• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Genshin Impact |OT| 5.0 (Natlan) - Everything Changed When the Fire Nation Arrived

Pejo

Gold Member
Furina official birthday art:
cd2y3nz16gud1.jpg
 
Finished the latest Archon Quest chapters yesterday. What a ride. I saw some people on YT complain that the stakes weren't as high in Natlan as they were in Fontaine. They got blown the fuck out. I will say it was a slow burn. After playing for a while I thought for sure this was gonna be mostly filler to pad the story, but then it kept going, and well, just experience it for yourself.

I also completed Xilonen's quest for the ascension materials (kinda sucky they locked those behind all those quests) and that quest is kinda similar. Takes a while to get going but goes some interesting places.

Man, all that kept me busy for hours. To be fair, most of that is yapping and me sitting there feeling like I have to listen to all the voice lines. Still wish they'd cut some of the fat from the dialogue.
 

Keylime

ÏÎ¯Î»Ï á¼Î¾ÎµÏÎγλοÏÏον καί ÏεÏδολÏγον οá½Îº εἰÏÏν
5.2 banner "leaks". These are almost always wrong when they're leaked this early though.
PKuTk5B.png
How long has HomDGCat been doing these banner leaks on their site? I feel like Kuki was the first I'd ever seen them do which is predicting this next phase, and now they're doing next patch all together.

For some reason I give this site more credibility because my assumption is that they're data-mining early-access or beta servers to show the latest info they have...but maybe these banner predictions are purely guesses with real justification?

...all I know is that if Zhongli runs, I'm nabbing that cake having man. Even though I don't think I'd even really use him considering I have plenty and sick supports, he's an Archon and has been used in meta teams for literal years and still is used...so it feels "wrong" to not have him.
 
Been confirmed apparently that Amos Bow doesn't work with Chasca. The projectiles she fires don't have an actual travel time, so the passive won't trigger. A shame. Sounds like she's closer to Nahida, where you scan enemies and the damage just kind of happens.

I don't think I'd even really use him considering I have plenty and sick supports, he's an Archon and has been used in meta teams for literal years and still is used...so it feels "wrong" to not have him.
Sounds like a bit of a waste then. There's a couple teams where he's really good (possibly with Chasca too) but if you don't run one of those I wouldn't go out of my way. Unless you're a huge fan of him otherwise.
 

Pejo

Gold Member
Been confirmed apparently that Amos Bow doesn't work with Chasca. The projectiles she fires don't have an actual travel time, so the passive won't trigger. A shame. Sounds like she's closer to Nahida, where you scan enemies and the damage just kind of happens.
Somehow despite the projectiles not having "travel time" I bet they still get blocked by trees and geo constructs. That's how things work in Genshin.
How long has HomDGCat been doing these banner leaks on their site? I feel like Kuki was the first I'd ever seen them do which is predicting this next phase, and now they're doing next patch all together.

For some reason I give this site more credibility because my assumption is that they're data-mining early-access or beta servers to show the latest info they have...but maybe these banner predictions are purely guesses with real justification?
I think it's mostly just reasonable guesses until the datamined banner art leaks. Everyone is in agreeance that Shenhe isn't running still though. I think she will beat Eula's old record of longest without a rerun. We're nearing 600 days since her last banner, almost 2 years lol.

They HAVE to switch to selectable target banners or at least triple banners soon. There's just way too many characters for the slow/anemic rerun schedule they currently have.
...all I know is that if Zhongli runs, I'm nabbing that cake having man. Even though I don't think I'd even really use him considering I have plenty and sick supports, he's an Archon and has been used in meta teams for literal years and still is used...so it feels "wrong" to not have him.
Zhongli is always and forever great because he allows you to ignore 90% of the mechanics in the game. If you're just half assed paying attention and farming domains there is no better character in the game to ease your quality of life. I think deanote666 deanote666 has his C6, but I've been hesitant because you can't shut off constellations and the heal might mess up some teams where you're trying to maintain specific HP amounts (Hu Tao, etc)

Nice hair-down Xinyan official art for her birthday:
8e96bnyhk1vd1.jpg
 

Keylime

ÏÎ¯Î»Ï á¼Î¾ÎµÏÎγλοÏÏον καί ÏεÏδολÏγον οá½Îº εἰÏÏν
You're probably 100% right that I should skip Zhongli even if he reruns....because realistically there aren't any teams I have that I'd want to run him on.

The main value of pulling him would be having another support to use on Geo theater cycles that would make those cycles much easier to finish properly...and I do need to keep building out my roster. I don't have enough characters fully leveled to even do the hardest mode of the theater because I really don't want to boost characters I don't ever really plan to use OUTSIDE of the theater.

...it just kind of feels sacrilegious NOT to have him, and I know he's good.

But my wallet would very much appreciate me not getting him, so maybe that's the right answer.
 

Pejo

Gold Member
I was part of the 90% that got 100000 mora from the forum event. :(
Yea that's what I got too. I won the free welkin in like year 2 though, if I recall. It's definitely been a minute.

Just noticed that they auto complete the lower floors of Abyss for you apparently now? I think I read leaks about it forever ago, but I didn't realize it was implemented. Nice QoL for somebody like me that hates the mode but wants the primos.
 

ap_puff

Member
Yea that's what I got too. I won the free welkin in like year 2 though, if I recall. It's definitely been a minute.

Just noticed that they auto complete the lower floors of Abyss for you apparently now? I think I read leaks about it forever ago, but I didn't realize it was implemented. Nice QoL for somebody like me that hates the mode but wants the primos.
if you 36* you skip the first 2, if you just complete it you skip floor 9
 

Pejo

Gold Member
So I just tried the new multiplayer event tonight, it's actually quite a bit of fun. They actually took the training wheels off for an event and let the players kinda figure it out. Difficulty isn't particularly high but it's fun enough. Cloud Retainer has been my go-to in there, and she's great because she heals, provides VV Swirls, does decent damage (especially with some of the specific buffs in the event), and provides plunge attacks to everyone in case people bring a character that doesn't really excel at on-field damage. Usually I groan at multiplayer in this game, but I'm having a good time.
 

ap_puff

Member
Mavuika: Let me telly ou about the country's most tightly held secrets, also please keep it a secret thx
Traveler: Immediately spills the beans to everyone she meets

smfh :messenger_grinning_sweat:
 
Last edited:
Have missed a day or two recently… Natlan just not as compelling as I thought it would be. I’m also not a fan of a lot of the music so far, the lion king esque Kenyan melodies just don’t do it for me. I should probably keep up on it though so I have enough gens for Mav, ugh hopefully my Genshin luck holds out, ZZZ has been repeatedly kicking my in the balls lately
 

jonnyXx

Member
Holy C2R1 Xilonen is huge for Navia.

sEwJq4e.jpeg


I don't have Zhongli but compared to Geo Traveler this is 200k higher than my previous biggest hit on Navia. Granted this is during the golem boss' weakened state but my previous best was during the PMA's weakened state so it's still comparable.
If only her artifact was also added the strongbox, at 64% crit rate my crits are inconsistent. But I got screwed so many times in her artifact domain I gave up on it.

Also I never noticed that the VFX on her skill is the shape of a rose.
 

deanote666

Member
So do the name engravers die or not when forging a new ancient name? Thought it was said they croak but Xilonen talks about making new ancient names all the time...?

Trolled a group in the multiplayer by using Aloy, and it said I got the highest score in the group, lol.
 

ap_puff

Member
So do the name engravers die or not when forging a new ancient name? Thought it was said they croak but Xilonen talks about making new ancient names all the time...?

Trolled a group in the multiplayer by using Aloy, and it said I got the highest score in the group, lol.
It did heavily imply that Xilonen would die once she forged Traveler's ancient name, I wonder if there's a loophole with Xilonen since she's one of the chosen 6 and she can get auto-revived by Mavuika's flames that she just does it and comes back every time, idk. Or maybe it only happens when they forge a new name, or maybe traveler's one is particularly demanding due to being an outlander. It could even be a rough translation where it only takes their life force and maybe it's risky this time due to how difficult traveler's is to make.
 

Pejo

Gold Member
Looks like this might be our flying Saurian:
C8tsZdi.jpg


So do the name engravers die or not when forging a new ancient name? Thought it was said they croak but Xilonen talks about making new ancient names all the time...?

Trolled a group in the multiplayer by using Aloy, and it said I got the highest score in the group, lol.
The way I understood that part of the quest is that by forging a "new" name for a non-natlan person with no history in the Night Kingdom, a sacrifice would be required. They didn't really expand on it much, but I think it's just due the circumstances of the traveler. If you have heroic feats recorded in the Night Kingdom, there probably(?) isn't an issue. Though I do wonder how the original names were forged.
 
The Tap E is supposed to be the off-field. Works like Dehya's skill presumably where you throw down the weapon and it shoots out pyro orbs in an AoE circle.
Remember those leaks about Dehya throwing a tomb onto the field? Perhaps they really took Dehya's kit and saved it for the Pyro archon because it was just too good.
 

Pejo

Gold Member
Remember those leaks about Dehya throwing a tomb onto the field? Perhaps they really took Dehya's kit and saved it for the Pyro archon because it was just too good.
Very true. The earliest somewhat believable Mavuika leaks a few weeks ago mentioned she was "Dehya Pro Max" so that's why I'm giving this one some credence. Sounds great that she can be DPS or off-field Pyro based on the button press, instead of just making her support with a DPS C6 like usual. I'm sure C4 and C6 will amplify her damage capabilities, but it sounds like you can play her either way out of the gate. Well, if this is to be believed.
 
Very true. The earliest somewhat believable Mavuika leaks a few weeks ago mentioned she was "Dehya Pro Max" so that's why I'm giving this one some credence. Sounds great that she can be DPS or off-field Pyro based on the button press, instead of just making her support with a DPS C6 like usual. I'm sure C4 and C6 will amplify her damage capabilities, but it sounds like you can play her either way out of the gate. Well, if this is to be believed.
Definitely agree. The only slight issue might be that you'd probably have to change her artifact load out for the different play styles. Still way preferable over the alternative.
 

ap_puff

Member
Floating Electric Amber
yeah basically he's fischl except worse, but he buffs the team if you do electrocharged. So technically he can have teams that perform well, but you'll never want to use him onfield because his multipliers suck. Also he jumps in the air but lamely and not in a cool way like cloud retainer. Meh
 

Pejo

Gold Member
yeah basically he's fischl except worse, but he buffs the team if you do electrocharged. So technically he can have teams that perform well, but you'll never want to use him onfield because his multipliers suck. Also he jumps in the air but lamely and not in a cool way like cloud retainer. Meh
His taunt makes it nice that his specialty is Electro-Charged, but we have like 10 million ways to deal with large groups of weak enemies at this point that are more satisfying. The game barely gives us the opportunities to do it anyways, outside of meme battle events where even the worst trial characters can tear through them. It's unfortunately a niche that doesn't need any more support at this stage of the game. And yea, his float is kinda lame.

New banner previews are up. Hu Tao is the other 5*.

n8fi4k1xvnwd1.png


Finally some skip banners for me. I'm still not sure if I'm skipping Chasca for now and waiting for a rerun or not. If she's just flying Mualani (lame, slow attacks, and too short attack mode that deviates from standard gameplay) like I expect, I will probably skip. All of the Natlan characters other than Xilonen and Kachina so far have felt awful to actually use in combat, despite their relative strength. Same reason I didn't care for Neuvi despite him being the strongest(?) dps in the game currently.
 

ap_puff

Member
His taunt makes it nice that his specialty is Electro-Charged, but we have like 10 million ways to deal with large groups of weak enemies at this point that are more satisfying. The game barely gives us the opportunities to do it anyways, outside of meme battle events where even the worst trial characters can tear through them. It's unfortunately a niche that doesn't need any more support at this stage of the game. And yea, his float is kinda lame.

New banner previews are up. Hu Tao is the other 5*.

n8fi4k1xvnwd1.png


Finally some skip banners for me. I'm still not sure if I'm skipping Chasca for now and waiting for a rerun or not. If she's just flying Mualani (lame, slow attacks, and too short attack mode that deviates from standard gameplay) like I expect, I will probably skip. All of the Natlan characters other than Xilonen and Kachina so far have felt awful to actually use in combat, despite their relative strength. Same reason I didn't care for Neuvi despite him being the strongest(?) dps in the game currently.
Mualani is the fotm in the game right now for speedrunning, i think neuvillette and arlecchino are around the same level but they both are constellation-dependent (i.e. they're still busted at c0 but it's at c2+ that they become significantly better than everyone else)
 
I cringed every time Ororon was on screen. What a clash between characterization and visual design. He acts like a dumb kid but looks like a 30-year old stuck in his emo phase. Is this supposed to be a gag? Like a reverse Citlali? Is it a fetish thing? I don't get it. His design also emphasizes the freakishly long legs tall male characters have. His body is 3/5ths leg. What a step down from Kinich.

Speaking of the Archon quest, I am a bit disappointed that they're once again going the same route with the Fatui. The entire point of them is that they're ambiguous in their goals and morality. They do evil deeds but sometimes they're helpful. Kinda like Childe. That effect is diminished when Harbingers join the good guys twice in a row. It feels like they're setting up a poor twist where Snezhnaya were the good guys all along, and they're just a bit misunderstood. That's not how they were characterized at all in the earlier parts of the game. I wonder if real life politics have anything to do with that shift.

I played Mualani in the current Abyss and her flaws are obvious here. She's very inflexible. The Consecrated Beasts in 12-2 constantly move away, and Mualani's limited Nightsoul stamina doesn't allow for too many variables like that. It's an immediate reset if the enemy behaves in an unfavorable way. The pufferfish spawns in a bad place and doesn't make it to you in time? Reset. You don't crit? Reset. Some kind of hiccup with Pyro app? Reset. I was able to get 36 stars with Mualani (after switching Dehya to Xiangling) but it's not a very pleasant experience. Mavuika should alleviate some of those issues, but there will probably always be situations that are unfavorable to her. Arle and Neuvi don't really have that, I think.
 

deanote666

Member
Speaking of the Archon quest, I am a bit disappointed that they're once again going the same route with the Fatui. The entire point of them is that they're ambiguous in their goals and morality. They do evil deeds but sometimes they're helpful. Kinda like Childe. That effect is diminished when Harbingers join the good guys twice in a row. It feels like they're setting up a poor twist where Snezhnaya were the good guys all along, and they're just a bit misunderstood. That's not how they were characterized at all in the earlier parts of the game. I wonder if real life politics have anything to do with that shift.
They've been hinting for years that we might actually be the baddies. The lore keeps implying the gods were dicks in the past. Our twin joined the abyss/fatui(?) after learning more about the world, after all.

Also, I think it was mentioned previously that Chinese law made it so playable characters can't be irredeemably evil so that's why the playable Fatui have taken our side/worked with us.
 
Last edited:

ap_puff

Member
Started the quest for the sabzeruz event and Paimon is the only character that's voiced. It's so weird.
Voice actor strike over companies wanting to use AI to replace them. Use Chinese or Japanese dubs. As much as I agree with the strike i aint playing the game without voices.
 
They've been hinting for years that we might actually be the baddies. The lore keeps implying the gods were dicks in the past. Our twin joined the abyss/fatui(?) after learning more about the world, after all.

Also, I think it was mentioned previously that Chinese law made it so playable characters can't be irredeemably evil so that's why the playable Fatui have taken our side/worked with us.
I don't think we're supposed to be the baddies. Just kinda clueless. The main enemy of the game are the Heavenly Principles, and literally everyone wants them gone, from the Abyss Order to the Fatui and even the Archons. Everyone's basically trying to achieve the same goal, but through different means. Teaming up is inevitable.

Might be like you said, that they just write some nonsense to absolve organisations/characters of their (previously set up) sins so they can be playable. Wanderer is still a mass murderer though, so why can't Arle or Capitano?
 
Top Bottom