Getting a new character in Genshin Impact is exciting, but building them can take time.
Character EXP, Mora, ascension materials, Talent books, boss drops, weapon materials, and Artifacts may all be needed before the character is ready to use.
Because of this, many players begin collecting materials before they actually obtain the character.
This is commonly called pre-farming.
But is pre-farming actually worth it, or are you risking Resin on materials you may never use?
The short answer is:
Pre-farming is worth it when you are confident you will obtain and build the character and their required materials are confirmed. Start with flexible resources such as Mora and Character EXP, then farm character-specific materials once you are certain they will be needed.
The less certain your plans are, the more careful you should be with Resin-gated materials.
1. What Does Pre-Farming Mean?
Pre-farming means collecting resources for a character before you obtain or begin building them.
For example, you might collect:
- Character EXP materials
- Mora
- Local Specialties
- Enemy drops
- Character ascension materials
- Talent materials
- Weekly Boss materials
- Weapon materials
- Artifacts
Then, when you obtain the character, much of the required farming is already finished.
This can allow you to level and use them immediately.
2. Is Pre-Farming Worth It?
Yes, if you have a clear plan.
Pre-farming does not make materials cheaper.
Instead, it moves the farming earlier.
Suppose you know you will pull a character when their banner arrives.
You can either:
Obtain character → spend days or weeks farming → build character
or:
Farm beforehand → obtain character → build character immediately
The total resources required are similar.
The main advantage is convenience and preparation.
3. When Is Pre-Farming a Good Idea?
Pre-farming makes the most sense when:
- You definitely want the character
- You have enough wishes or a reliable plan to obtain them
- Their required materials are confirmed
- Your current characters do not need more important upgrades
- You want to use the new character immediately
In this situation, pre-farming can make a new character release much smoother.
4. When Can Pre-Farming Be a Bad Idea?
Pre-farming becomes risky when your plans are uncertain.
For example:
- You may skip the character
- You may lose interest in them
- Another character may become a higher priority
- You may not have enough wishes to obtain them
- Their materials may not yet be officially confirmed
The more character-specific the material is, the greater the risk.
If you change your plans, some of those resources may sit unused for a long time.
5. Start With Mora
Mora is one of the safest resources to pre-farm.
A new character can consume large amounts of Mora through:
- Character leveling
- Ascension
- Talent upgrades
- Weapon upgrades
- Artifact enhancement
But Mora is not tied to one character.
If you decide not to build the character, the Mora remains useful for someone else.
This makes it a low-risk starting point for pre-farming.
6. Character EXP Is Also Safe to Pre-Farm
Character EXP materials such as Hero’s Wit are another flexible resource.
They can be used on almost any character.
If your plans change, those EXP materials simply remain available for the next character you build.
This makes:
Mora + Character EXP
two of the safest resources to prepare before committing Resin to more specific materials.
7. Local Specialties Are Usually Low-Risk to Collect
Character ascensions often require Local Specialties from particular regions.
These materials generally cost time rather than Original Resin.
That makes them relatively safe to collect in advance once you know what the character requires.
Even if your plans change, you have mainly spent exploration time rather than a limited Resin resource.
However, there is still little reason to collect huge quantities of random Local Specialties for characters you do not intend to build.
8. Enemy Drops Are Also Easy to Prepare
Many characters require common or Elite enemy drops for ascension and Talents.
These are another good pre-farming target because they do not normally require Original Resin.
You can collect them while:
- Exploring
- Completing quests
- Doing Daily Commissions
- Farming other materials
If the enemies are already along your normal routes, gathering their drops early can save time later.
9. Be More Careful With World Boss Materials
World Boss materials are different.
Claiming their rewards costs Original Resin, and the materials are often useful to a limited group of characters.
This creates an opportunity cost.
Every Resin spent pre-farming a boss is Resin that cannot currently be spent on:
- Artifacts
- Talents
- Mora
- EXP
- Existing characters
Therefore, boss materials are best pre-farmed once you are confident you will actually build the character.
10. Talent Books Are Reasonably Safe With Confirmed Information
Talent materials are less flexible than Mora or Character EXP, but they are often shared by several characters.
If your future character’s Talent book series is confirmed, pre-farming can be useful.
Talent Domains also follow scheduled availability, so collecting materials in advance can prevent you from waiting for the correct Domain day after obtaining the character.
But do not farm Talent materials based only on speculation.
Wait until the requirements are reliable.
11. Weekly Boss Materials Are Harder to Pre-Farm
Weekly Boss materials are especially important because they are time-gated.
You cannot repeatedly farm the same Weekly Boss rewards in one day.
This means beginning early can be valuable.
However, there is an obvious limitation:
A new character may require materials from a new Weekly Boss that is not available yet.
In that case, complete pre-farming is impossible.
You may be able to prepare most of the character while still needing to wait for weekly Talent materials afterward.
12. Dream Solvent Can Help
Dream Solvent can reduce some Weekly Boss material RNG.
If the boss drops several different Talent materials and you obtain the wrong one, Dream Solvent may allow you to convert between eligible materials from that same boss.
Keeping some Dream Solvent available can therefore make future character building easier.
But it does not allow unrestricted conversion between unrelated Weekly Bosses.
You still need materials associated with the correct boss.
13. Should You Pre-Farm Artifacts?
This depends heavily on the character.
If the character will use an established Artifact set and their kit is well understood, pre-farming Artifacts can save significant time.
However, Artifact farming is extremely RNG-dependent.
You might spend weeks trying to prepare a perfect set before even obtaining the character.
That can become inefficient if your current roster still needs guaranteed upgrades.
A better initial goal is usually:
Functional set first, optimization later.
14. Do Not Over-Farm Perfect Artifacts Before Release
This is particularly important for unreleased characters.
Before a character is available, players may speculate about:
- Their best Artifact set
- Best main stats
- Energy requirements
- Team compositions
- Best weapons
Even when the general direction seems obvious, practical testing after release can change build recommendations.
So avoid committing excessive Resin to perfect Artifact optimization based entirely on pre-release assumptions.
Prepare reasonable options instead.
15. Should You Pre-Farm a Weapon?
If you already own the weapon you intend to use, preparing it is relatively straightforward.
You can farm:
- Weapon ascension materials
- Enemy materials
- Enhancement Ore
- Mora
Then level the weapon before the character arrives.
This can be especially efficient because weapons can often be transferred to another character if your plans change.
A flexible weapon is usually a safer investment than highly character-specific resources.
16. What If You Are Not Guaranteed to Get the Character?
This is where pre-farming requires more caution.
Suppose you want a character but do not have enough wishes to reliably obtain them.
Spending weeks farming highly specific materials could leave you with resources you cannot immediately use.
In this situation, prioritize flexible materials:
- Mora
- Character EXP
- Artifact pieces usable by multiple characters
- Flexible weapons
Then move into character-specific farming once obtaining the character becomes more certain.
17. What If the Character Is a Rerun?
Rerun characters are generally easier to pre-farm.
Their materials are already known, and established build information is usually available.
You can determine:
- Ascension boss
- Local Specialty
- Enemy materials
- Talent books
- Weekly Boss materials
with much more confidence.
This removes one of the biggest risks associated with pre-farming new characters.
If you know you are pulling a rerun character, pre-farming can be particularly convenient.
18. New Characters Can Introduce New Materials
A newly released character may use materials introduced in the same update.
These could include:
- New Local Specialties
- New enemies
- New bosses
- New weekly bosses
- New Artifact sets
When this happens, some resources simply cannot be collected beforehand.
Do not worry about achieving a perfect day-one build when the game itself prevents complete pre-farming.
Prepare everything that is safely available and farm the new materials after release.
19. Do Not Neglect Your Current Team to Pre-Farm
Pre-farming should not significantly weaken your current progression.
Suppose your main team still needs:
- Character ascensions
- Important Talents
- Weapon upgrades
- Functional Artifacts
Spending all your Resin preparing a future character may slow your account unnecessarily.
Current guaranteed improvements usually deserve priority.
Pre-farming becomes easier to justify once your existing teams are already functional.
20. Pre-Farm in Order of Risk
A useful way to organize pre-farming is from most flexible to most specific.
Lowest Risk
- Mora
- Character EXP
- Enhancement Ore
Low Risk
- Enemy drops
- Local Specialties
- Flexible weapons
Moderate Risk
- Confirmed Talent books
- Confirmed weapon materials
- General-purpose Artifact sets
Higher Risk
- Character-specific World Boss materials
- Heavy Artifact optimization
Avoid Based Only on Unconfirmed Information
- Speculative materials
- Speculative Artifact builds
- Large Resin investments based solely on leaks or rumors
This lets you prepare while limiting the downside if your plans change.
21. How Early Should You Start Pre-Farming?
There is no universal answer.
It depends on how developed your account is and how many resources you need.
If you already have:
- Plenty of Mora
- Plenty of Hero’s Wit
- Strong Artifact options
- Spare enemy materials
you may need very little preparation.
A newer account may need much longer.
Instead of choosing an arbitrary number of weeks, make a resource checklist and work backward from what you already own.
22. Should You Use Fragile Resin for Pre-Farming?
Usually, there is no reason to rush unless you have a specific goal.
Fragile Resin is valuable because it allows you to obtain additional Original Resin when you choose to use it.
If the character is still weeks away, natural Resin is often enough for gradual preparation.
Saving Fragile Resin gives you flexibility for future farming.
We will cover whether to save or use Fragile Resin in the next Farming guide.
Simple Character Pre-Farming Checklist
Before you start, check:
Character
- Character EXP
- Mora
- Ascension boss materials
- Ascension gems
- Local Specialties
- Enemy drops
Talents
- Talent books
- Enemy materials
- Weekly Boss materials
- Mora
Weapon
- Weapon ascension materials
- Enemy materials
- Enhancement Ore
- Mora
Artifacts
- Appropriate set
- Correct main stats
- Enough Energy Recharge
- Useful substats
You do not need to finish every category before obtaining the character.
The checklist simply helps you identify what can be prepared.
Is It Worth Pre-Farming Artifacts or Materials First?
Generally, guaranteed materials should come first.
If you know the character requires specific ascension materials, every successful farming session moves you toward completion.
Artifacts may consume enormous amounts of Resin without producing an upgrade.
A practical order is:
Guaranteed materials → Functional Artifacts → Artifact optimization
This prevents Artifact RNG from consuming your entire preparation period.
So, Is Pre-Farming Characters Worth It?
Yes, when your plans are sufficiently certain.
Pre-farming can allow you to use a new character much sooner and spreads their resource cost across the weeks before you obtain them.
But the value depends on certainty.
If the character and their materials are confirmed and you know you will build them, pre-farming is simply completing work earlier.
If the character, materials, or your pulling plans are uncertain, focus on flexible resources instead.
Final Advice
Pre-farming works best when you separate preparation from speculation.
Start with resources that remain valuable even if your plans change:
Mora, Character EXP, enemy materials, and other flexible resources.
As the character becomes more certain, move into confirmed Talent materials, boss drops, weapons, and Artifacts.
Most importantly, do not sacrifice important upgrades for characters you already own just to prepare a perfect day-one build for someone you may obtain later.
The more certain the character is, the more specific your farming can become. The less certain the character is, the more flexible your resources should remain.
