I played Genshin Impact for a month.
To be completely honest, I never thought that I would. For starters, Genshin Impact is a gatcha game made in China. I’ve been playing video games for a long time… even mobile games. Just hearing Gatcha and China first sounds like a scam or bad news. But during the year that’s 2020, I’ve been hearing over on TikTok that Genshin is basically ‘Breath of the wild’ for PC and mobile users. But it wasn’t until I was doing a Magic The Gathering: Arena Twitch stream that people actually want to see me play Genshin. Actually, they’ve mistaken my MTG Arena stream as Genshin… despite nothing on my stream’s metadata says so.
Knowing that there is an audience who wants me to play Genshin + the popularity of the game, I installed the game and entered the world of Teyvat. And after a month of exploring, here are my thoughts on Genshin Impact.
PS: As I’m writing this, I’m currently on Adventure Rank 28.
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First Impressions – HOLY TOLEDO THIS GAME IS HUGE
WHY IS THIS GAME 14GB?!?!
But seriously, the world of Genshin is big… and WE ONLY HAVE 2 OF THE MAIN CITIES. As I’m writing this, we only have the Anemo (air) nation of Mondstadt and the Geo (Earth/Rock) nation of Liyue. According to the game’s lore… THERE’S GOING TO BE 7 IN TOTAL!!! Exploring both nations is so much work and effort that it gives you enough content to both indulge in the main story, side quests, and your own exploration.
Also, the voice acting of the main characters (and a few side characters) are really cool. I can see the developers has put a lot of effort on growing and creating this huge world.
In this game, you play as ‘the traveler’ and accompanying you is Paimon… your emergency food (jk). You both will explore the world of Teyvat, fighting mobs, helping out citizens, and etc. But you’re also helping out Gods who’ve decided to be part of humanity… for whatever reason they have.
Like I said, there is a lot to do in this game and it’s up to you on how you play it.
If I get to compare this game to any other game I’ve played – think Skyrim or Assassins Creed Valhalla. Both are open world, there’s a main story, some side quests, and a huge open world.
Gameplay as F2P
YOU CAN PLAY GENSHIN AS FREE TO PLAY AND WILL NOT STRUGGLE.
Yes, some parts will be a challenge (looking at you Dragonspine) but you can progress through the game as a free-to-play. There is no paywall unless you want specific character or want to buff them up through constellations. It’s basically trying to play a poker machine to get cool characters.
I only spent $8 AUD on the game just to see if it was worth it… it wasn’t. Other than that, I’m still free to play. And to be completely fair, you can still get a good team going without paying a single dollar.
My Main Team In Genshin Impact
This is my team. All of them are 4-star. And they can do some damage.
Rosaria – The Leader
I got Rosaria as I was after Eula – a 5 star Cryo (Ice) user. But after playing with her for a while, she’s really fast and can do actual damage if you know what you’re doing in the game. Her attacks are good, she’s fast, and in my honest opinon, much better than Kaeya.
I want to cosplay as her someday.
Fischl – The Princess Archer
When I first got Fischl, I was hesitant, mostly because I don’t know where to place her and I was still struggling with the archery mechanics. But after some practice and testing the water, Fischl makes a great support for Rosaria. You see, in Genshin, Electric + Cryo = Supercondut damage. Fischl releases this electric bird that electrifies opponents for a short amount of time. From there, you swap with Rosaria and you can do more damage.
Xinyan – The Underrated Musician
Xinyan is the first 4-star character I got outside of Noelle. And I have to say, she’s worth having in a beginner team. Her fire attacks are nice + she gives off this amazing shield. A lot of people don’t use her for some reason and I get it. There are better characters out there. But for me, as someone who’s free to play, she’s gotta do.
I just think she’s underrated and she’s worth having.
Barbara – The Closest I Have To Jean
Barbara is Jean’s sister.
And apparently, Jean is really good to have. But sadly, she’s 5-star and hard to get.
Barbara is a good healer to have and oh boy, my reaction when I got her on stream was priceless. She’s a good beginners healer. To be completely honest, I only use her to stall while I heal up my party members as oh boy, some of the enemies are tough cookies to beat.
Other teams
These are my other parties. They’re not great but they’re something.
The 2nd party are characters I want to work on more if I have time – side projects to be honest. My 2nd team are filled with fan favorites but the reason why they’re not on my main team is because (in my honest opinion) I have no idea how they will work together damage wise. There is more to Genshin than just physical attacks. You need to understand elemental matchups, weaponry, etc.
My 3rd team is just all the free characters I got in the first few days. The way I see them now, they’re utilities, nothing more.
Final thoughts on Genshin Impact
I fell down the Genshin Impact rabbit hole.
It’s a huge game with so much to offer. If I want better characters or better stats, it’s either I grind through the game or pay Mihoyo. But you can get through the game without paying, you just need to know what you’re doing.
As of right now, my stats aren’t that great. But then again, I’m only on Adventure Rank 28 so don’t expect too much from me. But the more I level up and go through the game, I will eventually get the right stats I need.
You don’t need to pay to progress through this game. But if you want better characters, I guess it’s up to you.
Genshin Impact is a fun game and considering that Sydney is close to having a lockdown due to the Delta Strain being spread around Greater Sydney and I’m unable to do volunteer radio work during my mid-year break… I guess Genshin is all I have right now.
