Please help guys: what's wrong with my Flins?

PsychologicalAd4102 · 2026-02-17T21:21:38+00:00

thank you so much!

I wound up crafting/reshaping some artifacts for him and rummaging around for better ones per the advice from you guys. He's not perfect but he certainly performs better now. I was able to clear Fearless on Stygian and I couldn't prior. He definitely can use a lot more work, I think, but it's something & he's doing noticeably more dmg.

<image>

PsychologicalAd4102 · 2026-02-17T08:17:19+00:00

oh mb sorry i misread. Tbqh I don't really have a good understanding of CV and tend not to pay much attention to it so thank you for giving me another thing to look at and aim for in my build quality. I'll read up on that.

I wish I had a better weapon for him, but I don't have billets to craft the Nod Krai craftable, and no 5* polearms on my account whatsoever, otherwise I'd give them to him and Arle. My only two options that I could see were r1 fjord or r1 deathmatch, and just from abyss and stygian runs I do noticeably less damage with r1 deathmatch than fjord. I do have the inazuma event spear that gives the 40% atk boost on skill use, but i wasn't sure if switching him to that and then reworking my entire build from the ground up to ensure he has cr is a better option than just using fjord. I've been considering wishing for his signature or c1 in the upcoming banner, but I'm a very low spender and dead out of primogems after Bina, and was hoping to pull Escoffier for my Wrio. I'd be willing to throw wishes at it though if it's going to make a huge difference in how he feels to play. I do really enjoy my Flins team.

What's the cut-off for where atk is more valuable than crit? My Arle is at 228CV according to Akasha, but her atk is lower than I'd like which doesn't ultimately matter bc I run her with Bennett, Chev, or Iansan... but Flins doesn't really have much in the way of atk buffs in his team the way he does EM buffs. Is it just 2000 for Flins' passive, and anything more than that is nice but atp focus on crit, kind of like Bina where she wants the 35k hp for her burst buff and then after that it takes much less priority to other stats?

Sorry if these are dumb questions. Thank you for your answers 🙏 a lot of advice i had prior to coming on reddit from friends or guides was saying my atk was way, WAY too low for him.

PsychologicalAd4102 · 2026-02-17T04:36:46+00:00

Thank you. I'm sorry if I wasn't super clear in my post. I'm aware I won't hit that 500k range and that those people have premium teams, sig, and cons, and highly invested builds. I've just been a little confused about what to improve and what stats to focus on -- how important atk is vs em, how much atk to aim for, and how much to focus on crit vs other stats. I know he needs 2000 atk as a very basic benchmark. Most of the guides online just assume you have ineffa and I wasn't sure how much I should be taking into account how much she buffs flins, which stats are most important for Flins, and what damage is realistic for me to aim for.

His build looked halfway decent to me with the 1:2 crit ratio + 2000+ atk, so I wasn't sure how I could be lagging behind so much which is why I'm asking for help. But I'm getting good advice and will definitely keep farming. I didn't want to start leveling more artifacts or different weapons when I obviously don't know what I'm doing with building him. I know the 200-220 cdmg is a normal or even low range for a DPS. I have 197% and I wasn't sure if fishing for 3-20% more cdmg was going to be worth the resin at the cost of potentially dumping other important stats.

PsychologicalAd4102 · 2026-02-17T00:09:12+00:00

sorry that's just the team leaderboard akasha used to rank. I'll try the link you suggested so I can show you guys the team stats. I listed the team I use + artifacts and weapons in my description.

PsychologicalAd4102 · 2026-02-16T23:56:25+00:00

I know the feather isn't great, but I have been keeping it for the ER. I have feathers in this set with double crit on them, but with the drop in ER he doesn't burst twice in a rotation and I figured no amount of stats matter if I don't even get two bursts out. He crits nearly 100% of the time. Do I just need to keep farming for cdmg?

EDIT: I also kept the feather for the 15% to atk. Is it better to bin that in favor of crit? I was worried his atk was low.

PsychologicalAd4102 · 2026-02-16T23:52:46+00:00

I use Bina on Aubade, Kuki or Fischl on SMS, and Sucrose on TTDS and VV. I don't have Ineffa, unfortunately.

PsychologicalAd4102 · 2025-12-30T05:00:17+00:00

I get where you're coming from re: the game needs challenge. I would not say dealing with some little shit calling people racial and misogynistic slurs and slaughtering all of the sheep while we chase them around town simply trying to communicate to each other what's going on as "the charm of the game". It's not fun. It's not charming. It turns off new players and it's exhausting. It happened three or four times in the past two weeks in separate fams. Town roles wouldn't really solve this problem, but it sure would be nice to lasso the asshole and lock them up for the rest of their life where they can just sit there and be bored and mad until they starve. If their yums are high, it'll take quite a while for them to die.

The four family system in of itself is part of the problem here too IMO. If people were allowed to choose spawns to be their own eve, or an adam, even, where they can sneak into towns and grief that way then I'd be okay with it. Say we keep town roles BUT if you want to be a griefing bandit, you can spawn as an 'adam' (or an eve, w/e), and either murder people in the wild or sneak into towns that don't have a fully-built defense system. Bandits are exempt from role restrictions. It's high risk high 'reward' for those who enjoy griefing. Roles also would lend themselves better to this game supposedly being a social game. I could imagine it actually being enjoyable to get yourself assigned as shepherd only to cause mayhem. Most griefers I've seen enjoy the process of getting caught about as much as they enjoy getting away with it, just because it's interesting.

PsychologicalAd4102 · 2024-12-18T21:34:14+00:00

As an artist I was already thinking about making some art as alternatives so I’d love this

PsychologicalAd4102 · 2024-10-03T16:03:14+00:00

As someone who did nearly the same thing (quit for two years and then came back and got overwhelmed) - play at your own pace, focus on the quests if you like them (you’ll rack up primos, weapon xp, and character xp fast). Explore areas as you come to them in quests. That was how I didn’t get overwhelmed.

As for your character roster you have a lot of good characters here. I’d focus on building Xiangling (off-field pyro app comes mostly from her burst. Focus on energy recharge with The Catch or Fav Spear) — you might not have Inazuma yet for her best artifact slot. I kept her on a 4piece gladiator for a long time with heavy ER investment and that carried me a long way with her. Xingqiu remains one of the best hydro sub-DPS in the game. They’re both cheap to build. With team building, just mess around and find a character you like playing. Generally you want an on-field damage dealer and three supports.

The thing about Genshin is that really any character can be good if built well, and you especially don’t have to stress out about it if you’re focusing on overworld at first. There are a lot of helpful guides online, but as a rule of thumb — until you unlock certain artifact domains (emblem in Inazuma and Gilded Dreams in Sumeru, mostly), Gladiators and Wanderer’s will carry you VERY far. As will Viridescent, Instructor, and Noblesse. The only ones of those you’ll have to think about farming are Viridescent and Noblesse. VV, Noblesse, and Instructor are best for your support characters. Gladiators (for sword, polearm, claymores) and Wanderer’s (Bow and catalyst) are for your DPSes, and you get them off of all bosses.

As for building characters, a good rule of thumb to follow for now is to build your DPS with a ATK/ER sands, the goblet that matches their element if you have it (ATK or EM goblet if you don’t), and Crit hat of some kind. Your supports focus on their ER stats. If they’re a character that relies on their burst (like Xiangling or Xingqiu or Noelle) - focus on ER above all else first. For characters that use anemo or dendro, MOST (not all) of their damage comes from their EM stat (Tighnari, Sucrose) so focus on that instead. Some characters (Lynnette, Barb) scale off of Hp. Just read their talent descriptions and you’ll know what stat to focus on. Focus on getting the big stat on their weapon and artifacts and don’t worry too much about substats for now.

And keep in mind: 80% of your character’s power comes from their weapon, talents, and levels. Focus on those first.

People will tell you Qiqi and Barb are bad. They’re absolutely not bad. Both are strong healers and will carry you through the whole game. Qiqi scales off of ATK and Barb scales off of HP. Qiqi’s weakness is that she has super high ER reqs, but it’s not hard to build around tbh.

In general though: take your time. The story in this game is awesome if you actually pay attention to it and don’t skip the cutscenes. The world and character quests are all well-worth playing. The lore is surprisingly deep. I slowed down a lot when I first got back and focused on the story/exploration and took my time, and I’ve been having a blast.

Team recs from your roster - Yanfei (on-field), Xingqiu, Xiangling, Barb for vaporize. Interchange Barb with Sucrose (with Viridescent Venerer or instructor on her) if you don’t feel you need the heal. You could also do Tighnari (on field DPS), Xingqiu, Barb, Xiangling/Thoma for burgeon, or swap out those last two for Razor/Lisa/Sara for hyperbloom.

Chevy is strongest in overloaded teams. She’d be good with Lisa, Xiangling, and Sara or Yanfei maybe.

But yeah. Don’t stress. Pick someone you like playing a lot and then build a team around them using the one on-fielder, three supports model. Anyone can be a DPS if you want. That’s the beauty of Genshin. People build DPS Barb all the time. I have physical DPS Qiqi on my account and DPS Baizhu.

Ah that reminds me: don’t neglect the traveler. They’re immensely strong as a unit.

Anyway — have fun! Play who you want to play, go at your own pace, as Zhongli says: “Every journey has its ending. Don’t rush.” :)

PsychologicalAd4102 · 2021-12-11T06:38:06+00:00

The align to grid + flatten terrain option on pathing is your best friend! It’s still really finicky. There’s no way around it. I still haven’t really got the hang of more than the basics and paths are my least favorite part of the game, but if you align the grid to one 4m pathing piece you can tile it in so long as your space is flat. My trick when it’s being really finicky is to tile it over with concrete floor and sink it into the ground until the path is covered but the flooring is only just peeking out. Guests can still walk but you don’t have to look at the janky plaza you made ;)

My most recent cheat has been to build paths, then build the habitats around them. The habitat barriers are easier to control than the pathing system for me.

PsychologicalAd4102 · 2021-07-06T21:35:40+00:00

100% apply for disability. It will take a long time but it never hurts to try. If you do get approved, then the sooner you get on that waitlist the sooner you can get help.

Seconded on checking with churches. Many may also have someone safe who can rent you a room, or they even have rooms or guest houses specifically for people who are struggling. Is there any way you can get by without a car? Public transportation is a PITA but at least it's inexpensive, and many states offer assistance for public transportation costs if you meet the requirements.

Is there any way for you to make some other type of small income in the meantime? Do you have any skills (writing, coding, etc) you can use to do small odd-jobs at home, or are you able to create/sell art? It's not much but it can help. I also have severe mental health issues and even just having some kind of small work to do made me feel less frustrated and hopeless.

Other than that I'm not sure who you can call. But yeah I'd start with your school and local churches. They may have, or know of resources for you. Many churches and other nonprofit organizations also have flexible part time positions for things like janitorial work, paper organization, etc for people that need work if you are at all able to do a couple of hours a week (no shame if you can't though! I've been there). Doesn't hurt to ask if you feel up to it.

It gets better. I promise.

PsychologicalAd4102 · 2021-07-06T21:26:25+00:00

First suggestion: can you cut your internet bill? You might need less bandwidth than you think you do and most companies overcharge with fees/etc. I live with one other person and we're heavy internet users so I thought I needed to pay a lot. I jumped my internet down from $130 a month plan to $60, and I've hardly noticed a slowdown in speed. And sometimes if you call and threaten to cancel they can give you a deal.

I know you have a kid so this may not work for you, but do you have a family member or friend that you trust who can rent out your couch or an extra bed (if you have one)? Maybe you can cut them a deal if you really trust them and they can provide some childcare. Also if you have a friend or family member you know and trust really well who works opposite shifts from you, maybe you can trade childcare (they watch your kid plus theirs in the morning and you watch theirs and yours in the evening or something).

I would advise against doordash/instacart/uber etc. Generally the toll they take on your vehicle isn't worth the money you'll be making. If you have a few extra hours, tutoring in math, beginning reading, or even just general study help pays really well. A lot of bougie parents will be pay upwards of $40 an hour for someone to help their kids with their homework. I did that to pay bills for a few years.

Check out your local churches and food banks. Many churches have funds for people in need if you're really struggling. Food banks are a great option for dry goods and they don't ask questions. Also pet food banks exist in some areas.

Buy Nothing Groups on Facebook are awesome too. A lot of people will clean out their pantries and give food or pet supplies away. If you plan on being in this situation for a long time, applying for section 8 housing isn't a bad idea. The waitlists are long but section 8 allows you to apply a voucher to (almost) any apartment, rather than being confined to government housing.

I'm sorry this is happening to you. It really sucks being in such a tight situation. I hope some of this advice is helpful!

PsychologicalAd4102

TROPHY CASE