The 5-star weapons are usually the best-in-slot weapons for the concurrent featured 5-star characters. They basically come in set pairs. And generally, pulling in the weapon banner is not worth it – but there are still instances where it can be worth it. This is because, unlike the character banner, a specific 5-star weapon is much harder to guarantee. A limited 5-star character only needs 180 intertwined fates to guarantee them, while a limited 5-star weapon needs 240 intertwined fates. Although it has a lower hard pity of 80 pulls, you can’t guarantee it with just the 50/50 system. Instead, you use the Epitomized Path mechanic. Before pulling, you set a path for one of the featured 5-star weapons you want. If you get 2 5-stars that aren’t that weapon, your next 5-star is guaranteed to be your favored weapon. Assuming you reach this point, you need 240 pulls at most. It’s far too expensive. Pulling for another character is almost always the better choice. Additionally, it’s a common trend for the 2 5-star weapons to have at least 1 unfavorable or mediocre weapon. For instance, the 2.6 Phase 2 banner featured Mistsplitter Reforged and The Unforged. Mistsplitter Reforged is an amazing weapon that’s best-in-slot for a lot of characters. And although The Unforged is not that bad, it’s just not the best-in-slot for any characters. It’s strictly outperformed by a standard 5-star weapon, Wolf’s Gravestone – and sometimes even by a 4-star weapon, Serpent Spine. Weapon banners usually have this sort of balancing for their rate-ups. Still, the weapon banner can be worth pulling under certain circumstances.
When is the Weapon Banner Worth Pulling?
The safest condition is if you already have 240 intertwined fates. This automatically guarantees the weapon you want – just make sure you’re actually willing to spend that much. Otherwise, the weapon banner can also be worth pulling if: If a weapon banner satisfies all these conditions, then it’s definitely worth pulling.
Situation 1: If you can use both featured 5-star weapons
Most 5-star weapons are still useful. Even if their passive isn’t always optimal, their higher Base ATK is enough to make them outperform most 4-star options. If your characters can use both featured 5-stars, then getting either won’t be a problem. However, there are still some very niche weapons. For instance, Everlasting Moonglow is a 5-star catalyst that’s meant to be Kokomi’s best-in-slot. The only character that can use this is a DPS Kokomi – and her best build isn’t even as a DPS, but as a support. No other character can effectively use this weapon. Even Barbara, a fellow catalyst healer, is better off with a 3-star weapon. These are the type of weapons that can make some weapon banners a hard pass. So, it’s always recommended to look them up before pulling.
Situation 2: If you can use most of the featured 4-star weapons
You’re bound to get at least some of the featured 4-star weapons. So it’s always optimal to make sure that you can actually use these weapons – although most of them are generally useful. Some of the best series and weapons to look out for are:
Favonius Series Sacrificial Sword Dragon’s Bane The Widsith
While here are some of the worst weapons:
The Bell Eye of Perception The Flute Rainslasher
Still, not all 4-star weapon lineups are perfect. So having at least 3 good featured weapons is enough.
Situation 3: If you don’t want any of the upcoming gacha banners
With average luck, the weapon banner is essentially a black hole for your Primogems. If you don’t have enough fates to guarantee at least one 5-star weapon, you’re likely to keep pulling until the banner ends. Because of this, it’s best to be wary of the upcoming banners. Official Genshin accounts usually post about the upcoming banners 10 days before a patch ends. They also post about new upcoming characters around the time a new patch drops. If you have limited funds and really want any of the upcoming banners or characters, then pulling on the weapon banner is not worth it.
Situation 4: If the weapon is a significant buff to your character
Some 5-star weapons are only a minor upgrade from 4-star weapons. An example of this is Engulfing Lightning and The Catch R5.
Engulfing Lighting is a great 5-star polearm that works well on a lot of characters The Catch R5 is a free 4-star weapon that performs closely damage-wise compared to Engulfing Lighting
Because of this, pulling a 5-star weapon is not a significant upgrade. Whereas other best-in-slot weapons – like Staff of Homa for Hu Tao – are a massive damage boost. For Hu Tao, a Staff of Homa is easily a significant upgrade from any other 5-star and 4-star weapon. Plus it works great with all other DPS polearm users. These types of 5-star weapons generally have a higher pull value.
