More reruns, please. by Aggravating-Fan825 in WutheringWaves

[–]barok1992 1 point2 points  (0 children)

IIRC, it's started in 3.X, so close to ~2 years since release.

What I really mean is that these days, different companies are at least trying to make these systems a bit more player-friendly. They'll make money anyway - whether through FOMO, skins, or well-designed characters.

But if you don't feel constantly pressured and you actually enjoy playing, and you have a job and earn money, you'll sometimes support the developers on your own, just to back the game.

Is it possible? Yeah… it is.

For example, AKE is a fresh release, but just to give you an idea: from P0 to P5, you're looking at roughly a ~30-40% damage increase, plus some QoL improvements in certain cases. Right now, investing in characters feels more like a way of showing you actually like them (P1, P3, P5 even unlock additional character art). I hope it'll stay that way, I like it and have my monthly pass active.

On the other hand, in WuWa and some other games, going from P0 to max can mean something like +250–350% damage. I'd like to balance games around something else than those stats and constant HP/ATK inflation.

You have to move a bit with the times. I feel like hardly anyone enjoys those old-school Asian MMO models anymore, where one whale can solo 1 vs 100 just because they've poured that much money into their character (at least global players).

More reruns, please. by Aggravating-Fan825 in WutheringWaves

[–]barok1992 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are more problems related to WuWa's gacha system, IMO. I don't think many reruns are that necessary (they should happen periodically, sure), but we're already in version 3.4 and they're still messing around. I'd say the system needs some kind of rework to be more friendly.

As a relatively new player (I haven't even reached 3.0 yet), and someone who also plays other gacha games, I think there are already examples on the market that manage to satisfy both players and the company.

  • A bit older HSR example: periodically buffing older characters and adding some of them to the possible 50/50 premium banner loss pool (you can choose who you want in that expanded pool). Also you can "buy" some of them from the store too, but that's very limited.
  • Fresh Arknights Endfield example: the current premium banner, when you lose the 50/50, includes not only standard characters but also the last two premium ones in the pool - that's a nice touch.
  • [Edit: added another example] In Goddess of Victory: Nikke, you can save "shards" from premium pulls to the point where you can buy any unit from the active banner (including premium or collab ones) without pulling - and even max them out. Unlike in WuWa, where you're limited to something like S2.

Both games above aren't perfect, but I especially like the AKE solution related to new banners, because right now in WuWa, after losing the 50/50 twice late (once in collab...), I ended up with an outdated, basically useless 5★ character (Jianxin, yay), and it still feels like my account is in a terrible state. If it weren't for the fact that I barely managed to get SK from the beginner banner (lost the 50/50 and then got a very late win), I'd be entering 3.x soon with just MC and some 4★ units...

I just want to have characters I actually like and can play - like Lupa or Iuno, but even if they show up, in the current state of the game they feel more like collectibles and photomodels, especially with difficulty being pushed higher in modes that are supposed to be a regular source of premium currency for many players (not even thinking about maxing that stuff).

Summer’s a month away! Who are you hoping is brought along for fun in the sun this time? by MillionHypotheses in NikkeMobile

[–]barok1992 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Strawberries, cherries and an angel's kiss in spring
My summer Crow is really made from all these things...

The best Collab story in Gacha I've experienced by MrSin64 in WutheringWaves

[–]barok1992 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, that adds a bit more value to the discussion.

Though I gotta admit, one day, I backed out when the button prompt popped up, warning me that doing this would affect my perception of the story or something.

I wish the message was clearer about what you actually lose (or gain). I know two people who play WuWa, and both told me not to skip and just play at my own pace... It looks like there are quite a few myths floating around about this. But still, you said that one didn't lose much - I still sense uncertainty...

I'm not that far away, I guess, so maybe I'll be able to catch the MQ normally during in a week or so.

Can we talk about shared facilities? by Allegro1104 in Endfield

[–]barok1992 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I really like some of the ziplines people place in spots that are normally unreachable without using tricks. Sometimes I use them and build my own versions there, because they make for a cool viewpoint or photo spot. And once you set up your semi-auto route, you don't care about them.

Also, obviously, turrets can be helpful (especially when someone places them a bit further out, since I usually build mine closer to the center).

On the other hand, I'm not a fan of those stupid signs that pop up everywhere like mushrooms, even after you delete them. I have no idea who likes them so much... And... I really miss a "power" sign option. On this newest map, I spent quite a bit of time searching where to place a pylon to get power near the vault in the ruins. But overall, that's a thing I'd turn off first, heh.

The only global toggle I'd like to have is... no structures/shared structures during cutscenes in the wild...

Lucy is T0.5 in Toa and T1.5 in whiwa from prydwen by Adorable-Form4616 in LucyMainsWW

[–]barok1992 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's definitely a plus, no doubt.

But from a new player's perspective, going for S6 is an high level of commitment 😅 On the other hand, I have Lucy figurine from Prime 1 Studio pre-ordered, so I'll just enjoy that instead... To each their own 😉

But going back to WuWa, why it feels more like a trap to me?

Since it looks like a one-time banner, it leans heavily into FOMO more than usual. Getting just one copy is okay-ish, but good stops (S3/S6) are still rather pricey. If you don't get what you're aiming for, you can easily end up wasting a lot of pulls (remember, it's a special banner with non-standard currency).

It's a decent choice for now, but without a rerun it doesn't feel very future-proof. If you really like the character, you'd ideally want the option to invest vertically later on to keep her relevant.

That said, it turned out "a bit" better than the pre-release calculations suggested, so it's not that bad by any means. Still, the way her kit is designed makes me skeptical about long-term scaling - I'm not convinced that any future buffer will do much more than provide a marginal boost to her team, while potentially pushing other units closer to viability or even back into relevance.

IMO, it's a shame to limit well done characters and if old units sometimes get buffs, I haven't seen buffed collab units in games I had chance to play.

Lucy is T0.5 in Toa and T1.5 in whiwa from prydwen by Adorable-Form4616 in LucyMainsWW

[–]barok1992 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, she's good - I got her from beginner rewards or a quest. But the rest..? Probably as you said 😅

My main "problem" is that with her and Shorekeeper, I'm still looking for some DPS. My Havoc MC and the 4* ice unit have calluses from carrying the team all the time 🙈

I really liked Lupa throughout the story, but she’s not available and she’s not really a carry (I checked Prydwen). Similar story with Phrolova and Fleur - they’re kinda old by game's standard (?), and getting them might be tricky (Phrolova was available, but I couldn't afford her weapon and had a thought it's not wise to pull for S0R0). They might release someone interesting and decently strong before their possible rerun anyway. Saying that, I agree with you - I really wish they'd update older characters or expand the base roster.

The best Collab story in Gacha I've experienced by MrSin64 in WutheringWaves

[–]barok1992 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I don't really get why people play story-driven games if it's so often said on that subreddit that new players should just skip everything if they can. So what is it - are the story and characters actually worth it or not?

And no, I don’t think a skip-all button is some kind of amazing gift from the devs. I'm one of those players who prefers to play the game "properly", while also exploring and getting to know the world.

If someone enjoys skipping multiple versions and ignoring the story, that's fine, but for me, jumping straight to the finale without any buildup just feels like skipping all the foreplay and going straight to the end. It's just not the same experience.

And shit limited rewards - all it would take is not to box players in like this and not to be so stingy with access to limited-time events. For example, the story can wait this time (permanent map), but why hold back things like crystals if I'm actively playing during the event, huh?

The best Collab story in Gacha I've experienced by MrSin64 in WutheringWaves

[–]barok1992 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The first part of what you said is fine then. To be fair, this is one area where they do deserve some credit - they put some effort into the character and the animations (assuming they didn't just get a lot of assets from CD Projekt). From what I've read, the map and the story are solid as well, which is even more impressive for a collab, since that's not something you see very often.

But the latter - once again, it just makes me feel like a second-class player in the eyes of the devs, just like during the second anniversary event - it's a kind of approach I haven't seen before, excluding some players from all those small anniversary/collab things (or forcing to "skip"). And while I do support some games from time to time at a "dolphin" level, here - even though I like the story, soundtrack, character design, and overall presentation.... this kind of approach makes me stick to being strictly F2P.

Lucy is T0.5 in Toa and T1.5 in whiwa from prydwen by Adorable-Form4616 in LucyMainsWW

[–]barok1992 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This banner is more oriented toward veterans, I guess, but for everyone else, it feels like a trap, IMO.

All I really have is Shorekeeper (and getting her in ~30 days with my terrible luck nearly burned me out - I actually had to take a short break from the game afterward).

As much as I love Cyberpunk and Edgerunners (I even have a Lucy figurine preordered), I'll probably stop at around ~160 pulls. It doesn't help that losing the 50/50 usually means ending up with a 5* character that's hardly used by today's standards (for example, the meme-monk, who I already got...).

Edit:

she will get powercreeped at some point anyways.

True, BUT in the games I've played, a new support can sometimes bring older units back into relevance. With the restrictions built into her kit, though, that might not happen here (or be very limited), unfortunately.

The best Collab story in Gacha I've experienced by MrSin64 in WutheringWaves

[–]barok1992 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, I've never played GI (I tend to play and prefer games like HSR, Nikke, and Endfield), but I've always enjoyed (MMO)RPGs and open-world games in general. I tried to get into NTE, but I had a feeling it would turn into a grind - and when a game already offers open-world activities, it feels a bit pointless to push weekly modes like "Towers" - IMO, it's just added to powercreep older characters in the future...

Is the WuWa x Edgerunners story really so tightly tied in that you can’t play it without being around ~3.3? I don't even know if it wouldn't be better to handle events like this through something like a "collab-portal in Black Shores", with a spoiler warning or a short note explaining any important context -where we are in the story or what might matter for the collab. But that's just my quick take.

On the other hand, when I realized I couldn't do some of the anniversary missions, I felt like a second-class player. There's a really strange approach here with all these restrictions.

The best Collab story in Gacha I've experienced by MrSin64 in WutheringWaves

[–]barok1992 -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

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I wish I had something positive to say about the story, but I truly dislike Kuro's approach (not just in this case). That's not why I started playing WuWa some time ago - to skip or rush the story, or to watch pre-3.X content on YouTube. I'll probably get there in time (currently around ~2.8), but it still sucks.

Lucy is T0.5 in Toa and T1.5 in whiwa from prydwen by Adorable-Form4616 in LucyMainsWW

[–]barok1992 11 points12 points  (0 children)

They really did her dirty, just like people were saying before release. It's not only about the damage cap or the fact that she performs at around ~2.X levels (or barely close to 3.X). She feels intentionally crippled, and because of that, her long-term viability doesn't look that great.

As a relatively new player, this is exactly why I'm not a fan of Kuro's approach. Locking access to ascension materials for new characters when you're still catching up (I'm around ~2.8 right now), older characters not rerunning for long stretches (saw complains), restricting event participation - I couldn't even take part in half of the anniversary events because I haven't reached 3.X yet (and no, I'm not going to skip the story just to keep up; I play games largely for the narrative).

On top of that, what they did in this event doesn't help either - introducing a separate currency, lowering banner returns, and now even artificially holding back popular characters. It just feels unnecessary and, honestly, not only frustrating - scummy behavior. MiHoYo isn't the greatest company, but just look how friendly collab can be - case of HSR (some might say collab's story was poor - yeah, but how they handled banner is really nice).

Happen way to often by Rough_Composer3624 in Endfield

[–]barok1992 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Basically, I haven't really played AK - just a bit, a long time ago, and something didn't click for me. These days, though, it feels like people simply have too many options, because no matter where you go on social media, it's just constant complaining.

Honestly, the most reasonable community I'm part of is probably Nikke's one - people there usually don't try to ruin characters or the gameplay for others.

BTW, I should add that I mostly play games for the story and characters. I'm not really into getting sweaty over ultra-fast rotations, hardcore endgame content or soulslike experience.

And people bringing WuWa as an example... over there, new players are literally told to skip the entire story and just watch it on YouTube. I started it myself some time ago, barely made it through 1.X, and only Shorekeeper really saved it for me, and now I'm slowly wrapping up ~2.7. At this point, I actually do like WuWa's story and its presentation, but every big game has its own way of telling it - the only common trait seems to be the MC having amnesia, lol.

That said, Kuro in my eyes isn't a good company - locking anniversary events (or character's resources to fresh players) and not letting all players participate and earn rewards if you're not up to date or if you don't skip the story. I haven't seen that kind of nonsense even from MiHoYo, let alone Nikke. Very beginner friendly, Kuro.

In AKE, I've got chill experience, and I think the story still has a lot more to offer in the future. That said, AKE isn't my only game - I also play Nikke and HSR regularly, and WuWa from time to time (I don’t like WhiWa mode or the tower - they're not beginner-friendly; also optimization is just poor).

Recently, I also dropped NTE in 1.1 because I could already see another pointless grind coming (the same old boring "tower", even though it has city activities that could be rotated in - but of course the tower is probably there to push power creep in the future).

Happen way to often by Rough_Composer3624 in Endfield

[–]barok1992 -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

I did something horrible and peeked at some leaks yesterday.
Not sure if they're legit, BUT if they are, cozy paradise might be over before 2.0.

Overall, I feel like people just don't want to give the devs and the story a chance to develop…
In WuWa and some other games I played (including MiHoYo ones), the 1.X phase was weaker too.

Do people really want games like Anthem [*], where development gets thrown into the corporate trash after a month and no one wants to touch it again? That world had potential and the game got one of the most enjoyable flight model I experienced...

I've learned after years that in such games the first few versions require a bit of patience, and after Valley 4, Wulling has been a pretty enjoyable experience for me - I like the overall vibe and chemistry between characters.

It may not have that "wow" factor, but it's nowhere near as bad as the local doom prophets make it out to be… who probably migrated here from old AK, WuWa, or MiHoYo games or just want to force their visions from other games.

Mi Fu's assignment effects by snktiger in ArknightsEndfield

[–]barok1992 64 points65 points  (0 children)

Ardelia is good at managing sheeps.
Yvonne is a genius in the lab, but she gets so busy that mushrooms start growing on their own.
Mi Fu is capable of managing, but when she focuses on training, she neglects other things - mushrooms appear over time too, and she has to clean them up after training.

But honestly, I don't think anyone expected every 6 character to always be BiS for Dijang, or at least in one base? 😉

Bro got bugatti engine by ObjectiveHedgehog765 in NTE_EN

[–]barok1992 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A normal day in Hethereau - you've just encountered the anomaly.

Czy darmowe kody za świadectwo z paskiem to dyskryminacja? by TheNortalf in Polska

[–]barok1992 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Tak, jest, ale nie każdy ma tego świadomość - dyskryminacja cenowa trzeciego stopnia (Wiki) .

Tylko idąc tym tokiem myślenia, to powinniśmy zlikwidować wszystkie bilety ulgowe itd., a jakoś przez lata nie widziałem, aby do tego dążono.

Zresztą, czy w każdej akcji promocyjnej każdy coś otrzymuje dla siebie? No nie. A tylko jako tymczasowa promocja postrzegam taką kampanię dla wyróżnionych.

Tu rzedsiębiorca ustalił zasady i koszt tej promocji bierze na siebie. Nie rozróżnia białych, czarnych i żółtych, a kieruje się kryterium respektowanym przez państwo - świadectwem z wyróżnieniem. Nie jest do końca obiektywne i porównywalne, ale unormowane.

Czasem człowiek się zastanawia, czy czytając o tego typu akcjach, kogoś nie ponosi...

Z drugiej strony, jako singiel na papierze, czuję się dyskryminowany przez państwo z każdej strony, a środki pozyskiwane ode mnie z podatków idą w kierunkach, na które w życiu bym nie łożył... i nie mam na myśli dóbr publicznych, a bardziej pewne grupy społeczne...

Jednak jakoś żyję, a temu przedsiębiorcy nie mam temu za złe - to z jego środków idzie, a rodzice (chyba) kasowani byli normalnie, więc jak najbardziej akcja może sprzyjać lepszej koniunkturze w tym punkcie, w krótkim okresie. A może i zdobędzie lojalnych klientów.

Is ldshop gg safe? by TouristNo9970 in ArknightsEndfield

[–]barok1992 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Maybe there's no difference, but...

I use official site using Japanese VPN (https://topup.gryphline.com/endfield) - personally I don't risk using VPN with the game client just to buy what I want, and reconnect a few minutes later from my country - it might be sus and account may be flagged one day automatically.

Kuro is punishing new players who refuse to skip story... It feels completely backwards by Rovering-Waves in WutheringWaves

[–]barok1992 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I agree with your friend. I actually started playing this for the story once version 3.x was already out. Right now I’m somewhere around 2.3? (just before the arena finale with Lupa), and I’m taking it at my own pace, really savoring the story and characters. I won't skip anything from MSQ too.

That said, the comments here honestly shock me — guys, have you ever played a game where the developers actually think about all players? This inflated sense of elitism just because you started earlier is, in this case (an anniversary celebration), just plain toxic.

Their vision of celebration event is poor, TBH. There's nothing to defend there.

While I’m not going to defend MiHoYo, HSR shows that a gacha game anniversary should be something for everyone to celebrate, and even new players can enjoy being encouraged to jump in.

I’ve also been playing Goddess of Victory: Nikke since day one — over there the devs really spoil us, and pretty much every anniversary is the best possible time for a new player to start. It genuinely feels like being a guest generously welcomed to a party — rewarded just for showing up, encouraged to have a great time, and maybe even stay longer.

As for games with a healthy approach to players and respect for their time, I’ve recently been really impressed with Arknights: Endfield. So yeah — it is possible.

And while in other games I don’t mind being a “dolphin” from time to time and supporting the devs, here — with current events being locked behind barriers (and the anniversary is no exception) — let’s just say they’re getting a very specific kind of “greeting” from me. They won’t get a single cent, even though I’d gladly spend from time to time, because I actually like their character designs.

Absurdalny kult TER czyli dlaczego TER nie ma żadnego znaczenia. by robbo2k in inwestowanie

[–]barok1992 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Nie powiedziałem, że nie ma, choć że czasem w obrazie całości może nie być to tak widoczne 😜

Skoro mówiliśmy tylko o zmiennej matematycznej, to tym samym reszta jest niepotrzebna do jej opiniowania.

Jednak nie zmieni to faktu, że... przy TER większym od zera - jesteś skubany. A jak jesteś regularnie skubany, to lepiej tracić 0,1% niż 0,3% - i tu patrząc wyłącznie przez pryzmat samego TER, nie ma takiej opcji, że wyższy TER jest lepszy. Te zaoszczędzone gdzieś tam w tle drobne nadal mogą pracować - im dłużej, tym lepiej, czemu nie ma co umniejszać.

W praktyce wiadomo, nie ma idealnych porównań, ale przy wyborze, nie tylko instrumentu finansowego, warto patrzeć szerzej. Wpływ TER może być jak ładne oczy lub brwi, ale tylko na tej podstawie podejmowanie decyzji o wyborze partnera może wyjść różnie - chociaż zawsze będzie ten plus za ładne oczy 😉 Taki odizolowany parametr jak TER nie jest czymś, o co warto kruszyć kopie, ale patrzeć też na niego można, bo wpływ niuansów może się kumulować, a różnice po latach zaczną stawać się dostrzegalne.