Let's be real for a second. If you're playing Genshin Impact, you’ve probably felt that sudden, sharp sting of desperation when a new banner drops and your stash is sitting at a pathetic 160 gems. It’s a universal experience. You want the shiny new five-star, but the game is designed to make you reach for your credit card. Honestly, you don't actually have to do that if you're patient. Knowing how to farm primogems isn't just about clicking buttons; it’s about understanding the internal clock of Teyvat and exploiting every weird little corner HoYoverse hid a chest in.
I’ve been playing since 1.0. I’ve seen the meta shift from Diluc being king to Neuvillette literally soloing the Abyss. Through all those patches, the one constant is the grind. It's tedious, sure. But if you're smart about it, you can pull consistently without ever touching the shop.
The Daily Grind is Your Bread and Butter
You’ve heard it a million times, but the Commissions are non-negotiable. It’s 60 gems a day. It takes maybe ten minutes if you're fast. That's 1,800 a month just for showing up. It’s the digital equivalent of punching a clock. But here is the thing people miss: the Encounter Points system changed the game. Now, you don’t even have to do the actual commissions if you’re busy exploring or doing events. Opening chests or finishing a quest fills those bars. It’s a massive quality-of-life upgrade that most casual players still don't use to its full potential.
Don’t forget the Welkin Moon. Okay, technically that costs five bucks, but if we’re talking about "farming" in the sense of maximizing yield for the lowest effort, it's the only thing actually worth the money. 90 gems a day adds up to a multi-pull every couple of weeks. If you're purely F2P, though, your eyes need to be on the events.
Why Events Are Secretly Carrying Your Account
Every patch has a "flagship" event and a few smaller ones. The big ones usually dump around 1,000 primogems into your lap. The smaller ones give about 420. If you skip these, you’re basically throwing away dozens of wishes every year. HoYoverse uses these to keep player retention high, so the tasks are usually pretty easy. Sometimes it’s a rhythm game, sometimes it’s a combat challenge. Whatever it is, do it.
The Spiral Abyss and the Theater
Now, this is where it gets sweaty. The Spiral Abyss is the traditional "endgame" for how to farm primogems. Floors 9 through 12 reset twice a month. If you can 36-star it, that’s 600 gems right there. But let's be honest—it’s hard. You need two built teams with actual synergy. You can't just throw random characters together and expect to win.
Then there's the Imaginarium Theater. This was a controversial addition. It requires a wide roster rather than just two strong teams. If you've been horizontal-investing (leveling up a lot of different characters to 70 or 80), you’re going to thrive here. If you’ve only ever focused on four characters, you’re going to struggle. It’s a different kind of farm. It rewards the veterans who have been hoarding resources for years.
Exploration: The One-Time Gold Mine
If you’re new or coming back from a long break, the map is your best friend. Teyvat is massive now. Between Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma, Sumeru, Fontaine, and Natlan, there are thousands of chests. Each one gives 2, 5, 10, or even 40 gems.
- Statues of the Seven: Leveling these up gives primogems and stamina (in the early regions).
- Shrines of Depths: These are 40 gems a pop. Don't leave them locked.
- World Quests: Some of these are incredibly long—looking at you, Aranyaka—but the rewards are substantial. You can easily pull 1,000+ gems from a single major quest chain.
- The Serenitea Pot: People sleep on the housing system. If you build specific furniture sets for your characters, they will literally stand in your house and give you 20 gems each. With dozens of characters, that’s a huge hidden stash.
Achievements and the "Hidden" Gems
There are hundreds of achievements in Genshin. Most give 5 or 10 gems. It feels like nothing. But when you realize there are over 1,000 achievements, that’s a potential 5,000 to 10,000 primogems just sitting in a menu. Some are easy, like dying to a boar. Others are ridiculous, like fishing 2,000 times. Honestly, don't do the fishing one unless you're a masochist. It's not worth the mental health toll for a few gems.
Codes and Web Events
Check the livestream. Every six weeks, HoYoverse does a preview program for the next patch. They give out three codes worth 100 gems each. They expire in less than 24 hours. If you miss that window, they're gone forever. There are also web events like the "HoyoLab Daily Check-in." It’s a tiny amount—60 gems a month—but over a year, it’s almost a full multi-pull. It takes three seconds on your phone.
The Reality of the Gacha Math
Let’s talk numbers. To guarantee a five-star, you need 90 pulls (14,400 gems) for "soft pity" usually kicks in around 75. But you also have the 50/50. If you lose that, you need double the amount to guarantee the character you actually want. That’s nearly 28,800 gems.
When you look at it that way, farming feels daunting. But if you combine everything—Commissions, Abyss, Events, and Exploration—an active F2P player can usually earn between 60 to 80 pulls per patch. That’s one five-star every six weeks. It requires discipline. You can't pull on every banner. You have to pick your favorites and save.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
A huge mistake I see players make is spending primogems on the Standard Banner (the one with Jean, Diluc, etc.). Never do this. You get free "Blue Fates" from leveling up characters and the Battle Pass. Save your gems exclusively for the Intertwined Fates (the pink ones).
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Another mistake? Spending gems on Original Resin refills. Unless you’re a whale who is literally burning money, don't do it. Time is the only thing you can't farm, but Resin eventually regenerates. Primogems don't.
Actionable Strategy for Your Account
If you want to maximize your income starting today, here is exactly what you should do. First, clear out your current event log. Those have expiration dates, while the world quests will wait forever. Second, use the interactive map. Mark off every Oculi you find so you don't have to backtrack later through 200 locations looking for the one you missed.
Third, get your Serenitea Pot to level 10 as fast as possible. The "Realm Currency" you get can be used to buy a "Transient Resin" every week, which saves you from needing to spend gems on refreshes. Finally, keep an eye on the shop. Every month, the "Paimon's Bargains" section resets. You can buy five Intertwined Fates for Stardust. That's 800 primogems worth of value for "free" just by playing.
The secret to how to farm primogems isn't a cheat code or a glitch. It's consistency. Log in, do your dailies, finish the events, and slowly chip away at the map. Teyvat is a marathon, not a sprint. If you treat it like a sprint, you'll burn out and your wallet will suffer.