This banner was rough.
Wait. It's his birthday. Sorry Zhongli. Happy Birthday!
-ahem-
This banner was rough.
Similar to Yoimiya's banner it took me forever to get Gorou. Worse than Yoimiya's banner it took me 13 more pulls after Itto to get him. That was annoying. I did manage to get my Xiangling to C6 but I also got 2 copies of Barbara that I didn't need for a C8 Barbara.
Itto himself took me to pity 76 just like Ganyu did which is still not as bad as Ayaka who technically took until 81 (I was really trying to get Kazuha and it just didn't happen so 4 into Ayaka's banner and home she came.)
So this was the first time a 4* dropped for me after I already got a 5* to drop. And now I'm already into pity 13 going into Shenhe's banner.
=Geo Supremacy is expensive=
But as I talked about before MiHoYo really messed up the banners. We already know for sure now that Lantern Rite isn't coming until the end of the update and Shenhe's banner will end before that so f2p players aren't going to have most of their freemogems and pulls ready to try for her. If they already got Itto this is probably a skip meaning the performance of a new character's banner is already shot. Adding to that Xiao will be there too meaning even the players who will pull might go for Xiao instead hurting Shenhe's potential even more. Adding to that Yunjin the new 4* of those banners is a free drop. We're all going to get her because she's part of Lantern Rite. Of course if you are missing other characters and you get her from the banner that's a different story but for old players like myself we have all the other characters. I already C6'd a few of them. So Yunjin is a sure thing making Shenhe a pretty easy pass especially at only 13 into pity with not a high chance of getting her to drop. On top of all of that Ganyu and Zhongli are the only 2 broken characters of this game and Shenhe is a Support. Besides waifu allure I'm guessing most players will save their pulls for those 2 banners. In the end Shenhe will only net the profits from the waifu collectors, older players who already have Ganyu and Zhongli and either already C6'd them or don't care about Cs and of course the whales who will C6 anybody always.
-deep breath- The ideal way to do these banners would have been to keep it at 3 with Xiao and Ganyu together and going first while the new character gets their solo time in the spotlight. Of course Yunjin is still part of Lantern Rite so you throw her at Xiao/Ganyu instead for the people who want her early. On top of that you throw Yanfei and other desirable characters not everybody has C6'd. This would get people to pull on these rerun banners that might not have done so well crammed between 2 new characters. And of course Ganyu's still one of these reruns so you'd definitely force some players from f2p to dolphin status at least. (Again the whole if they got Itto they don't have enough time to build back up for Ganyu.) Then thanks to Ganyu and even Xiao some players would have already spent a little to get them and still have to build back up for Shenhe which they are much more likely to do since 1. she's solo 2. Lantern Rite freemogems 3. she's still a waifu and she's new. Recognize the tone-deaf you guys! (Also we know Yae is finally coming out in v2.5 and tons of people myself included have been waiting for her since the end of v1.4. The deck is stacked against Shenhe.)
-deeper breath- That said it just goes to show MiHoYo doesn't really seem to care that much about profits. I feel like the reason they did this format for the banners is because Shenhe needs to establish herself before Lantern Rite happens since we have an Archon Quest too that she's likely a major part of. In that quest we're likely to also see major Liyue players like the adepti Ganyu and Xiao and putting Zhongli there means even Big Daddy Geo might have to make an appearance because of Osial. (But since the whole point of Liyue was about emancipating the citizens from divine rule he likely won't be able to make a defining presence in the quest/Lantern Rite and have to rely on the adepti along with Shenhe and us to actually take on Osial. BUT we would die.) So somewhere off in the distance with the camera probably hiding most of him we'll get like a hand wave out of the guy and something prevents Osial from fully awakening which is why we see the 2 headed version in the trailer instead of the 8 headed background cgi that it was from the old Archon Quest. (Zhongli could still make a normal appearance for the festivities later.)
-deepest breath- Wow and here I thought I was just going to rant about how long it took to get Gorou. lol
Back with the livestream I wondered how the events would play out. We lose the Jade Chamber in the Archon Quest and the trailer makes it look like Lantern Rite 2 is when it comes back. But it was an event so that would be rough. I predicted that they were probably pulling a Marvel and really the Chamber would come back during something more permanent like Ningguang's Hangout. Instead it'll be a brand new Archon Quest and you'll need that quest to do the Hangout. Neat! But that still makes me wonder will there be requirements to do the Archon Quest. There are 2 World Quests about bringing back the Chamber and those only unlock after you do Ganyu's Character Quest. So will this new Archon Quest then require these things done first or if it won't will these World Quests disappear? Speaking of which this is also why you release Shenhe later so her Talent Mats can come from a Liyue Weekly Boss instead of Signora for no reason at all lol
Anyway sorry Shenhe. I'm 13 into pity without a guarantee and Yae is coming in v2.5. MiHoYo did you dirty and I'll see you for your rerun maybe. [emoji][emoji]
Tips and Tricks from a Super Casual Genshin f2p
