Genshin Impact – Should You Skip The First 4.5 Event Banner?
Short Answer: Yes.
Long Answer: Well, there are a lot of things to account for, especially ones taste in characters and how they play, but considering that we’ll have Neuvilette who is capable of Soloing the Spiral Abyss at C0 and Kazuha, who is the best Anemo character and one of the best supports in the game in the next banner, the answer is still most likely going to end up being yes – you should probably skip Itto and the new character, Chiori. However, if you like to use Genshin top up services and want to spend some money on these characters, go for it! If not, read on to find out the reasoning behind our advice.
The Geo Element Is Not in a Good Place
One of the main reasons why you shouldn’t pull for Chiori or Itto is mainly because of the weird place that Geo is in right now. Not only is Genshin Impact a game whose main gameplay element is to swap characters to invoke different elemental reactions, but these reactions are almost mandatory to beat a lot of the bosses, enemies, and even some puzzles in the game.
The Geo element doesn’t “react” with any of these. It can break enemy elemental shields, such as the ones that Abyss Mages have, but only at approximately 1/5th of the effectiveness that the opposing element (Example: Hydro is 5 times stronger against Pyro shields than Geo).
If the Crystallize reaction was a bit better, or if the Geo Resonance buff was more effective – Geo teams might have been better, but as it currently stands – both Chiori and Itto want at least 2-3 Geo characters in their team, and that means 2-3 less varied elements for your team.
Chiori and Itto are Niche Characters
Itto is a monstrous character if built properly. However, he requires a lot of DEF and practically NEEDS Gorou to be on the same team. And if Gorou is one the team, you’ll want another Geo character to make full use of Gorou’s Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst. Which then only leaves you with one other character, which in most cases ends up being Bennett. This leaves practically no team-building diversity for Itto, and the case is similar with Chiori.
Chiori, without her C1, can’t make the full use of her Kit without a Geo Construct, which forces her to be played with someone who can create one. The list of these characters, sadly, is very small: Geo Traveler, Zhongli, Albedo, Itto, and Ningguang. That’s only five characters, and since Geo isn’t a very popular element and the characters are mostly niche, you most likely won’t have some of these characters.
They Work Well Together
Now, it’s not all doom-and-gloom. If you already had Arataki Itto, you could pull for Chiori and since Gorou is on the same banner, you might get lucky and get him to C6. These three characters work really well together because Chiori and Itto scale off of DEF and Gorou boosts DEF by a lot. Not only that, but Chiori can use Ushi (Who counts as a construct) to make her additional doll, thus utilizing her full kit.
The Next Banner Is Insanely Good
Neuvilette – who can solo the Abyss at C0, and Kazuha who easily one of the best overall characters in the game are on the next phase of the 4.5 banners. They just simply overshadow Chiori and Itto by far too much, and are a much better investment for the overall strength of your account. Not only that, but both of these characters are very low-investment as compared to Chiori and Itto.
Conclusion
If you REALLY like Itto and/or Chiori, definitely pull for them. There’s no reason not to since most content in the game can be beaten without much effort, and these two can definitely pull it off. However, with the two SSS-Tier characters coming up in the next 4.5 Banner, and with the much sought-after Arrlechino coming with 4.6, it would be wiser to save up your primogems and fates. You could also find some Genshin accounts for sale and try your luck in getting C6 Itto or Chiori, and at that point they just become beasts capable of destroying the Spiral Abyss, which is arguably the most difficult content in the game.