There isn’t really a right or wrong way to play the game if you’re simply playing to enjoy! My friend who is now a meta player used to main the Traveller for so long too and got through most of the story, so it’s no problem at all
There’s a very famous Genshin player named bwaap who quite literally has a loaded team of the free characters (Traveller, Amber, Lisa, Kaeya) and even got through most of the Spiral Abyss with them. They have one of the best meta characters in the game (Ganyu) and benched her at level 1. Quite the madman but as I said, there’s really no ”wrong move” if you‘re not a hardcore meta player.
I too was disheartened when I didn’t have a 5-star character, believe it or not I got my first one (Diluc) at AR 38! And even then I benched him for the meantime because I liked my 4-star characters better. I’ll be building him some day but I’m still sticking with building my main Yanfei because I love her tons.
What I love most about Genshin is that you can take your time to explore the world and the stories. It may be a gacha game at the end of the day, but the storyline and the characters don’t disappoint! If you’re new then I suggest taking things one at a time, you don’t have to maximize your team and get straight into the meta right away. I personally take my time to do the quests and stuff, if I just don‘t feel like it then I’ll put it off for the meantime.
That being said, I just want to share my favorite guide if you’re looking to build your team later on! It shows you the build you need for the recommended roles per character (DPS or main damage dealer, sub-DPS or your second-in-lines/elemental set-up people, and support or your shielders/healers).
docs.google.com
It’s pretty handy for later on in the game, especially when you understand most of the mechanics already. But again, don’t stress out on the meta if you’re just starting! A lot of the quality stuff for team building (i.e. 5-star artifacts) can only be farmed very late into the game. I don’t have a beginner’s guide for team building so you do have to look into it yourself, but in general I just search up posts and comments on Reddit.
The discussion on there is very useful!
Personal opinion: people are sleeping on Noelle. Noelle is a very beginner-friendly ‘free’ character, and I’ve used her throughout the main storyline. While she hits just okay for a DPS, her usefulness lies in her shield which also lets her heal teammates if she does damage with a shield on!