Does Standard Banner Pity Carry Over? Decoding Gacha Game Mysteries
Have you stared at your screen after an eternity of wishes? Wondering if your favorite gacha game is conspiring against you? You’re not alone. The world of “pity systems” and “banner carryover” feels like a labyrinth designed by tricky game developers. Let’s decode it.
Pity: Your Invisible Gacha Guardian Angel
First, what is “pity”? Picture a cosmic claw machine. You’re trying to snag that five-star character or weapon. Pity acts as your safety net. Every time you wish and don’t receive the top-tier prize, your chances for the next try increase. It’s like the game feels sorry for you.
Simply put, pity counts the wishes on a specific banner without getting a five-star item. If you’ve wished 77 times on a Character banner and not seen the five-star glow, you’re at 77 pity.
There are two types of pity:
- Hard Pity: This guarantees a five-star item. Reach a set number of wishes, and the game must grant you one. In many games, like Genshin Impact, this “hard pity” hits around 90 wishes. The game throws you a bone when you’ve emptied your pockets.
- Soft Pity: This starts around 70 to 80 wishes. The rates of snagging a five-star subtly climb. It feels like the game whispers, “Okay, maybe *now* you’ll get lucky.” Many players find that five-stars often appear within this range, making those pulls extra tense.
Once you finally get that coveted five-star, BAM! Your pity counter resets to zero. A fresh start to climb the pity ladder again. Isn’t gacha unique?
Pity Carryover: The Banner Bridge
Now, does all that pity effort vanish when a banner ends? Thankfully, no. Generally speaking, pity carries over from banner to banner of the same type. If you build up pity on a character banner, but it ends before you get a five-star, fear not! The next character banner will still have your pity count.
However, pity does not carry over between different types of banners. Character banner pity stays with character banners. Weapon banner pity s weapon banners. They all exist in distinct pity silos.
Standard Banner Pity: The Evergreen Wish Well
Let’s focus on the standard banner specifically. This banner is often a permanent feature in gacha games. It serves a pool of characters and items that are always available. It has its own pity system separate from limited-time event banners.
Here’s what you need to know about standard banner pity:
- Separate Pity Counter: The standard banner operates on its own pity counter. Wishes on event banners do not contribute to standard banner pity, and vice versa. They are their own distinct universes.
- 5-Star Guarantee: Like character banners, standard banners often have hard pity around 90 wishes for a guaranteed five-star item. This applies to either a character or weapon.
- 4-Star Guarantee: To sweeten the deal, standard banners usually guarantee a four-star item within every 10 wishes. Small victories matter, right?
- Pity Reset (Again!): Just like other banners, snagging a five-star on the standard banner resets that standard banner pity counter back to zero. The cycle continues.
Standard Banner vs. The Bannerverse (Genshin Impact Example)
To clarify this, let’s look at how banners work in Genshin Impact:
- Limited Character Banner: This features the hottest limited-time characters. Like standard banners, you get a guaranteed 4-star every 10 pulls and a 5-star around 90 pulls. Pity carries over to future limited character banners.
- Weapon Banner: For powerful five-star weapons, the weapon banner is your bet. Notably, weapon banners often have slightly lower hard pity, sometimes around 80 wishes. Pity carries over to future weapon banners.
- Standard Banner (Wanderlust Invocation): This uses special “Acquaint Fates” and features standard characters and weapons. Critically, wishes on this banner do not contribute to limited character or weapon banners’ pity. Standard banner pity stays its own.
- 50/50 Chance (on Standard Banner): In Genshin Impact’s standard banner, your five-star pulls have mixed results. You have roughly a 50% chance of pulling a character or a weapon. Keep that in mind when golden stars appear.
Pity Across the Gacha Galaxy: Game-Specific Examples
The core pity concepts are similar across many gacha games, but specifics can differ. Here’s a tour of pity carryover in popular titles:
- Genshin Impact: Reiterating: Standard banner pity is separate. Pity carries over between banners of the same type (character to character, weapon to weapon, standard to standard).
- Honkai: Star Rail (HSR): HSR follows similar pity rules. Pity carries over between same-type banners but not across different types. HSR’s “Departure Warp” (beginner banner) guarantees a five-star within just 50 pulls.
- Zenless Zone Zero (ZZZ): ZZZ features pity carryover between limited banners of the same type. The base rate for an S-rank character is 0.6%, but hard pity activates at 90 pulls for top-tier characters.
- Wuthering Waves: Wuthering Waves is player-friendly, offering pity carryover between different event banners. Plus, you’re guaranteed a five-star character or weapon within every 80 pulls.
- Blue Archive: This strategic RPG refers to its system as a “spark” system. After 200 pulls on a banner, you secure one of the rate-up characters. It’s a “guaranteed purchase” after numerous rolls.
So there you have it. Standard banner pity does carry over, but only within its universe. It’s distinct from limited-time banner pity. Understanding these nuances helps you strategize your wishes, feeling less like you’re tossing currency into a pit. Happy wishing!
