Lost the 50/50? This Genshin Impact 50/50 Guide Explains Why

The Genshin Impact 50/50 guide is for anyone who’s ever stared at a gold wish, felt confident… and still lost. On paper, the wish system looks simple: pull enough times, hit pity, get a 5-Star. In reality, banners like Columbina and Ineffa’s turn that simplicity into anxiety the moment the 50/50 enters the picture.

Most confusion comes from how many systems are layered on top of each other. There’s standard pity, soft pity, the featured character chance, and the guarantee that only kicks in after you lose. None of this is clearly explained in-game, which is why so many players walk into a banner thinking they’re “safe” when they’re not.

This guide breaks the whole thing down the way players actually experience it. We’ll explain how pity really builds, how the 50/50 behaves over time, and how to plan pulls so you’re not relying on hope, vibes, or post-wish coping.

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Genshin Impact 50/50 Guide: What 50/50 Actually Is (And What It Isn’t)

At its core, the 50/50 system only applies to limited character banners like Columbina’s or Ineffa’s. When you pull a 5-Star on these banners, the game checks one thing first:

Are you guaranteed, or are you on a 50/50?

If you’re on a 50/50, the game flips a coin:

Heads: you get the featured character (Columbina or Ineffa)
Tails: you get a standard 5-Star instead

That’s it. No hidden mercy rule. No secret “you pulled a lot, you deserve her” logic.

For example, you could be at 20 pity or 89 pity but if you’re not guaranteed, the odds are the same. That’s why players who say “there’s no way I lose at 80+ pulls” usually learn the truth the hard way.

And if you got confused reading all of that, then you definitely need this Genshin Impact 50/50 guide.

Understanding Pity and the 50/50 in Genshin Impact

Pity exists to stop infinite suffering. In Genshin Impact, hard pity means you are guaranteed a 5-Star within 90 pulls on a limited banner. You will never go to pull 91 without seeing gold.

But almost nobody actually hits 90, and that’s because of soft pity.

Soft pity kicks in around the mid-70s. From that point onward, your chances of pulling a 5-Star increase sharply with every pull. This is why most players see their 5-Stars around 75–80 pulls and why banners feel “hot” in that range.

Here’s the key thing players misunderstand:
Soft pity increases the chance of a 5-Star appearing, but not the chance of winning the 50/50.

So imagine you’re pulling on Columbina’s banner at 77 pity. The game says, “Okay, higher odds to drop a 5-Star now.” When it finally does, then it checks whether you’re guaranteed or not. If you aren’t, the coin flip still happens.

That’s how someone can say, “I lost the 50/50 at 78 pulls,” and yes, unfortunately that’s completely normal.

What “Guaranteed” Actually Means

You become guaranteed when you lose a 50/50.

If your last 5-Star from a limited character banner was a standard character (like Jean, Diluc, or Mona), then your next 5-Star on any limited character banner is locked to the featured unit.

This guarantee carries across banners.

So let’s say you lost your 50/50 on Ineffa’s banner and pulled Diluc. If you then switch to Columbina’s banner and keep pulling, the next 5-Star you get will be Columbina. No coin flip involved.

That’s why players often “build pity” unintentionally and end up guaranteeing a character they weren’t planning on pulling seriously. The system doesn’t care about your intentions, only your last result.

What The Genshin Impact 50/50 Experience Actually Looks Like

A Genshin Impact 50/50 guide can be unrealistic sometimes depending on how someone understands it, so here’s how pulling for wishes usually play out in real life, not spreadsheets.

Let’s use the current banner as an example. You like Columbina more, but Ineffa looks fun. You tell yourself you’ll “just do a few pulls” on Ineffa’s banner because you’re at low pity. Fast-forward to 76 pulls later, because Genshin has a sense of humor.

Gold wish appears.

If you weren’t guaranteed, that pull was always a gamble. Winning means you accidentally got Ineffa early. Losing means you now have guarantee, but you also burned your pity climbing toward it.

That’s the core emotional trap of the 50/50 system:
Every pull past soft pity is a real commitment, whether you admit it or not.

Why Losing the 50/50 Isn’t Always Bad (Even If It Feels Like It)

Losing a 50/50 hurts, but strategically, it gives you something extremely valuable: certainty.

Once you lose, you know your next 5-Star is guaranteed. That’s when saving becomes powerful. Players who lose the 50/50 on Columbina’s banner but stop pulling immediately are actually in a strong position for future characters.

This is also why veteran players often say things like, “I don’t mind losing early.” An early loss means less pity wasted and a cheaper guaranteed pull later.

What does hurt is losing late, because you paid almost full price for that guarantee.

Does Pity Reset Between Banners?

Yes and no, and this is where people mess up.

Pity count carries over between limited character banners
Guarantee status also carries over
But pity is banner-type specific

So your pulls on Columbina’s banner count toward Ineffa’s banner, but they do not affect weapon banners or standard banners.

This is why switching banners doesn’t “reset your luck.” If you’re at 60 pity on Columbina and jump to Ineffa, you’re still at 60 pity, just chasing a different character.

Common 50/50 Myths That Refuse to Die

Let’s clear a few things up:

There is no “hidden pity boost” for specific characters
Pulling singles vs multis does not change odds
Time of day, rituals, or banner art do not affect results
Being “due” does not protect you from losing the 50/50

If you’ve ever thought, “There’s no way I lose now,” congratulations, you were emotionally invested, not statistically safe.

How to Pull Smarter on Columbina & Ineffa’s Banner

You don’t need galaxy-brain math to pull smarter. Just remember a few practical rules:

Treat soft pity like a point of no return
Never “build pity” on a banner you’d regret winning
If you lose the 50/50, stop and reassess
Guarantees are more powerful than luck

The best pulls usually come from planning, not hope.

The Genshin Impact 50/50 system isn’t unfair, it’s emotionally honest. It tells you exactly what the risk is and then watches to see if you ignore it anyway. Columbina and Ineffa’s banner is a perfect reminder that every gold wish has a price, and the game always collects.

Understanding pity doesn’t guarantee good luck, but it does stop bad decisions from feeling like bad surprises.

And if you’re going all in on Columbina, Ineffa, or whoever comes next, making sure your Primogems are ready ahead of time matters.

That’s why many players choose to top up Genshin Impact on Joytify! So when the banner turns gold, at least the preparation part went right.

Good luck on your pulls. May your next 50/50 actually behave like one.