Genshin Impact - How to unlock the free character "Stand by Me"

The free “Stand By Me” character from the Lantern Rite event at Genshin Impact is locked behind a maximum of Festive Fever and costs 1000 Peace Talismans.

To claim your free “Stand By Me” character, you will need to actively participate in Genshin Impact's Lantern Rite event. There are three key parts of the event, and each one blocks and unlocks specific segments of the others. We have a full Genshin Impact Lantern Rite event guide here detailing how it all fits together, but to sum it all up here: you need to complete all three story quests for the “All That Glitters” event and reach max rank. Festive Fever to even unlock access to free “Stand By Me” characters.

The Lantern Rite All That Glitters story quests are the most important of the above to complete, as they grant you access to the Lantern Rite Tales needed to raise your Festive Fever Rank in the event. These story quests are pretty easy to knock out, however, with their only major limitation being time. The first quest “All That Glitters” opens the Lantern Rite event itself, and the last two - “Currents Deep Beneath the Lanterns” and “Light Upon the Sea” - will only be available on February 14 and 18, respectively. Wrap them up as soon as they fall.

To increase your Festive Fever to the maximum “Glow of a Thousand Lanterns” rank, you will not only need to complete the All That Glitters quests, but also complete all of the Lantern Rite Tales side quests on offer. Think of Festive Fever as a reputation: Each Lantern Rite Tales side quest will earn you a set amount, and once you've earned enough, you'll move up a rank. There are three ranks in total, and you must reach the maximum rank "Glow of a Thousand Lanterns" to access the free "Stand By Me" characters.

The last hurdle is not too difficult to overcome: you will need 1000 Peace Talismans to purchase your free “Stand By Me” character. I have a full guide on how to earn them here, but to sum it up once again: complete the Theater Mechanicus challenges to earn Peace Talismans. There are three sets of challenges, each locked behind a specific rank of Lantern Rite Festive Fever. In short, you will have no problem accessing these challenges if you follow your Festive Fever rank in the Lantern Rite event of Genshin Impact. You will need Xiao Lanterns to participate in the Lantern Rite Tales side quests and the Theater Mechanicus activity, and you can learn how to craft them here.

Once you have reached "Glow of a Thousand Lanterns" and have 1000 Peace Talismans in hand, you can visit the "Stand By Me" tab of the Lantern Rite event page in Genshin Impact. You will have the choice between one of the six Liyue 4 stars available. These characters are:

• Xiangling - Dommage Pyro / Polearm.
• Xinyan – Dommage Pyro / Claymore.
• Beidou - Electro / Claymore damage.
• Ningguang - Geo / Catalyst damage.
• Xingqiu - Hydro / Sword support or damage dealer.
• Chongyun - Cryo / Claymore support or damage dealer.

Each is solid in their own right, although Ningguang arguably leads the pack. Remember, you only get un Free character from "Stand By Me". While the Lantern Rite event at Genshin Impact ends on February 28, “Stand By Me” will remain open until March 7, so feel free to take some time to determine which free character is right for you.

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