#wuthering waves >>> any other gacha game

[threnodians]

struggling to get my brain to stfu and to stop stressing about everything i need to get done asap while simultaneously sore and aching all over and i didn’t know wuwa devs were making literal asmr podcast things and they’ve made one of my beloved xiangli yao so excuse me while i put the video on loop and listen to the soothing sounds his english voice and of the data archive which will inevitably make me fall asleep 🥰

[blkbinghe]

Rambles on my lack of gacha game knowledge (mainly hsr)

+genuine questions

How do ppl make their teams in games like hsr and genshin and wuthering waves, etc.... and even other games outside that genre that include character teams for battle.... like, does not everyone make sure everyone's different? Like, I try not to get 2 or more characters of the same element type on a team cus what if I wanna strike a weakness, but I filled in that elements place with a double.,... does not everyone think like that..?

How should I build a team is a better question. Since in reality I'm not that far into hsr. I still have March 7th, and Dan heng on my team cus March 7th has defense and is not annoying UNLIKE HERTA. Dan heng is there cus his attacks are strong despite not weakness breaking most of the time. Obviously, my glorious King Argenti is on my team, but he replaces caelus cus he's a physical. (Unfortunately, I'm grinding missions to get character exp for caelus because i can't move on in the story without him at level 40).

Idk what kind of mindset should I have when pulling for characters or building a team? Want or need? I just want Dr. Ratio because I don't have bless characters (is that the element..? I forgot) and I like Dr ratio. But I also like characters like Robin, but then again, she's a physical, and doubles are odd to me... I looked through all the 5 stars one day to see what characters I might want that will create a diverse team.

I think I know too little about gacha games. They are very confusing and have too many mechanics. Hsr was slightly easier to understand. I know people main 4 stars sometimes, I like a few 4-star characters like Sampo and Dan Heng

One last question: How do I know what abilities a character has? I hate to say it, but I'm trying to move on from March 7th, I need to spread my wings!!!! She's been a must-have though out because her defense comes in handy. Otherwise, I would be (regretfully) using Herta (she's the only other ice type). Having defense or a support or a healing character is extremely helpful, especially since you can't really use consumables in battle. I wanna know which ones do that.

Playing gacha games makes me feel like an illiterate fool because everyone understands but I'm just winging it. I'm barely understanding how to have good strong characters. As well as other things like where to get certain material and many opportunities within the game.

Any tips of assistance are appreciated, or just giggle at my rambles. I think I'm a little ridiculous, too 😭😭

[wutherwaves]

wuthering waves release & intro

welcome! this is both an introduction and a general announcement post for wuwa's upcoming release. all info is under the "read more" button.

this post includes what wuthering waves is, when it releases, things to know, and about this blog generally.

what is wuthering waves?

wuthering waves (or wuwa) is an upcoming open-world gacha game by developer kuro game, most often recognized as the developer behind punishing gray raven.

the game has equally large focus on story, exploration, and combat. though its core functions are very similar to another game, genshin impact, wuwa strives to create its own fully unique take on the formula, with a post-apocalyptic and sound-centric world accompanying an almost souls-like combat system at certain points.

when does it release?

wuwa has been in development for approximately 3 years, seeing two separate closed beta tests and various other smaller scale tests along the way. but luckily, the game releases on May 22/23, 2024!

(22nd for PST, while most other timezones will likely see a release on the 23rd. the exact time is not yet known)

things to know

it's recommended that you pre-register for wuwa if you're interested in trying! at the time of writing, there's an event in which all players can receive in-game benefits depending on the amount of pre-registrations.

about this blog

this post (and blog's creation) is following kuro game's program from march 29th, 2024, in which they showed off new trailers, responded to feedback from the last closed beta test, and announced the release date!

i created this blog pretty much entirely for personal use and housekeeping, but it'd be great if this blog ended up as a resource for others as well. :)

thank you for reading! if you have any other questions, feel free to ask and i'll do my best to respond!

[mdhwrites]

March 7th: The Perfect Starter Sustainer?

Of all the smart choices that went into Star Rail's beginning, the thing I envy least for anyone who tries to make a Star Rail competitor is March 7th. This is almost purely mechanically though. Character wise, I ADORE March 7th but she's not exactly that unique. She's fun, she's well written but she's running off a template that has been recreated many times before to great great success.

Her mechanics have not. After all, it's hard to beat perfection... For her role in the game.

Almost any other gacha and Natasha, mechanically, would have been the first sustainer. In fact, if you look at Wuthering Waves, that's essentially what you have there. Someone who does the very boring job of indeed keeping the party alive but with no real frills besides maybe a slight damage boost or slight ongoing healing. It is very strong and very basic. It gets the job done in the most functional way possible which is kind of why Natasha is such a good healer and why her, Lynx and Bailu have debates between the three mechanically since they all serve such a similar role of "I do this one thing really well."

The problem is that it's boring. Mechanically, it gets the job done but you don't have to think about it besides timing and its timing isn't difficult. March on the other hand is anything but boring. I could actually talk about each of the starting five characters, Asta, Herta, Dan Heng, Physical Trailblazer and March and how mechanically, they are SUCH a good sell on the game as a whole but while four of those are smaller blogs, March blows them all out of the water.

She still has, by raw percentage, the strongest shield in the game. Even doubled up, Aventurine's shield is still weaker than hers. NO ONE else has an all enemy freeze so far, even if it's only a chance. She even has a follow up attack, allowing her to add to DPS so long as people are hitting her shield which will happen a lot because if you're using it preventatively, she even applies a taunt to the character. This is a LOT going on and a lot of it is very strong, especially in content that does not have timers on it which is all story content in Star Rail.

But there's one weakness: She's the only single target shielder in the game because single target sustain is pretty hard to survive with in this game... Eventually.

March 7th's role in the game is NOT as a sustainer. It is not as a sub DPS, debuffer or any of the myriad roles her wide mechanical pool allows for. Her role is not a permanent one as it is for onboarding. EVERYONE is supposed to eventually swap to either Natasha or Fire Trailblazer for their free to play, guaranteed sustainer. Eventually, it's mandatory. You NEED full party sustain eventually, even in story content. But at the beginning?

You need someone who gets you to start thinking about the tactics and interplay of the game which is a really daunting task. In what should be the easiest part of the game, it is March's job to make sure you understand that combat is going to be more than beating someone to death with a bat. She has to do this in a way though that doesn't make the game feel bad, doesn't over complicate things as to make people reject using her or reject the game, but also can't be so simple that it becomes brain dead like most starting sustainers. March 7th is easily the most complicated character at the start of the game after all... But.

Her mechanical flow is not complicated. What do you want to be doing with her? Applying shields so people don't die. How do you get her follow up attack? Simply by having her shield up and having it get hit, which is exactly what you want happening. What about if the shield breaks and you need a chance to avoid damage? Pop her ult and you have a chance to get that opening you need to recover skill points or to funnel more skill points into damage to try and finish off enemies.

That's still more complicated and exciting than "Low health, pop heal," but not dauntingly so. But... Well, I talked about how Ratio was a perfect free five star because he's always going to feel bad at the start of the game. A new player is never going to be able to get 3 debuffs consistently and that causes an itch in the brain. A question for what is possible with the character which in turn becomes a question of what is possible in the game overall.

Welcome to the three turn timer on March. Because theoretically, March 7th applies such a strong shield that so long as you're okay with people being vulnerable early on, you could try to keep your whole team alive with just her. But you can't. Star Rail uses a four party team after all. Without a trace ability, which you can't get until you're leaving Belobog, her shield lasts three turns. You can have it on three people and no more. Someone is always in danger. Someone is always making you fret or making you miss out on follow up attacks or now needing a shield because they'll die otherwise but who do you leave unguarded now? And what if a group of enemies decides to gang up? How do you keep up with the pressure when her ult is not a heal but a chance at a one turn reprieve that's not even a full turn due to how freeze works in HSR? You can't.

But you also don't need to. The moment HSR really sold me on its combat was not when I was succeeding but when I was cheesing. MULTIPLE fights early on left every member of the part dead but March. She would have to face elites on her own... And she'd survive. Her shield was too strong, her defense too high and she could just take her time whittling the enemy down. It was honestly kind of hilarious and turned what was a fight that I felt ill prepared for still into a win early on so it didn't feel all bad. I still was making progress even as the game made it clear the holes in my team and how I needed to get better.

And this is actually where I have to step back from March and praise instead the enemy escalation of Star Rail because March only works because of how HSR curves out its enemy difficulty. Enemies are still getting more complex and odd in their mechanics but early on? Dirt simple and brutally effective. Most things on Herta's Space Station have essentially no mechanics. They just deal damage. But also they don't need to do more than that because you don't have many more options than that yourself. EVERYONE is single target or blast, meaning that only up to three members of the party can be hit at a time, with the exception of the Doomsday Beast which helps that fight feel more fraught. These enemies though are clearly designed with simplicity in mind and in mind that March is your only option for sustain. This is part of why lock on is really the main mechanic of Herta's Space Station. They will focus fire one person really hard but they telegraph that so March has a chance to pop her shield and keep them alive... But also your companions are real squishy so suddenly you need to keep reupping the shield on the one person or else you get into my situation where they break through and die until March is the only one left.

It's pressure and friction in a way that a lot of RPGs just don't really have at the start of their games besides "This guy's numbers are bigger than yours, run the fuck away." No, instead it's that you can face anything on the Space Station, and Belobog because they keep to single target/blast hits but now almost everything applies a sort of debuff, but very little of it is going to feel clean. None of it's gonna go quite the way you want but not so bad hat you can't see how you could do it better.

And then you get to the Loufu where a basic enemy's main attack is to hit the entire party. The Lanternfish are the death of March 7th and they won't be the last. Even if you try to be stubborn, the Ebon Deer will murder you if you can't keep up with it and you're not going to do that if it's killing a quarter of your party because they're left out in the open or if you're having to always split skill points into your sustainer. You need a new sustainer. Period. Luckily, you've gotten two more minimum as part of completing the story. The classic healer with Natasha and a sub DPS weirdo with Fire Trailblazer (who was my main sustainer until Aventurine). March's role is over in the team though.

At least until you get the abomination that is Hunt March 7th and how bonkers good she is.

By that point though, she will have done her job. Even if you abandon her faster than that, you still had to make a choice to do that. To set your team building priorities and feel the ups and downs of not having that incredible shield that kept you alive during the tutorial. Not having her follow up attacks. Not having her freeze. If Bailu is your first standard five star, you are not just replacing March for a strict upgrade but instead a character who offers very different things.

For anyone who wants to copy HSR's success, everything March does will be so easy to overlook. To overlook how she makes sure you appreciate HSR as a game, not just for its waifus and writing. These are still games though and selling a player early on that actually thinking about how your team functions is really important, that they have to set priorities and consider their options carefully, is vital to that.

And so, like March 7th says, I suggest devs make sure to indeed "watch this awesome move!" See you next tale.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[sonusresonet]

♛ ; PINNED POST/STARTER CALL

♛ - Independent and Selective "ROVER" from WUTHERING WAVES. Not spoiler free, and adheres/focuses on canon game lore. Please refer to the rules and about page for info before interacting. OC friendly, and multiverse/ship are A-OK! By liking this post, you give me permission to plot, send asks, and interact with you!

♛ - Personal blogs, please make sure not to reblog RP, headcanons, and my writing posts. I will block if you do.

♛ Info

♛ Rules

♛ Verses (TBA)

♛ Mobile Rules under the cut!

I. General

This blog will be between low to medium activity with dark themes present including war, violence, death, etc.

I will tag as any spoilers as I can, but it is not spoiler free and will act on whatever is revealed in the main story of WUTHERING WAVES + some theories that go on about the overall lore and Rover's identity.

I expect basic RP etiquette and will do the same.

I've been on tumblr rp for a while but am just returning now. I'm behind on the terminology now used so please be patient if I don't get something right away. I will be just doing basic formatting when writing.

I want to just write so I won't be paying attention to drama.

I go by Aki and Mun & Muse are 25+.

II. Writing

Each interaction will be its own and not collide with others unless talked about beforehand with both parties.

I'd like to focus on Wuthering Waves verse itself so I will be following canon first and foremost. I don't mind divergencies as long as its nothing major/world changing.

This blog is multi-ship and ships will be built on chemistry and interactions.

I prefer multi-para but don't mind one-liners and short interactions. I like plotting but also don't mind a thread started from an inbox meme, etc. In general, I'm cool with anything.

Feel free to send any memes no matter how old they are! I'll find them eventually.

I play a lot of gacha/anime games so I'm more than happy to create a verse for crossovers.

III. Following/Tagging

I don't have any real triggers and will tag the usual ones accordingly if I reblog something that falls under it. (Most likely not though)

If I follow then I would like to interact at some point. I will unfollow though if no activity between us occurs but will try and reach out when I feel confidant enough too.

As stated above, I want to focus on Wuthering Wave's world as a priority so I'd love interactions from all characters that want to be involved in the world.

[narwhalandchill]

oh and also speaking of wuwa. what is it with chinese gachas these days and their one (1) random fucking Dude With A Finnish Name For No Apparent Reason

like theres welt from hi3rd and hsr. aka originally known as joachim nokianvirtanen. whos presumably half german half finnish. but the worst fucking thing about it is that like. while joachim is a very standard german name. ""nokianvirtanen" is NOT a finnish surname. its like an amateur writer looking up random finnish words to mush together into a surname with 0 research into what finnish surnames actually sound like. now by themselves. nokia? virtanen? oh absolutely that works 100%. together? it literally sounds AI generated it makes me cry 💀💀💀

(It could also just literally be nokia-virtanen or virtanen-nokia with the hyphen and work. but nokiaN is possessive form . but NOBODY is fucking called "nokia's virtanen" WHAT. THATS NOT HOW IT WORKSSSSS or like if theres Any legit surname w a possessive form in it which there prolly are some its a Very specific thing not sth broadly applicable at all)

whereas sampo koski is like. honestly peak bc its the complete fucking opposite. this name is like. this is literally Just A Dude. Theres probably like hundreds of actual fucking sampo koskis out there whose linked ins have been permanently buried under Rail the Stars game search results on google i literallg NEED to meet one irl someday and ask them about it its so fucking funny 😭😭😭

like. okay koski is just an uhhhhhhhh. its a type of a waterfall in a river . Rapids? but yeah its a very standard surname. Except not like this SUPER common generic googled the top 10 tier name bc its genuinely an authentic name you run into that sounds natural. Like it doesnt sound like A Character surname its too normal. and then sampo refers to a mythical miracle machine in karelian and finnish folklore with 3 corners that each makes riches of the ocean (represented w salt) the soil (w grain) and the earth (w gold) freely for whoever owns it. In lore some ppl fight over it long story anyway louhi was right. which is again its not some uber common name but its a Very natural one its so weirdddd ive had a sampo for a classmate its cursed 💀💀 and have prolly known a koski at some point too

Anyway point being. Sampo koski is literally the Quintessential normie This is a person not a Space Gacha Game Character name idk HOW they just. came up w it it feels so weirdddd. this is like if boothill was just called like. Josh.

anyway my only real issue w sampo is just that he doesnt fucking act finnish. yes its true reducing nationalities to caricatures is bad but. Listen if you rep us. it HAS to be all the stereotypes actually. we arent all antisocial and depressed for half the year bc its too dark and insomniac and pissed off the other half bc its too bright just to get some fruity fucking aha follower with a name youd see on the employee list of the most mundane fucking office job . i like sampo i just cant claim him . he talks too much and dresses too flamboyant hes an impostor

which brings us to. Wuthering waves. and like as we can see hoyos finnish names have had their interesting moments for sure. so like hows kuro games faring?

Oh they called him--

They Called The Random Finnish Name Guy Of The Wuthering Da Waves Game---

AALTO?????????!??!??? AALTO?????!?

THEY LITERALLY CALLED HIM WAVE IN FINNISH WHAT THE FUCKKKKJKK

honestly idek if i should be insulted or just like. Amazed by the sheer balls it takes to just call him half the title of ur game and be like ah. Perfect. represented the feeble finns again

anyway tho unironically. While he also (to my knowledge at least) has the like. cocky lighthearted menace personality which like. No. at least the way he looks is peak acceptable like yeah this is a random finnish guy animefied and airdropped into this post apocalyptic scifi fantasy world. the quintessentially finnish awful out of fashion speedy sunglasses (this is a cultural in joke that i will Not be elaborating on). the sensible tactical gear. i respect him the white long hair is clearly a survival tactic its camouflage. hes fine. also props for having an aspect of camouflage in his kit w the taunts bc yes historical reference winter war the finns are indeed out there blending in with the environment wahoo. no particular thoughts tho i did pull him so ig legal obligation to build his ass

anyway aalto is also an university. lowkey the students there should just do a power move and make an aalto cosplay like the secondary uniform alongside haalarit itd be funny

but yeah am i going anywhere with this? Making some serious critique god forbid? Not in particular i am just. Continuously baffled w this. bc its not like these characters Are finnish by any metric. They just get random fucking finnish names and its like every single chinese gacha now needs to have a token one and im just here like.but why . What is the purpose of it . what is so effervescent about googling random finnish names and slapping them on your male characters . I do not understand

+ honorary mention to ukko the frostarm lavachurl in genshin. Another folkloric reference (ukko the sky/thunder god) . couldnt even give us a fruity guy in that one. though sitting in your bespoke isolation in a freezing hellhole and beating the shit out a random traveler disrupting your peace is way more finnish than a single sentence most of these characters have uttered so like. Fair actually that Is a mood. king behavior

[sereneabyyss]

An Actual Unbiased Review on Wuthering Waves

Tired of seeing either people absolutely bashing Wuthering Waves with refusal to actually talk about the good parts? Or exhausted of people calling Wuwa the Genshin Killer and refusing to accept that two games can exist and competition shouldn't kill each other completely? Well as a certified 'gacha is gacha' enthusiast who's actually played multiple gacha games and not just hoyo games and has gone through multiple games with maintenance and consistent updates, I'm here to give an actual unbiased review of Wuthering Waves and what it already excels at and what it needs work in. This won't go into any story details or anything that would be spoilers so don't worry about that

Instead of talking about the pros and cons individually I'm gonna talk about different aspects of the games and talk about the pros and cons of each thing. Because trust me everything has its pros and cons. I'm also going to do some comparisons for certain things and explanations for my thoughts on the individual topics.

For those who've played the game, let's start with the most obvious thing. Game optimization.

Cons:

The ping has been horrendous

Movement has been clunky and laggy because of bad ping

Some people had issues with npc faces looking blurry and weird skies? I didn't personally have these issues so I'm not sure

Some people have been having issues with crashing. Again, I have not, so I'm not sure if that's been fixed with the latest update

Pros:

Kuro has been pumping out update after update since launch to fix the known bugs and optimize everything

Since the update earlier ping has reduced significantly for me and I know it has been better for some of my friends

Now some of my thoughts on optimization and why the lack of optimization is actually fine and not proof that the game is crashing and burning: ahem.

EVERY SINGLE GAME UPON LAUNCH HAS BUGS AND OPTIMIZATION ISSUES

Betas are great and all, but they are NOT a representation of the strain a global launch has on servers and the game itself. Having the game in beta longer would NOT have prevented the optimization errors. These are so common in games it's genuinely astounding that there are people who think this is showing how bad the game is.

Let's do some comparisons: Tower of Fantasy literally flashed rainbow lights at players as a bug and it did not get fixed within the first week that I gave it a chance. Enstars' global release was an absolute disaster and was completely unplayable for a length of time. I didn't play Genshin when it first released but even when I started playing it had optimization issues. Genshin STILL has optimization issues that they fix with every update.

Games constantly have issues and bugs and need to be maintained 24/7. The thing to look at is NOT if it has bugs. It's to look at how the developers deal with those bugs. And like I said, Kuro has already done multiple emergency maintenance fixes and it fixed the ping spikes majorly for me.

I agree that bugs and optimization errors are frustrating, but they happen with every single game ever. What's important is how fast Kuro is working to fix those bugs!

Story/VA (Kuro lumped these together in their survey so I'm doing the same)

Cons:

The voice acting for Yangyang is so bland

They tried to do a mix of the characters trusting Rover and not trusting Rover to appease multiple audiences and it's just awkward

Dialogue boxes aren't entirely working properly so you just don't see the subtitles for half of a character's lines sometimes

Pros:

The story is interesting and intriguing (this is subjective but so is hating the voice acting)

They actually give the players real choices in certain instances of the story

Rover having actual voice lines is a breath of fresh air

Some of my thoughts: there's a lot of rumors surrounding the voice actor choices and that hoyo "sabotaged" Kuro by not letting voice actors for genshin voice wuwa characters. Whether that's true or not doesn't really matter in my books it doesn't matter if a name is big or not what matters is if they're good and while I think the voice fits Yangyang I don't like the acting part of it and it reads as bland and apathetic. It might improve in the future but otherwise I don't like it but I also don't like Paimon's voice in Genshin so I'm fine with not liking a voice actor. I won't bash an entire game for that.

I have been really enjoying the game so far and it's story is very intriguing. They use a lot of music terms for the lore and I enjoy that a lot. I'm interested in not only the Rover but what's going on with the world itself which is very important in a game. While I do have an opinion on how the story compares to other games I won't give it as that is purely subjective but just know I do think this is one of the better 1.0 stories I have played.

Gameplay/mechanics

Cons:

The Ding for the character switching perfect timing for a special attack is not always the easiest to hear. It's gotten better but the sound is very faint especially when listening to music while playing

Pros:

The tutorial/practice stages for the resonators and the dodging mechanics are a life saver

The combat is skill based yes but you can also button mash your way through

The world is very fun to explore and the chest puzzles actually had me thinking but were still very intuitive on how they actually worked

Echoes are genuinely one of the most unique "artifact" systems to come from gacha and it has been fun collecting them and using them

Comments: I genuinely don't have really any cons for the gameplay. I think it's phenomenal and a really unique and fun experience that while can make you think "oh this is similar to this game" still has a twist to it that makes it its own thing. I'm not sure how they could fix the dinging issue and not being able to hear it, but I do have to mention that it can be hard to get it because of that but honestly you can genuinely button mash through a fight. They aren't that hard in base game. And this is including bosses.

Overall: Like I said at the beginning. Gacha is Gacha. Enjoy whatever games you want to enjoy. I enjoy Gacha and I love open world. So I like both Genshin and Wuthering Waves. There are issues in both games and you have to recognize that but that doesn't mean you should use those issues to tear a game down to boost your favored game. Play what you want to play and recognize competition is good for video games. No I don't think Wuthering Waves will kill Genshin. And no I don't think Wuthering Waves is going to crash and burn. I enjoy playing both games and so this is my overall review for Wuthering Waves within the first few days and just how things have continued to develop after the initial launch.

[razorblade180]

While I wouldn't wish more than two gacha games on my worst enemies, I gotta ask: Any interest in Wuthering Waves? Even just in following the lore and characters rather than playing it?

Even if I wanted to play it, I couldn’t. I don’t have a PC. Nothing about it particularly catches my eye but I’m happy other people are happy.

Honestly i disappointed in the tactics my friends used to try and convince me because none of them mentioned her.

I just don’t understand how they can see me talk about Sparkle and Jinx, then not mention this similar flavor of Red Flag cartoon character.

Honestly I think I’m at my gacha limit. Like I’ll probably skip on ZZZ because hoyo already has my money.

[11queensupreme11]

Not u promoting wuthering waves for free😭

You deserve to get paid tbh

but...

NEVER BACK DOWN NEVAH WHAT 🗣️❓‼️

IM JUST SO OBSESSED WITH THIS GAME LMAO 😭😭😭😭😭

i even took screenshots of it and posted my semi-live reactions ahefgauygv i've never done that with any of my games before LMAO

also this is the first time ever playing a gacha game ON RELEASE and not late as fuck. i was like... two years late for genshin and 8 months late for honkai star rail 💀💀

im just very excited cuz starting late was very stressful for the other two games, i felt so behind 🥲 and i couldn't play with the cool characters i pulled for cuz their ascension materials were in a world/region that i haven't reached yet 😭

[tjemegames]

This blog is tailored towards dark mode: some visuals may not be visible on white backgrounds.

Hey, y’all. I’m finally starting this side blog because I wanted a casual space to talk about gacha gaming.

You can call me TJ (they/she)! I’m a long time lover of video games who has stumbled into the gacha world in the last couple years.

I’m a huge advocate for Honkai: Star Rail! I’m slowly grinding my way through Wuthering Waves. I’m also playing a bit of Genshin Impact and Reverse: 1999 when the mood calls for it.

I’ll be posting all sorts of things related to my playthrough experiences within the aforementioned games (primarily HSR since it’s my favorite), as well as any other gachas that I decide to give a try. You can expect to see ramblings about storylines, pull results, gameplay showcases, character builds, fics/artwork (i.e. if the brainrot gets too severe for me to keep to myself), and more!

This blog is a honestly just a dump site for my gacha-related yapping: a.k.a. my way of saving irl friends from having to listen to me ramble about things they don’t understand/aren’t all that interested in. You should check out my Tag Navigation Masterpost for easier traversal of the place!

I’m also on YouTube now! I created the channel to host videos that are too large for Tumblr; they will always be cross-posted to my blog with whatever additional content/commentary/insight I may have for them. I doubt that I’ll be posting there too often (as of now), but you’re more than welcome to subscribe if you’d like.

If you’re a returning HSR player, please consider using my invitation code when you decide to come back (I’m begging — I need every stellar jade I can get.)

Game UIDs/Friend Codes (always down for more pals to co-op with) and links to my most commonly used tools/resources are under the cut.

Any text dividers that you see on my blog (that I didn't make myself) were made by the lovely @saradika-graphics. You should check out her blog, she makes tons of cute things that are free to use!

Thanks for stopping by!

Game UIDs & Friend Codes

HSR: NA - 600433643 (Dracorian) / EU - 702423969 (Celestia)

WuWa: NA - 500214126

Genshin: NA - 650062088 / EU - 751038014

r1999: NA - 401382294

Tools & Resources

HSR

Fribbels Honkai Star Rail Optimizer / Relic Scorer

Prydwen's HSR Characters List (build guides)

StarDB Achievement Tracker

HoYoLAB HSR Leveling Calculator

WuWa

Prydwen's WuWa Characters List (build guides)

Genshin

Enka.Network / Akasha System

[threnodians]

me:

[thecutesyfishtank]

Going free to play with Hoyo games doesn't count as a boycott. You're still playing their games and making them feel they have no reason to change. Just because you're not spending money doesn't mean they will see you as less valuable as any other player because you help keep their number of players up and therefore make them look good.

If you badly want to play games similar to Genshin or something there is Tower of Fantasy and Wuthering Waves. If you just want a gacha game, there are hundreds of those. Stop letting Hoyo look good by boosting their player count and stop playing entirely. Just playing for free still makes them look good and appealing because they can use you in the statistics to say "Join millions of other players in the wonderful game", which will help get them more money through merch anyway!

If this doesn't help you put down the game enough than look up the issues people have with the artist Waterkuma and see what happened there and why people are rightfully grossed out!

[heated-pirate]

In my opinion, I think that Gacha games are towards the green, and not the red, when it comes to the gambling spectrum.

Before I go any further, I do think that gacha games have the potential to be destructive, especially to those who have compulsive personalities or a gotta catch em all personality and their main problem is that there is a random chance to obtaining either characters, weapons or both instead of a more direct way to obtain said character(s).

HOWEVER, the main reason all gachas- yes, even the stingy gachas, are towards the green instead of the red, falls down to one thing: chasing losses.

With gambling, and I'm talking casino gambling, it allows you to chase losses, and even make more than you put in. For instance, if you put $1000 in, you might end up with $100,000 if you're very lucky.

But more often than not, you'll just end up throwing more and more money than you'll make, and that is what makes casino gambling a LOT more corrosive and in the red compared to, let's say, Wuthering Waves.

Gachas don't have any losses to chase, unless you count your waifus/husbandos or weapons as the thing you can make back after losing.

I'll admit that there are other losses to chase than just monetary, for example, sunk cost fallacy being a HEAVY example of chasing losses in a gacha.

... and maybe I'm just rationalising the fact I play 3 gachas too, but I digress.

[rena-yume]

Twiins iink did not just fucking call Wuthering Waves a genshin clone

Who let her cook? go back to your bad RWBY takes and leave Kuro's games alone, either actually look into the damn gameplay of WW and see for yourself that it's clearly more similar to PGR and devil may cry or shut up and don't spread lies

Also what's with the whole models looking exactly like genshin's models? No?? Genshin is cliche anime style 101 of course any anime game is gonna look somewhat similar but still the models look different enough, and they'll probably improve with time, just look at how different the old technical test models vs the current closed beta, heck just look at beta PGR vs current PGR, Kuro knows how to make distinctive designs and models and as of now they don't look like genshin copies

Wuthering Waves is not a genshin clone. It's not even close gameplay wise.

The gameplay mechanics are fundamentally different and the setting so far combined with what we have in PGR indicate that the story will also be much more dark and mature compared to genshin and clearly not similar enough to warrant calling it a clone in that department either

Also if you really want to pretend genshin is the one who created 80% of the mechanics and style it has look no further than BoTW, I'm not saying it's bad to take elements from other games and improve on them but for the love of god stop pretending genshin is the one that created the open world genre, it popularized gacha+anime open world but it DID NOT make it

Pro tip: actually watch the gameplay and dev streams and pay attention before calling something a blatant clone

[wutheringcodes]

👉 Wuthering Waves UNLIMITED Lunites, Astrites, PULLS, Shell Credits generator 👈

Game ModesOpen World ExplorationThe core of Wuthering Waves is its expansive open world, which players can freely explore. The world is divided into different zones, and players can track their exploration progress by checking the percentage completion for each zone. Completing puzzles, finding chests, and other activities will increase the zone completion percentage, rewarding players with various resources.Calamity ChallengesIn addition to the open world, Wuthering Waves features "Calamity" challenge modes that test players' combat skills. These challenges present players with increasingly difficult waves of enemies and bosses, requiring strategic team building and mastery of the game's combat mechanics.Tower of AdversityThe Tower of Adversity is the endgame content in Wuthering Waves, similar to the Spiral Abyss in Genshin Impact. This tower presents players with a series of challenging floors, each with unique enemies and mechanics. Conquering the Tower of Adversity rewards players with valuable resources and recognition.

Cooperative PlayAs players progress through the game, they unlock the ability to engage in cooperative play with other players. This co-op feature allows players to team up and tackle challenging content, such as world bosses and weekly bosses, together.CharactersWuthering Waves features a diverse cast of playable characters, known as Resonators, that players can recruit and deploy in their team.Protagonist: RoverThe protagonist of Wuthering Waves is Rover, who can be customized as either a male or female character. Rover is a versatile character who wields a sword and possesses the unique "Spectro" element.

Four-Star ResonatorsThe game offers a variety of four-star Resonators, each with their own unique elemental affinities and weapon types. These include characters like Aalto (Aero, Pistols), Baizhi (Glacio, Rectifier), and Chixia (Fusion, Pistols).Five-Star ResonatorsWuthering Waves also features powerful five-star Resonators, such as Calcharo (Electro, Broadblade), Encore (Fusion, Rectifier), and Jiyan (Aero, Broadblade). These rare characters can be obtained through the game's gacha system.Upcoming ResonatorsKuro Games has also teased the introduction of new Resonators, including Jinhsi and Changli, whose elemental affinities and weapon types are yet to be revealed.Playing Without Spending MoneyWuthering Waves is designed to be playable and enjoyable without the need for any real-money purchases. The game's developers have emphasized that the game can be completed and enjoyed without relying on paid content.

Earning In-Game Currencies

Players can earn the primary in-game currency, Shell Credits, through various activities in the game, such as completing quests, defeating enemies, and exploring the open world. The premium currency, Astrites, can also be obtained through login rewards and other in-game events, reducing the need for players to spend money on the game.Gacha System and PityWhile Wuthering Waves does feature a gacha system for obtaining new Resonators, the game has a pity system that guarantees a 5-star Resonator within a set number of pulls. This provides a safety net for players, allowing them to build a strong team without relying on excessive spending.

[g-hua]

Wuthering Waves is pretty nice so far. I really like the plot, the lore, the world, the characters, and their design. The combat looks and feels really nice. I'm fully aware that it's a Genshin clone, but it's the first Genshin clone that I've tried so far that managed to keep me interested.

The gacha system is also less unforgiving (although it's still a gacha system and inherently predatory, so I hope it doesn't lul anyone into overspending on it just because it's slightly more player friendly).

I can't really add any positives that other people haven't already mentioned over and over again. It's actually really fun and pleasant looking with an interesting plot.

But...

1. It's 2024. Why does the android version not have controller support...? Why do mobile developers keep doing this...? Specially Chinese mobile developers, Android based OSs absolutely crush iOS in China due to affordability (and other more shady marketing reasons framed as nationalism). Are they unaware that people use mobile controllers like the kishi or a Bluetooth one? My boyfriend gave me a kishi ages ago for Christmas and I rarely get to use it properly outside of ported Indies... I always have to use Mantis Gamepad, and it's just not the same because I'll still have to use the touchscreen for menu stuff a lot... I usually use my Xbox controller for my chromebook tablet too... Why are these mobile games always so mobile player unfriendly? The lack of controller support makes the platforming and similar activities (like, for example, time trials) so frustrating that I'm ignoring them all... Maybe I'm spoiled by my switch, playing games on it always feels so much more comfortable and fun (that... was a gift from the boyfriend too... I feel like I'm just spoiled in general now).

2. The disconnects, the +200 and +300 ping, the random once in a full moon clipping of character's design elements (like Rover's ponytail, the odd glitch once in a decade... The game feels like they almost managed to polish it fully but ran out of time at the last moment... It's not a big deal at all but it's enough to notice that they don't have the same resources as mihoyo. I don't mean this in a "mihoyo best company" kind of way because no, definitely not, but more in a way where if this company wants to compete with them they need to compensate for their lack of resources with more care for their project. I tried their previous game, Punishing Gray Raven, and I feel like more care was put into it. Maybe they just wanted to rush this one out as quickly as possible to increase profits before people got over games like this or because they were afraid the market got suddenly saturated because they weren't quick enough? The aesthetic things like the clipping and the rare glitch don't bother me, but... The ping and the disconnects... It always disappoints me when that happens during game launches... It demotivates me to play a lot... I used to play MMORPGs on US servers while being in the EU back in 2014/15 and had fewer ping problems... The companies that made the MMOs I played didn't have the resources that Kuro Games has and still managed...

(Edit: I just realised that might sound confusing, I'm playing in the EU server. What I meant was that I had less ping issues playing games on a server that wasn't meant for me back then than I do playing this on a server that is meant for me.)

Putting those two together is shooting yourself in the foot... If a player is already dealing with ping spikes and disconnects and you make aspects of the game that require precision more frustrating due to the lack of controller support... How is the player supposed to become invested in the game? They will get frustrated and go play something else until the frustration passes. They won't feel comfortable investing money into the game because they aren't immersed in it properly. I understand that these companies don't care about the casual player all that much (much less the F2P player) and that most of their revenue comes from the whale players, but this will push possible whales away too... That's mostly why I don't get decisions and mistakes like this... It's in the own company's best interest to fix these things...