Best F2P Characters in Genshin Impact: Who to Invest In First, From Core 4-Stars to Your First 5-Star (Patch 6.7)
You don't need a 5-star or lucky pulls to start investing wisely: the most reliable order is Xiangling first (free, the National Team's backbone), then Bennett or Xingqiu depending on whether your team needs the ATK buff or the damage-reduction layer more, then Fischl or a standard-banner 5-star once those three are settled. The filter isn't 'who's strongest' — it's 'who's cheap to own, cheap to build, and fills an actual gap in my team'. Full rankings and reasoning below, plus links to the tier list and the best-4-star breakdown.
F2P investing isn't about picking 'the strongest' — it's 3 filters
A few weeks into the game, staring at a tier list full of SS/S names while your Primogem count barely covers a couple of pulls — that overwhelmed feeling is close to universal. The good news: Genshin never requires you to own the single strongest character, only to pick the RIGHT one for the limited resources you actually have.
A character 'worth an F2P investment' should clear three filters, in order of importance: (1) cheap to own — free, on the standard banner, or a 4-star that shows up across every limited banner too; (2) cheap to build — their role doesn't depend on a limited 5-star weapon or a rare artifact set; (3) fills an actual gap in your team — a healer is always worth more than a second DPS if your team has zero sustain. Whoever clears all three makes the list below; see the full SS-to-D ranking (5-stars included) on our Genshin tier list, and a broader roadmap for the whole F2P journey on the F2P guide.
The core four: Xiangling, Bennett, Xingqiu, Fischl — invest here before anyone else
If you had to pick four names to pour EXP and Mora into first, this quartet has disappointed the fewest players through years of powercreep: Xiangling (off-field Pyro sub-DPS, the National Team's backbone), Bennett (a 2-in-1 heal + ATK buff), Xingqiu (damage reduction plus steady Hydro application) and Fischl (off-field Electro sub-DPS via Oz). All four are 4-stars — meaning they show up on limited banners AND the standard banner, and their builds almost never need a gacha-only weapon.
Recommended order if you own none of them yet: Xiangling first (free, easy, constant damage) → Bennett or Xingqiu depending on whether your team needs the buff or the damage reduction more → Fischl last if you need one more elemental sub-DPS. Full kit numbers, C6 payoffs, and why they've held S-tier for years are on our best 4-star characters ranking.
Widening the circle: free story characters and the standard banner
Before thinking about limited banners, don't forget you already own the Traveler (free element-switching as you clear each region's Archon Quest) and Kaeya (cheap Cryo application, good enough for Freeze/Superconduct if you have no other Cryo unit) — neither costs a single Wish. See the full breakdown on our beginner characters guide.
Once the core four are settled, the standard banner (Wanderlust Invocation) is the next F2P investment worth eyeing: its fixed 5-star pool — as of patch 6.7: Diluc, Jean, Mona, Qiqi, Keqing, Dehya, Tighnari, and Mizuki — is always available (the pool only grows over time, it doesn't rotate) — you don't need to wait for the right limited banner to have someone to build. And since it shares the same 0.6% base rate as the character banner, the same soft/hard pity math applies (74/90 pulls). Full mechanics on our pity system page.
Gaming & Rosaria: when an F2P 4-star can carry a 5-star's job
If your roster is missing a Main DPS entirely and you haven't pulled a suitable 5-star, don't rush to gacha for one — Gaming at C6 is one of the rare 4-stars that competes with 5-star DPS in a Melt team (paired with a Cryo applicator like Rosaria or Kaeya). Worth remembering: Gaming is already worth building at C0 if you need a Pyro DPS, he only truly 'changes tier' at C6 — so don't hoard resin waiting for constellations before starting his build.
Rosaria is the cheapest investment if your team lacks CRIT Rate: her A4 passive grants the team a bonus equal to 15% × Rosaria's own CRIT Rate (capped at +15%), so she needs a full 100% CRIT Rate herself to hit that 15% cap — at 88% CRIT Rate the team only gets +13.2% (Cryo Resonance's +15% CRIT Rate only applies when the enemy is Cryo-affected or Frozen, it doesn't feed directly into Rosaria's A4 formula) — no need to pull anyone else for a stable Crit source. Full numbers and other A-tier 4-stars on our best 4-star ranking.
The real build order: Talents or Ascension first?
Owning the right character is one thing; pouring resources in the right order is another. A common F2P mistake is dumping every ascension material in first and only remembering talent books later — even though most of a character's damage (especially off-field sub-DPS like Xiangling or Fischl) lives in their Skill/Burst level, not their raw character level.
- Prioritize the correct core talent (their main damage skill — not Normal Attack if they're an off-field sub-DPS) up to level 6-8 before pushing Ascension to the full 80/90.
- Ascension still matters for unlocking substat nodes and raising base HP/ATK — don't skip it, just don't rush to max it immediately if resin is tight.
- See the full role-by-role talent priority table on our talent priority guide, and the exact ascension material route per character on our ascension materials guide.
Slotting your F2P investments into the strongest team you can run
Investing in the right characters only pays off once they're slotted into the right team. Xiangling + Bennett + Xingqiu + a flex 4th slot (Chongyun/Sucrose or any Anemo you own) is the National Team — the cheapest F2P comp that still clears most content thanks to continuous Vaporize/Melt. If you also have a Dendro/Hydro/Electro 4-star or two, try Hyperbloom — it doesn't demand high constellations and puts the same names you just invested in to good use.
Rule for the flex slot: swap in any character in your roster with the SAME role, not necessarily the exact name suggested. See the full team-building framework and Elemental Resonance on our team building guide, and other reaction comps on our reaction teams guide. Want to see exactly how much damage each investment adds to your current team? Try the live damage calculator right on this site.
Does F2P require pulling a 5-star to be strong enough?
No. The Xiangling-Bennett-Xingqiu-Fischl quartet clears most of the game's content, including all 3 toughest endgame modes, as long as they're built for the right roles. 5-stars make things faster and easier — they're not a requirement.
Should I build Gaming at C0, or wait until I have C6?
Build him at C0 right away if you need a Pyro DPS — he already performs well at that level. C6 is when he truly 'changes tier', but it's not a condition for starting the investment.
Does investing in F2P characters require a 5-star weapon?
No. Plenty of craftable 4-star weapons or quest/event rewards carry the right substat (Energy Recharge for a Support, Crit stats for a DPS) and perform just as well as a 5-star with the wrong stats. See the full breakdown on the F2P guide.
If I don't own any of the core four yet, who should I build first?
Xiangling first — she's easy to pull off any banner, simple to play, and the one irreplaceable backbone of the National Team. After that, pick Bennett or Xingqiu depending on whether your team needs the ATK buff or the damage reduction more.
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