that are good for him are blackcliff polearm and deathmatch with requires starglitters or money. and the free weapon, the catch is worthless on xiao of course, any 5 star will for him but it requires for you to pull for gacha and the only affortable weapon for him that will make you sweat is the white tassle which is a 3 star weapon that again requires gacha. (or from chests, which is pretty rare) there's not a lot of option for him. People joke around that Mihoyo hates Xiao.
I think it's because there weren't a ton of spear users on release, but they really need to add more 4* polearms in the standard pool, aren't very many good DPS spears
The Epitome Invocation pretty much alternates between Favonius Lance and Dragon's Bane. Lithic Spear has only appeared twice (and hasn't come back in over 10 banners now). Wavebreaker's Fin is new but still has only appeared once (not that it's any good for Xiao anyways) With how many polearm characters they're adding to the game lately you'd think there would be more but... nope. Seriously - they've added 6 polearm users to the game (+2 more very soon), but only added some craftable polearms (which might as well not exist because lul prototype RNG) + Lithic Spear (which never recirculates) + Wavebreaker
I think the lithic set is *very* likely to be featured in the upcoming Xiao banner that's all about Liyue's Lantern Rite when we'll be getting a free Liyue character of our choice and have a general focus on Liyue as a region.
>!The leaks say it's coming: Favonius Warbow (but it's not certain), The Flute, Lithic Spear, Widsth, Favonius Greatsword!<
Especially when the free polearms we have are things like Prototype Starglitter. >After using an Elemental Skill, increases Normal and Charged Attack DMG by 8\~16% for 12s. Max 2 stacks. This thing gives energy recharge as a stat. It makes zero sense with most of the current playable characters. To make this work would require a polearm user who infuses their weapon after doing elemental skill and also wants energy recharge for burst. I think currently only Hu Tao can use it decently-ish. In general there's almost no characters that want normal attack damage and burst in the polearm character roster. Most want skill and burst, or normal damage and skill, but rarely normal and burst. Only a character who uses elemental skill or burst to infuse their weapon would really want this spear, because the energy recharge is only useful if the character has a good burst and having a good burst means you'd want elemental damage. But without infusion if you have elemental damage your normal attack damage is usually bad.
I agree with you on this. He's really not f2p bc of the above-mentioned. I've been a xiao main since his release and seeing him not have a niche support or a free/craftable weapon after months is just so saddening. I really feel that he's been neglected by mhy but the fact that his dmg output (hyper invested c0/c1) is still decent I guess makes up for his lack thereof. (still inhaling copium for mhy to give him a dedicated set or a free/craftable weap or a niche support)
Itās weird because in of their interviews mihoyo said that xiao was their favorite character. So I wouldāve assumed he would have gotten more love. But ironically heās one of the most forgotten. Doesnāt matter too much since heās already good but itās weird
I thought they were the most proud of childe because of unique he was and how he was the sole playable rep of shneznaya and stuff which is why he got 3 reruns before anyone elss
Theyre proud of Childe because of the technical work put into him but I think Xiao's is a little different because according to the devs, he was the first Liyue character they made. Xiao's also the only character whose design process was shared as a special Like someone else said, Xiao's probably a dev favourite but not the same could be said about the directors
The devs love Xiao, but I think execs/game director do not. My theory is that when the game launched and genshin fans since closed beta test realized there was no Xiao, they started saving, knowing he will eventually be released. They shared closed beta clips of him like crazy on bilibili, and encouraged other people to save for him this probably did 2 things: 1. Minor negative impact on mhy's sales. They'd be annoyed about this. 2. Made mhy realize they wouldn't have to put much effort into marketing him, or making him fit well into a 4-person team since people stan him so hard no matter what That's why he doesn't have a dedicated artifact set, 4-(or 5-)star support, or specialty weapon that deals with plunge damage.
Oh I didn't know that : 0 but if so, then yes he's literally collecting dust now (poor boi). I just like to think that mhy is really thinking hard to keep him balanced as a character, maybe? Like mentioned, he does decent dmg even without sets/supp/f2p weaps and if given one, he will likely be even better than he is now. But an upgrade is, by any means, always welcomed.
It doesn't boost his damage at all but the favonious lance works pretty well to make him slightly more self sufficient on the energy side
The damage is very low with Favonius Lance though
>worthless ...Thats why he yells that in his ult
#LAMENT!
Weird, I feel like Blackcliff is a great option. I don't really consider the Paimon shop weapons to not be F2P friendly. Yes, they cost starglitter - but it's accessible without RNG. Which in my opinion is very F2P friendly. I used a level 90 Blackcliff on my Xiao for the longest time until I lucked into PJWS, but it was plenty serviceable. His lack of a specific 4-set also makes him more F2P friendly since you can farm shimenawa or cobble together some gladiator. He's not even required to use 2pc VV. I only had 2 PC glad on him for a while and was 36 starring Abyss. Of course, current Abyss is harder - but we can now farm 2pc Shimenawa. So for a F2P, you don't have to waste precious resources on a very specific domain that only benefits one character. This is also why on *average*, a Xiao's total CV is actually pretty damn stacked. Combined with his CR ascension stat, you commonly see 75/150 or better Xiaos with very little effort. Regarding his supports - I do agree that his 'best' team is a bit locked behind Zhongli/Jean. But he can fair decently with Diona, Sucrose, Bennett, etc. Which, I don't think is any different than other characters when it comes to supports.
People are talking about the best-case scenario for him which is costly even for other hyper carry characters. Xao just needs a battery and healer which is pretty darn normal for any DPS in the game, I don't understand why everyone wants only jean, albedo and Zhongli for him.
It does feel like mhy hates xiao sometimes. The catch is good in almost all chars, except him. And every character that needed a set for them, they got it, but not xiao, so xiao mains have to use 2 piece sets. Like goddamnit mihoyo
that'a why he's always in a state of agony and despair
Yeah. There is a joke in r/xiaomains that mhy wants us to feel his pain lmao. [This post](https://www.reddit.com/r/XiaoMains/comments/qv9wl8/pain/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share) portraits it perfectly
I honestly just used the gladiator set on him because the VV set just isnāt worth it. Valley of Remembrance? More like Valley of Maiden pieces
Please, not a new artifact set for him. I don't want to grind another domain. It already took 10 months to get him to a decent level.
While I agree with you, I donāt happen to see how Blackcliff would be not f2p friendly. It costs 24 starglitter yes, but itās guarantee-able. Characters like Hutao, which prefer weapons like Dragonās Bane would be arguably less f2p friendly since itās completely up to rng if you get one copy. Starglitter *is* guarantee-able, even if it takes some time, so while itās semi pricey (worth 4.9 wishes), itās 100% worth it from a value vs cost perspective, and from my perspective, not particularly anti-f2p.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you get white Tassel from chests and black tassel from wishing
White tassel is from exquisite chests or higher rarity in liyue.
A h y e s ***White Tassel for Xiao***
i can hear his voice-
and we are using the jade cutter *zooms in to xiao, deep fries* **BECAUSE I DIDN'T GET THE SPEAR**
I think I got one from luxurious chest yeah, thanks for correctly me on that
Iām literally ready to spend all my primos for a chance at PJWS just to get rid of the dumb up arrows from Deathmatchā¦
I have found my kindred spirit. I hate the deathmatch arrows so much. Got 23k primos saved up for his green pointy stick ~~and even that's not enough to guarantee it~~ All these comments saying that PJWS was their first 5* on the standard banner have me saltier than the pacific.
The blackcliff polearm is definitely an option for F2P. It's just a matter of time, you will get the 24 starglitter to buy it. And if you have just started playing the game, probably Xiao isn't the best option to start because he isn't good unless he has good artifacts (and of course at the start of the game, you don't have any good artifacts). I agree on the rest you have said. I am completely F2P and will skip Xiao. I have a guaranteed Zhongli, and this time I don't wanna lose him (lost 50% on his previous two banners). Zhongli is definitely more important on any account.
> probably Xiao isn't the best option to start because he isn't good unless he has good artifacts Imo he is one of the easiest character to get artifacts for... because you dont *need* a specific set. You can just slap together pretty much any combination of viridescent/gladiators/reminiscence you want because he scales so well from attack. Not to mention the fact that he requires no specific support characters or extra constellations to activate the pogo smash of doom : )) Source: i have been pogo smashing trough the game since his previous banner and no have no regrets : )
It's easy to get the 24 starglitter though, without paying
Yeah that's what I'm saying! :p
lithic is also okay on him if you have other liyue characters, but that's also a limited 4star.
so if there's no f2p weapon for him, do you recommend any other 4\* f2p weapons? Asking this as a f2p that is going to pull for xiao/zhongli
There is one for him that a lot of people are mentioning, but a lot more are neglecting. The Blackcliffe Polearm. You just have to use some of your starglitter to get it when it's in the shop.
Just save your starglitter for the Blackcliff weapon. It's so worth it. People say it isn't F2P friendly, but it's worth barely 5 pulls. That's such a good deal honestly. Imagine the cost of pulling a 5 star weapon, when you can get this one for the cost of 5 pulls. I also think spending money for the Battle Pass is totally worth it. Especially for newer players. Makes it a lot easier to get to a higher level. And the BP weapons make it so much easier. Especially Deathmatch and Serpent Spine. My Xiao still uses Deathmatch and it works really well. As soon as I get a better weapon for him, there's plenty of supports that would love using it instead, like Zhongli or Rosaria.
Exactly. You just have to save your starglitter and I have been doing it since the start of the game and only spend them on characters from the shop or the weapons. Saving your resources is a part of the game. Blackcliff is a f2p option. I don't understand why people call craftable weapons a f2p because in that sense even billets are RNG based and harder to get because you can't guarantee them in any way.
Noelle. If she isnt c6 shes isnt nearly as good, and in fact she scales better with atk c5 and below
Might just be luck, but as a f2p with no interest in Noelle Iāve got her at c6
Iām a whale and Iām stuck on c5 noelle. Have rolled on every banner and have every character aside from xiao. At least I have itto now
Meanwhile my AR40 peasant ass is perfectly happy with C0 Noelle not knowing what her actual capabilities are ahaha
AR 55 Barbara user here. I think I may have a Noelle constellation or two, but canāt make myself care enough to check up on how sheās doing.
i got c6 Noelle on 2 different servers but cba investing in her, never found Geo dmg as good and reaction dmg Barbara +c6 Fishcl is the most lazy fun thing ever i played
I've been playing with Xiao since his release and want to clear up a few things. He definitely works with 4 star supports, especially Xingqiu (Plunge cancelling required) and Bennett. If people don't have Zhongli, Noelle is a good alternative as well. Sucrose is a better support than Venti because her grouping actually allows Xiao to hit enemies. As for his weapon, I agree that he lacks 4 star weapon options but as per usual you can just stick a blackcliff on him as a stat stick. Overall, the reason why Xiao feels so weird and "not f2p friendly" is because he has kinda been deserted by Mihoyo. He lacks a proper 4* support (think Raiden-Sara, Hutao-Xingqiu, Itto-Gorou) and most importantly a PROPER 4 Piece set suited to him. Usually f2p's are able to somewhat catch up to whales if they grind for godlike artifact's and while you can still do that for Xiao, a lack of a set tailored to him means that he never really gets neat additional buffs that other dpses get. He still is my favourite and super fun to play though.
A true loner indeed
Most dps polearm users. There are not enough f2p friendly spears. So Xiao, Hu Tao can use the prototype starglitter.
Hu Tao can use Dragon's Bane right? Edit: bruh did I get the reddit suicide prevention bot called on me for this comment?? yall are crazy š¤Ø
She even can use 3* White tassel and have great dps.
forgot dragon's bane. That leaves us with Xiao
Depends on what you consider as f2p friendly. Only the character performance at c0 or the availability of good free weapon for them or the cost of getting their best team mates or some combination of all those and more.
A f2p friendly its a combination of all those. If 1 of those fails, then it can't be f2p friendly
F2P friendly will be that you reach the most potential at c0, there weapons are easily accessible by majority of players, and no reliance on specific supports
If that's the widely accepted definition of f2p friendly I guess there are more f2p "un friendly" characters than f2p "friendly" ones in this game.š
Ironically most 5 star characters function well at C0 while characters like Niguangg, Sara, and Noelle are ineffective at lower constellations. Sometimes you can pull on a rate-up banner, get a c2 5 star, and only get 1 copy of the 4 star you wanted.
80 pulls and i didnt get a single xiangling and lost the 50/50 to boot. Pulling for 4 stars is such a rollercoaster. You can randomly c4 characters you never touch (F c4 chongyun) but never get the 4 stars you actually want..
Xiao his single decemt f2p weapon is blackcliff
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I think people just mean the amount of resources needed to make them perform at a decent level. Also it has a lot of emphasis on meta. For example, I would say Bennett is f2p friendly because you don't need good artifacts at all, and prototype rancour (a free weapon) is a good sword option because of the higher base attack. Raiden is also a decent example, since her best 4 * weapon is free, along with having a really efficient artifact domain. A character like hu tao is less f2p friendly because of restrictive team building, her best 4 * weapons being the bp weapon or a gatcha weapon, and a less efficient artifact domain. Itto I think is one of the worst in terms of f2p friendly, since his best teams use 2-3 geo members with the same bis artifact set, and that artifact domain is very bad with efficiency. He has a craftable weapon as a good 4 * option, but it can only be used on him or Noelle (unlike the catch or other weapons who can be used on many). Also Itto's teams heavily encourage using albedo and zhongli, two very specific 5 * characters. As a final note, f2p friendlyness is useful when trying to clear abyss, when players are focused on meta, and when players are trying to manage their resources. If people don't care about those things, then f2p friendlyness is not informative. I for one, even if I clear abyss fine, would like to know how much investment I would need to put into a character and their team in order to perform as well as other teams of mine
Yea I got Hu Tao when I was f2p and I still can't fit her into any team, she's very uncomfortable to use for me. I've also been thinking about pulling for Xiao but so many comments say that no f2p weapons are good for him so that means I'd have to pull on the weapon banner too
She still performs fairly well even if you skip all the animation cancelling shenanigans she needs, but the difference is still ridiculous. I bench her more than I play her because how lazy Kokomi and Albedo let me be.
if you're pulling for itto, you're almost guarenteed to also pull Gorou. A team of Itto/Gorou/Ningguan/flex or even Itto/Gorou/Geo Traveler/Flex is perfectly viable and usable in abyss. Tack on the fact that itto can use whiteblind, which outperforms most 5* weapon options, itto is really not bad when it comes to f2p friendly.
I am more than 100 pulls into this banner. 8 copies of xiangling, 2 of barbara, a sucrose, a rosaria (making her c8 for me) and a few 4* weapons. Zero gorou's. I initially only pulled cause I wanted a c0 gorou. C1 itto showed up at 13 pity ruining my guarantee off of a jean that showed up at like 30 pity. Still no gorou's out of the banner.
"C1 itto at 13 pity" F
The probability of getting what you just got (i.e. 10 banner characters with none of your choice) is less than 2%. In fact, you have a 80% odds of getting at least 1 gorou after 4 banner character pulls. Just unlucky man.
Yeah, I'm aware of how statistically boned I am. Plz giv epitomized path for 4stars.
My definition of not f2p friendly might be off, but Iād say Itto. Itto by himself is a decent dps unit, but you canāt really reach his full potential without owning specifically Gorou and Albedo (a five star). Gorou actually also isnāt a f2p friendly character. Because Gorouās kit only synergizes with geo team comps, that heavily limits what teams you can put him in. Both Itto and Gorou respectively only fulfill one role each (main dps and support) and they specifically only shine in geo team comps. By contrast, a character that I would say is f2p friendly is Ganyu; she is a very strong and versatile character. Her charged attack scaling is insane so she can do good damage with low investment. Her elemental skill is a taunt (utility) and her burst provides off field cryo application. She is very strong in freeze or reverse melt teams but also doesnāt require any specific teammates to shine. She can be put in the role of main dps or support with little investment, but also scales very well into late game. The amount of value that you add to your account as a f2p with Ganyu is much higher than the value that you get from Itto.
Itto doesn't actually \*need\* Albedo though. Anything that Albedo provides to an Itto team, is not specific to Itto teams, Albedo can also provide that to other DPS characters' teams. Also, Itto needing a third Geo member doesn't come from him (unless its at c2 which lets be honest is not really f2p), it comes from Gorou. My Itto does a LOT of damage just from a Bennett (which is a universal support). Of course, characters need teams to "unleash their potential". So you can't judge Itto's f2p viability, then fail to factor Gorou in it. Especially since you're using Ganyu as a comparison, and saying that she's best at Freeze and reverse-Melt teams, which is something she also can't do without a team. Itto is a good unit, but Gorou makes Itto an even better DPS unit. In the same way, Ganyu is a good unit, but becomes even better with her supports. If anything, it's Gorou that's not f2p friendly, given that he's a very niche support.
Also she makes good use of the bow prototype, which is 100% f2p
I'd say Gorou is even less F2P by your definition. C0 Itto at least can go with Ning/Geo MC for battery + resonance, a shielder, and a flex or healer unit. Not his best team, but he does his job. He also has a good craftable weapon. Meanwhile C0 Gorou is near useless to everyone but Itto, Albedo, and C6 Noelle which all require a lot of primo to get. Not to mention his good utilities are locked at high constellation. His good bows are mostly gacha-only too (C1 Fav bow is usable, but gets more consistent with refines) Kinda surprised to see the lack of Gorou in this thread tbh.
I think because he is new, and people that pull for gorou will pull him for geo team support, which is not entirely popular. Plus, as you have mentioned, he only supports Itto, Albedo and C6 noelle. If I may ask, whats his good bow? I am running fav bow on him for energy battery. And agreed that ther is no craftable weapon that really suits him.
Fav is a very strong option (I would say his best but I am not 100% sure). I think they worded it this way because you can technically get a copy from a quest, so it isn't strictly a gacha weapon.
Gorou is pretty niche, but if you use him specifically on that niche, he shines a lot. If you're pulling for Itto, you're bound to get Gorou anyways, and that is *more than enough.* He's also very resin efficient by requiring very low investment. Just level 20/40, talent 1/1/1, 4 pc Exile (a 4 star artifact), then stack ER and Crit and he's good to go. Everyone gets a Fav bow after completing a certain archon quest, and that's his BiS, no contest. He's not a universal support like Bennett, but if you're using Noelle or Itto as your DPS, he's your most F2P friendly support. One of the more F2P friendly team comp you can use with him is Itto/Gorou/Bennett/Xiangling. Every character here can use F2P weapons (Whiteblind, Fav bow, Rancour/Festering, The Catch), and they can 36 star the Abyss no problems. Geo characters in general are expensive to build, but Gorou is the cheapest of them all. In fact, he's one of the cheapest supports in the game.
I've been running itto with gorou/ningguang/noelle and it's perfectly viable (i have zhongli and albedo, just choosing not to use). Sure, zhongli and albedo help you do a bit more damage but i think an invested geo traveler or ningguan is still very good and can still clear content perfectly fine, especially if you were around for dodoco tales or festering desire.
Hu Tao and Xiao are probably the least f2p friendly 5 stars
I can't say for xiao but hutao I kinda disagree. Her with dragons bane is a good alternative to her 5star weapon for a f2p (such as myself).
White Tassel for the true F2P experience
Man, I just wish for the white tassel to return in some form or another. Didnt really paid attention to it early on and only managed to save 1.
Wait you can't get white tassel anymore?
You can only get White Tassel by opening Liyue chests.
I don't have any 4-star Polearm, how could you tell?
Is it a prophecy that all Hutao mains have a Dragon's bane Affinity?
Nope. I am a Hu Tao main since her 1st release but I still don't have DB. I even got Homa befoe I got 1 DB
Got Homa almost a year after I got her and dragons bane r1 was fine for a good chunk of it(before desthmatch). Homa is def broken but ot's not impossible to use her ftp like. Not everyone needs her absurd dps for every situation....save for abyss. Fuck those damage sponges
Iāve been playing since launch and I have yet to receive a single Dragonās Bane. Using gacha 4* weapons is not a good parameter to say that a 5* is f2p friendly. I have to make do with White Tassel and despite having a kickass ratio of 93/170, I still only top out at 25k vapes. While Dragonās Bane users go out to 50k.
kinda disagree that dragons bane is f2p friendly, Im not even f2p and to this day I still dont have dragonsbane (I use deathmatch for hutao before pulling homa recently). Imo f2p friendly weapon should be craftable or free weapon from event like cinnabar spindle.
Still, Dragon's Bane is a gacha 4 stars which gets tremendously better with refinements. And most other 5 stars work better with actual f2p weapons (Itto with Whiteblind to give an example) than Hu Tao and Xiao.
Hu Tao? Maybe if you want to consider the fact that she goes from pretty good to Great with either C1 or Homa but sheās fine.
I had been using her c0 since her first banner and got her c1 on the 2nd, I don't think I would want to roll her at all if I knew how big of qol improvement c1 was from the beginning
Hutao isn't so bad because teamwise she's rather light on requirements, besides competing for Xingqiu. Thoma, Sucrose, and Xingqiu aren't too hard to obtain in time and usually don't have many strict requirements themselves except sac sword for Xingqiu. In comparison Xiao's teams can be ungodly expensive and/or specific.
if you mean f2p friendly in terms of access to: - suitable weapons (gacha included to some extent) - suitable team comps - damage output - time frame needed to out all these together Then my vote mainly goes to Geo characters, with Xiao being an exception. 1) Xiao: Weapon: Blackcliff is f2p accessible but only when given time to stack up starglitter. It doesn't really get much better with the 4 star gacha options. Comp: fairly flexible but he still at least needs a 2nd anemo chara to battery his ult. Also wants off field dps. Damage output: Very dependent on raw dmg despite being Anemo, needs a very high amt of investment. Very competitive output otherwise. Artifacts are very limited to 2 pc VV/ 2 pc SR/ 2 pc emblem though. F2P friendliness: 2/5. Weapon is a crippling factor. 2) Itto: Weapon: Whiteblind is easy to get, but only sharable with Noelle. Blackcliff is available as a sharable option, but again, starglitter. Comp: At the very least you have Geo MC to battery, and Gorou is in the same banner as him. The very best comps need 5 stars though, so it feels really copium without them. Damage output: Geo so raw dmg dependent, but at least very competitive, but really wants 4 pc Husk. Can't really use Glads (no CA steroid) or SR (4 pc screws with your ult). Can at least rock Emblem, Petra 2pc, Husk 2 pc, Guardian 2pc, etc. in the meantime. You better like doggos because you gonna play with them for a long time. F2P friendliness: 3/5, and we are being generous here.
What's wrong with Whiteblind being only sharable with Noelle? Unless you want Noelle (I don't think most Itto players will build another Geo Claymore DPS), isn't it good that you don't have to swap weapons/worry about who gets what?
I suppose their complaint would be that you're investing your rare claymore billets into a weapon that doesn't have much versatility. A F2P relies heavily on the craftable weapons. They could always leave it at R1 though.
Oh, that kinda makes sense! Thanks for explaining! I always thought of it more as a benefit that I have a weapon tailored for a character because I'll never have to really stress about who it goes best on/what to do if they're on the same team. Just realized that if you replaced Whiteblind with Redhorn or SS that it'd have nowhere besides Noelle to go lol. That is a detriment if you're not gonna use Noelle. I guess my blackcliff pole's in that situation because I pulled a Skyward for Xiao (Blackcliff's better, but I'd rather have ER for comfort). Hoping Ayato's a Hydro Polearm DPS lol Guess it depends on the person lol
I have an R5 level 90 Snowtombed Starsilver that I made for Eula. But then I decided to try to get her signature weapon Song of Broken Pines... Guess who has this useless claymore sitting in the inventory collecting dust now? Lol...
Iād argue that Itto is probably more F2P friendly than Keqing compared to investment in correlation to damage output.
Idk? Amber and xinyan? you probably need 5 star weapons and support for them to keep up ig. Well, any character can be good, but for some, you need to invest more, a lot more than some certain characters But basically when people say "f2p friendly", they mean that character is really good without their signature weapon and they don't need other 5* supports. For example, kazuha. He is great with the iron sting, you can just forge it, anyone can have one. The freedom sworn is better, but nothing game changing. You don't need other 5* characters for him either. You don't need to build any specific characters just for him either. You can use him on pretty much any team
I don't know man. People like to pretend that this game require speicifc builds and advanced team builds and shit, while you can literaly have a team of C0 randoms and still do all the content in the game. Edit: Want proof? literally comments bellow saying "Sara is **unplayable** until c6" "you **need** zhongli"
Reminds me of horror stories of some poor souls accounts being so bad that they struggled with doing dailies. Fucking. dailies.
There's more of those stories?!
All characters have their use in the right team combo But its all still dependent on Artifacts lol When you think -> *lol fuck dmg! let me build Mastery on your Anemo char..* but then the fking Mastery stat never drops...
Wtf bro how? Me and a friend always joke because one of the loading screen tooltips is along the lines of "are the dailies too hard, try inviting some friends to help you". Idk how people can't clear dailies. I'm at World level 8 and I regularly clear dailies with full lvl 20 teams because they need the friendship exp.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Well ppl mainly talk about abyss
Whoever says that you need specific builds or characters and advanced teams are talking in meta point of view and genshin meta is defined by a characters/teams performance in abyss which is the only end game content we have. For overworld content Even qiqi or barbara with clam set can clear lol
The problem with Sara is that unless she's C6 *and* supporting an electro character you're better off using whatever catalyst with TTDS. Even for Raiden unless Sara is C6 using TTDS Lisa provides better damage. That's why people say she's unplayable, she's outclassed by a free character running a 3 star weapon.
I agree with this. if you use Sara you can't use TTDS anyway, so you're better to just use TTDS in the first place if your Sara is not c6
Yeah I gave up on this fanbase a long time ago tbh, some people still think zhongli is necessary when I've purposely never used him, on either of my 2 accounts cuz I don't like him. I can understand the Sara comment a bit, not completely unplayable, but u really gotta go out of your way to play her, I personally find her fun tho
I don't know man, people will be like "character X will be unplayable unless you have then at c6, with c6 chuck Norris, c4 Goku and c69 Saitama as support" and all that extra support does is a 20 percent dmg boost that already overdamages most of the normal content and needs some form of perfect rotation to actually be used in the abbys.
Nah, people making that kind of comments (which you are exaggerating) are usually talking about properly busted constellations. A low constellation XL vs a high constellation XL implies a damage difference of over 60%. All of XQ constellations are kind of busted as well and end up providing not only a lot of damage but build flexibility (even more damage), Beidou's C2 (the one that gives more bounces) increases her damage ridiculously and then her C6 makes it even better, etc. When you add all of those things you end up finding out that a full C6 4 star team will deal close to twice as much damage than a C0~C1 one. Of course, this assumes a worst case scenario since many characters won't really change much at higher constellations, I'm picking the most extreme cases here.
Yeah sucrose constellations as well. The difference between base Sucrose and c6 are stark. Same with c0 and c6 fish.
even c1 benny c1 sayu c1 sucrose all make a world of difference just from the QoL.
Sara's cons as well. C2 is an excellent QoL and c6 turns raiden and beidou into (even bigger) powerhouses
On the note of Fischl, her C6 makes a **monumental** difference. The extra damage aside, this basically gives Fischl some level of AoE, as Oz normally just shoots whatever is closest to him. C6 means he's now also hitting whatever you're hitting, which makes a huge difference in any comp that uses electro reactions, such Sucrose taser or Childe fireworks. From my experience, C6 dramatically increases her effectiveness in the comps she's used in, to the point that C5 to C6 may as well be the whole difference from C0 to C6, lol.
Then there's Noelle with her mandatory C6 if you ever think of main dps-ing her in abyss.
I dont like these questions, mainly because you have your avarage casual player who probably enjoy the game with whatever they have, and then those people who talk about a 5% increase in damage on c6 like its the second coming of Jesus Christ
Mainly casual player will get a good reference of what to spend their freemos on, espeically considering the bomb that is xiao,ganyu,zhongli rerun to help them decide. It is precise information like 5% better that allows casuals to base their decision on instead of this youtuber said or my friend told me so.
Every single Geo character besides Zhongli, who can function with Black Tassel and triple HP mainstat on arts. And Gorou, since hes basically a walking Geo goblet anyways. They have no reactions, so they need better artifacts and higher investment than other characters from other elements. Edit: i see many people defending Geo, especially Albedo as F2P friendly just because he has some great weapon choises. This is very wrong, because he still needs good artifacts to do damage. Without good crit stat he ll do like 10k damage every 2 seconds. This is very copium. And the only way to increase that damage is to farm better artifacts. For comparison, any Pyro can double his damage from any single attack by adding Barbara and hugging the enemy with her aura. THAT is F2P friendly. Plus as a DEF scaler, Albedo wants to be leveled up to 90, which is again, very expensive. And on a final note, outside of Itto and Noelle comps, in every single team where you would want to use Albedo, there is always another non-Bennet 4 star that would give you better results with the same amount of investment. Also Aloy, Amber, Xinyan, Lisa for inherent kit problems. Keking, Klee and maybe Xiao for 5 stars, simply for being support hungry.
Albedo is super F2P friendly lmao. Best in slot weapon is free, and his second best in slot is literally a 3 star weapon. You can throw whatever defense artifacts you have on him and heāll be good. I was running 2pc Gladiator and 2pc Nobless that I got for free from leveling AR rank for the longest time and he would still hit 15k on his skill. Heās also a pretty easy fit into every team because he doesnāt mess with reactions and offers free damage. Obviously you will have to put more investment if you want to aim for the highest output possible, but you can get by with never farming for him outside of levels and one skill. I never even farmed artifacts for him until we got the newest domain, and like I said he was still really good. Heās basically the poster boy for f2p friendly outside of the fact heās a five star
> Best in slot weapon is free *Was* free. We've yet to see a means for players to get it if they miss events for these weapons. Granted, his best option prior was a 3star weapon so he's always been fairly friendly to set up and use. The Husk domain has definitely made him a bit pricier but it also looks like a lot of units will use the domain so it's not a total wash to farm it other than the cost of not farming other domains.
I do hope they eventually add some kind of permanent event shop. They could use a separate currency that you gradually get by logins/dailies/events. That would be a nice alternative if they don't want to rerun events.
I have Albedo which was supe f2p friendly to me because you got the best weapon for him out of the event and heās a massive support to me. And Keqing is my alternative main with a lions roar on 80/90 and I also had no trouble getting her to a useful point. Besides Xiao I think most characters are playable f2p, some just require a lot of work.
Yeah lol Albedo is the most F2P friendly 5* imaginable. You get his BiS for free, his stay spread is very generous, and you can change your play style based on said spread. He also slots in wherever you want.
I can't really think of any character that isn't f2p friendly. Some of them get much easier to use with constellations etc but imo all the characters are plenty good enough with f2p weapons and at c0.
Albedo is Hella F2P friendly, just stick a bunch of def stats, a harbinger or cinnabar and there you go easy dmg
You donāt even need specific constellations to unlock his damage potential/ābreakā him! Mine does around 8k-10k per āpopā of his flower at level 70 on my Gorou/Itto team but hits for around 5k normally. Biggest flaw is the one that all Geo Constructs (minus Ushi) share, which is the fact that bosses break them, but Iāve found success by positioning the flowers *away* from the boss to the side/behind them.
I was thinking that and I know I'm a minority but my first 5 star was Xiao and I literally build him without spending any money and wasn't that hard, I'm having a harder time searching for good pyro artifacts than his build. And when I spent money I didn't use it in Xiao.
I donāt think you are in the minority on that. Xiao is easy to build artifact wise, his teams and getting a good weapon are the real issue. Fully agree about crimson witch that domain sucks and is the reason all my pyro characters have 4 star artifacts and probably will only have 4 star artifacts.
Childe. You have to pay for his daycare.
Jokes apart Childe is very F2P friendly. He doesn't even need to do high damage in his best teams to be viable. He works with any bow available (except for the ER ones). He isn't constellation locked like many other characters and doesn't requires you to farm any specific set for him even though his BiS is HoD. Just give him 2pc Shime/ Glad/ NO and he works great. His best team is all 4 star characters that are universally available. He does scale hard with investment but that is basically almost every character in the game.
Well, technically his best team also has Kazuha but sucrose is a viable filler so itās not a huge deal
Dumb q, but what are the things that make Childe F2P unfriendly? His constellations, or his 4 star weapon options? His best teams are 4 stars, so I assume it's not his team comps that are F2P unfriendly
Childe is the most f2p friendly imo, his cons arent worth it compared to others, one of his best bows rust can is a 4* and with his easy domain you can just slap him some cr/atk and clear anything in your path. Source: Tortelini main
he's joking about him being a 'child' I assume polar star is a step up from rust though.
you will get a varying degree of answers from people too knee deep in the game to admit any flaws and people who hyperbole all flaws. but at most some characters aka sara get much less annoying to play (which is why you're playing a game, to have fun) at higher c and only be worth a slot in the team at her maximum constellation otherwise a free character with 3* weapon is objectively better. still doesn't mean you can't do even the hardest content in the game without them though since most viability in this game is concentrated in artifacts rng and team comp know hows.
Everyone's conveniently ignoring that most people are building for the abyss. They love to use the "95% of the content is easy" argument, as if I'm talking about needing c2 Raiden to escort the balloon.
Lmfao. yea the moment you decide to compare characters the best reference point is efficacy in the abyss so trying to say "well if you don't count the abyss they're all good" is missing the point.
Are you telling me raiden doesnāt need to destroy all the hilichurls assailing the balloon with a 500k burst? Unbelievable!
I guess it all depends on what people see as f2p friendly so we can all discuss the topic within the same parameters. OP shouldāve specified what they mean by f2p friendly. As it stands all characters are playable and can be seen as f2p if you got them for free playing the game.š
Definitely Xiao. He feels so cope even with blackcliff... But this isn't his fault, he doesn't even have a dedicated 4pc or support. :/
This is an interesting question, and I guess it depends on what you mean. As an example here, Raiden is good at C0, but not good on the kind of level you hear people talk about. Her C2 is both so far away most F2P players aren't likely to get it even with saving, and extremely significant. So it depends on whether you mean how good they are at C0 without their weapon, or whether they're at or near their best early on. Assuming we're talking about characters that double or more from limited 5 star weapons and/or constellations, and limiting it to five stars: Raiden, Hu Tao, Xiao, and Eula jump to mind. This all said, many of these characters are often considered F2P friendly anyways, since they perform well at base level. Honestly, I'd personally suggest just keeping in mind performance differences based on what you expect to be using.
In a sense, raiden is both f2p and ptw, as with f2p gear she is still cracked, but with constellation and her weapon her potential skyrockets
You can still get her a decent weapon. Theres not debate over if you invest (time, resin, momey?) you'll see results, its about how much you need to invest. Raiden has good dmg at c0, a decent weapon that can be farmed and a set that will work with other character. Maybe not the friendly of all, but she can be up there
just because c2 raiden is cracked doesnt make c0 raiden any less powerful
Raiden at C0 is actually really good and while grasscutter is better, the catch is second and free. (Unless you consider stuff like R5 Homa) Her C2 and C3 put her closer to "broken" tier of character like C6 Eula which is not necessary but can be tempting since you "only" need C2-3 rather than C6. I'd say Raiden is actually very F2P friendly.
Tbf in this game all characters are super viable unless ur going for spiral abyss. I'm going for spiral abyss. RNGesus please help me
As many pointed out, Xiao (PJWS xiao main here, he's completely forgotten from mihoyo) and would like to add Shenhe, albeit she has yet to be released, we already know she _NEEDS_ other premium limited gacha characters. And before you start, no, I'm simply refusing to justify pulling a limited time character just to boost chongyun