The Genshin Impact wish system is a powerful lure for many a traveler in Teyvat. As a result, players remain continually enticed by the chance to obtain a character or weapon of their desire. Surely, that would replicate the same experience as those wish simulators made by fans, right? How accurate are they really, and how much value do they provide? But the bright side here is that these simulators are dead accurate with the mechanics involved in the Genshin Impact gacha, so at the very least, it’s a fun practice tool.
Mimicking the Odds: The Pillars of Accuracy
The majority of Genshin Impact wish simulators tend to follow the published game mechanics and rates as closely as possible to be as accurate as possible, especially for the most important “pity” mechanics. So, how do they successfully achieve their level of realism?
- Official Drop Rates: Much of the official drop rates that are used in higher-end quality simulators are from official documents released by miHoYo, and cover drop rates for 3-star, 4-star, and 5-star items. Put into fancier words, the baseline probability of drawing a rare item is indeed solved.
- Pity System: Various branches of the gacha system are one of the essential parts of Genshin Impact, and that is nothing more than the pity system, which guarantees a 5-star within some amount of pulls (90 for character/standard banners, 80 for weapon banners). Similar to the actual game, simulators track your pulls and guarantee a 5-star at these thresholds.
- Soft Pity: Outside of hard pity, soft pity is a chance bonus on a 5-star, the closer you are to your 5-star pity (guaranteed), which begins at about 75 pulls in. Again, that is one of the more nuanced connections some of the found simulators, too, offer through their systems-level sim to make it more engaging.
- 50/50 Mechanic: When pulling to get a 5-star on a character event banner, you have a50/50chance as to whether or not you will get the event 5-star character. And if you lose the 50/50, and you hit a norma5-starar, your next 5-star will be the featured. This “50/50” (and the extra assurance that follows) is precisely replicated by simulators.
Beyond Perfect Replication: The Simulator’s True Value
While a Genshin Impact wish simulator is as close to real life as you can get, it is only a simulator and not the backend of a game server. Not every simulator has the same RNG algorithm(chances are it’s only known internally by miHoYo). This nuance, however, is largely academic as it does not reduce their valuable practical utility.
Ultimately, these simulators are fantastic tools for:
- Testing Your Luck: Want to know how many wishes it takes to get to the character that you want without primogems burning? I suggest you go ahead to hold as many pulls as you want on simulators and familiarize yourself with the odds.
- Strategic Planning: They can be used by players to plan their Genshin Impact wish budget so that they have an idea of how many Fates they’ll need to stow away for an incoming banner.
- Entertainment and Satisfaction: It’s a tug of war, but get this— you can’t have it all. With simulators, you can enjoy the pulling animation and experience safely, without the consequences.
- Managing Expectations: Having experience across a range of scenarios, players are encouraged to feel more realistic about their chances in Gacha, so they manage their expectations for in-game wants appropriately according to what they have undergone.
In the end, at best, fan made gacha cannot ever emulate the true experience of a gacha—much less an actual serving gacha (or a tool)—but the Genshin Impact wish simulators get damn close to mimicking the core processes and probabilities. Doubtlessly making for an excellent poster child for any Genshin Impact player to give you hours of fun with a smart way to prep for that next big in-game pull.