What games have you played over the past year, and maybe even finished?

I finally jumped on the Genshin train myself a little bit ago.

My main party is Tartaglia, Diluc, Fischl, Qiqi. Favorite character is Tartaglia definitely, even though it seems like he's not the best thought-of right now. I just really enjoy shooting things with the bow, and the damage actually seems not-bad with his Riptide procs. Also cool that his melee, though time-limited, is 100% elemental damage. I don't even mind that his melee is restricted to a skill since I like using the bow and I can also just swap to Diluc if I want to melee more.

Though at the moment, hugely frustrated at the game since I just looked up history of what was on the previous banners, and basically everything I want is on the banners immediately prior (Venti, Fischl to raise her to C2, Wolf Gravestone for Diluc, Sacrificial Sword for Qiqi). Still enjoying the game, but infuriating to know that the things I want the most, if they ever come back, won't be back for a looooong time most likely.

 

@Drexlerfan22 Dang, you got a good team there. It does suck to miss out on previous promos as the chance of getting desired drops is so low. Everyone says weapon banners are for whales only, but once you have a set team, 5* weapons or the right 4* just max out your DPS like crazy.

 

Yeah, the bright side is my first team is amazing, and more importantly I just feel completely content with the character set / team makeup there, so that should keep me from spending a bunch more money like I already did. It's just hard not to think about how much Sacrificial Sword would help Qiqi (near 100% uptime on her E would mean constant healing and Tartaglia getting to constantly freeze things), how much C2 for Fischl would help the team since she's only there for the bird, and how much Wolf Gravestone's team attack bonus would suit my team, given I feel I'm one of the few for whom he's not my exclusive DPS character. Only other stuff I care about at all is to fill out a competent 2nd team for that one trials thing.

I'm a pretty big XC nut. Duncan likes XC2 better, I like XC1 better, but they are both very good, just with different strengths. Note they are also these separate standalone games for each that are worth mentioning. I'd rank the games thusly:

1. XC1 - For me this just clearly had the best exploration/world (IMO the best part of these games), and it's probably a tie for favorite combat for me with Torna. The story itself also is quite competent, though the characters are really meh IMO outside of one. Has my favorite single piece of music in the series (Gaur Plains). One of my favorite JRPGs ever; at least top 10 and maybe even top 5.
   
2. Torna: The Golden Country (XC2 standalone expansion) - Possibly best combat in the series, loved the story, loved the characters, enjoyed the maps. Downside here is that it's short. If you do absolutely everything, you'll still clock in way short of the main games in the series.
3. XC2 - Great characters; best in a mainline XC game. Good story, good maps, just not as good as XC1 IMO. Possibly the best music overall. While I was enjoying the combat by the end I found the fights to go on slightly too long for me at times. I also didn't like the equipment systems and the gacha mechanics of it, the way they had you send your spare party members all the time to advance quests meant I spent far too much time digging around in menus. The core game experience (story/characters/maps/combat) is basically equal in quality overall to XC1 I think but just came with some nagging issues that drops it down my list.
4. Future Connected (XC1 standalone expansion) - Smaller-scale even than Torna, being on a single map and having maybe 15 minutes of noteworthy story. Won't say I didn't enjoy it at all but it's a bit of a nothing-burger. The single map is really beautiful and fun to run around in, but that's really about it. Combat is purely worse than the base game as I didn't like the makeup of the four characters available, music isn't as good. The best point about it is it gives more closure to my favorite character in the series.
   
5. XCX - Just no. I was excited about this but the create-a-main-character 100% fell flat. The story was ass, and getting the mechs at the end turned the game into a hunt for "super-weapons" to end every combat encounter in 1 turn. Pointless.

 

I'll surely buy it if I like the first game, as I've seen some pics and the cast looks great.

 

Have you tried considered Bennett instead of Qiqi as a healer? I think he'd do well with the rest of your team. Pyro resonance would give increased attack and Bennett's Q would increase your attack. People put the BP sword on him and he does well. The only downside is Bennett only heals to 70%. I've read Qiqi falls behind in late game comps because her freeze doesn't proc enough for Melt.

 

Definitely a conundrum. I'm pretty sure my team comp is far off the meta... for example I'd probably do better swapping in a Mona I pulled for Tartaglia to just support Diluc. I know having two "main" dps characters really isn't ideal. But, as I said, I just enjoy Tartaglia too much to swap him out, at least for now. And it's kinda the same with Qiqi. I love having a heal handy on my E rather than depending on a burst, and I also think her personality/voicework is great. I know Bennett it super well-thought-of but he's so completely all about his burst, and sometimes I feel like the burst just isn't available when you want/need it. I'm trying to force myself to use bursts more regularly though, maybe at some point I'll get comfortable enough to change up my 1st team.

 

With two pyro characters, you'll generate a lot of pyro particles and orbs which will refill Diluc and Bennett pretty frequently.

Bennett only healing to 70% is a big turnoff to me. Having Qiqi to top off all the characters gives plenty peace of mind.

Tartaglia is an interesting character. Theorycrafters say he excels with multitargets but is a poor single-target DPS due to his cooldowns, so pairing him with another DPS is recommended, which is where Diluc fits in.

But I totally understand with playstyles. Any team is more than competent for the main world. Abyss is when you need to minmax the team comps but it's tough when you need two capable teams.

 

@Duncan McDonuts

Really wanted C2 Ningguan and was stuck at C0, already at my 70th wish (I only wanted to do the banner til the 75th due to pity odds from 76 on and not wanting Childe).
Got a blue crystal for AR42 and against all odds ended up with Ningguan on the standard banner, decided to convert my Starglitter for three fates and then today with my 74th wish what happens, finally I get C2 Ningguan.

Talk about some heavenly luck, now not doing any wishes til the Ayaka banner probably.

PS: Also found this useful site with leaks for upcoming stuff and gameplay vids of unreleased characters.
https://twitter.com/Nepnep_Impact?s=09

 

Bruh.... You're so lucky to gamble and get what you wanted. I'm sitting on about 6k primos with 3 limited fates saving up for a new weapon. The next weapon banner has nothing of use for me.

I hadn't redeemed my second BP weapon in hopes to R2 my Black Sword for Jean. Since there's no Widsith or Skyward Atlas, I got the Solar Pearl for Klee to upgrade from an R2 Mappa Mare.

The first weapon banner had what I wanted. An Aquila Favonia for Jean and Widsith for Klee. Of course all my gems were focused on characters then. With Albedo and Ganyu upcoming in 1.2, they'll probably feature a new sword or bow so I'll be waiting a while.

Current goals are to get Sucrose to 60/70 with leveled talents and artifacts, new artifacts for Klee, then level up Kaeya for an ice character. I saw some vids of Chinese players doing Abyss with Xiangling and Kaeya. They had constant Q auras to proc melt and they were doing a lot of elemental damage. Kaeya may be more useful than an expedition miner.

 

Yeah, Luigi's haunted mansion definitely looks interesting and is something I'll probably pick up eventually. Saw a game recommended called Unravel 2 which looks interesting and is on sale for $5.

I can definitely understand why folks quit FFBE. I'm F2P, but I've wasted a huge amount of time on it for sure. They've sped up the power creep to let the global version catch up closer to the japan version. My general luck is pretty decent, and I've been able to supplement that pretty well with the resources they give, but figure at some point I'll quit if it's not sustainable. The monthly DV rank event is pretty fun, have been able to get rank 1 for the previous 2 events, though expect that will end soon. I think the other thing about mobile/gacha games that I'm disliking is the FOMO aspect of skipping a week and missing some key piece of gear.

I've slowly started coming to the conclusion that I really prefer games that have a clear ending or aren't dependent on rng for loot drops. Looking back, there's a tendency to wonder, what was the point after wasting countless hours trying to get that magical Diablo/Diablo 2 drop, or farming xyz in an MMORPG. On the other hand, it's nice finishing Zelda/Mario, and not feel obligated to keep going back unless I want to.

Also interested in the Xenoblade Chronicle games after reading this article at kotaku. Was a huge fan of Xenogears, still have the soundtrack CDs. Thought the 1st Xenosaga game was so-so, but looks like should put XC on the list. Assume these games are best played in order?

 

@Yung-T I tried floor 12 of Spiral Abyss. My first team died in less than a minute.

MRW

 

Ah, I still haven't advanced that far due to being lazy with artifiacts and weapons.

Was looking at Zhongli for a bit, but the Asia guys say he's pretty underwhelming and possibly the worst 5*.

 

That's disappointing since so many people are simping for him. Maybe they just need more time to understand his kit. Are they trying him from the story quest? His banner or trial isn't out yet until tomorrow (later tonight for Asia servers). You'd think the Geo Archon would be better. I'm at about 6400 primogems right now, still waiting on a good weapon.

 

The banner is out in several countries already, so some already have him at highest constellations and with good artifiacts.
Doesn't look good so far and apparently also doesn't mesh well with Ningguang, who I would've paired with him.

 

My bad, I thought the banner drops with server resets. People still gonna roll for him just because they like the character.

 

@Duncan McDonuts So they revamped Xiao's animations, looks sick af now.

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZSpTNrHv/

 

Xiao has got some deserved hype to him. I have all 3 anemo already, dunno if I need to go for the 4th.

China is in an uproar about how weak Zhongli is. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets a buff. That might make me pull for him. As is, my heart and penis want him but my brain and wallet say no.

I'm trying to ascend Bennett now since his Q is vital for ice decleanse in floor 12. I hope his banner comes up so I can get his C1 buff.

 

Assuming Xiao comes kinda soonish I will probably go for him just because I don't have Venti, I don't like Sucrose, and Traveler is trash. But if Venti ever comes back I expect that would render Xiao somewhat irrelevant to me.

Whereas Zhongli seems so bad to me that I was pulling on his banner to get Xinyan and Chongyun and was hoping *not* to get Zhongli, to keep my pity counter high for the next banner. And I succeeded. I think at this point I should get a 5* on the next timed banner after like two 10-pulls. Hopefully it's someone good. Like you said though, maybe he will get a big buff before the banner expires and then I'll grab him.

 

I think Xiao is rumored to be in 1.3 in February with the Lantern Festival event. 1.4 will introduce Inazuma where Ayaka will be featured.

Xiao is a pure anemo DPS from all the leaks. Venti and Sucrose are top-tier CC supports while anemo Traveler is decent for CC. Jean is more a physical DPS or healer.

If you run Xiao, you'll probably use elemental supports for the reactions. Maybe Xingqiu and Xiangling, then Jean/Qiqi for a healer.

 

Finished up 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim yesterday. Don't have time for a longer write up, but I strongly recommend it. Well assuming you like this kind of stuff. Kinda feels like a cross between Persona and say Evagelion. Gameplay portions were better than I expected going in. Some think it is GOTY/GOTG, which I don't quite agree with, but I could see it. I could go more in depth if anyone is on the fence.

I'd love to see more games like it in the future.