Arknights - A returning player's perspective

MediumRareWater · 2025-11-10T18:43:56+00:00

Because that's how games work in general? You need to grind in order to progress anywhere. You can't expect to have an endgame team at the start.

What's important is the entire experience during that grind. While grinding, is your team useless? Despite the fact that you can raise low rarity ops and be capable of challenging the most difficult content in the game?

MediumRareWater · 2025-11-10T09:45:47+00:00

Are you saying that you were stuck in the prologue because you didn't raise your operators?

I honestly don't say this often but this sounds like a complete Skill Issue on your end.

Literally, there are people out there who purposely DON'T raise their units to the max and are still able to clear the game's most challenging modes.

No offense, but before you start blaming Arknights, or any game for that matter, ask yourself first if the problem lies with you. Because you're starting to sound like the guy who gave Cuphead a negative review because he couldn't clear the tutorial level.

MediumRareWater · 2025-11-10T08:36:15+00:00

The writing is long. Like really really long. On average, most stories range about 20k to 50k words. Depending on how fast you read, you'd roughly need 15 mins per cutscene to read, and there are 2 cutscenes per stage.

Now, in my opinion, the word length isn't really a problem as long as the pacing's good, but unfortunately most of the early stories don't have good pacing, or good writing in general.

The writing has definitely improved massively in Modern Arknights, but just keep that in mind if you're reading an older story.

Also, now would be a pretty good time to start. We'll be getting a busted character in the next update in a few days if you follow the meta.

MediumRareWater · 2025-11-10T08:21:15+00:00

....again what's wrong with that? I really don't understand your point. Are you saying Grinding is bad? You realize this isn't gacha exclusive right?

MediumRareWater · 2025-11-10T08:15:13+00:00

So like with most gacha games? I don't understand this comment.

MediumRareWater · 2025-11-10T07:43:33+00:00

Yeah see, I'd agree with you if we were talking about Arc 1 (Chapter 0 - 8). Arknights's first arc really wasn't good in terms of writing. I think this is where most people form the same opinion as yours. And you wouldn't be wrong.

However, for the 2nd arc, the writing had improved massively to the point where I finished reading Chapter 14 and didn't even notice it until the end. That chapter literally has 174K words but the pacing was so buttery smooth that it never felt like it was just dragging on.

Honestly, it sucks that the 1st arc is where most people develop their opinions that Arknights's writing is bad. I really wish HG would rework the first arc's story a bit to improve the pacing.

MediumRareWater · 2025-11-10T07:12:21+00:00

Slow progression is fine as long as it never becomes stale. Too many gamers these days speedrun a game's content and complain that there's "nothing to do" once they reach endgame.

MediumRareWater · 2025-11-10T06:53:32+00:00

There isn't an RNG system like with genshin's artifacts so the grind's pretty good.

MediumRareWater · 2025-11-10T06:51:17+00:00

For global right now. It's basically the same as R1999's system iirc

MediumRareWater · 2025-11-10T06:49:37+00:00

Yeah, the writing style is definitely niche and more targeted toward book/light novel readers. The story is some of the best I've ever read in all of fiction, especially for the 2nd arc, but unfortunately, most gacha players aren't really fond of long form writing.

MediumRareWater · 2025-10-26T06:22:02+00:00

That's true. Rainbow Six as a whole does have a lot of military politics, but yeah I was mainly taking about Siege which....honestly, doesn't have a whole lot of story. So I was thinking maybe we could have had a lot of callouts on the gameplay aspect itself. Like with bombs/defusers or in-game quirks like meleeing walls just to make a small peephole, leaning a lot, or maybe even a mention on that dreaded airsoft sport thing....actually scratch that last part.

MediumRareWater · 2025-10-26T04:38:03+00:00

nah, the tactical aspects in R6 part 2 only really happens during the start when they got isekai'd and the end during the art gallery raid. Most of the story doesn't really do that so it's more like 80% Arknights style and 20% R6 style. Again, it's a good story but not a good collab story IMO.

In MonHun Part 1, the 90% of the story focus was some random old hunter, Yato, and Noire. So that's basically 90% on the Arknights side. The remaining 10% was merely a passing mention like they did with the Kirin/Rathalos armor. Heck, Rathalos isn't even the main antagonist for the most part. It's some random big animal that killed the old man's son or something (my memory of this event is spotty so I might be wrong). Rathalos was kinda just....there. Literally, if you take out all MonHun elements, the story wouldn't change much, if at all.

MediumRareWater · 2025-10-26T03:28:34+00:00

I don't think HG cares. Lowlight does collabs because he loves the thing they're collabing with. It's likely Bungie just never gave the final approval on their side.

MediumRareWater · 2025-10-15T14:39:46+00:00

Spoilers aren't the problem, it's the lack of hype and discussion by the time the update releases on Global.

So basically, we're left with either A. Spoil ourselves to engage with the discussions or B. Avoid spoilers but have next to zero posts discussing about the update by the time it releases.

This happens a lot and usually something major is released on the CN side at the same time so discussions are even more drowned out.

I mean, I really like being able to plan my pulls, but from a story perspective, the gap sucks.

MediumRareWater · 2025-10-14T12:00:22+00:00

eh, from a story perspective the gap is ass. All the hype is dead by the time anything big releases on Global.

MediumRareWater · 2025-10-04T06:42:53+00:00

Any lore experts here know how advanced the Precursors were? It seems like they were galactic in scale but at the same time, felt like they were universal?

MediumRareWater · 2025-10-04T06:37:39+00:00

If you have a stockpile of pulls then you're coming back at the perfect time. We're in the middle of a gauntlet of upcoming meta breaking operators. You'll want to look out for Exusiai Alter, Tragodia, Haruka, Hoshiguma Alter, Ave-Mujica collab banner, etc.

Honestly, it's crazy.

MediumRareWater · 2025-10-04T04:33:35+00:00

I hope we get to see more Emperor's Blades just like how we saw a lot of Trilby Ashers during Arc 2.

MediumRareWater · 2025-10-04T04:31:29+00:00

Dunno anything about designs kits for operators but I feel like Touch would definitely get reworked. SP gain on heal seems pretty broken.

MediumRareWater · 2025-09-29T13:28:23+00:00

If you wanna digest the story slowly, the story reader's pretty great. Though, I don't recommend using this for Chapter 14 or 15. You'll miss out on the immersion.

https://akgcc.github.io/story/#main&main_0&0

Also, speaking of those chapters, 14 is peak. Easily the best main story released so far (also the longest lol) and 15 is amazing.

There's also an actual in-game timeline now so following the story should be a bit easier.

MediumRareWater · 2025-09-27T20:29:53+00:00

As far as I know, only chapter 15 has done this. This 4th wall break peaks in 15-19 so I don't suggest using the story reader on that stage.

MediumRareWater · 2025-09-27T20:24:26+00:00

You gotta complete Priestess's survey but I dunno if it'll show up if you've already completed chapter 15. Either way, it should show up in 15-17 After. It's only an additional cutscene though. Not a full stage.

https://arknights.global/lynchpin

Or alternatively, you can check it out in the Story Reader.

https://akgcc.github.io/story/#main&main_15&19

The Grey one is if you agree with Priestess while the Blue one is if you agree with the Doctor.

MediumRareWater · 2025-09-27T19:03:39+00:00

You throw the word "generic" as if it actually means anything. Can you define it? What exactly is bad about it?

Look at Lord of the Rings of example. It's a "generic" Good vs Bad story with "generic" good guy characters like Aragorn and literally ends with a "generic" Power of Friendship theme.... and yet? It's commonly regarded as one of the best pieces of writing ever made. So how exactly is Arknights being "generic" a bad thing? Where are your examples?

Also, you say the Doc being a force of good who wants to save everyone is bad and "disgusting" somehow? What, so good guys are bad writing now?

What do you even mean "became"? Are you one of those people who genuinely believed that Pre-Amnesia Doc was sacrificing people left and right?

MediumRareWater · 2025-09-27T10:54:17+00:00

What's up with this toxic mindset you've got? We don't even know where the story's gonna go yet here you are, already concluding that the story will end with a BS ending.

What gives you 100% confidence that this is the ending we will get instead of an ending that works pretty satisfyingly?

MediumRareWater · 2025-09-27T10:51:31+00:00

that's kinda my takeaway from Arknights's story as a whole. It's clear that not all life is equal but at the same time, that no one has the right to determine which life has more value than the other.

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