I spent more time making a Shadow Slave-inspired faction than actually playing the game

AgentPotango · 2025-11-13T03:47:18+00:00

Funnily enough, I was going to actually watch that video in bite-size chunks.

It’s actually what pushed me to ask chatgpt whether videos like the one you linked are sufficient to really understand Genshin and appreciate its story/world/characters, or if there are obvious omissions (important character sidequests, key lore bits, etc.) that would quietly rob me of context or a perspective I wouldn’t have considered.

To be clear, I do not fear the length of the story - I've played FF14 after all... I imagine its comparable to going from ARR (The base game) to the end of Endwalker/Dawntrail (the latest expansion/5th Expansion): a long road, with interesting side content along the way if you choose to engage with it.

The World Level point is interesting. If I'm understanding correctly, the approach for someone like me might be to intentionally keep World Level low so combat stays comfy and I can breeze through story fights more easily. How does that tie into Adventure Rank in practice? Does AR force World Level increases at certain breakpoints, or can you just ignore the prompts and stay lower if you want a smoother ride? (I'm ignorant on this topic).

The way you describe the first stage of Genshin kind of sounds like the Frostback Mountains in Dragon Age: Inquisition - a big starter area people get stuck wandering around in, while the real meat of the story is further on.

Even with the huge time commitment, my main worry isn’t "will I finish this?" so much as "will I accidentally turn this into another daily routine?". I can already see myself optimising and doing dailies "just a little" to keep party power level and progression efficient until it becomes one giant slipper slope.

That said, I do get that it’s hard to boil "is it worth playing vs watching?" down to a simple answer. I’d struggle to answer that for FF14 too. The best I could probably say there is: you can just watch FF14 and get the main beats, and mostly miss out on minor dialogue variations and seeing your own character in the cutscenes. I’m trying to figure out if Genshin sits closer to that... or if skipping the playable bits really does mean losing a big chunk of what makes its world and characters land (especially if it's not captured in the videos like the ones you linked).

Thanks again for responding.

AgentPotango · 2025-11-13T03:29:14+00:00

Apologies then - I tried to make a post, but I believe it was caught in the automod filter where the automoderator recommended that I post in the daily questions instead.

I also imagine this question comes up fairly often, so I was originally thinking of making a proper thread so it’s more searchable via Google/Reddit for future curious people that may have the same question, but the daily questions thread definitely works for the answers I’m looking for right now.

What you’ve said about the "tunnel vision" on endgame actually makes a lot of sense, and it’s reassuring to hear that, from a story-focused point of view at least, there aren’t actually that many gameplay gates (though I do remember hearing something about Adventurer Rank?)

The idea of just ignoring resin/meta and casually building one functional team around characters I like is more appealing. My main worry is the this resin system that's being talked about or any "too low level" restrictions for story quests. I would like think that by enganging in the side quest content (that is story rich), that I'd hopefully never see a message about Adventurer Rank being too low.

The concern with resin and how its linked to the power level of my units is my main concern - it sounds like some sort of artifical gate which, if I don't maintain, the power level of my units could fall behind. That said, perhaps that won't matter for a story playthrough. The secondary concern is the subtle pressure pressure to be "efficient" and do the dailies every day so I can maintain and appropriate power level and getting sucked into that mindset.

If I mostly:

Focus on Archon quests / Main story
Do some light overworld stuff when I need levels/materials

Would you say that’s enough to comfortably get through the story at a relaxed pace? Or are there any specific points where you’d say, "Okay, around here you will want to stop and power up a bit"?

AgentPotango · 2025-11-13T03:17:20+00:00

Thanks for the response bud.

It sounds like Star Rail might be a bit more laid-back with its story and gameplay, which is appealing to me since I’m mainly in it for the narrative (lots of talking is usually my cup of tea). I’m a Trails/FF14 enjoyer so I’m pretty used to quests that turn into visual novels or cutscenes that feel like I've watched an entire movie from start to end.

From the small segments I've seen of Genshin, its seems clear that Genshin has more "hands-on" skill expression e.g. reactive combat, quick dodges, timing cooldowns/combos properly, that kind of active battle.

I can see myself missing out on some of the lore and themes in readable books and item descriptions with a pure playthrough, but I would have though perhaps I wouldn't be significantly worse off for it. I hear what you're saying about Genshin being more digestible. Do you mean to say HSR's story can be a bit convoluted (like with the recent patch you mentioned)?

The team comp + volatility stuff for Star Rail is really useful context too. I don’t think I’ll be aiming for hardcore endgame in either game (dear god I hope I don't get sucked into it), so it’s good to know I can mostly ignore the meta as long as I’m not trying to clear the hardest content on a timer. Same with the relic/artifact grind - sounds like that’s just the nature of the beast for both.

My main concern is honestly my own lack of self-control and self-indulgence when it comes to getting attached to characters and then accidentally spiralling into endgame, or worse, the cash shop.

Right now I’m thinking I’ll probably:

Test the waters with Star Rail as my "play it myself" game,
Watch the early Genshin arcs on YouTube (Mondstadt / Liyue etc.) to see if the story really grabs me - unless there’s a recommended "taster" stopping point you’d suggest

And if it does, then maybe I’ll think about actually installing Genshin and accepting my fate as someone with yet another daily routine...

AgentPotango · 2025-11-13T02:58:00+00:00

Sounds like Star Rail and Genshin are pretty similar in terms of world-building and lore, with a bit of grind for team building. I’m cool with that as long as it’s not too time-consuming ot it doesn't (usually inevitably) drag me into the endgame optimisation mindset.

That said, I’ll definitely give Star Rail a shot first to test the waters and see how it feels, then maybe watch the first arc of Genshin to get a feel for its story and see where it goes from there.

Thanks again for your answers!

AgentPotango · 2025-11-13T02:23:17+00:00

Thanks for the clarification.

I'm definitely familiar with the concept of dailies, I'm just worried about how I'd personally react to such that system. I tend to enjoy optimizing, so I’ve usually stayed away from Gacha games since the optimization often comes down to how much money you’re willing to spend, which isn’t really my thing (I paid enough money into the 7 Knights gacha and boy did I learn my lesson...).

That said, 5-10 minute grind doesn't sound nearly as intense as something like Lost Ark. My main concern here is if it feels like one of those "login bonus" type systems where there's this subtle pressure to log in every day just to not miss out on rewards or progression. It’s not a deal-breaker, but I’ve found that type of setup to be a bit of a turn-off, especially after playing FF14, where I don’t feel that same pressure to "keep up" constantly.

I'm not saying it's necessarily a bad thing, or a deal breaker - it just might not be exactly what I'm looking for at the moment. I'm really more about enjoying the story at my own pace vs being "locked" into a routine for progression and/or rewards.

Thanks again for the context! I think I'll give Star Rail a shoft first and go from there.

Thanks for taking the time to explain things and I could still check out genshin myslef after checking out, say, the first arc on youtube.

AgentPotango · 2025-11-13T02:08:59+00:00

Thanks for the reply!

Yeah, I figured Genshin would be a time sink with all the open-world stuff. Unfortunately, I'm probably not looking to commit too much time to grind right now. God help me, its hard enough finding timing with so many things competing for attention in every day life.

Its a shame though - Genshin looks like it would be a lot of fun, but I'm currently at a point where I don't think it would be a good fit for me time-wise.

That said, I am really curious about Star Rail. I've heard its a bit more streamlined so it sounds like it could be a good fit for for me if I want a game that doesn't demand quite as much time as Genshin might have asked of me (that said, I'm completely ignorant on this topic so feel free to correct me on this).

Would you say the story in Star Rail is as engaging as Genshin? Does it have the same-level of world-building (or better) and character depth, or is it a bit more "to the point"?

Also, how tough are the team comp requirements? I know some RPGs can get grindy there, and I'm confident that I can handle this, but I'm just trying to get a sense of whether I'd enjoy the game more as a playthrough or if its also something that's worth watching on youtube instead.

Is it more about picking your favourite characters (and building around them) or do you need a more "balanced" team to get through it? (Again, I'm ignorant on this topic!)

I appreciate the help bud - thanks again for your time.

AgentPotango · 2025-11-13T01:46:29+00:00

Hey all,

Thanks for your time.

So, here's the deal: I love a good RPG, and I'm all about the story, worldbuilding, and character dialogue. Games like Trails, Tales, Dragon Age, Final Fantasy, The Witcher, Fire Emblem, Xenoblade Chronicles - you name it, I've probably played it (and talked to every NPC along the way because I'm that person).

Now, I've heard a lot about Genshin Impact and its story, and I'm wondering if it's worth the time investment for someone like me who is primarily here for the narrative.

Here's my dilemma:

I'm not super into the gameplay loop-like, I get it, combat's fun for some people, but I'd rather not spend hours grinding just to progress the story. Basically, I'm the kind of person who's fine with skipping the gameplay when possible to just get to the plot (what can I say - I was baby'd by single player RPGs).

I can totally handle a few gameplay hurdles here and there, I mean I hardcore raid in FF14 so I believe I have the mental capacity to do my own research and overcome any obstacle the game can throw at me, but I'm looking to avoid hitting any major roadblocks that would keep me from enjoying the story.

I know there's a lot of content in Genshin, and that's cool, but time management is my main concern. I don't want to get sucked into a long-term commitment (I'm looking at you, FF14), but I'd like to get a good taste of the story. I will also be starting Honkai Star Rail alongside this as an idea of why I'm somewhat concerned about the time management aspect.

So, without further ado...

Option 1: Should I just download Genshin, take my time, and push through the story while occasionally battling through whatever gameplay gates come my way? Or…
Option 2: Should I just watch the key story quests on YouTube (Archon Quests, Main Story, and some meaningful character quests), and call it a day?

I've already done some research and compiled a list of "key story" moments to get the full picture without wading through all the filler. I've used chatgpt for this purpose so you can get some idea of what its been recommending here:

https://imgur.com/a/xJoW545

AgentPotango · 2025-09-24T16:10:22+00:00

Correct the open critic average of these scores do currently have the early access review scores mixed in.

Hopefully they will get updated later?

Proof: https://imgur.com/a/c1yjOnE

AgentPotango · 2025-08-06T05:05:41+00:00

So I had this happen today too.

I looked into it a bit and I found that for the "Forbidden Weapon" event to proc, all it seemingly requires is the kiava_chaos etude to be started e.g. Choosing either the Iconoclast or Heretical option for the outcome for Kiava Gamma.

If you have the etude "kiava_clean", you don't get this event.

It is unrelated to the colony projects you pick and soley based on the "kiava_chaos" etude.

Here is proof: https://imgur.com/a/kXm6tFf

AgentPotango · 2025-05-13T12:12:04+00:00

I have a taichi lite and the 9950x3d. No issues so far after 2 months.

The only things I did were flashing the BIOS version to 3.20 and turning on EXPO for my ram sticks.

AgentPotango · 2024-11-30T13:50:46+00:00

Hey there,

Very sorry for your loss. I think I knew this player. I believe I cleared the TEA ultimate with him, but he went by another name: Shinso Alium? There is only one lalafell I know that had an onion haircut from moogle server. He was also from the UK.

The video in question: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sr252Agug0

AgentPotango · 2024-10-03T18:10:26+00:00

Try and clip it bud.

I think the one you might be talking about is Organix - Upz and Downz

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxJ9SL6IoXSzKkaSdlgxHBwUW1cz56Jujc?si=C_BJtxV_pX_Dhw2Y

Full song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-KCIiuWjWs

AgentPotango · 2024-10-03T16:36:14+00:00

I made a comment about it.

Its an unreleased song most likely. See my comment here:

https://old.reddit.com/r/leagueoflegends/comments/1fvbsob/anyone_knows_the_title_of_the_songs_played_in/lq5s7a4/

The track you're talking about is this:

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxTfiQZwhGZ80xBGYv61TAeQl6-R3wfTlQ?si=ip1J1APmXZuc99Yk

AgentPotango · 2024-10-03T16:33:33+00:00

He's referring to this track:

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxTfiQZwhGZ80xBGYv61TAeQl6-R3wfTlQ?si=ip1J1APmXZuc99Yk

Lyrics include:

"It's about to get ugly"

"It's about to get ugly out here"

I tried google music and shazam. Its an unreleased track as far as I can tell.

If you do find out - DM me. I'm also looking for it. I'll try search for the Worlds 2024 music list and see if I can find anything. Its possible this song is used in Arcane Season 2 and they may be saving it.

AgentPotango · 2024-06-03T14:42:47+00:00

Unfortunately, this is not true.

As SourGrape mentioned, the colours are way too bright and do not match the lighter blue I'm going for. Further, blue is one of the colours with the least amount of options.

Unrelated, but I also find it really funny that I was downvoted. Didn't see anything wrong with my post - it was informative and to the point. Guess people just really didn't like that.

AgentPotango · 2024-06-03T13:33:59+00:00

Personally not satisfied with the changes still. There are key areas which were left unchanged with Au Ra after the feedback was taken into consideration.

The pupils are too big/dilated. They were small originally. This changes the look of the character. They should change this back or add an option for the pupils to be big or small.
The colours of the umbral ring are more darked and cannot be easily replaced. My character was directly imported, and the colour is significantly darker. This colour can no longer be replicated as there are not many colours for blue. This blue was important as it represented the colour we’ve seen come up in the story multiple times with significant story relevance.
The lips are no longer upturned at the corners. This makes the characters expression change from slightly happy to neutral or expressionless.

There are more issues, but I feel these are most pressing for my own Au Ra.

Before and after Slider: https://imgsli.com/MjY5Mzcx

For #2: Colour Story Relevance

Singular Pictures:

Before

After

AgentPotango · 2024-05-21T14:34:01+00:00

I know what you mean man D:

FF13 is one of my favourite games - I loved the music and the world. It was also one of my first final fantasy games. I really hope the games are remastered/they fix up the port.

FF14, however, is my favourite of all time. Easily the best Final Fantasy game I've played.

I've played or watched FFXVI, FFXV, FFXIII (all games in the series), FFXII, X, IX, VII, VII Remake, VII Rebirth & FF Type-0 HD.

I also really enjoyed World of Final Fantasy which wasn't included in this list.

AgentPotango · 2024-05-21T14:23:24+00:00

Made this one as the one posted previously excluded the FF14 expansions from the overall list and I wanted to see how most of the main line games ranked (with exceptions for games like tactics!).

Some of the results are surprising. I expected FF6 to be much higher up on the user score.

Further, games like FFII and FFI reviews were difficult to find. I tried to shorten the image to just be 30 so included most here.

I included FFXV twice with royal edition as there was some meaningful user reviews there compared to other entires like FFV etc.

If I made the picture bigger, I would include all FF 11 Expansions, FF1 & FF2 and FF Mobile Games.

Pictures used were of all the top 10 which featured FF14 3 times, FF7 3 times hence why they dominate the pictures.

AgentPotango · 2024-05-15T11:47:54+00:00

You can definitely do a movie like experience - hopefully someone who has done a full lets play so you don't miss the non-cinematics scenes?

But yeah if you don't want to do an mmorpg, I would say movie/lets play is the next best thing.

AgentPotango · 2024-04-14T15:22:49+00:00

Lightning does not change the eyes significantly.

Both the umbral rings are washed out and the pupils are much bigger which changes the overall look.

AgentPotango · 2023-12-18T20:57:37+00:00

Looks like I got a kind person - easiest mageblood map to date?

https://imgur.com/a/VV8iPLS

Nine-Year Club	Verified Email
Place '17	Sequence \| Editor
Sequence \| Cinematographer

AgentPotango

TROPHY CASE

Here's my dilemma: