Genshin Impact

[Tao]

I'm sure everybody has heard of this game, if only for its glaring similarities to a certain Zelda game. With it being released as a free to play title, I'm wondering how many have decided to download it and give it a go, what your thoughts on this seemingly polarising game (for what seems like the wrong, biased reasons) seem to be.

For me?

I know many hate it for taking glaring 'inspiration' from BotW, but I don't really care. I don't see the issue in other games copying a formula that people clearly like. It's how many games we love came to be.

I opted for the android version as it's most convenient to me at the moment, seeing as there isn't a Switch version. I would usually never consider mobile.

I'm enjoying what I've played. I may not put too much time into this version as it ate my phones battery, but I'm enjoying it and its differences to BotW. The combat especially I'm enjoying even more than BotW.

It's also stupid impressive that a game like this is on my Galaxy 8. Its one of the best looking and fluid 'anime games' I've played period, and I'm sure the PS4 and PC versions only look better. It shows up even big hitters like Nintendo with their mobile offerings and really shows what you can do with and how much potential is in the mobile platform.

I think that for a free game (the microtransactions seem non existent so far, I dont even know what they are yet) it's worth at least a look. I would have happily paid regular retail price for this (with microtransactions removed, of course).

 

[Mairmalade]

Note: this post is coming from the perspective of a PC player. I hear the PS4 has been suffering quality issues and I'm not familiar with how the mobile version plays.

If you like rich worlds, questing, looting, amazing combat, crafting, and unique character building, give this a try.

Genshin Impact has quickly become one of my top five games of the year so far. I imagine people look at the game, see the similarities to Breath of the Wild as you mentioned, see the gacha tag, and then write it off. Please don't do this! It's not a clone and plays differently than your standard gacha imo.

I can see potential criticism with the characters currently available. Most follow the same design style; however, you'll probably find a few you like. It seems they will be adding more soon as the next update has already been leaked to release within the next couple months.

I forget the fact that it's a gacha game until I open up the 'wish' window, which is where you can use in-game currency for a chance to pull weapons and characters from different banners. You start with enough for a free pull and receive enough to do a second - even third - fairly early. These are also easy enough to farm through quests and doing things throughout the world. I was lucky enough to pull Venti, arguably the best 5-star character currently in the game, on my second pull. However, the odds themselves are not kind. I saw yesterday they increased the rates for some banners temporarily though.

While it is a gacha game, it's more predominantly a rich open world RPG. Every inch of the world is beautiful (not an exaggeration) and a giant treasure chest of secrets and surprises. Each area has its own vibe with the soundtrack to match. The music even changes for enemy encounters depending on which area you're in.

The quests don't feel daunting or boring either. Some are your standard 'get this item, deliver it to that person, go to this place,' but there's some humorous dialogue and interesting mechanics along the way. For example, using a special vision to trace the foot steps of a character to find out where they went or gathering ingredients for a cook-off and helping with a dish. I've been loving these when I'm not busy spending seven hours taking everything else in.

Crafting mechanics are not overly complicated, but still feel rewarding. You'll come across different resources and artifacts throughout your travels that you can use to strengthen your characters and weapons. You can also cook and do a bit of alchemy. Weapons all have distinct looks and will change in appearance when they ascend. Each character's animations will differ when using specific weapons too. Venti as an archer stays closer to the ground whereas Fischl will do a little hop and pose at the end of her standard combo.

Combat itself is one of my favorite parts of the game. Combining different elements and using abilities never gets old. Sometimes what you think won't work ends up working in the best way possible. I've also been using the environment to my advantage, so experimenting with combat has been a lot of fun.

Yes, there are similarities to other games. Most of those are not unique to the point of comparison though. Breath of the Wild wasn't the first to do open-world exploration/climbing and it certainly won't be the last. It has been heavily inspired, but it definitely adds its own flavors. Relax and enjoy the games!

Spoiler: Some of my pictures

Keep in mind that these aren't taken running the game at max. These are from playing the game with all settings at medium.

 

[Thunder]

why cant i hold all these electros

 

[Mairmalade]

why cant i hold all these electros

Give one to me, please.

Rolling Fischl and keeping her at level one? Monster.

 

[idiotdoomspiral]

ive been playing this a lot on my galaxy 8 too - even though im on the lowest graphic settings it runs really well and still looks pretty. sometimes i go on pc but i prefer playing it on my phone.
im AR 27 and my main team rn is venti, fischl, barbara and xiangling but i swap xiangling with chongyun if i need to. regarding transactions and stuff so far multi summons are relatively easy to do if you play enough, ive done at least 70 without spending anything so youre pretty much guaranteed to get venti or another 5 star hero in his banner since 90 summons gives you a guaranteed 5 star. ive been lucky enough to pull 2 venti so far. ive heard that the 90 summon pity also carries over to the next banner but im not entirely sure if thats true, i hope it is. the only things i want now are constellations for my characters before the banner ends and good 4 star weapons (the stringless is something i really want in particular)

 

[IonicKarma]

I love this game so much! The gameplay is really fun, love exploring new areas. The problem is I played too much and now I’m running out of areas to explore haha... Currently AL 29, once I hit AL 30 I’ll prob wait for an update and just do my dailies.

The only thing I don’t like about this game is the gacha. I’ve played a lot of gacha games in the past so the idea isn’t what gets me, it’s that the weapons are in the same banner and the rates are so bad.

I rerolled for Qiqi and got lucky on rerolling, getting her on my second attempt. Since then it’s been all downhill... I’ve pulled Barbara 7 times and as much as I love her, I just want someone else... How does that even happen?

 

[Mairmalade]

I love this game so much! The gameplay is really fun, love exploring new areas. The problem is I played too much and now I’m running out of areas to explore haha... Currently AL 29, once I hit AL 30 I’ll prob wait for an update and just do my dailies.

The only thing I don’t like about this game is the gacha. I’ve played a lot of gacha games in the past so the idea isn’t what gets me, it’s that the weapons are in the same banner and the rates are so bad.

I rerolled for Qiqi and got lucky on rerolling, getting her on my second attempt. Since then it’s been all downhill... I’ve pulled Barbara 7 times and as much as I love her, I just want someone else... How does that even happen?

Won't have to wait too long hopefully! The standard banner rates ARE awful - some of the worst I've seen in gacha games. A little off-putting, really.

With you on Barbara. I've pulled her on each of my wishes thus far and it needs to stop. Wishing for Qiqi to come home to you!

ive been playing this a lot on my galaxy 8 too - even though im on the lowest graphic settings it runs really well and still looks pretty. sometimes i go on pc but i prefer playing it on my phone.
im AR 27 and my main team rn is venti, fischl, barbara and xiangling but i swap xiangling with chongyun if i need to. regarding transactions and stuff so far multi summons are relatively easy to do if you play enough, ive done at least 70 without spending anything so youre pretty much guaranteed to get venti or another 5 star hero in his banner since 90 summons gives you a guaranteed 5 star. ive been lucky enough to pull 2 venti so far. ive heard that the 90 summon pity also carries over to the next banner but im not entirely sure if thats true, i hope it is. the only things i want now are constellations for my characters before the banner ends and good 4 star weapons (the stringless is something i really want in particular)

Venti and Xiangling are on my team too! Xiangling destroys slimes. Heard that the stringless on Fischl helps make an amazing support build, but kind of want to try her with a DPS focus.

Good news that a decent amount of grinding yields enough for banners. What are you running on Venti?

 

[idiotdoomspiral]

Venti and Xiangling are on my team too! Xiangling destroys slimes. Heard that the stringless on Fischl helps make an amazing support build, but kind of want to try her with a DPS focus.

Good news that a decent amount of grinding yields enough for banners. What are you running on Venti?

first i gave him sharpshooter's oath and he still does well as a DPS especially with his first constellation but i've opted for more of a support build. right now i'm running favonius warbow (which you get for free doing story quests) and artifact sets berserker (crit rate + 12%) and instructor (elemental mastery + 80) giving him as much elemental mastery and energy recharge substats as possible along with extra crit rate and attack. the plan is to maximize on his swirl damage and charge his AOE quickly so that my other attackers can swoop in and do tons of damage to multiple enemies, xiangling is really good for this. i could see fischl doing great as a pure DPS build, im thinking of trying that out too

 

[IonicKarma]

Won't have to wait too long hopefully! The standard banner rates ARE awful - some of the worst I've seen in gacha games. A little off-putting, really.

With you on Barbara. I've pulled her on each of my wishes thus far and it needs to stop. Wishing for Qiqi to come home to you!

Venti and Xiangling are on my team too! Xiangling destroys slimes. Heard that the stringless on Fischl helps make an amazing support build, but kind of want to try her with a DPS focus.

Good news that a decent amount of grinding yields enough for banners. What are you running on Venti?

Oh I did actually get Qiqi while rerolling! I just haven’t got anyone since, just scraping by with the freebie units we got so far.

Hoping I can pull Klee when she comes out later ;-;

 

[Hikari]

im absolutely loving genshin impact!! managed to pull venti today, so obviously im pretty hyped lol

here's my team atm:

along with my "b-team" that i swap in occasionally:

 

[Jubby Ducks]

I enjoy the game immensely but I kind of stopped on the grind since I have to focus on my studies.
My Team Noelle, Xiangling, Fischl, and Barbara

I really want to get Diluc, Qiqi, and Keqing.

 

[ali.di.magix]

I've always avoided this game because of its very strong similarities to BOTW, but after reading people's reviews and comments, I may be more willing to give it a shot. I never actually had a problem with BOTW's combat, but this game seems to have a more interesting take on it. I'd prefer to play on PS4, but I'd have to see how it runs. I have a Samsung GS8+ that would probably do, but I don't particularly like playing games on mobile for the simple fact that it's uncomfortable for me .-.

 

[Midoriya]

I’m thinking of picking this up soon along with Pokémon Masters and getting back into feh a bit as well. Unsure yet on whether I’ll enjoy it or not, but I’ll give an update once I’ve played it. It looks interesting, at least.

 

[DarkDesertFox]

I've been having a lot of fun with it on the PS4 overall. The Gacha element drags it down though in my opinion. While it feels pretty generous at first down the line I'm sure it will become harder as a F2P player to get the characters they want. No way will I pay $30 for just one multi pull. The PS4 version has some minor performance issues in more densely populated areas, but it doesn't hurt the experience for me. I am mad though I can't redeem any of the codes out there for the PS4 version since some of them are very good. There should be some way to link your Playstation account and redeem it on the official website or redeem codes in-game. It's a poor oversight on their part. I'm missing out on 30 Primogems because of that.

 

[DarkDesertFox]

What's the best pull people have gotten from this game? I decided to spend a little bit of money on it to support the developers because I have actually been having a lot of fun. I was aiming for Venti but ended up getting Qiqi who I didn't know I wanted until I started using her. She is amazing at healing. I don't even need to eat food anymore.

 

[Romaki]

I really enjoy it, but I'm like kinda over the PC version though. I think I'll get more enjoyment out of short sessions on the road on the Switch.

 

[xTech]

What's the best pull people have gotten from this game? I decided to spend a little bit of money on it to support the developers because I have actually been having a lot of fun. I was aiming for Venti but ended up getting Qiqi who I didn't know I wanted until I started using her. She is amazing at healing. I don't even need to eat food anymore.

I also happened to get Qiqi from the Venti banner! I replaced barbara with her, and with how much healing she outputs, she definitely has carried my team through some of the harder content. The cryo element also has some insanely good reactions with Melt and Superconduct, both of which my team can make pretty consistently, and the latter reducing an enemy's physical res by I believe an entire 50%! I haven't managed to pull any other 5*'s yet despite summoning quite a decent amount, but for now i'm pretty happy with my current team of Razor, Fischl, Xiangling, and Qiqi.

As a little side note, I did just hit AR 35 and World Level 4 today, and wow do the resources you need to enhance stuff just skyrocket. I'm thankful that i've saved up all my fragile resin so far, but i've pretty much almost ran out of Mora entirely, and i've only enhanced + leveled up 1 character so far. Now the battle pass is really starting to tempt me, with all the extra mora the paid tier offers .

 

[IonicKarma]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

 

[Neb]

The gameplay and visuals have been great, but I’m noticing some lag on my base model PS4.

Edit: I might try the PC version since I heard it runs better.

 

[DarkDesertFox]

The gameplay and visuals have been great, but I’m noticing some lag on my base model PS4.

Edit: I might try the PC version since I heard it runs better.

Yeah, both PS4 and PS4 Pro have some issues. I'm too heavily invested to switch to the PC version sadly. Just praying they optimize it better down the road.