#F2P GACHA GANG

[americankimchi]

honkai star rail has me by the neck

[miserymermaid]

Well, it's been a great journey...

(This writeup is very late to the party because I've been busy, sorry!)

As of the end of November 2023, SINoALICE has been shut down. Looking back it's wild how fond I had grown for the game in the 3 years I played Global.

The story was very edgy and outrageous at points but I discovered characters who I latched onto and found their motivations interesting. The biggest one (obviously) being The Little Mermaid; her desire to revive her author to make her story even sadder because she believed the tragedy is what made the story beautiful was an interesting character twist. Like, she's not wrong! The story of The Little Mermaid wouldn't be what it is without the tragic ending (well...it would be a Disney movie I guess 🙄). And her constant desire to find delight/beauty in the tragic could be played for both laughs and seriousness. Every time a new class of hers was released on a banner I grinded for it like crazy, and I ended up with a collection of cute Mermaid outfits that I was really proud of!

My second favorite character was Dorothy, a cheery mad scientist with no regards for boundaries or ethics. Whenever Dorothy was added to a story event, you knew you were in for a good time. I really liked her design as well; she had the most outrageous outfits! If I was ever going to cosplay a character from SINoALICE it would probably be her. And of course many of the other characters worked their charm on me and it was fun every time we got to see a new combination of characters interact with each other.

Any time there was a collab event I really enjoyed myself, even if I had no familiarity with many of the IPs being collabed with. I particularly have fond memories of the 'Fishing Star World Tour' collab because of how hard I grinded in order to obtain the eye-popping fishing pole nightmares that were available as raids...I got both of them AND enough to max limit break them! I also couldn't get away without mentioning 'An End to Summer Dreams', the clam-fishing event that introduced the beloved Lammy; it was one of the first medal events that I participated in after I joined and it felt really fun to be part of the Lammy zeitgeist.

And of course, I can't go without shouting out my amazing guild, JellicleCats...what a fun gang to be a part of. We never aimed to be super colo competitive but we did our best, had some really nice victories, and the slimiest losses! Everyone in the guild was so good-natured, making jokes and swapping strategy advice. At the very end I worked my way up to being the top-ranked vanguard of the group and #4 ranked overall; I'm so happy I could work hard and do well by my teammates!

I am not one to play a lot of gachas in general, SINoALICE was definitely my first foray into playing a gacha fairly seriously, but I don't think I could've asked for a better experience. I was a F2P player and proud that I never once felt coerced into making a purchase. Some people may deride me for being proud of that fact, that it means I never gave the game my support, but I believe that a healthy gacha atmosphere crucially depends on making space for people who wish to be F2P without suffering gameplay-wise for it. I supported SINoALICE with my passion, with logging in every day to see what new twist the game would bring, with making good friends.

SINoALICE took up a lot of my time and I won't say I'm a tiny bit glad to be free of the obligation of constantly being on my phone, but I definitely will miss it. Thank you to all the developers who worked on the game to make this bonkers story come true, and thank you to everyone who played and who I ever got a chance to meet throughout the game!

[typemoonconfessions]

Mod, what are your thoughts on the new Summer Servants and the new F2P Bronze Gang?

If I don’t get summer Meltlilith then I’m giving all of my grails to Paris. I love Paris a lot!! He’s so good!!! Baby. Son. Idiot. 

I got three of the summer servants right - Okita, Lartoria and Musashi. I love Carmilla, she’s great and I’m so happy. If I get Melt I’ll probably throw some rolls at Osakabehime too, because a) like her OG and b) her voice lines make me really sad because of how much she cares about her weight when she’s perfect!!!! All of the other girls are good, and I’ve always been a fan of Siegfried cause he’s been with me since the beginning so I appreciate the fact that he’s gotten the summer outfit despite it a) not being new servants and b) none of my male predictions were correct.

If this event doesn’t have a Caesar’s Palace joke I’m going to riot.

WRT to bronze gang, love Paris obviously, I still don’t know how I feel about Jason, Chen Gong memes are hilarious and I love Chen Gong/Lu Bu, Salome said Feet Rights, Charlotte is really good and once again demonstrates that the artist is a lot better than people give them credit for, I swear I’ve seen more grailed Barts on my friend list than any other servant, Gareth is such a cutie and she’s extremely valid, and I think that’s everyone?

Oh and before anyone asks I got Cleopatra in my paid gacha and I love her!!!!!

[tsukikoayanosuke]

In Which I Can't Let Go of My Video-Game-Genre Isekai Dream, So I Tried to Make Some Cast

Picrew

The main character

Yes, she's me because it's my dream

Has The IPad(TM) because she's in creative mode in Minecraft homeworld

Is scared with Open World, Sandbox, and any games that need too much brains

Can't do Minecraft parkour to save her life

Can't build a house (both in Minecraft or in The Sims) to save her life

Someone: "Get gud, gamer girl!", Her: "I'm an casual f2p gacha gamer...?"

Never actually do a pull/gem hoarder

Looks up wiki, cheats and walkthrough for mental prepartions

Someone: "So, you're not like other girls?", Her: "Depends...? I just know I'm pathetic, but you don't see me running around saying I hate girly things."

Picrew

The Child(TM)

Basically TommyInnit or at least looks like him

Laughs really loud

Sucks at horror game, an avid Minecraft Hardcore enjoyer

Creates a lava waterfall and an underground bunker

Found the Educational Game secretion while mining in said bunker. It took three second being there before he chickened out and call the rest of the gang. "Why can't it be like Jumpstart?"

Picrew

Whichever brown haired male he supposed to represent

If he's Squall Leonhart in a skirt, then he's a cosplayer. Very invested in JRPG

If he's WilburSoot, then he's the one who keep stopping TommyInnit from making the lava waterfall. Probably good at rhythm game. Definitely good at geoguesser and point-and-click. Possibly a madlad

If he's Seto Kaiba, then he's the one who kick me (literally) out from wallowing in my own misery. Definitely good at card game. Probably arcade game too. Possibly a madlad and a whaler

Picrew

Supposed to represent my best friend irl

I gave her blue hair because she deserved to be pretty

I remember her getting excited when I found a new game world in the Minecraft food court

Possibly good at time management games ala Farm Frenzy

Very sweet, very energetic, can be dramatic, I love her in a platonic way

I need at least two more and then we have the JRPG party ala Tales series