just curious, does anyone actually like windtrace? personally, i can't stand it. i've been putting off doing it but i'm seriously considering just going afk for the primos
for me it's not windtrace itself, but prop hunt in general. it's not I dislike it, but I rather play it with some mates getting wasted than randoms.
Since I already failed the last time I complained about Parties, I'll ask before complaining:
Is there a way to not have to switch between the gadgets everytime you encounter something that requires a gadget? Let's say you're like me and prefer to have the seed thing with you, but then you run around sumeru and need the harp thing. Instead of just having a button to "use thing you have and need" I have to go in my inventory and switch and go back.
And I find that incredibly gay, lame and annoying. Or am I stupid again?
Especially considering there are other gadgets you might want to have on or that they'll probably add gadgets in new regions.
Also, while I'm at it: I want them to add the Zoom things they have in sumeru in all the other regions. Movement is drastically better in Sumeru. Can't be that hard to have an intern go over the older regions and put them everywhere.
most stuff that that needs extra gadgets is one-time only, once activated it stays that way. so once you 100% a map you'll most of the time run around with the seed box. it's also a nightmare of your own making, you can only hold 20 seeds per plant, and on top of that none of the seeds in sumeru are really worth anything or useful (and on top of THAT most are multi-fruit plants, so if you plant them in your pot you get like four times the fruits from a single seed). just grab your 20 and forget about it, that's how I deal with it at least.
as for the zoom things, as practical as they are, they look kinda off aesthetically in the landscape and feel like they're literally everywhere. the older zones work fine without it because they're mostly flat or have sensible spots for waypoints.
tbh it feels mihoyo doesn't really give a shit any more AND caters way too hard to casuals that whine they need to sprint for 10 seconds. sumeru is cluttered in waypoints you only use once for a single side mission, who and why put them there? worse, they gave us a temporary waypoint for exactly this fucking reason over two years ago in version 1.1, plenty of time to get mondstadt reputation to level 6.
hills and stuff are designed in a way they are annoying to climb (especially the desert), but even if you manage it there's a zoom thing; great, so all I had to do is run around the hill to see it, which means that's all you gonna do from now on instead of climbing stuff because you're curious and wondering if there's anything up there.
they're also a bit annoying to use, one wrong keypress and you do a plunge. the ones in inazuma didn't really have that issue while being more sensibly (and sparingly) placed.
Had to finally complete Kazuha's and Ayato's story quests to be allowed to start the new intermission archon quest. That was a slog. I'd been putting them off forever because everything about Inazuma's clans bores me to tears. It made me think of something that probably no one else cares about, namely that we're probably about halfway through the game's main narrative at this point, and character quests from Version 1.0 are still stuck on "To be continued..." after clearly being called "Chapter 1."
I realize that the people keeping the lights on at Mihoyo are the ones who care only about big numbers on Abyss floor 12, and they don't care about character quests, especially not for off-meta characters like Amber and Lisa. I'm the opposite, though, I hate the Abyss and like the story quests. The game has decent writing when it's not about the tedious inter-clan melodrama of feudal Japan. Venti's character quest in particular was unexpectedly touching. I want to see more permanent, non-event story content with Amber, Diluc, and poor Qiqi, who hasn't even gotten her own quest yet despite being released in Version 1.0. Am I alone in my insanity?
it's only bad if you let them pile up. each patch has usually 1 character quest for the new character and 1-2 quests for the overall story - 6 weeks to do like 5-6 hours of mostly reading. while they can be annoying (still haven't done nahida's quest or the latest archon myself, plus half the hangouts), the game expects you to do them at some point.
it's also "old" content from inazuma, of course with sumeru being the current cool new thing they can feel a bit disjointed. back when they came out they were part of the bigger overall story (especially when you consider how lackluster the later half of inazuma's main story was), so it wasn't
as bad.
to be continued is just message that the current quest is over, which they put under every quest (even event quests). doesn't mean that specific character/story will continue at some point.
the other problem is the stories are also supposed to sell you the (current) character. the original 5* don't have a dedicated event banner (even the keqing one was more desperate filler), and the 4* you get for free. so anyone who sees those characters either already has them or never will unless he whales 1.0 style or plays for years.
doesn't mean they don't get some story, for example mona had hers in 1.1, diluc had basically his own event in 2.8 (with a bit of kaeya lore sprinkled in, given their connection), keqing & xianling - and especially gouba - were part of the flagship event in 2.1:
also spotted a polearm character in the cutscene, wonder if that's a new char they teased like yunjin and people forgot about
they're also used where it somewhat makes sense (unless it's kazuha which feels gets inserted everywhere, although his intro was only a filler event quest), like with kaeya and diluc. for example mika was already shown, so we know he comes at some point. being part of eula's company means he will most likely show up when she does (coincidentally when her banner re-runs). since she's friends with amber she will probably make an appearance (and prolly more when we ever go north of mondstadt following varka's expedition). qiqi is kinda baizhu's adopted daughter, so I'd assume she will make an appearance when he gets his banner in 3.6 or whenever. plus whatever mihoyo has cooked up for this years latern festival which has always a liyue-focus (we didn't even get windblume last year, reeeee).
and it's still more than what faruzan got so far - although they might pull another xinyan, who most people forgot about and then appeared for like 3 events straight.
lisa getting an outfit might be an indicator she's involved next patch (which is either lantern rite, or one after that) since ayaka's outfit apparently got leaked, and there's always a free 4* one and the 5* outfit discounted from the shop during the patch the character appears in.