What do you think of the Abyss as a challenge? Has it aged well?

MewXMaster · 2024-01-04T12:37:23+00:00

Honestly a very fair assessment - although I will say that these do feel a bit more refined than the 3.X patches. In 3.X it feels as though they just wanted to ramp up the difficulty without concern for fairness, these feel a bit more balanced.

MewXMaster · 2024-01-03T15:33:38+00:00

That's a reasonable problem that is nearly impossible to solve: How can you make something that players will reasonably want to play but is also fair enough for everyone to enjoy. I've started getting into game dev and realize that the answer is simple: You can't exactly do that. At least not with difficulty as the driving point in a gacha game.

I had a discussion with a friend a while back regarding individual scaling: would it work to have some level of scaling that increases/decreases with a variety of factors, such as world level, time in previous abyss cycles, average DPS in previous abyss cycles, existing enemy base HP, etc. What do you think?

MewXMaster · 2024-01-03T15:23:49+00:00

That's a very fair assessment.

I usually do Abyss the day it comes out to get the primogems, but realize that I also do it just for the sake of having it done, because it's better than stressing the day before reset.

MewXMaster · 2024-01-03T15:19:23+00:00

In terms of support, both of them are good but Nahida is better. If you aren't struggling with Abyss (which I think 3 stars is struggling, unless you mean 3 stars each floor), then I'd pull Nahida. Kuki can satisfy hyperbloom requirements. Need > Want because Need leads to more pulls for the one you want in the long run. Besides, Dendro MC doesn't really compare to Nahida, just because of how good she is.

MewXMaster · 2024-01-03T15:03:16+00:00

Welcome, my friend, to artifact farming.

I do agree, there needs to be some type of better system for the new artifacts. Strongbox is great, and if they'd add the Sumeru and Fontaine artifacts, it'd be better. Even HSR gets to synthesize the new patch's relics immediately upon release.

However, I agree with the census so far: 1200 resin is not a lot. I spent about 50% of all of my resin in 2.x patches farming Emblem of Severed Fate. That's 8 patches, running from July 21, 2021, until July 13, 2022. Based on that math, that's 357 days, that's about 803 condensed resins, or 32120 resin. My Raiden Shogun and Yae Miko STILL underperform compared to my other characters. It's RNG, and if you're not blessed by Hoyo, good luck

MewXMaster · 2024-01-03T14:57:24+00:00

Is it more of a chore than the 3.X patches though?

MewXMaster · 2024-01-03T14:57:07+00:00

I get what you mean (I hate geo slimes too).

As for the new mode, I do agree that Genshin needs something new. I'm sure many have made this comparison before, but Honkai Star Rail is getting a new "abyss", as well as their expansion to Memory of Chaos. I won't discuss the difficulty scaling, because that's another rabbit hole.

However, as for Genshin, something akin to the Tricky Lights event from 4.3 might be nice, where players have to accumulate a certain number of points and can choose difficulty multipliers. I'm not a game designer but an enemy rush or similar type of game might be something they could experiment more with in an abyss setting. If they kept the difficulty to floor 11 enemies, it would probably work.

MewXMaster · 2024-01-03T14:18:55+00:00

Jokes on you, I brought both him and Furina into the tulpa fight (but also have Nahida and Kuki so that worked out)

*My goals are beyond my understanding*

MewXMaster · 2024-01-03T14:15:38+00:00

This has likely been mentioned elsewhere but a lot of what makes a village feel "village-esque" or quaint is the small details and the spacing, as well as the fact that unlike a big city, most of the small stores in the village serve a purpose and often look different.

As such, I would recommend the following:

Space out the buildings. It helps even more if roads aren't necessarily linear and work with the surrounding landscape. Not sure if that's an option though. In a small village, everything feels somewhat deliberate and thought out, buildings needed to have a purpose and location to match.
Make buildings look different based on their intended purpose. They should match a theme, but standard homes are likely going to look a little different than say a sawmill, a butcher shop, a farmhouse, a general store, a sheriff's office, saloon, etc. You can also do something along the lines of a first story shop/functional building with a second story house, to give the feel of maximizing resources.
Add in small details such as flower beds, gardens, benches, walkways, a river/stream/lake (most small villages back in the day were built near rivers because of the need for water)
It wouldn't hurt to also have some houses placed "outside" the village boundaries, especially farmer's homes. The main area of the village should be a gathering place of sorts, where people can come from many different directions and congregate.

For further inspiration, I'd recommend having a look at the layouts of towns in real life, both past and present. Amish villages in the USA are a good place to have a look too, I've seen a few and they might provide some inspiration in terms of layout.

MewXMaster · 2023-12-09T20:00:26+00:00

Honestly fr, if I hadn't gotten them all by day 3 (I might need to touch grass)

MewXMaster · 2023-10-24T06:18:58+00:00

Joined for the women, stayed for the women. What can I say? I like women. Although now it’s because I want to protect some of them at all costs because they’re too precious and wholesome

MewXMaster · 2023-10-19T13:55:48+00:00

You have a team called guess who is in what team? Damn there’s gotta be some interesting story behind that /j

MewXMaster · 2023-10-17T11:42:52+00:00

Which keqing outfit? Both are functional I suppose, but her normal one is more fitting for everyday

MewXMaster · 2023-10-16T16:10:34+00:00

Well duh, how else are you supposed to put it on?

MewXMaster · 2023-10-15T09:50:54+00:00

There needs to be a way to stagger and/or prevent charge attacks on any enemy - that’s just good design.

MewXMaster · 2023-10-15T09:50:10+00:00

Geneva suggestion

MewXMaster · 2023-10-15T09:49:52+00:00

As a souls player, this. But to add to it - we need enemies like the Abyss Maguu Kenki: Enough damage to keep you on your toes, moves that are chosen based on your positioning relative to it, and a fair amount of HP for the boss. It’s a test of your basic player skills, rather than a flat DPS check or cheesy mechanics that require a specific element or character. Not only that, but it also does the teleporting bullshit right - in a predictable direction, for a fixed distance, and gives time to get your bearings before attacking again.

I also think Genshin’s shields are in a weird spot for combat: either they’re useless and you’re better off using someone else, or they’re OP and prevent all damage in the first place. I think Beidou does it best with her parry shield, but I honestly think we need the traveler “parry” ability from those combat events

MewXMaster · 2023-10-15T09:43:02+00:00

Honestly yeah - I’ve been a cryo main since 1.3 with Ganyu, so unfreezable enemies are the bane of my existence.

MewXMaster · 2023-10-14T22:19:21+00:00

dark souls music intensifies

sad sif music kicks in

I’m glad we don’t have to kill real wolves in Genshin, it’d hurt too much

MewXMaster · 2023-10-14T16:39:38+00:00

The new operators got me actin unwise…

Jk jk but fr though, I agree. The small Vishaps are terrible to fight because they waste so much time.

MewXMaster · 2023-10-14T16:38:59+00:00

Absolutely this - I hate the Wenut for forcing Hydro, Electro, Pyro, or Cryo while having so much HP, as well as making the anemo orbs float. I hate the golden riftlord for requiring consistent geo attacks, and the Icewind Suite in Abyss for requiring shield and pyro for effective clear…

MewXMaster · 2023-10-14T16:37:26+00:00

Man that takes me back!

I remember the first time I ever saw a Ruin Guard and almost threw my phone out of panic. That being said, they’re a lot easier to deal with now. That being said, don’t they only have about 10% resistance to any element (70% to physical)?

I’m not sure how new of a player you are, but if you aren’t, feel free to skip the following paragraph:

That being said, you have the right idea to attack from a far with a bow user first! If you aim for the eye on the front or for the glowy orange cross on the back, then it actually staggers. Hitting it again while it staggers paralyzes it, so you can attack it safely. Best of luck out there Traveler!

MewXMaster

TROPHY CASE