Yo! How’s everyone doing? I’m going through an interesting period in life where I’m the busiest I’ve ever been but the money I’m making is worth less and less with every passing month. It’s pretty crazy. It’s a worldwide phenomenon, apparently, but it’s a pretty crazy time to be alive. I already mentioned that gaming is on the backburner for me right now because it’s not going to pay for my retirement home, but tighter funds mean that free-to-play gacha games are more attractive. In theory, that is, because in practice nothing new has caught my eye. Right now I only have Genshin Impact and Love Nikki on my playing list. I’m not buying any upcoming games (except Atelier Marie Remake) because my backlog is already ridiculous huge as it is, but the good news is I have a TON of good stuff on that backlog, so I’m in good shape once I can lift my head up from work long enough to play anything.
On to the topic of today’s post: Genshin Impact! The game I’ve been playing spottily but faithfully since patch 1.1. Providing more value and content as a free game than many games I’ve paid for in that time. The next continent (Fontaine) is coming out in less than two days, so I’m hurriedly trying to grab as many chests as I can in the temporary Veluriyam Mirage map while I can. I already did the story some time ago, but I thought I had more time to grab everything. Woke up and checked the calendar today and was like eeeek!
Pre-installing the next patch even as we speak
As for what I like about Veluriyam Mirage, it is of course… the treasure! Treasure, treasure, treasure everywhere you look! And only locked behind weak enemies or super simple puzzles. So much stuff just for the taking, I just can’t resist. I hate that flying bug called Paimon, but when it comes to treasure, we’re on the same page. “What’s so special about treasure?” It’s treasure! If you have to ask me that, you’re not a gamer.
Apart from the Mirage stage, I’ve cleared almost all of the world quests in Sumeru, though I haven’t gotten to the bottom of what the Tanit are up to yet, and I haven’t explored the desert area as much as I would like. Now that I have clearance for all the Desheret dungeon places, I should go back and make out like a bandit. I would have done that today and tomorrow, but then I heard that underground maps are coming in the next patch, and that will make exploration waaaay easier. I often get lost underground because it all looks the same, or because I get distracted by something shiny and go the wrong way. A map will simplify things, so I’m just going to wait.
In the same vein, I pulled Kokomi recently because I want to use her in my Nilou Bloom team. I’ve raised her to level 81 and have been spending natural resin on farming artifacts for her, but very idly because the next patch will add her Ocean-Hued Clam artifacts to the Strongbox. I have a basic set of good stuff for her anyway, so it’s no big deal to try to farm up the last one or two I need through the Strongbox. That way I can save my resin for the newest Fontaine sets.
Lastly, on the topic of expectations for Fontaine… rock bottom. But sky high at the same time. “Rock bottom” for the story parts, which from the trailers is shaping up to be the same old Fatui, same old misunderstandings, same old Traveler as public enemy number one, same old stealth mission I absolutely hate, same old cryptic nonsense that doesn’t bring us any closer to the truth of the world. But when it comes to exploration, wheeeeee! Sorry, that was too understated. I meant, WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
You’ll probably hear from me in another couple of weeks about my first impressions of Fontaine and all that. Hope the story isn’t too annoying at least at first. In the meantime, I’ve been playing a Japanese indie game called Rakunou Princess, and I’m almost done with the main story, so I’ll write something about that once I finally manage to clear the final challenge. See ya!
