Genshin Impact players are often told to conserve their resources as much as possible. This is sound advice from more experienced players, as the end game upgrades can sap everything that players have been saving up very quickly. Although it's always a good idea to look ahead when spending resources and make sure to use them wisely, a recent change is encouraging players to develop characters that they aren't necessarily planning on using. This change came with the recent 1.2 update that added the Dragonspine region, and offers players rewards for ascending characters to ascension levels one, three, and five.
There are a lot of different types of currency in Genshin Impact, but ultimately Fates are king. These items allow players to make wishes on the game's banner and potentially get new characters. When players spend money on the game, it's usually so they can purchase these fates and make wishes, and it's common knowledge that players should save as many Primogems as they can to buy these fates. Though players will usually want to purchase Intertwined Fates so they can wish on the premium banners for limited time characters, Acquaint Fates can also yield great rewards and powerful characters. Now players can get them from ascending characters.
Genshin Impact 1.2 Ascension Rewards
Essentially, every time a player ascends one of their characters to ascension level one, three, or five (level 20+, 50+, or 70+), they will be awarded with one Acquaint Fate. This even works retroactively, so players that have already ascended several characters can head into the ascension preview on a character's menu and claim their rewards. For most players, they probably already had at least four characters ascended to some degree, and many veteran players had even more than that. This boost of Acquaint Fates was a nice bonus of the 1.2 update.
While Genshin Impact's retroactive reward was nice, the new system can be milked even more to provide a lot of Acquaint Fates. All players need to do is ascend all of their characters, even 4-star ones that they don't use, to ascension level 1. This tends to be relatively cheap to do and will reward players with an Acquaint Fate per character that they have. Since all players should have Amber, Kaeya, Lisa, Noelle, and Xiangling at the very least, that's five Acquaint Fates players can get through this method, enough to get halfway to a guaranteed 4-star wish.
Should Players Ascend Characters To Ascension Level 3 For Acquaint Fates?
A common question Genshin Impact players have after learning this information is whether or not it is a good idea to continue investing in these characters and get them to ascension level three. On paper this makes sense, as it stands to double the amount of Acquaint Fates players can earn from ascending characters, but in practice it just isn't feasible. Ascending a character once is usually manageable for most players in terms of resource costs, but getting them to ascension level three and beyond is a real time sink. Players would have to do a lot of grinding and spend a good deal of Resin to get the materials required.
More often than not, that time and Resin required to grind for these materials is better spent elsewhere, enhancing the characters that players are actively using in their party. It will take a while for beginners, but it's a much better idea to try and get the main four characters that players are using up to ascension level 5 to get more Acquaint Fates instead. This is still going to be very expensive, but it's something that players were already going to do given enough time anyway.
Building Multiple Teams
As players get stronger and fight their way through the Spiral Abyss, they are eventually going to need two teams to continue. This marks a turning point in Genshin Impact for a lot of players as they now have eight characters they need to worry about enhancing all at once. While this can take a long time, it's also a great excuse to get even more Acquaint Fates. Ascending another four characters from ascension level one to ascension level five will award the player with eight more Acquaint Fates, all of which can then be used on the standard banner.
It also might happen that players get lucky and obtain a strong character while leveling their second team. If this happens, they may want to swap out another character for this one, making yet another opportunity for Acquaint Fates. It's important to remember that these Acquaint Fates probably won't do much alone, but each one brings players one step closer to reaching the 5-star pity counter on the standard banner. While players are typically hoping to get 5-star characters from the event banners, this serves as a chance for players to get powerful 5-star weapons as well.
Grinding Acquaint Fates
Ultimately it should be said that these ascension rewards should not be the focus of players. Beyond the first ascension level, they simply require way too much time and resources to get, so players shouldn't bend over backwards trying to get them. It's definitely worth ascending characters to ascension level 1, but beyond that they should be viewed as extra rewards that are nice when they come along. Putting any more effort than this into it is a surefire way to waste a lot of resources unnecessarily and find oneself in a bind when trying to upgrade their actual characters.
Since most players will want to spend Primogems on event banners, it's easy to forget about these Acquaint Fates. Players should be sure to check their ascension rewards whenever they ascend their characters so that they don't miss anything, paying attention to the alerts in the character menu. Finally, whenever players happen to get a new character, be it 4-star or 5-star, it's good practice to spend the experience cards and materials to ascend them to rank 1, as this will always be relatively cheap.
Genshin Impact is available now on Mobile, PC, and PS4, and later on Nintendo Switch.