Genshin Impact Gacha-of-the-Wild All

Yes, I am hungry for XP books. Looking at having three new characters in just over a week and I have enough XP books to level only two of them to 80 using enemy XP for the first couple dozen levels.

Also running into the same problem in today's Phantom Flow Okuden Difficulty as I do in the Spiral Abyss. I have great sustain damage and survivability, but just can't pull out enough burst damage to kill two Stonehides in that short of time.

If anyone doubted that you could level up characters in this game without XP books, take a look at my Zhongli.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/R5QYBhm.jpg)

You can see on his XP bar that he's about to reach level 81. Early- to mid-July I ascended him and then haven't used an XP book on him since that day. He's been in my daily-commissions/general-exploring/artifact-farming team for 99% of the time I've played since then. And now... a month and a half later... he should be reaching level 81 before the end of the week.

Ha! Amazing.

Still waiting to find out if her ice bombs work like Klee's, that is certain Anemo characters can move them around. Might get a little crazy if we can drop Klee and Aloy's bombs then have Jean/Kazuha/Sucrose/Traveler just pull them all together (along with the enemies).

There's what I want! The horned girl in the center!

Spoiler:

They'll release corrupted, possibly dead characters, right? Right?!

Mantid wrote:

There's what I want! The horned girl in the center!

Spoiler:

They'll release corrupted, possibly dead characters, right? Right?!

I mean, maybe?

They do some weird, wild stuff over in Honkai -- alternate universes, split personalities, time traveling, etc -- and while Genshin definitely seems to be trying to chart a more reserved course so far, who knows how things might eventually open up?

I actually have a pretty strong suspicion that at some point (possibly when the main story decides it's time to make some starting revelations about the history of the world and how they Traveller siblings relate to it), they'll do a run of "characters from legend" where they'll dip into some of the interesting bits of character design they've mostly shown in lore here and there. Vanessa, Archon War versions of the Archon characters (whether that's as outfits or alternate versions, who could say), the other Yakshas, characters from the dead ancient civilization where Dainslief originates, and now various figures of Inazuman legend could all easily become fodder for the gacha machine.

In fact, the only argument against that happening is that they've already set out a very clear path for a steady stream of new characters with the road trip narrative conceit, where each new major version will take us to new locations filled with new characters and cultures.

Banner leak:

IMAGE(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/823322220443992074/880407737052328006/m5bb8k447oj71_1.jpg)

So, pretty solid four star line-up for characters, and literally the biggest trap weapon banner ever.

noooo, I thought it was going to be Xingqiu not Surcrose. Sigh.

Oh! That's a good banner for me. I'm at C4 for Xiangling and Sucrose.

Well, this is different than the Playstation one, but doesn't show off much more. I think the most interesting thing is they bothered to change her bow from the Playstation exclusive one to the compound bow.

After having left the abyss at 33 to 35 stars every cycle for a while, I went in last night and managed three stars on every floor except 12-2 on my first pass through. I left it there, but then after thinking about it over night I decided to actually not be lazy about it this time -- particularly since if I had a pair of teams designed around 12-2 rather that 12-3, I knew it would be pretty trivial.

Sure enough, a single attempt on my lunch break was all I needed.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/vKUBY7E.jpg)

Feels pretty good now that it's down, particularly since my first pass at the 2.0 abyss was very scruffy -- pretty sure that was a 33 star run.

Going into the next patch, I've found all of the possible electro statue collectables available so far, which means the statue is at level 6 and I just need to find two new ones to reach lvl 7.

I also have just over 100 Electro Sigils built up, which means I should be able to instantly go from a level 20 tree to level 24 and get a polearm billet among the rewards. I've been waiting for another polearm billet forever so I could finally get Rosaria's Crescent Pike to R5. Of course, since getting Ayaka, Rosaria has been put on the back burner- but she still dishes out a ton of damage for me when I bring her out- usually on the team that Ayaka isn't on in the Abyss.

The event info for the next patch is available now and the 10 FREE INTERTWINED FATES everyone's been excited about aren't given out until AFTER the Raiden Shogun/Kujou Sara banner is over. And in order to get them players must log in for 7 days (in a row?) starting on Sept 28th.

The way everyone was talking about these free fates made it sound like they'd just be mailed to everyone at the start of the new patch. Well, I've got to subtract one 10-pull from my calculations of odds that I get Raiden Shogun...

Yeah, Mihoyo was saying from the start that they would be a 7-day login reward, but I think everyone would assume it was any 7 days after 2.1 went live, just like the Top-Up Bonus Reset. Having to wait for the actual anniversary for such a meh reward really makes it feel like there isn't any other surprises in store for it.

On the other hand, I guess it gives Mihoyo more time to hear player complaints about it and improve it.

Mihoyo have really put themselves in a losing position, however. Even if they did have other rewards planned, at this point everyone will believe that they didn't and that they are trying to address player outcry instead.

Edit: Oh, and 2.1 will bring us our first paid glider with a new bundle to buy:

Boundless Symphony contains the special Namecard Style: Celebration: Tuneful Delight, Special Furnishing: Splendid Phrase, Special Wind Glider: Wings of Poetic Melodies, and Primogems × 1,000.

Edit 2: Here they are. Rumor puts the bundle at $30

Spoiler:

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/KpA9hAx.jpg)
IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/bCCcyJm.jpg)
IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/ufPCfTL.png)

Pretty damn good -- right up there with the Zhongli video. Maybe even better?

Both certainly feature the sickest of beats.

Presented with sweet ass Japanese VO for comparison:

They sure do know how to edit a trailer, and the music in these demos is always so, so good.

My other favorites off the top of my head are probably Ganyu and Ayaka.

On another note, some people on the Genshin subreddit take the time to compile possible primogem income from patch to patch. Here's a breakdown since 2.0 released that should be close to accurate:

F2P Sources
1) 2.0 Update Downtime and Maintenance: 600
2) Daily Commissions (60/Day for 42 Days): 2520
3) Character Story Quest (Ayaka and Yoimiya): 150
4) Character Test Run (Ayaka & Yoimiya): 40
5) Archon Quests: 190
6) World Quests: 1120
7) Chests, Puzzles and Exploration: 1762
8) Statue of the Seven Discover/Level Up: 315
9) Achievements: 455
10) HoyoLab Daily Logins: 80
11) Event: Thunder Sojourn: 980
12) Event: Theater Mechanicus: 420
13) Event: Phantom Flow: 420
14) Event: Lost Riches: 420
15) HoyoLab Web Events: 80
16) 2.1 Update Livestream Codes Giveaway: 300
Total Primogems : 9852 Primogems OR 61 Wishes

To put that in perspective, the $50 genesis crystal pack with the 1-time double bonus gives you 41 wishes, 20.5 without the 1-time bonus.

And a few other F2P wish sources:

F2P Intertwined Fates Sources
August Paimon Shop 5 Intertwined Fates
Sacred Sakura Tree 4 Intertwined Fates
Total of 9 Wishes

Other F2P Sources (Depends on individuals)
Spiral Abyss: up to 1200 primo gems depending on performance
Character Hangout Events
Teapot Character Placements
Character Quests
Etc.

So if you pick up those 9 extra fates and manage to clear most of the Abyss, there should be about 75 F2P wishes in total this patch that could be earned.

PSA: Not great news about Raiden -- she's either been bugged or nerfed since beta, and her sword attacks currently don't activate Beidou's burst attack.

This basically removes her strongest team synergy other than Eula. Hopefully this is a bug that will be fixed quickly or else something they will be convinced to change back to the beta state, because even though I'm still excited to have her that does make her have a LOT fewer strong teams.

Chinese players are certainly up in arms about it either way, so we'll see what actually happens.

EDIT: Good news, though, is that folks are already finding her to work well in a wider array of other teams than expected, such as Raiden/Bennett/Xiangling/Sucrose overload taser setups.

That's unfortunate, but considering how angry the CN community seems to be about it, I suspect we'll be looking at Zhongli like changes to buff her within a patch or two.

It would be one thing if it never worked that way, but she did work with Beidou all the way through the beta, so people are feeling more understandably misled by the change.

In much more positive news, Seirai Island makes a hell of a first impression. Once I activated my first warp gate, I passed back and forth several times just taking in the beauty of the environment, especially the section with the eye of the storm. I'm also pleased to see that they had more new enemies and environmental puzzle types planned for 2.1. I wasn't expecting anything new in that regard.

Is this it, or is there one more island to go? I thought it was six Inazuma islands in total, but I can't remember.

In much more positive news, Seirai Island makes a hell of a first impression. Once I activated my first warp gate, I passed back and forth several times just taking in the beauty of the environment, especially the section with the eye of the storm. I'm also pleased to see that they had more new enemies and environmental puzzle types planned for 2.1. I wasn't expecting anything new in that regard.

Agreed -- I really thought the islands from 2.0 represented peak design, but Seirai is something else entirely in all respects (and I haven't even been to the other new island yet!).

Is this it, or is there one more island to go? I thought it was six Inazuma islands in total, but I can't remember.

The 2.2 beta seems to have started today (or maybe the client was just made available for download), and the early leaks seem to indicate there is one more island to come.

Also, looks like Thoma as a 4 star and two 5 star reruns for 2.2, unless Yae gets added to the beta later. No leaks confirming anything, but the rumors have been strong for Ganyu, and then Albedo and Hu Tao have also been floating around as potential upcoming reruns. (Ganyu seems like maybe even more of a lock, since the beta had a new 5 star bow.)

As for Thoma, looks like he's going to be a shielder and off field pyro applicator -- kind of a mashup of Xinyan and Xingqiu's kits, maybe? His animations look pretty sweet too, but hard to say other than that how much he'll add to the overall picture of the team building. He could be a very strong melt support depending on the specifics of that pyro application though -- quite narratively appropriate if so, given it could open up new team options for Ayaka.

Her being nerfed explains why I got her in my 3rd gift I guess :S Last 5 gifts has resulted in Jean, some 4 star weapon, and Raiden which feels a bit crazy. Still, I'd rather get something "high end"... So I felt like I had a character to focus on. Though I like Jean as healer more than all the others I have tried. The heal just works.

Okay, having now got Raiden to level 80/80 with 6/6/6 talents and played around with a variety of team comps, I'm significantly less bummed about them breaking her Beidou synergy than I was. Cannot wait to see how things progress after the final ascension and pushing toward level 10 talents.

While she isn't Venti or Zhongli levels of plug and play into any team to make it better, she's fun as hell to play and adds a decidedly new spice and strategy compared to the existing electro supports in open world play. Additionally, I'm already fairly certain that she will also give me new effective team setup options for the abyss. And really, at the point where I am with the game (ie, very solid teams to handle just about everything already), those are the two things I want from a new character -- I want fun new ways to play, and I want to broaden my tactical options for team building, and she absolutely ticks both those boxes for me (in addition to just being cool as hell).

Caveat emptor for people newer to the game: take my impressions with appropriate context. I had a ton of gems saved so I had enough to roll constellations for her, and got a lucky set of drops to get her to C2 which is a HUGE damage boost. Also, I have a 5 star weapon for her (not her signature weapon, but one that's decent -- a PJWS). Also, I have more than enough spare resources to push her immediately to "well invested" levels, and in a few weeks once I have boss materials for talents I'll be approaching ludicrous levels. Please don't drop you rolls (especially if you are buying them) based on my first day impressions -- wait until the broader community has a chance to figure out where she really stands, and how she performs at levels more reasonably achievable for people who haven't been going VERY hard at the game for a full year now.

Shadout wrote:

Her being nerfed explains why I got her in my 3rd gift I guess :S Last 5 gifts has resulted in Jean, some 4 star weapon, and Raiden which feels a bit crazy. Still, I'd rather get something "high end"... So I felt like I had a character to focus on. Though I like Jean as healer more than all the others I have tried. The heal just works.

Jean and Raiden are both excellent characters, even if they might not be meta topping ones. You'll be quite well served by using them both now that you have them, and they'll work pretty well together too. (If you have Xingqiu and either Xiangling or another electro support that's very solid team.)

Worth noting that you might not be able to level Raiden past 40/40 until you get to Inazuma, though. (Do her trial for the region locked materials to ascend her past 20/20.)

Been in Inazuma for a few days now, though I havent found the lvl 40 material needed for either Yoimiya or Raiden. Still on the first island.
Also got another Sucrose a short time after yesterday, making her the highest constellation character I have, at 3. So I guess I should try to find some use for here too, and I do like here crowd control.

Shadout wrote:

Been in Inazuma for a few days now, though I havent found the lvl 40 material needed for either Yoimiya or Raiden. Still on the first island.

You can find some Naku Weed for Yoimiya on the mountain Narukami Shrine is located, but they are a bit more abundant on the second island. The second island is also where you will find the Pyro Hypostasis boss you need materials from.

Raiden's ascension materials are only found on the southern most island (the one with all the clouds).

I'm fascinated that we actually have a different narrator for Aloy! Alice!

I will say I have been having a great deal of fun with Klee, Aloy, and Ameno Traveler. Drop Klee's mines, toss out Aloy's freeze bomb, then palm vortex everything together! Won't ever be a top teir move, but it is satisfying.

I certainly can see where Aloy needs some constellations eventually. She has some of the limitations you see in character designs which make constellations desirable, like needing a second charge of her freeze bomb.

I'm feeling stupid asking this but you know how there's those electro bush things that you can summon the electro-thingy to float around you for a bit, and then you can walk through the dome electro-barriers? Sometimes I've been able to interact with the purple thing in the center of the barrier and the dome goes away forever, but usually the barrier just keeps coming back over and over, and I can't figure out why. Am I doing something wrong, or do some dome barriers just act different?

Tscott wrote:

Am I doing something wrong, or do some dome barriers just act different?

Yeah, they each act differently, which is annoying inconsistent. It doesn't even matter if there is a one-time item inside the barrier or not, some of them get permanently disabled, others do not.

Mantid wrote:
Tscott wrote:

Am I doing something wrong, or do some dome barriers just act different?

Yeah, they each act differently, which is annoying inconsistent. It doesn't even matter if there is a one-time item inside the barrier or not, some of them get permanently disabled, others do not.

That is pretty annoying. I spent a lot of time last night in a puzzle area that had some of the new warp portals under those domes and spent some time trying to remove the domes permanently.