Genshin Impact

[Klashikari]

I'm pretty jaded after the MSQ because 2.1 had almost the exact same issue as 1.1

Spoiler for 2.1 and Raiden Quest:

Just like 1.1, 2.1 felt incredibly rushed because it introduced so many stuff back to back without any time to let things sink or progress naturally.

First, the whole deal with the resistance felt like a Joke. The traveler was enrolled immediately as a squad captain (yes, their reputation precedes them, but it would make more sense to be part of an elite squad instead of an actual commending officer), and Teppei's "promotions" and downfall were wrapped within 20-30 minutes. It doesn't help that there wasn't any skirmish against the Sogunate and its immediate consequences aside of Teppei's "battle prowess" as of late.
Same could be said for the Delusions: everything was explained within a single dialogue and only Teppei was the only apparent casualty. Following this, the raid to the delusion factory was not only shortlived but Scaramouche intervention felt like your usual saturday night villain, which is kind of worse than his initial introduction back with Fischl and Mona event (and of course, it doesn't seem they did something for players who never met Scaramouche).
Miko did her job, then established her plan so the traveler can confront Ei, but the whole operation was also very questionable: there wasn't any simple infiltration mission with Sayu (they could simply do the same stuff as 1.0 when the Traveler had to flee from Liyue when the fake Rex Lapis corpse appeared during the ritual). Yoimiya conveniently had explosives specifically effective for the plan.
While I liked how they handled Sara's reaction after realizing the Kujou clan's head plot, she was quickly dismissed like a scrub for weird reasons. Meanwhile, La signora's presence is quite puzzling: we know Scaramouche got the gnosis a while ago, so her pretense as being there as a diplomat isn't necessary. Considering what happened in Mondo and Liyue, she is an agent dispatched to retrieve the gnosis of the other archons, whereas Scaramouche is the one behind the delusion business. And then she bites the dust. Honestly, I appreciate the fact they can "kill" characters (assuming she is truly dead, that is), but it felt a bit out of the blue.
Finally, the conclusion of that story quest was quite questionable with the resistance storming in Inazuma city. Even if Sara's actions confused the military, the resistance was still in bad shape after they had to deal with the delusions. And we got really little to no aftermath after the abolition of the decree, aside of Ei dealing with the Kujou in her own quest.


They really should have made 3 chapters overall, instead of 2.

1. Chapter 1 stays remotely the same
2. Chapter 2 focuses on the resistance. Have the traveler help Kokomi and Gorou by training Teppei and the others while fending off the shogunate for few days. Then show some people getting stronger out of the blue, making the traveler and Paimon question if something is a miss. Have Kokomi and Gorou look more deeply in those anomalies leading to the deals with the Fatuis (the whole thing about anonymous supporter was really not needed). Finish that chapter with the delusion factory raid, a different encounter against Scaramouche and actual aftermath for the resistance not being able to contain the Shogunate offensive without their broken trinkets. Also include Kazuha facing Sara so the latter might have second thoughts.
3. Chapter 3 should be about Miko's plot to convince Sara. It would need actual infiltrations and more damning evidence. A sequence with Sara negociating with Kokomi before storming Inazuma city. Also I'd change the way how Signora is handled too.

In a nutshell, my issues are the following:
-Plot in general is okay, but pacing is way too fast and missing cutscenes and "passage of time", especially for the resistance
-Absurd lack of characterization for the characters tied to the resistance
-Sara was kind of discarded at the end for some weird reason
-Ei was properly handled in her story quest I believe, but the Raiden Shogun was way too quickly dismissed as a dumb robot in the MSQ. It would have been better if there was some actual scenes showing how the Shogun is taking decisions in a very stoic fashion
-Miko lore bombing just like that at the very end of the chapter.

I really think at this point, they have 2 teams for the main quest and it is always the second team dealing with the conclusion that things go super sour.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Klashikari

Spoiler for 2.1 and Raiden Quest:

Meanwhile, La signora's presence is quite puzzling: we know Scaramouche got the gnosis a while ago, so her pretense as being there as a diplomat isn't necessary. Considering what happened in Mondo and Liyue, she is an agent dispatched to retrieve the gnosis of the other archons, whereas Scaramouche is the one behind the delusion business.

Spoiler for Speculation based on 2.1 Plot Spoilers:

For this point in particular, I am really expecting we’ll find out that she didn’t know Scaramouche had the gnosis, and he basically left her out to dry. Whether that’s because he’s going to give it to the Tsarista (and so advance his standing) or whether he’s going rogue and wants to use the Gnosis for himself. Although Ei commented that she never found a way to make use of it, they obviously have, and now that we know he’s a prototype god vessel, it seems like they let it into just the wrong hands.

Also I strongly suspect Sara will show up in Kokomi’s character quest in a few weeks to close that open plot thread. There was a scene in the trailer that hasn’t appeared yet, and it would explain why that side was left open-ended (just as the stuff with Ei was not really resolved until her character quest). Honestly I don’t mind that much how they’re tying these character quests more into the MSQ, but I’m not sure they should leave them as technically optional. (The character quests in 2.0 weren’t optional, but technically the one in 2.1 so far is arguably more crucial.)

Aside that, I can agree with your proposed reorganizing of the plot. I always though that Act 2 was weirdly short and devoid of major plot points, but maybe it’s because the 4th island wasn’t ready so they had to change the act structure unexpectedly. And yeah, it is a problem rather reminiscent of the final Liyue act. The other point I saw proposed is to just spread the MSQ over 3 major patches, and then the organization you proposed would make more sense. I did generally like it, but I can agree that the pacing feels very uneven. It’s as though they have some sort of strict time limit for each act and they just fill the last acts with too many plot points. As you noted, the lore drop at the end was a rather obvious concession, even if it wasn’t entirely out of character.

[AnimeFangirl]

Thanks for using spoiler tags guy. I haven't had time to play the 2.1 story quest. It's nothing special but I'd rather discover it for myself rather than being spoiled.

[Diluc]

Originally Posted by Klashikari

I'm pretty jaded after the MSQ because 2.1 had almost the exact same issue as 1.1

Spoiler for 2.1 and Raiden Quest:

Just like 1.1, 2.1 felt incredibly rushed because it introduced so many stuff back to back without any time to let things sink or progress naturally.

First, the whole deal with the resistance felt like a Joke. The traveler was enrolled immediately as a squad captain (yes, their reputation precedes them, but it would make more sense to be part of an elite squad instead of an actual commending officer), and Teppei's "promotions" and downfall were wrapped within 20-30 minutes. It doesn't help that there wasn't any skirmish against the Sogunate and its immediate consequences aside of Teppei's "battle prowess" as of late.
Same could be said for the Delusions: everything was explained within a single dialogue and only Teppei was the only apparent casualty. Following this, the raid to the delusion factory was not only shortlived but Scaramouche intervention felt like your usual saturday night villain, which is kind of worse than his initial introduction back with Fischl and Mona event (and of course, it doesn't seem they did something for players who never met Scaramouche).
Miko did her job, then established her plan so the traveler can confront Ei, but the whole operation was also very questionable: there wasn't any simple infiltration mission with Sayu (they could simply do the same stuff as 1.0 when the Traveler had to flee from Liyue when the fake Rex Lapis corpse appeared during the ritual). Yoimiya conveniently had explosives specifically effective for the plan.
While I liked how they handled Sara's reaction after realizing the Kujou clan's head plot, she was quickly dismissed like a scrub for weird reasons. Meanwhile, La signora's presence is quite puzzling: we know Scaramouche got the gnosis a while ago, so her pretense as being there as a diplomat isn't necessary. Considering what happened in Mondo and Liyue, she is an agent dispatched to retrieve the gnosis of the other archons, whereas Scaramouche is the one behind the delusion business. And then she bites the dust. Honestly, I appreciate the fact they can "kill" characters (assuming she is truly dead, that is), but it felt a bit out of the blue.
Finally, the conclusion of that story quest was quite questionable with the resistance storming in Inazuma city. Even if Sara's actions confused the military, the resistance was still in bad shape after they had to deal with the delusions. And we got really little to no aftermath after the abolition of the decree, aside of Ei dealing with the Kujou in her own quest.


They really should have made 3 chapters overall, instead of 2.

1. Chapter 1 stays remotely the same
2. Chapter 2 focuses on the resistance. Have the traveler help Kokomi and Gorou by training Teppei and the others while fending off the shogunate for few days. Then show some people getting stronger out of the blue, making the traveler and Paimon question if something is a miss. Have Kokomi and Gorou look more deeply in those anomalies leading to the deals with the Fatuis (the whole thing about anonymous supporter was really not needed). Finish that chapter with the delusion factory raid, a different encounter against Scaramouche and actual aftermath for the resistance not being able to contain the Shogunate offensive without their broken trinkets. Also include Kazuha facing Sara so the latter might have second thoughts.
3. Chapter 3 should be about Miko's plot to convince Sara. It would need actual infiltrations and more damning evidence. A sequence with Sara negociating with Kokomi before storming Inazuma city. Also I'd change the way how Signora is handled too.

In a nutshell, my issues are the following:
-Plot in general is okay, but pacing is way too fast and missing cutscenes and "passage of time", especially for the resistance
-Absurd lack of characterization for the characters tied to the resistance
-Sara was kind of discarded at the end for some weird reason
-Ei was properly handled in her story quest I believe, but the Raiden Shogun was way too quickly dismissed as a dumb robot in the MSQ. It would have been better if there was some actual scenes showing how the Shogun is taking decisions in a very stoic fashion
-Miko lore bombing just like that at the very end of the chapter.

I really think at this point, they have 2 teams for the main quest and it is always the second team dealing with the conclusion that things go super sour.

Spoiler for about Archon quest 2.1 and CN players response:

Apparently CN players tackle this issue deeply, most of them filed a complains regarding archon quest quality not Raiden kit.

There is the thread in the reddit.


https://www.reddit.com/r/Genshin_Imp...m_source=share

Let see how this will play out, reboot the archon quest will be a great but that just impossible haha.

[Marina2]

Welp, lost my 50/50 on Raiden. I still have enough primo to reach guarantee but with Raiden in current problematic state, I am having a hard time considering should I do another ~75 pull for her or not. It's probably good to have her around and there might be a chance for future buff (?) but......ummmmmmmmm.

..............

On unrelated topic, I am now 100% shipping for Kumi x Anisa on Watatsumi Island.

[AnimeFangirl]

Wait a few days until her banner is almost over. But AFAIK if you have good teams already you won't lose anything by skipping her.

[GDB]

She's only a "must have" currently for Eula comps. Otherwise she's (currently) skippable.

[Diluc]

She also working well with national team and surprisingly for Yoimiya haver Baal make good comp with her.

[AnimeFangirl]

What is this National Team anyway? An all-Liyue team?

[Diluc]

The top 4 stars : Bennett, Xinqiu, Xiangling, Chongyun and Fischl

[Sheba]

As someone who got VERY lucky with my rolls, I am going to chime in about Raiden (that I am trying to build atm).

• Should you draw her?

Only if you like the character very much. Otherwise you can skip her.

• Can you use her like Zhongli and Venti?

Zhongli and Venti can be plug and play and forget. They can be ill-equiped, they still can play the role you expect them to play, as universal supports.
NOT Raiden.

• Her potential at C0 and no Grasscutter spear?

Here is the problem, dont expect fat numbers without the weapon and the constellations. Because, in the case she is C0 with spears that are not Grasscutter and The Catch, she might be better off as a battery.
Her potential as a DPS are locked behind Constellation 2 and Grasscutter. So dont watch those Tony To or .exe meme videos and expect you can pull the same.

• What team?

Until players find more, she's mostly stuck with Eula, Yoimiya and National Team.

Longstory short: Unlike Zhongli and Venti, Raiden's best potential is locked behind her constellations (minimum 2) and her BiS weapons. Even artifact-wise, she want the Best-In-Slot for her, the Energy Recharge-themed artifact series. Zhongli and Venti are the robust workhorses who can last you a lifetime till MHY powercreep them. Raiden is a Formula One car demanding to be finely tuned with the best pieces you can find.

PS: This is just temporary, subject to changes as people figure out Raiden.

[Klashikari]

Originally Posted by AnimeFangirl

What is this National Team anyway? An all-Liyue team?

Originally Posted by Diluc

The top 4 stars : Bennett, Xinqiu, Xiangling, Chongyun and Fischl

Historically, the team was Xiangling, Xingqiu, Bennett and Chongyun, but Chongyun got quickly phased out by Sucrose with the VV + EM buff.
Generally speaking, national team is basically the first 3 + flex, which is either Chongyun, Sucrose, Kazuha, Zongli or Raiden. It is a very simple team dealing very good damage with enough flexibility when it comes to reactions and CD/energy management.

By the way, that team name in English should probably be renamed "universal" or "standard", snce the "national" term coined by the CN community was basically referring to "a team that anyone in the country can run", not because of the characters nationality (a lot of westerners were confused because Bennett isn't from Liyue).

Originally Posted by Sheba

Longstory short: Unlike Zhongli and Venti, Raiden's best potential is locked behind her constellations (minimum 2) and her BiS weapons. Even artifact-wise, she want the Best-In-Slot for her, the Energy Recharge-themed artifact series. Zhongli and Venti are the robust workhorses who can last you a lifetime till MHY powercreep them. Raiden is a Formula One car demanding to be finely tuned with the best pieces you can find.

I wouldn't say Raiden potential is locked behind constellations because she is usable right out of the box unlike 1.1 Zhongli back then. She is fairly less flexible than Venti and Zhongli, but she is actually very potent as an offensive support (of course, using her as a main DPS absolutely requires C2).
It is important to note that Raiden isn't in a bad position due to her niche that can be expanded with future characters.

[GDB]

Originally Posted by AnimeFangirl

What is this National Team anyway? An all-Liyue team?

I asked about this in a Discord yesterday actually. "National Team" is supposed to be because the original 4 members were all middle or high school aged looking kids, so as a team together they looked like they were getting ready to go to nationals.

[AnimeFangirl]

Originally Posted by Diluc

The top 4 stars : Bennett, Xinqiu, Xiangling, Chongyun and Fischl

Hey, that's my team! Minus Xingqiu, for now.

Originally Posted by GDB

I asked about this in a Discord yesterday actually. "National Team" is supposed to be because the original 4 members were all middle or high school aged looking kids, so as a team together they looked like they were getting ready to go to nationals.

Hahaha, that is surprisingly accurate. Got a laugh out of me.

Originally Posted by Klashikari

Historically, the team was Xiangling, Xingqiu, Bennett and Chongyun, but Chongyun got quickly phased out by Sucrose with the VV + EM buff.

By the way, that team name in English should probably be renamed "universal" or "standard", snce the "national" term coined by the CN community was basically referring to "a team that anyone in the country can run", not because of the characters nationality (a lot of westerners were confused because Bennett isn't from Liyue).

I just pulled C4 Sucrose, lucky.
And I like the other origin story better, haha.

[MeoTwister5]

I find her to play very well even in C0. She's very flexible on and off the field. Her burst does a lot of damage even in C0 as long as you have elector dmg cup and good enough ER, alongside that insane ER regen for the rest of the team. Plus she actually has 100% stagger resistance while in burst mode. Her E I find is a lot more consistent in electro application than Fischl with perpetual uptime.

I run her with HuTao and XingQiu. Raiden's skill doesn't do a lot of overload knockback for some reason, so HuTao just eats through everything with overload and vape.

[Klashikari]

Originally Posted by GDB

I asked about this in a Discord yesterday actually. "National Team" is supposed to be because the original 4 members were all middle or high school aged looking kids, so as a team together they looked like they were getting ready to go to nationals.

It is very likely a joke/speculation based on the English translation.
The hanzi used are 国家队 which are not really implying any "Nationals" but literally "Nation/Country Team".

[Diluc]

Which is worth for Baal Goblet?

Electro or atk %? i heard atk% goblet is better for Baal.

my Baal ic C0 and i don't have Engqulfing Lightning.
Currently wielding deathmatch until i can get the Catch.

[belatkuro]

If you're going with Catch, go with Atk goblet. You already get a lot of Electro dmg due to the passive of gaining Electro from Energy Recharge so the ER from Catch boosts Electro already. Better to increase Atk than boost Electro dmg further. If you have Engulfing Lightning then go with Electro goblet since that weapon converts ER to Atk. Increasing different stats gives more damage than boosting one stat since they are multiplicative.

[Diluc]

Thanks for the answer.
Then i will go with atk% goblet.

[GDB]

mihoyo putting more time, effort, and money into going after leakers than they are balancing characters, kits, fixing bugs, and writing a proper story combined is about to make me quit just to get away from this horrid company. First the Zhongli response, then the Yoimiya response, and now this.