Genshin Impact - The Bear and Badger

stormyskiesahead

I've added Sucrose to the team and went for a cheap and simple build for now. I don't have any constellations with her so I chose Sacrificial Fragments as her catalyst, as it gives a chance of resetting her long-cooldown elemental skill after using it.

For her artifacts I'm running the Instructor four-piece for the 80 point buff to her elemental mastery and the 120 point buff to all party members' elemental mastery after using her skill.

As an elemental support/nuke she's fantastic and has great synergy with Klee. Shit, she has great synergy with so many characters she's definitely worth rolling for. The only issue I'm having is that her elemental recharge is a bit on the low side, and I might need to mix up her artifacts and try and find her a Scholar or Exile two-piece set for recharge gains at the cost of the Instructor four-piece buff. But overall, I'm very happy with this team right now.

@Curtis Should be around 6pm to 8pm kinda time the next few nights if any of that works for you. Might be around later on Wed/Thurs but I don't know for sure just yet.

Curtis

I've only just seen your post.

I don't wanna say it, considering how long it took you to get one Sucrose, but once you unlock the ability to drop two mini-vortexs (i'm not gonna try and type the actual name lol), she comes alive! For now use her to juggle all the ads you already put elements on. But yes, you're right, even in vanilla form she compliments so many other characters, thats why she's a staple in my squad and never leaves.

Wednesday/Thursday evening works for me. Doesn't have to be late. 6-8pm is a perfect time slot. Do you have a mic? It might be a good idea if we're looking for secrets (i know a fair few) and so we don't overlap attacks, even though it'll be mayhem of the best kind.

BUT! You're gonna have to host. I was AR35 and delayed the World Tier bump mission until i was 50XP away from AR36. That dungeon was not fun! All the enemies were massive sponges. After i completed it (no problem, just overly long) i hit WT4 and all the bosses i could normally wreck in 1-2 cycles, now take 4-5! Thats a massive hike in difficulty!

I'm kinda upset because feeling OP is so much fun. Now i have to upgrade yet again. But, thats the nature of the beast i suppose.

I still adore this game though. Cannot wait for the 11th. I'm saving all my Wishes. Might get lucky again.

stormyskiesahead

There's no way I'm pulling for another Sucrose, and for now the Sacrificial Fragments are doing a nice job of giving me two mini-vortex charges every so often. If I get her again somewhere down the line though that'd be cool.

I'm fine to host, and yeah I've got a headset. Besides Genshin all I play these days is multiplayer games with friends. We can use the Badger Discord channel that we use for Minecraft chat.

Wed or Thurs is cool, I'll message you tomorrow all being well.

Curtis

I'm so sad my Klee only wrecked shop for one Adventure Rank. Now she's soooo vulnerable. My Tank Jean who has 17K HP can still stand toe-to-toe, but her damage output is weaksauce.

Guess i need to stop whining and push my whole team to 60-70 so i can Artifact farm and aim for those 5* sets.

Okay my new found love for Klee, distracted me from the fact Jean is un-killable. Due to the 5* sword she's been rocking since i got her. Its inherent perk is that she can sustain any hit, then send it back at 200% ATK damage, every 20 seconds. At first i thought it was her, then i read the weapon description. Too good!

*edit* Holy shit! I was drunkenly (drunkedly?) upgrading my Klee, and i was only paying attention to the materials necessary for the upgrade. Which i went and got. Her weapon hit 70, so i ascended her too even though my XP books were nearly gone...then..."You are out of Mora".??? FUUUUCCCKK!!! I wasn't paying attention. And this is the nightmare wall that everyone was talking about. Because now i am skint of every resource. And its not about throwing real life money at it. That would be a wise (and cuntish) move for a game like this to offer you, but it doesn't. The grind is real.

stormyskiesahead

Shit, Curtis. I've seen the Reddit posts and YT vids about the end-game resource sink, and while I'm not there yet I can absolutely see it coming. Upgrading is SO expensive even at the point I'm at that the hundreds of upgrade mats and hundreds of thousands of Mora I've built up now seem massively insufficient, and I only have two characters at level 60. I'm dreading what it'll be like a few hours down the road.

I'm so reluctant to reach that very limited end-game of "play four domains a night for upgrade mats then run out of resin" mobile-like experience that others have already reached that I've tried to stagger the content available to me and eased off my play-time (I still haven't finished the main story), and I hope to be able to bounce between updates like some cheery gazelle.

The game's still very young after all, and there really is a crazy amount of content available. With new content drops coming every 6 weeks and miHoYo already showing that they're listening to player issues and open to changes, I'm quietly confident that the game will only get better.

stormyskiesahead

But yeah, if you've hit the current wall it absolutely might be worth taking a small break 'til 1.1 drops. Then in December we've got an entire new region coming, along with with all the associated story content and side quests.

Curtis

I was clearly wigging out last night in a drunken panic. lol!

I farmed a few Mora Leylines to get my bank up, and i'll continue to play every day for the slow grind. But the jump from 60 to 70 with your characters and weapons is resource HEAVY, on all fronts. So be sure to choose wisely once you get there.

I'll message you later if coop is a go!

EvilRedEye

Did someone on here try to join my game? Got a random join request out of nowhere but was in the middle of a cutscene.

Curtis

I played lots of jolly coop last night. Would've been an odd coincidence if i clicked on your name. Lol.

Its sooooo much fun joining a Level 20 player and destroying their bosses with my Level 70 Klee. None of 'em lasted past the first phase. Plus you get the rewards if you spend the resin.

The map is really good because you can see your own pins but you can also see any greyed out waypoints that the host hasn't unlocked yet, so i ended up leading them to all sorts of secrets.

Really enjoyable. And a nice distraction from the daily SP grind. I don't know why i haven't tried it before now.

regmcfly

Oooft have got 2 sucrose in the past days so her constellations are well and truly rolling.

stormyskiesahead

Aww man, I'd love to get Sucrose' first constellation but I'm too scared to pull for it 'cause I know I'll just get bows.

I think I'm gonna hold my primogems for the next banner and see who's available.

stormyskiesahead

You've all probably seen the list of new features coming with update 1.1 on Wednesday, but if not there it is. Some cool craftable items tied to the new region reputation system in there, as well as some QoL additions. We'll also be getting 300 primo for the expected 5-hour downtime, so there's that.

Anyhoo, I wasn't gonna wish anymore 'til the new banner dropped and I'd had a chance to trial the characters, with Beidou and Diona being the only two I'm interested in. I decided to have a look at my wish history in the meantime to see where I stood regarding guaranteed 4-star drops in the various banners, and while exiting the standard banner I pressed the wrong button, twice, 'cause I suck and I'm still not used to this layout. Popped an accidental wish. Got Beidou.

As Diona's now the only one I'm interested in from the next banner I'm not sure I wanna risk pulling at all. I'll decide after trialling her I s'pose.

Curtis

The downtime starts at 10pm tonight for us lot. So it'll definitely be playable first thing Wednesday morning.

Looking forward to grinding my town reputation so i can get those handy gadgets and find my remaining Oculi.

EvilRedEye

Oh, those resonance stones will be useful for mopping up. Using a map and going back to each location not sure if I'd already taken it or not would have been tedious.

EvilRedEye

The 1.1 update includes support for 60Hz on PS5!

Curtis

I've just seen the changes they've made to environmental damage (increased it by a shit tonne!). That does not bode well for Klee fighting on grass. Gonna take some serious maneuvers to stay out the fire or its bye-bye HP.

stormyskiesahead

Looks like they're going to scale that back, Curtis. They just posted about it on the official forum.

Curtis

I just saw that on Twitter. Thank goodness!

Curtis

Managed a Diona off the new banner but thats about it. Suppose i can't complain. I'll be sure to complete her trials before committing any upgrade mats.

In hindsight i should've stayed with the increased rate banner, but that one with Qiqi, Mona et al is so enticing.

*edit* No, i don't like Diona at all. An Ice Bow, Healer with a Shield seems like too many ideas spread too thin. Her RT is crap. And the Ultimate is a healing ring, and i already have Jean who does that better. On the shelf you go.

stormyskiesahead

I got a bow. I mean, it was the quite brilliant Rust (my second), but I'd have preferred Diona. Edit: Or maybe not after reading Curtis' edit?

I spent the rest of my primo on the other banner 'cause yeah Keqing, Mona, and Qiqi really are a draw, eh? Anyhoo, I got Fischl, which I was very happy with as it means I finally have someone who can use all those bloody bows I keep getting. I think I'm about 30 wishes off pity on that standard banner now. Fingers crossed for Keqing or Mona, but I just know I'll get another bow.

With the recent acquisitions of Sucrose, Beidou, Fischl, and Xingqiu, my four-star roster is looking pretty fucking great atm. If only I could afford to level them!

Curtis

I'm sure i probably judged Diona too quickly, having only played her trial. But given her skill-set, i see no place for her in my current squad. So on the shelf she goes.

I see Mihoyo patched that Elemental Resonance complaint within a day of 1.1's release! Thats a developer listening to their community and acting fast. Very impressed.

Don't forget we all get Fish free this month, so you'll get the first constellation unlocked. Also, she is amazing!

If you're running low on upgrade mats like i was, just spend a week doing blue Ley Line Outcrop farming for XP books. After 7 days of 160 resin a day, you'll have more than enough to max a character or two.

Same goes for the yellow Mora ley lines. I went from 0/skint to 1.5 million gold in a week.

stormyskiesahead

Been doing those Ley Line Outcrops and yeah, really good stuff.

The Fischl event is now live and looks to offer plenty of rewards, from primo to all kinds of upgrade mats, as well as Fischl at the end.

I got Fischl last week from a 10 pull on the standard banner, had a look at the history and realised I was only four wishes off another guaranteed four-star so I went for it. Got this on my third pull...

Great and all, but I'd still have preferred Keqing. Anyhoo, 77 pulls overall so I beat pity again, but the likelihood of getting one of the 5-star characters from that banner anytime soon has vanished.

Curtis

Isn't Razor a Greatsword user? At least you now know he's gonna be your primary DPS.

Once you hit Level 70 on your 5* weapon, it'll start to really shine - the numbers will skyrocket and put all your 4*'s to shame.

It'll take a lot of materials but its definitely worth the investment.

stormyskiesahead

Yeah this is going straight to Razor once I've levelled it, and his Prototype Aminus can go to Beidou (haven't started levelling her yet though). Wolf's Gravestone is a God-tier weapon and it has a rep as being the single best 5-star item in the game, but I'd always choose a new character and the playstyle variation they bring over a weapon if I could. No matter how good that weapon is.

But hey, no more complaining. I got the Wolf's fucking Gravestone!

stormyskiesahead

Was pleasantly surprised at just how much was included in the recent "Unreconciled Stars" Fischl/meteor event, and by the wealth of rewards available. More of this kinda thing going forward, please.

Anyhoo, the new Rate-Up banner is on its way, and Zhongli looks pretty damn good. A Geo resonance-happy polearm user with high HP, strong shielding abilities, and AoE petrification. Not that I have the wishes to get him. Or the mats to upgrade him if I did. Fucking gacha.

EvilRedEye

I had a go with this on PS5 and it runs a lot more smoothly than on PS4 Pro, albeit still with a little bit of stuttering.

stormyskiesahead

Oh shit, I thought it'd run super-smooth on a PS5. I get slight stutters here and there on my PC as well, nothing too noticeable though.

EvilRedEye

Yeah, it sounds like the same thing, much much much smoother most of the time though.

stormyskiesahead

Oh my, AR 40/world level 5 is just horrible.

It wouldn't be so bad if item drop rates weren't so low and resin wasn't so limited, but as it is my team is under levelled for pretty much everything now.

This sucks.

Also, OP updated. Thre's a lot of good here, but fuck gacha.

stormyskiesahead

Dragonspine update trailer. New region, new story chapter, new characters, new enemies, new events, and it all goes live on 23rd Dec. RIP Barbara users.

Oh, and from the 12th Dec to the 15th Dec we're getting 200 free primogems a day via in-game mail. Make sure to grab 'em.

Howdy, Stranger!

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