- We scored nine gacha games that are live worldwide on five rules you can check: worst-case pity, carryover, PvP pressure, duplicate value and free picks
- Wuthering Waves, Zenless Zone Zero and Honkai: Star Rail top the October 2026 table at 8 out of 10
- In PvE-only games you compete against the content, so money buys comfort, not a win over other players
- No publisher we checked states an official free-pulls-per-patch number, so this list doesn't print one
- F2P-friendly still means built to sell pulls. Set a monthly pull budget before a banner, not during it
Search for F2P-friendly gacha games and you mostly find forum threads. They’re honest, but they run on luck. One player calls a game generous because they won three 50/50s. Another calls it predatory because they lost three.
This list skips the vibes. We scored nine gacha games that are live worldwide as of October 2026. Each one is judged on rules you can check yourself. How far away is the pity, and does it follow you to the next banner? Does spending buy a PvP edge? How much do duplicates matter, and what can you pick for free?
Hunter Vault is not affiliated with HoYoverse, Kuro Games, Hypergryph, Yostar, Gryphline, Bluepoch, NEXON or Cygames. Game names belong to their owners. We link the source for every rule so you can check it.
Every number below was checked against official notices, official in-game rate text or, where marked, a community wiki, between October 19 and 20, 2026. Publishers change banner rules in patches. Before you pull, open the game’s own Details or rates screen. Apple’s App Review Guidelines (3.1.1) require games selling random items to disclose the odds before purchase, so that screen is always there.
Quick Answer: Which Gacha Games Are the Most F2P-Friendly?
As of October 2026, Wuthering Waves, Zenless Zone Zero and Honkai: Star Rail score highest on our five rules, at 8 out of 10. All three keep your pity count between limited banners and have no PvP mode we could find. Each gives you at least one permanent way to choose a top-rarity character. Arknights: Endfield, Reverse: 1999 and Genshin Impact follow at 7. All nine games are on iOS and Android.
How We Scored Each Game
Each rule is worth 0 to 2 points, for a total out of 10. We scored the banner type where new limited characters appear, because that’s where spending pressure lives.
| Rule | 2 points | 1 point | 0 points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worst case (pulls to one specific limited character) | 160 or fewer | 161 to 200 | More than 200 |
| Carryover to the next limited banner | Pity count carries, and the official wording doesn’t tie the lost-50/50 guarantee to one banner | Count carries, but part of your progress is per banner | Progress resets or converts when the banner ends |
| PvP pressure | No roster-based PvP mode found | AI-driven or ranked modes that pay small rank rewards | Head-to-head PvP as a core monthly mode |
| Duplicate dependence | Copies add small boosts, or upgrade items can be farmed | Copies add big upgrades, but one copy works | Competitive builds expect max-copy cards |
| Free picks | A permanent route plus at least one more | One route, or only time-limited events | None found |
A “free pick” is any official way to choose a top-rarity character: a standard-banner selector, a free selector event, or choosing who you get when you lose a 50/50.
What we can’t score: how much free currency each game hands out. No publisher we checked publishes an official per-version total, so we left it out instead of guessing.
The Scoreboard
| Game (publisher) | Worst case | Carryover | PvP | Dupes | Free picks | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wuthering Waves (Kuro Games) | 160 (2) | Carries (2) | None (2) | Big (1) | 1 route (1) | 8 |
| Zenless Zone Zero (HoYoverse) | 180 (1) | Carries (2) | None (2) | Big (1) | 3 routes (2) | 8 |
| Honkai: Star Rail (HoYoverse) | 180 (1) | Carries (2) | None (2) | Big (1) | 2 routes (2) | 8 |
| Arknights: Endfield (Gryphline) | 120 (2) | Partial (1) | None (2) | Big (1) | 1 route (1) | 7 |
| Reverse: 1999 (Bluepoch) | 140 (2) | Partial (1) | None (2) | Big (1) | Events (1) | 7 |
| Genshin Impact (HoYoverse) | 180 (1) | Carries (2) | None (2) | Big (1) | Events (1) | 7 |
| Arknights (Hypergryph / Yostar) | 300 (0) | Resets (0) | None (2) | Small (2) | 1 route (1) | 5 |
| Blue Archive (NEXON) | 200 (1) | Converts (0) | Ranked (1) | Farmable (2) | Events (1) | 5 |
| Umamusume: Pretty Derby (Cygames) | 200 (1) | Converts (0) | Core PvP (0) | Max copies (0) | 1 route (1) | 2 |
S Tier (8/10)
Wuthering Waves (Kuro Games)
The in-game rules give a 5-star every 80 Convenes, with a 50% chance it’s the limited character. If it isn’t, the next one is (in-game text via wutheringwaves.gg). That makes 160 pulls the worst case, lower than the 180 of the three HoYoverse games.
Kuro’s official Version 3.7 banner notice says the count “is shared among all Featured Resonator Convene events and is carried over until a 5-Star Resonator is obtained.” On the featured weapon banner, every 5-star is the featured weapon. There’s no 50/50 there.
We found no PvP mode. Duplicates add six Resonance Chain nodes. Its one free pick is the Beginner’s Choice Convene, where you pick your target standard 5-star.
Zenless Zone Zero (HoYoverse)
The official Exclusive Channel Details set the pity at 90 Signal Searches with a 50% chance at the limited Agent, so the worst case is 180. The count “is cumulative across all Exclusive Channels.”
ZZZ wins on free picks. The Version 3.3 channel notice describes S-Rank Signal Customization: you choose six S-Rank Agents, and a lost 50/50 gives you one of those six. After 300 searches on the standard channel, you choose one bonus S-Rank Agent, once. The 2nd-anniversary event also gave a limited S-Rank Agent of your choice for logging in.
The endgame (Shiyu Defense, Deadly Assault) is PvE. Duplicates add six Mindscape levels.
Honkai: Star Rail (HoYoverse)
The official Character Event Warp Details put the pity at 90 Warps with a 50% featured chance. They also say the count “will always be carried over to other Character Event Warps.”
Two permanent routes earn HSR full marks on free picks. Since Version 3.2, you choose which non-featured 5-stars can appear when you lose a 50/50. Version 4.2 expanded that “Celestial Invitation” list to 7 picks from 13. The standard banner also lets you choose one of seven standard 5-stars after 300 Warps, once per account (wiki).
We found no PvP mode, and duplicates add six Eidolons.
A Tier (7/10)
Arknights: Endfield (Hypergryph, published by Gryphline)
Endfield launched worldwide on January 22, 2026 and arrived on Steam on October 14, 2026. The community wiki lists 80-pull hard pity, a 50% featured chance and a once-per-banner rule that makes the 120th pull the featured operator (Endfield wiki). The official notices point to in-game Details for those numbers.
The official October 2026 banner notice confirms the extras. You get 10 bonus pulls after 30 pulls. After 60, you get a Dossier worth 10 pulls on the next banner, and every 240 pulls adds a copy token. The 120 rule resets each banner, so carryover is partial.
Every player who finishes Chapter I gets a free permit to pick one standard 6-star. No PvP mode was found.
Reverse: 1999 (Bluepoch)
The in-game rules promise a 6-star every 70 summons, with a 50% chance it’s the rate-up character. That makes 140 the worst case (in-game text via DotGG). Bluepoch’s official update notes say limited banners share “the same guarantee with summoning events of the same type.”
It loses a carryover point because the in-game wording ties the lost-50/50 promise to “this banner.” Collab banners keep their own separate counts.
The free picks are event-based. “Ripples on the Water” banners let you choose the rate-up, and Version 3.7 gave the new 6-star Coppélia free for logging in. Duplicates add five Portray levels, and we found no PvP mode.
Genshin Impact (HoYoverse)
The official Details text sets pity at 90 wishes. Since Version 5.0, “Capturing Radiance” lifts the consolidated chance of the featured character to 55% (official explainer). The worst case is still 180. The count is shared between the two character banners.
Genshin’s free picks are real but time-limited. The Version 7.1 anniversary lets you invite two 5-star characters, but there’s no permanent standard-banner selector. Since Version Luna I, a recurring event also hands out a free Constellation for a 5-star you own.
The combat endgame is PvE. The player-made Miliastra Wonderland mode has competitive matches, but we found nothing saying your gacha characters affect them. If you mostly want to explore, our Genshin and Honkai spending tracker guide covers logging pulls in real money.
B Tier (5/10)
Arknights (Hypergryph, published globally by Yostar)
Arknights is the case where our score undersells the daily experience. Its copies are cheap in power terms: Potential adds small cuts to deployment cost, small stat boosts or talent upgrades (wiki). We found no PvP mode. The certificate shop sells the current standard 6-star (wiki).
The low points come from exclusive limited banners. Pity rises 2% per pull after 50 and reaches a sure 6-star by pull 99. But on limited banners that count stays with that banner, and the featured unit costs 300 exchange contracts (wiki). Skip exclusive banners, and Arknights plays kinder than a 5.
Blue Archive (NEXON Games, published by NEXON Korea)
There’s no hard pity on the Global server today. You collect one point per pull, and 200 points claim a featured student (wiki). Unspent points turn into Keystone Pieces when the banner ends, so nothing carries.
Copies matter less than they look, because the upgrade items (Eleph) also drop from Hard missions and an exchange shop. The Tactical Challenge arena is AI against AI, with a small daily premium-currency reward by rank (wiki).
Nexon has posted an advance notice of a Global recruitment revamp for the November 10, 2026 maintenance. We’ll rescore once the new rules are live.
C Tier (2/10)
Umamusume: Pretty Derby (Cygames)
The English version launched on June 26, 2025. There’s no hard pity. You exchange 200 points per banner for a featured trainee or card, and unused points convert to Clovers when the banner closes.
The low score comes from PvP. Champions Meeting is a monthly PvP event against other players. Support cards need four extra copies to reach their top level cap, and higher levels raise the card’s bonuses. A low score doesn’t mean a bad game. It means the rules reward copies where you compete.
Can You Compete in Gacha Games Without Spending Money?
It depends on who you’re competing against.
In PvE-only games, yes. Seven of the nine games here have no PvP mode where your roster matters, as far as we could find. Your opponent is the content. Spending buys more characters and more copies, which can make hard modes smoother. But no other player gets ahead of you because they paid.
In PvP-heavy games, you can take part, but the top ranks get harder. Umamusume’s Champions Meeting puts trainees head to head, and support cards at max copies have higher bonuses. Blue Archive pays premium currency by rank in its AI-driven arena and ranked raids. The gap there is smaller, because copies are partly farmable.
A useful test before you start any gacha game: look for ranked PvP with premium-currency prizes. If it exists and depends on duplicates, money buys an edge. If it doesn’t, F2P is mostly about patience. Our roundup of free games with no pay-to-win applies the same test outside gacha.
Set a Pull Budget, Even in F2P-Friendly Games
Kind rules lower the worst case. They don’t make pulls free. Anniversaries pair gifts with spending nudges too. Genshin’s 7.1 benefits list includes “a reset of the Genesis Crystal first top-up bonus” right next to the free characters (official overview).
A simple pull budget looks like this:
- Pick a monthly amount in money, not gems. Choose it from what’s left after bills and savings, and only an amount you’re fine losing.
- Know your worst case before the banner. Check your current pity count, then subtract it from the worst case above. That gap is the real price of “I have to get this one.”
- Convert the gap to dollars. Use your game’s top-up prices and a tool like our gacha spending calculator.
- Skip when the gap is bigger than your budget. Save your free currency for a later banner. Carryover rules make skipping cheaper in most S-tier games.
- Log every top-up as it happens. Passes and battle passes count too. Here’s how to judge whether a pass is worth it.
For more on why small top-ups add up, see the hidden cost of free-to-play games. If you play several games, how to budget for anime gacha games shows how to split one monthly pot.
If pulling ever feels out of your control, you chase losses, or it’s affecting bills or relationships, that’s bigger than a budgeting problem. Gacha shares mechanics with gambling, and that’s not a personal failing. Talking to someone you trust, or a free and confidential gambling support line in your region, is a reasonable step. Our guide on how to stop overspending on gacha games covers gentler first steps.
Where Hunter Vault Fits
Hunter Vault is our own app, so weigh this with that in mind. It’s a manual budgeting app with an RPG layer of quests, XP and ranks, on iOS and Android. It never connects to a bank or to any game account. You log each top-up yourself, in real money.
For gacha, that looks like a “Gacha” budget category. On the free plan, you can give each game its own category (up to 8). With Hunter Elite, a $15.99 one-time purchase, you can keep one Gacha budget with a subcategory per game. Monthly passes fit recurring transactions. If you’re saving free pulls and cash for one banner, a savings goal tracks a target, a deadline and a monthly contribution. Budgeting never requires a subscription. There’s more on this setup on our gacha players page.
Get it on the App Store or Google Play.
Final Takeaway
“F2P-friendly” can be measured. Look at five things: the worst-case pull count, whether pity follows you between banners, whether there’s PvP, how much copies matter, and what you can pick for free. On those rules, Wuthering Waves, Zenless Zone Zero and Honkai: Star Rail lead as of October 2026. Arknights is kinder than its score if you skip exclusive banners.
Whatever you play, the kindest rule is the one you set yourself. Pick a monthly pull budget, check the Details screen before each banner, and let a missed character go when the gap is bigger than your budget.
This is general educational content, not financial advice. Banner rules, prices and rewards change with game updates, so verify the current in-game Details before you spend, and choose a budget that fits your income and responsibilities.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most F2P-friendly gacha game in 2026?
On our five-rule score, Wuthering Waves, Zenless Zone Zero and Honkai: Star Rail tie at 8 out of 10 as of October 2026. Wuthering Waves has the lowest worst case of the three (160 pulls for a specific limited character), while Zenless Zone Zero and Honkai: Star Rail have the most permanent free or choose-your-own routes. Rules change with updates, so check each game's in-game Details screen.
Can you compete in gacha games without spending money?
In PvE-only gacha games, yes. You compete against the content, and spending mostly buys more characters and copies, not a win over another player. In games with ranked PvP, such as Umamusume: Pretty Derby's Champions Meeting, accounts with more duplicate copies have an edge, so a free player can take part but will find the top ranks harder.
What does pity carryover mean in gacha games?
Pity carryover means your count toward the pity pull stays with you when one limited banner ends and the next begins. In Honkai: Star Rail, Zenless Zone Zero, Genshin Impact and Wuthering Waves, the official rules say the count carries to the next banner of the same type. In spark systems like Blue Archive and Umamusume, unused points convert to another item when the banner ends.
How many free pulls do F2P players get each patch?
None of the publishers we checked publishes an official per-version total. They list individual rewards, such as maintenance compensation or login gifts, so any per-patch number you see online is a community estimate. We describe free income qualitatively for that reason.
Do I need a budget if a gacha game is F2P-friendly?
Yes. Kinder rules lower the worst case, but every pull past your free currency still costs real money. Decide a monthly pull budget in money before a banner starts, convert pulls to dollars, and stop when the budget is gone.
