In Genshin Impact, you will start with one character, either Aether or Lumin, referred to as The Traveler in the game. But over time, you will add many more playable characters to your team, every one with their own abilities. Usually, you do this by performing “wishes”. But the wishes are expensive and require a unique in-game currency. Thankfully, in the game, there are six characters you can get without money and without wishes.
Here are six characters you can unlock just by playing Genshin Impact
The Anemo, Geo, or Electro Traveler
When you first launch Genshin Impact, you can choose between a male or female protagonist. By the plot, they’re twins. This is the Traveler, and they are your main character. But that doesn’t mean you have to keep them at your party all the time. If they need to show up for a clip or conversation, they’ll show up even if they’re not in your group.
The traveler begins their journey with the Anemo element, but once you explore a little more, you’ll unlock Geo and Electro versions of the character. In the future, we’ll see more elements available to The Traveler, but right now, you can switch only between these three.
You can switch between the elements by visiting one of the Statues of The Seven. The Traveler is the five-star character and they sure live up to their level of rarity, with the right build they can be an awesome sub-damage character.
Amber, the Pyro scout
Amber is the second character you encounter. Once you meet Paimon, complete the initial quest and you’ll run into Amber very quickly. You can’t progress and explore without picking up Ember, so just follow the main story quests until she joins you.
She uses bows and her element is Pyro, so you can use her to light torches from afar. She’s a great exploration character at the beginning of the game, she’s great for solving puzzles. or shooting the enemies from the distance.
Kaeya, the Knights of Favonius Cryo Cavalry Captain
Kaeya is the third character that joins your party. Shortly after you meet Amber and enter Mondstadt, you will receive several quests. One of these quests is about meeting Kaeya in the temple. Follow the target marker and meet him in the dungeon. After a brief tutorial on how Kaeya and the ice characters work, you will complete the quest and invite Kaeya into your group.
Although Kaea is not particularly strong, he is a really great early character, and you can rely on his skills until you get a larger cast. He’s great for water exploration since you can constantly cast his ability on water, freezing it, and walk infinite distances across the water until you hit the in-game border.
Lisa, the humble Electro librarian
The method to obtain Lisa is very similar to Kaeya. As soon as you visit Mondstadt, you will receive a quest called “Sparks Amongst the Pages”. Follow the quest marker to another temple and go through it. You’ll get a tutorial on how Lisa works and then add her to your group forever when you get out.
Lisa is pretty weak on her own, but she will be your first catalyst user when you start. Electro element is generally a good damage-oriented combination with the other elements, try to cast Lisa’s electro on an enemy and then use Amber to cast Pyro on top of it.
Barbara, the Hydro deaconess of the Church of Favonius
Initially, you could’ve obtained Barbara with a single click through the in-game mail system. Now, you first have to reach the Adventure Rank to 18. After that, a new quest “A Long Shot” will be unlocked, and upon completion, you will be able to add her to your team. We won’t get much into the details of the quest since it contains the story spoilers, but simply follow Mondstadt’s storyline, and after defeating the first world boss you’ll be able to claim her in the Events window.
Barbara is rather crucial for any beginner. Her healing skills will save you a lot of food that could’ve been used in a battle. Not to mention that she can apply the Hydro element on the enemies that comes in handy when you want to “extinguish” the shields of various Pyro enemies. Remember that her healing abilities depend on her HP, at the beginning, it would be wise to give her a weapon that gives her an HP bonus, even if the weapon itself isn’t powerful.
Xiangling, one of the best Pyro chefs in Liyue
Xiangling is the polearm user and the most difficultly obtainable free character in Genshin Impact. Once you reach the 20th Adventure Rank, you will unlock the spiral abyss. This is a dungeon of some sort, in which you will lead your squad through increasingly difficult floors while gaining some bonuses. If you manage to clear the 3rd floor, chamber 3 of the spiral abyss, you get Xiangling for free.
Xiangling is the best of the free characters, which is probably why she is the hardest to get. On your way to the 20th Adventure Rank, make sure you level up your characters as much as you can so that you can pick up Xiangling as soon as possible.