55 wishes, 6 4*s - 2 Candace, 2 Sayu, 2 weapons. Venti at pity. Talk about boring luck, didn't even get the other ninja. Though I guess winning the 50/50 is cool and all.
Not sure how crappy Candace's test build is but she seems super underwhelming in combat. Hits like a wet rag, though I guess giving her hydro infusion to somebody else is her main selling point. Cyno seems fun but doesn't really have anything unique going on so I figured I'll finish my archon collection instead, especially since they've toned down the "everything new is immune to anemo CC" thing Inazuma had for a while.
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
Pulled twice and got my Cyno copy. Mostly saving for Eula and Raiden reruns now. Need 2 Eula constellations and 1 Raiden, and I really want Raiden's spear.
My luck on this banner was pretty crazy. Wasn't going to go past soft pity, just wanted to get some 4*s, since Shinobu was the only one I was missing and Candace is of course new. 20 rolls not only got both of them, but C1 for Shinobu, and Cyno. I feel like it's been awhile since I've gotten a 5* character before soft pity, much less also winning the 50/50.
Certainly remains to be seen how good Cyno is. He seems fairly powerful, but he demands to stay on the field for long periods of time. I have no idea about things like optimal rotation or his ICDs, yet. People who I follow don't seem to be in as much of a rush to pick him up as many other new characters.
My current plan is to team him up with Beidou and dendro traveler, but I dunno who else yet. Maybe just Zhongli.
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AuralynxDarkness is a perspectiveWatching the ego workRegistered Userregular
I have had limited time for this lately but Venti seems to straight-up rule in what I've seen of Sumeru. So much less herding of dudes.
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
Yeah, being able to sweep everyone together and just wreck house again feels really good. Same with Kazuha, but his benefits are different in some ways.
I'm having a hard time raising both Tighnari and Traveler's talents because of the spores. I know the shrooms are everywhere, but I can't use pyro or electro if I want to reliably get the type I need. That's a bit annoying.
Yeah, being able to sweep everyone together and just wreck house again feels really good. Same with Kazuha, but his benefits are different in some ways.
I'm having a hard time raising both Tighnari and Traveler's talents because of the spores. I know the shrooms are everywhere, but I can't use pyro or electro if I want to reliably get the type I need. That's a bit annoying.
There's a good amount of the mushroom enemies in the area directly below the Jadeplume Terrorshroom, so when I was working on their talents, I just hopped down there and cleaned those out each day with Ningguang and Ganyu. I do agree though that it's kinda annoying how we need to avoid those elements. Been generally using Fischl, so I've had to swap off her at times.
My luck on this banner was pretty crazy. Wasn't going to go past soft pity, just wanted to get some 4*s, since Shinobu was the only one I was missing and Candace is of course new. 20 rolls not only got both of them, but C1 for Shinobu, and Cyno. I feel like it's been awhile since I've gotten a 5* character before soft pity, much less also winning the 50/50.
Certainly remains to be seen how good Cyno is. He seems fairly powerful, but he demands to stay on the field for long periods of time. I have no idea about things like optimal rotation or his ICDs, yet. People who I follow don't seem to be in as much of a rush to pick him up as many other new characters.
My current plan is to team him up with Beidou and dendro traveler, but I dunno who else yet. Maybe just Zhongli.
It's not meta, or whatever (and 97% of the game can be played with solo Amber, or whatever) but I tend to like characters with high on field demands. The constant cycle isn't as fun, always.
I'm probably skipping Cyno for the next one, though. Maybe. Let's see..
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
My luck on this banner was pretty crazy. Wasn't going to go past soft pity, just wanted to get some 4*s, since Shinobu was the only one I was missing and Candace is of course new. 20 rolls not only got both of them, but C1 for Shinobu, and Cyno. I feel like it's been awhile since I've gotten a 5* character before soft pity, much less also winning the 50/50.
Certainly remains to be seen how good Cyno is. He seems fairly powerful, but he demands to stay on the field for long periods of time. I have no idea about things like optimal rotation or his ICDs, yet. People who I follow don't seem to be in as much of a rush to pick him up as many other new characters.
My current plan is to team him up with Beidou and dendro traveler, but I dunno who else yet. Maybe just Zhongli.
Cyno's kind of in a rough spot being released in the middle of a mass archon rerun, with everyone expecting a Raiden banner coming up, plus Nahida...
Speaking of which, the archon quest has some fun new lore. (Spoilers for the end of the new stuff, seriously)
Like Nahida just being the original archon after they had to expend most of their power saving the world. Which is an interesting twist, especially with how she's been deliberately locked away and shunned.
BethrynUnhappiness is MandatoryRegistered Userregular
Archon quest
Yeah, I was largely expecting this. Samsara as rebirth is a major concept, and we already saw soft versions of it with the Aranara quest. Plus the hint at the very start of Sumeru when Paimon asks who the statue is of.
I'm curious that no mention of the Goddess of Flowers in the cinematic with Deshret and Kusanali. Still waiting to see if one of the original god trio is an Aranara or similar. Although I was originally wondering if Vishnu/Brahma/Shiva was the route they were going.
Why is Qiqi the bane of every 50/50? Why couldn't it be Mona? Or Diluc?
The worst thing about this is Qiqi's constellations are so damn useless, all of them.
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
I just got Qiqi not that long ago, maybe back around Yae's banner? But I have her at C2 now.
In other news, do you need scarabs? Good luck! They're kind of a pain in the ass, and everyone is going to try and join your world to farm them as well. Please enjoy!
That probably explains all the join requests, yeah.
It's so weird how some materials are incredibly easy, take you two runs so you'll have everything you need for a character within 2-3 days. And then there's the stuff that feels like you're being punished for killing the devs' grandmothers.
Did one ten-pull more (this time on Cyno's banner) since I still wanted a Kuki. Instead I got two Sayus and a Dori, bringing my Sayu from pre-banner c1 to c6. Since I actually use her from time to time that's nice, her c6 adds quite a lot of punch to her burst. That's ten 4*s with no Kuki on the other hand.
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AuralynxDarkness is a perspectiveWatching the ego workRegistered Userregular
Did one ten-pull more (this time on Cyno's banner) since I still wanted a Kuki. Instead I got two Sayus and a Dori, bringing my Sayu from pre-banner c1 to c6. Since I actually use her from time to time that's nice, her c6 adds quite a lot of punch to her burst. That's ten 4*s with no Kuki on the other hand.
I fished hard for Sayu back in July, got 1. 2 of my last 3 4* pities? Sayu.
So who are people theorycrafting Candace for, if anyone?
So who are people theorycrafting Candace for, if anyone?
She works reasonably as an on field DPS, vaporizing her charge attacks, but not great. And I haven't yet seen any support options for her that are better than alternatives. Best used for convenience (easy access to busting pyro shields) or neat teams that aren't gonna be meta. Like, the idea of using Hydro!Keqing for blooms and then using her Es for hyperbloom is fun, but probably not better than using Shinobu for hyperbloom, or using Keqing for Aggravate.
So who are people theorycrafting Candace for, if anyone?
Big one I've heard lately is Ayato. Hydro Resonance helps them both, she grants Hydro Bonus to normal attacks, which is what his skill counts as, so even if he doesn't 'need' the infusion, he still benefits.
My own thinking would be that Xiangling wouldn't be too bad. You might have to build her a little differently for that, but throwing her with Bennett, Candace and a flex for the last spot could be fun if not 'meta'. It might also work pretty decently on Razor as well, considering his Burst isn't an infusion but attacks alongside his attacks. This is just me thinking about it, though, no testing behind it.
She also buffs Yoimiya for the same reason - it's already an elemental infusion. In Yoimiya's case, since she's a bow, she doesn't have to worry about hydro overriding her either. Though in that case I'm not sure if Candace earns a slot with XQ and Yelan around priming vapes on every shot.
So who are people theorycrafting Candace for, if anyone?
Big one I've heard lately is Ayato. Hydro Resonance helps them both, she grants Hydro Bonus to normal attacks, which is what his skill counts as, so even if he doesn't 'need' the infusion, he still benefits.
My own thinking would be that Xiangling wouldn't be too bad. You might have to build her a little differently for that, but throwing her with Bennett, Candace and a flex for the last spot could be fun if not 'meta'. It might also work pretty decently on Razor as well, considering his Burst isn't an infusion but attacks alongside his attacks. This is just me thinking about it, though, no testing behind it.
Razor is more about pairing with a cryo character for superconduct and getting those big physical hits in, which is part of why he's fallen so far by the wayside. The focus on reactions has gotten way bigger and physical damage has kinda disappeared.
BethrynUnhappiness is MandatoryRegistered Userregular
The big Sumeru side quest is great, and reminds me of playing one of the old Tomb Raider games, and is probably about the same length as one of those games.
Absolutely insane amounts of content in these patches.
The second part of the world quest for this patch is a lot more enjoyable because yeah - much less dialogue, and instead it's just "go raid ALL the tombs" kind of. So much loot...
So who are people theorycrafting Candace for, if anyone?
Big one I've heard lately is Ayato. Hydro Resonance helps them both, she grants Hydro Bonus to normal attacks, which is what his skill counts as, so even if he doesn't 'need' the infusion, he still benefits.
My own thinking would be that Xiangling wouldn't be too bad. You might have to build her a little differently for that, but throwing her with Bennett, Candace and a flex for the last spot could be fun if not 'meta'. It might also work pretty decently on Razor as well, considering his Burst isn't an infusion but attacks alongside his attacks. This is just me thinking about it, though, no testing behind it.
Razor is more about pairing with a cryo character for superconduct and getting those big physical hits in, which is part of why he's fallen so far by the wayside. The focus on reactions has gotten way bigger and physical damage has kinda disappeared.
Sad Razor and Jean noises.
Oh yeah, I know. But it could be fun to build a Tazer Razor if just for the name.
I actually prefer Cyno's expedition perk to the existing ones, and am kinda looking forward to more of those being released. Not that you really get a ton of mora from that, but getting more for free every day will help a little bit. I'd rather have five of his type than the ones that reduce expedition time, since I don't log in often enough to take advantage of that.
Granted, Tighnari having the "find Sumeru regional stuff" passive has been very helpful for me and it's one of the reasons I've been happy to have picked him up early.
I actually prefer Cyno's expedition perk to the existing ones, and am kinda looking forward to more of those being released. Not that you really get a ton of mora from that, but getting more for free every day will help a little bit. I'd rather have five of his type than the ones that reduce expedition time, since I don't log in often enough to take advantage of that.
Granted, Tighnari having the "find Sumeru regional stuff" passive has been very helpful for me and it's one of the reasons I've been happy to have picked him up early.
Also Tighnari is really cool in his own right. He's a fun character and is very different from his initial impression. He starts off a stick in the mud but you realize he's just protective and is actually a bro.
Also his voice lines are great. Taking a hit and shouting "excuse me" or "I'LL BURY YOU" makes me giggle every time.
So there was an interview with the developers and, uh....it's not good. The tl;dr is:
Interviewer: "The players want more from the game, can you tell us what more they can expect?"
HoyoVerse: "Nothing."
No permanent endgame modes are really on the table. They're designing 'other types of gameplay' for the future in the vein of the TCG, but Spiral Abyss 'gives players anxiety' so they aren't doing more of that. Old characters aren't getting buffs unless they make something else that specifically buffs them. (So, like, Diluc is only going to rise up as a Pyro DPS if they release a new character or weapon that does it.) Basically how Dendro buffed Keqing. It's a consequence, not an intent. No more reactions coming anytime soon. No resin cap increase in the future. They are 'working on' making the game more accessible for new players, so they can actually use characters they get without needing to get through four regions just so they can /start/ farming for them. And also, probably no more cross-overs, whether it's from their own games (Honkai, ZZZ, etc.) or others (like the Aloy, collab, aka, Aloy is never getting better, thanks).
ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
I don't like the no buffing part, but ultimately I think that's ok for a couple reasons. First, their buffs to Zhongli were pretty overtuned, and they don't want to make that mistake again. And second, they've been avoiding power creep pretty damn well unlike every other f2p game.
As for no harder endgame content... That's just not the type of game this is. Never has been. If you want difficult endgame content, you need a different game. Hoyo has been pretty clear from the beginning that they're more focused on casual players.
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Not sure how crappy Candace's test build is but she seems super underwhelming in combat. Hits like a wet rag, though I guess giving her hydro infusion to somebody else is her main selling point. Cyno seems fun but doesn't really have anything unique going on so I figured I'll finish my archon collection instead, especially since they've toned down the "everything new is immune to anemo CC" thing Inazuma had for a while.
Certainly remains to be seen how good Cyno is. He seems fairly powerful, but he demands to stay on the field for long periods of time. I have no idea about things like optimal rotation or his ICDs, yet. People who I follow don't seem to be in as much of a rush to pick him up as many other new characters.
My current plan is to team him up with Beidou and dendro traveler, but I dunno who else yet. Maybe just Zhongli.
I have had limited time for this lately but Venti seems to straight-up rule in what I've seen of Sumeru. So much less herding of dudes.
I'm having a hard time raising both Tighnari and Traveler's talents because of the spores. I know the shrooms are everywhere, but I can't use pyro or electro if I want to reliably get the type I need. That's a bit annoying.
There's a good amount of the mushroom enemies in the area directly below the Jadeplume Terrorshroom, so when I was working on their talents, I just hopped down there and cleaned those out each day with Ningguang and Ganyu. I do agree though that it's kinda annoying how we need to avoid those elements. Been generally using Fischl, so I've had to swap off her at times.
It's not meta, or whatever (and 97% of the game can be played with solo Amber, or whatever) but I tend to like characters with high on field demands. The constant cycle isn't as fun, always.
I'm probably skipping Cyno for the next one, though. Maybe. Let's see..
A little more primos. As a treat.
Cyno's kind of in a rough spot being released in the middle of a mass archon rerun, with everyone expecting a Raiden banner coming up, plus Nahida...
Speaking of which, the archon quest has some fun new lore. (Spoilers for the end of the new stuff, seriously)
3DS: 0473-8507-2652
Switch: SW-5185-4991-5118
PSN: AbEntropy
I'm curious that no mention of the Goddess of Flowers in the cinematic with Deshret and Kusanali. Still waiting to see if one of the original god trio is an Aranara or similar. Although I was originally wondering if Vishnu/Brahma/Shiva was the route they were going.
3DS: 0473-8507-2652
Switch: SW-5185-4991-5118
PSN: AbEntropy
I was wrong.
3DS: 0473-8507-2652
Switch: SW-5185-4991-5118
PSN: AbEntropy
The worst thing about this is Qiqi's constellations are so damn useless, all of them.
In other news, do you need scarabs? Good luck! They're kind of a pain in the ass, and everyone is going to try and join your world to farm them as well. Please enjoy!
It's so weird how some materials are incredibly easy, take you two runs so you'll have everything you need for a character within 2-3 days. And then there's the stuff that feels like you're being punished for killing the devs' grandmothers.
I fished hard for Sayu back in July, got 1. 2 of my last 3 4* pities? Sayu.
So who are people theorycrafting Candace for, if anyone?
It really is salt in the wound.
Almost as bad as getting a 12th Lion’s Roar.
She works reasonably as an on field DPS, vaporizing her charge attacks, but not great. And I haven't yet seen any support options for her that are better than alternatives. Best used for convenience (easy access to busting pyro shields) or neat teams that aren't gonna be meta. Like, the idea of using Hydro!Keqing for blooms and then using her Es for hyperbloom is fun, but probably not better than using Shinobu for hyperbloom, or using Keqing for Aggravate.
Big one I've heard lately is Ayato. Hydro Resonance helps them both, she grants Hydro Bonus to normal attacks, which is what his skill counts as, so even if he doesn't 'need' the infusion, he still benefits.
My own thinking would be that Xiangling wouldn't be too bad. You might have to build her a little differently for that, but throwing her with Bennett, Candace and a flex for the last spot could be fun if not 'meta'. It might also work pretty decently on Razor as well, considering his Burst isn't an infusion but attacks alongside his attacks. This is just me thinking about it, though, no testing behind it.
3DS: 0473-8507-2652
Switch: SW-5185-4991-5118
PSN: AbEntropy
Razor is more about pairing with a cryo character for superconduct and getting those big physical hits in, which is part of why he's fallen so far by the wayside. The focus on reactions has gotten way bigger and physical damage has kinda disappeared.
Sad Razor and Jean noises.
Absolutely insane amounts of content in these patches.
3DS: 0473-8507-2652
Switch: SW-5185-4991-5118
PSN: AbEntropy
Oh yeah, I know. But it could be fun to build a Tazer Razor if just for the name.
The least they could have done is give this dude Sumeru Item-Find, instead of the Useless Expedition Perk #5.
3DS: 0473-8507-2652
Switch: SW-5185-4991-5118
PSN: AbEntropy
Granted, Tighnari having the "find Sumeru regional stuff" passive has been very helpful for me and it's one of the reasons I've been happy to have picked him up early.
Also Tighnari is really cool in his own right. He's a fun character and is very different from his initial impression. He starts off a stick in the mud but you realize he's just protective and is actually a bro.
Also his voice lines are great. Taking a hit and shouting "excuse me" or "I'LL BURY YOU" makes me giggle every time.
Interviewer: "The players want more from the game, can you tell us what more they can expect?"
HoyoVerse: "Nothing."
No permanent endgame modes are really on the table. They're designing 'other types of gameplay' for the future in the vein of the TCG, but Spiral Abyss 'gives players anxiety' so they aren't doing more of that. Old characters aren't getting buffs unless they make something else that specifically buffs them. (So, like, Diluc is only going to rise up as a Pyro DPS if they release a new character or weapon that does it.) Basically how Dendro buffed Keqing. It's a consequence, not an intent. No more reactions coming anytime soon. No resin cap increase in the future. They are 'working on' making the game more accessible for new players, so they can actually use characters they get without needing to get through four regions just so they can /start/ farming for them. And also, probably no more cross-overs, whether it's from their own games (Honkai, ZZZ, etc.) or others (like the Aloy, collab, aka, Aloy is never getting better, thanks).
Christ.
As for no harder endgame content... That's just not the type of game this is. Never has been. If you want difficult endgame content, you need a different game. Hoyo has been pretty clear from the beginning that they're more focused on casual players.