The single best thing you can do as a new Genshin Impact player is slow down and learn how elemental reactions work, because that one idea carries you through the entire early game far more than any five-star character ever will. I spent my first week chasing shiny banners; my second week, once reactions clicked, is when I actually started winning fights.
What I cover
1. Elemental reactions come first
Every character deals one of seven elements, and combining two of them triggers a reaction that does bonus damage or applies a useful effect. Soaking an enemy with Hydro then hitting them with Cryo freezes them; adding Pyro to Hydro creates Vaporize for a big damage spike. You do not need to memorise every combination, but you do need a team that can reliably trigger at least one strong reaction. This matters more than raw star ratings, and it is why a well-built four-star team can clear content that a random pile of five-stars cannot.
2. Building your first team
A standard early team has four roles. Fill these roles with whoever you own rather than holding out for a specific banner character.
| Role | Job | Notes for beginners |
|---|---|---|
| Main DPS | Deals the bulk of your damage | The character you attack with most; build this one first |
| Sub DPS | Applies a second element off-field | Enables reactions while your main DPS attacks |
| Support | Buffs, shields, or crowd control | Keeps you alive and boosts your damage |
| Healer | Restores health | Free starter characters cover this role well |
3. How wishes and pity work
Wishes are the game's gacha system, and the key idea to understand is pity. On the character event banner, the game guarantees a five-star within a set number of wishes, and your count carries over between banners of the same type. There is also a fifty-fifty system: your first five-star on the event banner may be the featured one or a standard character, but if you lose that fifty-fifty, the next five-star is guaranteed to be the featured one. The honest advice for beginners is to save your wishes rather than pull a little on everything. Decide on a character you genuinely want, save toward a full guaranteed pull, and ignore the fear of missing out on the rest.
4. Exploration that pays off
Genshin's open world is not just scenery, it is your main source of the currency you use to wish. Opening chests, solving small puzzles, and unlocking waypoints all reward the premium currency, so thorough exploration in your first weeks funds your future pulls for free. Prioritise these as you roam:
- Statues of The Seven: unlock them in each region for stamina boosts and map reveals.
- Teleport waypoints and shrines: free fast travel and useful rewards.
- Oculus collectibles: turn them in to raise your stamina cap over time.
- Chests and world puzzles: the steady drip of currency that pays for wishes.
5. Spend your resin wisely
Resin is the energy you spend to claim rewards from bosses and domains, and it refills slowly over time. Because it is limited, spending it well is one of the most important habits to build early. Do not burn it randomly. Prioritise character ascension materials and talent books for your chosen main DPS first, then move to artifact farming once that character is built. Wasting resin on content you are not ready to use the rewards from is one of the quietest ways new players slow their own progress.
6. Beginner mistakes to skip
Most early struggles trace back to a few habits. Building too many characters at once leaves them all weak. Pulling small amounts on every banner burns your currency without ever securing the character you actually want. Ignoring elemental reactions makes fights harder than they need to be. And rushing the story past regions you have not explored leaves easy free currency on the table. Fix those four and your account grows far faster. For the wider background and setting, the Genshin Impact article on Wikipedia is a helpful overview.
FAQ
Do I need a five-star character to progress?
No. A well-built team of four-star characters that can trigger strong elemental reactions clears the vast majority of early and mid content. Investment and team synergy matter more than rarity.
Should I save my wishes or pull now?
Save them. Decide on one character you genuinely want and save toward a guaranteed pull rather than spending a little on every banner, which usually leaves you with nothing you were aiming for.
What should I spend resin on first?
Ascension materials and talent books for your chosen main DPS. Build one character fully before you start farming artifacts, and avoid spending resin on rewards you are not ready to use.
How do elemental reactions work?
Applying two different elements to an enemy triggers a reaction that adds damage or an effect, like Freeze from Hydro plus Cryo. Build a team that reliably triggers at least one strong reaction and the early game gets much easier.