As discussions heat up over whether it’s worth pulling for Mau’s signature weapon, many Genshin Impact players are wondering about the true value of the four-star weapons that accompany five-star banners. While most attention goes to the featured five-stars, the four-star lineup can quietly make or break your banner experience—especially if you’re targeting refinements or need strong options for your broader roster.

In this video, Zajef Daily breaks down which four-star weapons are actually worth pulling for, how they compare against free-to-play alternatives, and what ideal weapon banner lineups would look like.

The Gold Standard: Always Amazing Four-Star Weapons

Zajef starts by outlining a top-tier list of four-star weapons that are always worth seeing on a banner:

  • Favonius Sword
  • Favonius Lance

These weapons offer unparalleled Energy Recharge utility and fit into numerous meta teams. Zajef recommends eventually collecting five R1 Favonius weapons across the different types, rather than refining them too early. Having more copies allows better flexibility across your account.

Pro tip: Don’t refine a Favonius weapon until you’re sure you have enough copies for your entire roster.

Always Good Options (Even Beyond Fav)

Besides the “Favs,” there are a few four-star weapons that stand out as excellent additions to a weapon banner pool:

  • Wandering Evenstar – Great for EM-scaling supports.
  • Sacrificial Fragments (Sac Frag) – EM substat and extra skill uptime.
  • The Widsith – Excellent for burst DPS catalyst users.
  • Makhaira Aquamarine – Particularly useful on off-field support units that benefit from ATK buffing.

Each of these weapons, even at Refinement 1, can be a best-in-slot or close depending on the character and team composition.

Good at R5: Refine-Dependent Picks

These weapons don’t stand out much at low refinements, but at R5 they become excellent options:

  • Dragon’s Bane
  • Ali Flash
  • Wavebreaker’s Fin
  • Prospector’s Drill
  • Range Gauge
  • Stringless

These options become solid stat sticks or niche picks in the right team, often outperforming craftable or free-to-play alternatives once refined. If you already have a few copies, these may be a good reason to consider the banner.

Good to Own: Flexible or Niche Choices

Some weapons may not be meta-defining, but they fill important gaps in certain teams:

  • Favonius Codex – Underrated, but niche.
  • Dragonslayer’s Bowstring (Dog Handler’s Assistant) – Decent in reaction teams.
  • Iron Sting – Still relevant for some Anemo units.

These won’t always change your account’s power level, but they’re worth having.

Not Awful but Not Ideal

These weapons are passable but often inferior to free options or require specific team setups to function well:

  • Rain Slasher
  • Sacrificial Greatsword
  • Akuoumaru
  • Portable Power Saw
  • Lithic Spear
  • Moon’s Moon
  • Feather of Judgment

They can work, but they aren’t weapons you hope to pull while chasing a five-star.

Bottom Tier: Weapons to Avoid

These are the true duds in a weapon banner. Zajef places them firmly in the “dog tier,” meaning they offer almost no value over free-to-play alternatives:

  • Wine and Song
  • The Bell
  • Twin Nephrite
  • Royal Grimoire

These weapons either lack usable substats or have passives that are barely relevant. Unless a very specific character gets released that synergizes with them, they’re better off being forgotten.

Special Case: Wave-Riding Whirl (WRW)

Initially, Zajef rated Wave-Riding Whirl highly for Neuvillette and Milani due to its massive HP and ER stats. However, upon realizing its 15-second internal cooldown, he reevaluated its usefulness.

“I’m an idiot. I didn’t read far enough—this weapon is cooked.”

Despite the cooldown, it’s still viable on Milani, who can utilize the stats effectively when building for sustained ER and HP scaling. But for characters like Neuvillette, who require specific attack sequences and timing to maximize value, WRW ends up underperforming.

How to Evaluate a Weapon Banner

Zajef’s overall recommendation: look for four-stars above the “not awful” tier. Only consider pulling for banners where the four-star pool contains:

  • Two or more top-tier supports (e.g., Fav Sword, Sac Frags).
  • One or more strong R5 scalers (like Stringless or Dragon’s Bane).
  • Avoid banners that stack too many niche or low-value weapons.

He also emphasizes not pulling just for the four-stars unless you’re chasing refinements or are incredibly lucky. Pulling on a banner where most four-stars are only useful at R5 is a huge gamble.

Final Takeaways

  • Prioritize utility: Favs are king across nearly every weapon type.
  • Don’t chase low-refinement damage weapons—they rarely beat free-to-play alternatives until R5.
  • Know your account: Pull for what fills gaps, not what looks shiny.
  • Always read the full weapon description—including cooldowns (Zajef forgore).

Source: Zajef Daily – Ideal 4-Star Weapon Banner Picks
For more insights, weapon breakdowns, and advanced Genshin Impact theorycrafting, visit ExploreGenshin.gg.

Frequently Asked Questions about Genshin Impact 4-Star Weapons

1. What are the best 4-star weapons to pull from banners?
The most valuable 4-star weapons are the Favonius series, especially Favonius Sword and Favonius Lance, due to their strong Energy Recharge utility. Sacrificial Fragments, Wandering Evenstar, and The Widsith are also great depending on the team and character.

2. How many Favonius weapons should I own?
It’s ideal to own at least five Favonius weapons at Refinement 1. This provides excellent flexibility across multiple teams, especially for energy-hungry supports and sub-DPS units.

3. Are weapons like Wave-Riding Whirl worth using?
Wave-Riding Whirl has very niche use. It’s mainly good on Milani due to its high HP and ER stats, but the 15-second cooldown on its passive heavily limits its value. It’s not recommended outside of very specific team setups.

4. Which 4-star weapons are worth refining to R5?
Weapons like Dragon’s Bane, The Stringless, Wavebreaker’s Fin, Ali Flash, and Prospector’s Drill scale well with refinement and can surpass many free-to-play alternatives when maxed out.

5. Should I pull on a weapon banner just for 4-star weapons?
Generally, no. Weapon banners are risky. Only consider them if both featured 5-star weapons are highly valuable to you, and the 4-star pool includes several high-tier or refinable weapons you lack.

6. Are Sacrificial weapons still useful compared to Favonius?
Sacrificial weapons can be decent, especially Sacrificial Fragments due to its Elemental Mastery substat. However, for most characters and teams that need energy, Favonius weapons tend to be more universally effective.