There are 4 "types" of banners:

- Limited Character Banner. There are 2 of these running simultaneously, named "Character Event Wish" and "Character Event Wish-2". They change twice per patch, for a total of four in a patch (with exceptions in the distant past; two pairs of Limited Character Banners per patch has been the pattern for a while now).
- Limited Weapon Banner. There is only one of these running at a time, named "Weapon Event Wish". It also changes twice per patch, concurrent with the Limited Character Banner (again with exceptions in the past). The featured weapons are generally the "signature weapon" for the featured characters on the Limited Character Banners.
- Chronicled Banner. These are relatively new, and seem to occur relatively infrequently (we had one last year and one just now). Many people refer to them as a "Retirement Banner", as they feature older characters (and their respective weapons) that the game schedule no longer has room for in the Limited Character Banner rotation.
- Standard Banner. This is permanently available, and features the "Standard" 5\* Character and Weapon roster (the characters and weapons you would "lose 50/50 to" on the Limited Banners).

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The Limited and Chronicled Banners use Intertwined Fates (purple and blue) as their pull currency, and the Standard Banner uses Acquaint Fates (just blue) as its pull currency. You can get Fates whole from certain sources (e.g. very special event rewards, completing main story quests, character ascension thresholds, etc.), and you can also get them by converting other resources.

You can convert Primogems (the primary reward from many aspects of the game, such as events, quest completion, and chests) into Fates at a rate of 160 Primogems to 1 Fate. You can also convert Masterless Starglitter (a consolation prize for acquiring duplicates of characters you already own, or 4\* and above weapons in wishes) into Fates at a rate of 5 Starglitter to 1 Fate. And finally, you can convert Masterless Stardust (a consolation prize for acquiring 3\* weapons in wishes) into Fates at a rate of 75 Stardust to 1 Fate, with a limit of 5 per month for each Fate type. Genesis Crystals (the currency that can only be acquired by spending real money) can be converted into Primogems at a rate of 1 to 1.

**Generally speaking, you don't want to convert your resources into Acquaint Fates** (except for Masterless Stardust, provided you have enough to comfortably convert the monthly limit of Intertwined Fates), since the Standard Banner has no way to guarantee a *specific* character or weapon. But it's fine to use whole Acquaint Fates you occasionally get from playing the game, since it's not like you can do anything else with them.

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Focusing on the Limited Characters Banner, it has two main mechanics to be aware of: **Pity, and Guarantee**. When you perform a pull, you have a 0.6% chance of the acquiring a 5\* Character, and a 50% chance that the 5\* Character you acquire will be the Featured Character (with the other 50% being split evenly between the "Standard Characters"). Your Pity increases by 1 each time you pull without acquiring any 5\* Character and resets to 0 when you do acquire a 5\* Character, and if you would reach 90 Pity (you've performed 89 pulls without acquiring a 5\* Character), your next pull has a 100% chance to acquire a 5\* Character (but still a 50/50 between the Featured Character and Standard Characters). If you acquire a 5\* and it *isn't* the Featured Character, you now have a Guarantee that the next 5\* you pull will be the Featured Character (which likewise resets to No Guarantee when you pull a Featured Character). As such, **it is possible to spend up to 180 Intertwined Fates (28800 Primogems) before acquiring the Featured Character, but no more**.

In practice, there is an additional mechanic known to the community as "Soft Pity", where starting at 74 Pity (you've performed 73 pulls without acquiring a 5\* Character), your chance of acquiring a 5\* Character starts to increase dramatically (from 0.6% on pulls 1-73 to ~6% on pull 74, then ~12% on pull 75, then ~18% on pull 76, and so on). As such, the "usual" safe maximum number of pulls needed to acquire the Featured 5\* Character is closer to 160. Of course, you could just win the 0.6% x 50% chance on your first pull, but most conscientious players will ensure they are prepared for the "worst case" before pulling, and take a better result as a bonus (in a sense, "buying" the Character for ~160 pulls, with a random chance of a discount).

**Pity and Guarantee are shared and persisted across all Banners of the same Type** (e.g. shared between "Character Event Wish" and "Character Event Wish-2", both the ones running concurrently and ones that will run in the future). As an example, if you pull on the "Character Event Wish" from the second half of this patch (Arlecchino), acquire a 5\* on pull 53 (say you did a 10 pull, so there were 7 pulls after getting the 5\* that didn't get anything), but "lose the 50/50" to a Standard Character, you would be at 7 Pity with Guarantee. If you decided to give up on Arlecchio for now and waited to pull on Furina next patch (confirmed to be in the second half), you would still be at 7 Pity with Guarantee (you will acquire Furina for sure within the next 83 pulls).

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The Limited Weapon Banner adds one more main mechanic: **Fate Points**. You can select one of the Featured Weapons before pulling, and if you acquire a 5\* Weapon other than your selected Weapon, you will acquire a Fate Point. When you have the maximum number of Fate Points (currently just 1, but it used to be 2), the next 5\* Weapon you acquire will be your selected Weapon.

The Limited Weapon Banner also has Pity and Guarantee. The base rate for acquiring any 5\* Weapon is 0.7%, and the Pity limit is 80 ("Soft Pity" starting at 64). When you acquire a 5\* Weapon, there is a 75% chance it will be one of the Featured Weapons (50/50 between the two Featured Weapons), and a 25% chance it will be a "Standard Weapon". If you acquire a Standard Weapon, you gain a Guarantee that your next 5\* Weapon will be a Featured Weapon (still a 50/50 between the two). In practice, with the Fate Point limit being 1 now, you'll typically never experience the Guarantee, since the Fate Point mechanic will guarantee you your selected weapon regardless. If you use the Fate Point mechanic, **it is possible to spend up to 160 Intertwined Fates (25600 Primogems) before acquiring your selected Weapon**, and in practice the "usual" safe maximum number of pulls needed is closer to 140 due to "Soft Pity".

While Pity and Guarantee are persisted to future Limited Weapon Banners, **Fate Points are not**. As an example, if you select "Weapon 1" as your desired weapon, but get a "Standard Weapon" on pull 68 (you did a 10 pull, so there were 2 pulls after getting it), you would be at 2 Pity with Guarantee and 1 Fate Point. If you didn't pull any more on this Limited Weapon Banner, and waited until the next one, you would still be at 2 Pity with Guarantee, but would have 0 Fate Points. As such, you will be guaranteed to get one of the two Featured Weapons within the next 78 pulls, but it would be a 50/50 between them regardless of your selected Weapon in the Fate Point system.

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The Chronicled Banner uses the Pity and Fate Point mechanics, but not the Guarantee mechanic. It has a base rate for acquiring a 5\* Character or Weapon is 0.6%, the Pity limit is 90 ("Soft Pity" starting at 64), and the Fate Point limit is 1. You are required to select a Character or Weapon to target. If you select a Character, any 5\* you receive will be a Character, with a 50% chance of it being your selected Character, and a 50% chance of it being one of the other Characters featured on that Chronicled Banner. Likewise, if you select a Weapon, any 5\* you receive will be a Weapon, with a 50% chance of it being your selected Weapon, and a 50% chance of it being one of the other Weapons featured on that Chronicled Banner. If you receive a 5\* other than your selected 5\*, you gain a Fate Point, and your next 5\* becomes guaranteed to be your selected 5\*. Much like the Limited Character Banner, **it is possible to spend up to 180 Intertwined Fates (28800 Primogems) before acquiring your selected Character or Weapon**, and in practice the "usual" safe maximum number of pulls needed is closer to 160 due to "Soft Pity".