Genshin Impact | 5.2 Special Program

[Dragon Lord]

I didn't believe it was possible, but Hoyo some how made Windtrace even worse by turning it into Dead By Daylight.

Not even joking, you read that right. The game mode now consists of the four rebels having to repair beacons while the hunter tries to find them and capture them. Unlike in previous Windtrace versions, you are no longer out of the game after getting caught once. Instead, the Hunter needs to catch each Rebel twice to remove them from the game. Once four beacons have been repaired, the Rebels will instantly win, while the Hunter needs to either run down the clock or capture all Rebels in order to win. When a Rebel is caught the first time, they'll be put into a "Restricted Zone", where they either need to wait a bit to get out, or have another Rebel come let them out.

So, let's see...

Four Rebels, One Hunter (Four Survivors, one Killer)
Four of the six beacons repaired for Rebel victory (Four out of six generators repaired for survivors to open the doors and escape)
Hunter needs to capture each Rebel twice to remove them from the game (Survivors die instantly when hooked a second time)
Rebels can rescue their teammates after being caught the first time (Survivors can unhook a fellow survivor after the first hook)

Like bro, if I wanted to play Dead By Daylight, I'd go play Dead by Daylight. I don't need a Walmart knock-off version of it in Genshin. Hoyo really needs to just scrap Windtrace and come up with something a lot better.

You can see the Hunter's icon on the minimap like you were able to in previous Windtrace events, so you can tell when they are coming in your direction from a pretty far distance, allowing you to leave the Beacon and hide nearby way ahead of time. Hunters also get periodic notifications when a Beacon is being repaired, so they know that someone is there.

Overall it was pretty bad and I'm glad it didn't take long to get the 6,000 coins for all of the rewards. Definitely going to be bombing this one in the event survey for it.

[Mr EliteL]

The only slight error you made, Three Rebels and One Hunter but still yeah I even tried this Windtrace for once this time because there was more of a goal for the Rebel side instead of just hiding with a bit of Prop Hunt shoved in. I did not like being Hunter, I only attempted that twice half-heartedly but there were some games where a different Hunter was really good, then some games where the other two Rebels just did next to nothing. The Hilichurl camp map was the worst with climbing towers and making it obvious from a distance where you were. One game I was the only one trying to repair but got eliminated, the other two just hid away and let the Hunter win. Ah whatever, it was fine enough that I got the Primogem rewards plus one extra as I went over 5,000, once 5,500 out of my three accounts/servers. Glad there was one game where the Rebels realised I was a harmless Hunter so they game to me to acknowledge it. I didn't even bother to capture them out of well friendliness.

[Dragon Lord]

Ah, yeah, I had meant to type "four players, three rebels and a hunter", but instead forgor and typed four rebels and a hunter instead.

Hunter definitely felt like crap this time around, which is a huge turnaround from how overpowered they normally feel in Windtrace. I guess that just goes along with the Dead By Daylight theme where the Survivors always have a ridiculous advantage over the killer (assuming equal skill level).

[Mr EliteL]

4.7 Special Program

Redemption Codes:

1. US2VLGSXCAT9
2. 6A2ULZTFVBCV
3. BS3DLYAFVAUH

Extra must-have 4.6 code just in case you don't have it (like me, frick): RTJUNRSHTAL9 (60 Primogems + 5 Adventure's Experience)



What's New:

• Clorinde (5* Electro Sword user)
  
• Sigewinne (5* Hydro Bow user)
  
• Sethos (4* Electro Bow user)
  
• Absolution (5* Sword) & Silvershower Heartstrings (5* Bow)
  
• Sigewinne & Clorinde Character Story Quest
  
• Archon Quest Chapter 4 Act 6
  
• Imaginarium Theater - New monthly challenge event to go alongside Spiral Abyss, select a "cast" of characters to perform through 8 Acts of combat however the cast must follow specific Elemental Types to enter, though Trial Characters can be exempt if chosen, and you may also choose Friends characters to join as well. Rewards include up to 620 Primogems for every month, plus a first-clear bonus of up to 1,100 primogems.
  
• Spiral Abyss rewards have increased to 800 Primogems from 600, however likely will not reset half-way through the month (there was no mention of that specifically in the Special Program)
  
• TCG Update - Furina, Wriothesley, Yun Jin, Xinyan, Kaveh, Boss/Monster cards etc
  

Version Specifics:

• Phase 1 Banners: Clorinde & Alhaitham
  
• Phase 2 Banners: Sigewinne & Furina
  
• Mutual Security Enhancing Simulation- Combat event using enemies as your own units against other enemy opponents
  Cloudforged (Bow)
  
• Endless Forms Most Martial - Combat event following specific rules like using a reaction type to defeat enemies
  
• Spino Doubleblaster - Cannon shooting at balloons event
  
• Record of Reflective Writing - Coin collecting in challenge domains event
  
• Leyline Overflow Event
  

System Updates: 

• Max Resin increased to 200 (was 160)
  
• Friends List increased to 100 (was 60)
  
• Fast fill function added for Recommended Stats in Fast Equip Artifacts
  
• Encounter Point system for collecting Daily Commission Rewards lowered to AR 24
  

Animated Short "The Road Not Taken featured:



At the end of the Program we get a short glimpse of Natlan's area with a few creatures within it.

---

I really wish Sethos was not included in these banners, so don't want him because I intend to pull for Clorinde on my NA account. I'll get her in the first 10 pulls as I'm at 65 and was quite possibly going to go for cons, but...ah whatever if I get him I just won't use him, he can be a new Expedition slave just like my worthless Kaveh. Sigewinne I'm not sure where I'll pull for her yet, I'll see who goes well with her, I'm just assuming anyone that lowers their own health or uses Bond of Life. Though I wonder what boss materials they'll need because there were no new world bosses this time.

The new monthly thing...I like the look of the initial full 1,720 plus the 800 with Spiral Abyss giving us a whopping 2,520 primogems then all the events within 4.7 but man limiting your roster to Elements or Trial characters, ugh. I know there was an event similar in the past though which is where that main idea came from, plus the vigor causing your character the need to rest or become unusable...but man just stop doing that limit stuff. I suppose I can use more of my characters then, actually hmm...that'll be very interesting with my main account and EU F2P using my Ayaka, Navia, Xianyun, Gaming, Chevreuse alongside who I have in my main. I know my Shenhe is better from my main than my F2P, have a far better built Yaoyao plus the Kokomi and Beidou should be much better than my main's too. My Keqing's, Yoimiya's, Nilou's and Yelan's each have different things going for them but not fully sure which are better.

Finally Resin got a higher maximum so you can actually condense to a full 5, if you happened to max out. Friends increase don't mean much because I have next to none anyway.

For that Natlan preview, I at first thought they were just going to be enemies until they got into that view as if you were controlling them, best one has to be the water creature that should be 100% better than the ship that's slow and awkward to control. The environment looks fine, kinda a bit of everything we've had so far really.

[Dragon Lord]

Oh dear god they put Sigewinne and Furina on the same half. My poor, poor wallet.

Well, maybe I'll get lucky and my current hoardings + all the new Primos from 4.7 first half will give me enough to get C0/R1 Sigewinne and the last two copies of Furina I need for C6 without spending anything, and then I can start saving up for my possible C6 chase of the Pyro Archon (depends on what her design is like at this point).

[Moonface]

Of all the things I didn't expect to see when coming in here was discussion of a game mode that's 90% DbD. It actually sounds a little worse because of how repairing all the beacons means instant victory; at least in DbD the killer could still obtain a victory if they're able to stop everyone still alive from escaping.

Also do you play with the same characters and abilities the regular game offers or does it change things for the mode?

[Dragon Lord]

You can play as whatever character you want, although your abilities are replaced with the game's custom abilities. Sadly there is an advantage depending on what character you pick. The tall characters run faster than the short characters, so you can actually have an advantage depending on what character you go into the game with. It can be difficult for hunters playing with a character like Nahida to catch up to someone using characters like Zhongli or Alhaitham.

Also some pretty big 5.0 rumors surfacing lately. Current rumors I've seen are:

-Level cap increased from 90 to 100
-A graphical update to the game (haven't seen anything about how drastic the update will be, but Hoyo did post a bit ago on their socials that lower end devices (PS4, old phones/tablets) will need to have restrictions put in place to stabilize the game on those platforms after this update hits)
-Updated running effect (no clarification on what exactly this means)

[Moonface]

Hmm, I wonder how long Hoyo would be willing to continue to support older platforms if they've reached a point of needing to restrict aspects of the game to keep it stable on those older platforms? I remember GTA Online having that issue and eventually they had to just drop PS3 and 360 (not sure if they still support the game on PS4 and Xbox One) so that they could continue to update the game.

LEAK WARNING - SAFE TO READ BUT DON'T CLICK LINKS
For anyone who doesn't mind reading leaks, I just saw this for 4.7 phase 2 banners:

• 4.7 Phase 2 Leak - Character Event Wish
  
• 4.7 Phase 2 Leak - Character Event Wish 2
  
• 4.7 Phase 2 Leak - Weapon Event Wish
  

The comments on it didn't seem too happy about it but I have zero clue about 90% of this game so you could have a picture of literal shit and tell me it's the best thing in this game and I'd believe you.

[Dragon Lord]

Those actually aren't leaks. Hoyo posted those on Twitter... yesterday, I think? And it's been known that Sigewinne and Furina were going to be the 5* characters in the second half of 4.7 since the 4.7 live stream.

Not sure why the person is mad about it though. In terms of "meta", Furina is one of the best characters in Genshin and by far the absolute best support in the game. Sigewinne will be an unknown until she releases, since she's a new character and all we have to go off of is her beta performance, but Hoyo has nerfed/buffed characters on the last day between beta and release in game.

Person was probably just complaining to complain.

[Moonface]

Ah, despite following Hoyo on Twitter I rarely get to actually see any of their Tweets. I guess the post I was linking to got made just a little bit before it was officially announced. Still, I guess I at least posted news, just not in the way I thought it was.

The complaints in the comments seem to be that there are other characters who haven't been in a banner in a notable time such as Kaveh, Chevreuse, Charlotte, and Heizou (these were the names I saw coming up most often when names were being brought up). No idea how valid they are, but that seems to be all it comes down to.

[Dragon Lord]

Oh yeah, that stupid drama. That was from the Twitter side of the Genshin community, so it's just a whole lot of idiocy and retardation. We try not to acknowledge them.

Kaveh is a pretty trash character all around, so it's 100% okay he's been absent from banners for a long time.

[Moonface]

Kaveh is a pretty trash character all around, so it's 100% okay he's been absent from banners for a long time.

Would you say he's the worst character in the game or are there others who are worse?
Thinking on it, I'd be curious to see how you and @Mr EliteL rank all the playable characters to see what differences your lists have.

[Mr EliteL]

Yeah all I saw was the whining about the 4* characters, why do they have care so much about who is one banner so much? The only two that make sense are Charlotte/Chevreuse although the latter should've been on first phase, Charlotte for Furina/Sigewinne side but really who is actually using Charlotte in their best teams anyway? I got an off banner Chevreuse anyway on my NA so may build her for that account later.

I detest Kaveh so I enjoy reading crying posts about him, I like Itto more and that's saying something in fact there's a few more I put under Itto purely because of how pointless they are to the game and how little they've contributed, but that's also partly down to Hoyo not giving them much but I still won't care for them even if they get any attention. Heizou is among them, with Mika and Freminet. I even prefer my three Level 20 Razors over them as in my main when I've done a random Abyss run and got Razor I was willing to put the best artifacts and weapons I had for him just to give him a little use. Don't anymore though, I omit level 20's now from my random wheel I use. I like Itto more purely because it's a choice to pull for him so know I'll never get him, the other four are 4-stars who could curse my accounts at anytime. I'm going sob into or destroy my pillow if my main gets a Kaveh.

I do have "tier list" based on my favouritism but not who I think is the strongest, but if I do that kind of tier list I'll still have a bias towards who I put at the bottom because of the characters I've not used at all or not fully to their best/what I could give them. Also my "favourite" list keeps changing slightly every now and then.

[Mr EliteL]

4.8 Special Program

Redemption Codes:

1. YS2WHUHFNQ5M
2. 5TJWHDHX7R59
3. PTKXYUGW7R6D



What's New:

• Emilie (5* Dendro Polearm user)
  
• Lumidoce Elegy (5* Polearm)
  
• Nilou Breeze of Saba outfit
  
• Kirara 4* Phantom in Boots outfit (unlockable in new Summer region)
  
• Emilie Character Story Quest
  
• Gameplay Mode: Envisaged Echoes, complete challenges in Imaginarium Theatre to unlock a character's Echo cosmetic
  
• TCG Update: Navia, Chevreuse + other new cards
  

Version Specifics:

• Phase 1 Banners Navia & Nilou
  
• Phase 2 Banners Emilie & Yelan
  
• Summer Area: Simulanka
  
• Flagship Event: Summertide Scales and Tales, with 4 events and Summer story that features Nilou, Navia, Kirara and Wanderer. Taking part you can invite Kirara and obtain her new outfit by collecting a set amount of Excerpts of Bliss
  
• Bing-Bang Finchball
  
• Outside the Canvas, Inside the Lens: Dew-Kissed Chapter
  
• Energy Amplifier: Lemma
  
• Overflowing Mastery
  

System Optimisation:

• Long-Term Encounter Points - Any excess encounter points towards Daily Commissions will now be stored and can be accessed by spending Original Resin to fill up a new day to quickly complete Daily Commissions. This will reset every full year/.0 (example 5.0) version update instead of a daily reset or by patches.
  
• Cooldown on World Bosses will be shortened to 10 seconds
  
• Hide-UI during story quests for further immersion
  
• Dialogue Review, look back at dialogue text in case you missed something or just want to re-read something previously mentioned
  
• Domains in Mondstadt and Liyue will be adjusted
  
• Lower World Level will now be accessed from World Level 3
  
• License to Glide quest difficulty lowered (really? ah who cares)
  

---

There's a bit more I missed some QoL updates or something I'll check later.

But dang there's a lot of events going on, usually just the main Summer region event unless I'm forgetting other side events that did happen alongside the big Summer area before.

The two new skins look great, Kirara looks cute in her Navia-like outfit and will be getting Nilou's skin on my main as I have some Genesis Crystals in stock. Looks like a standard 4* skin though.

At first thought Encounter Point storage was going to pointless but then remembered how often I'm just stumped on what I actually want to do will my resin so just end up farming some artifacts that will inevitably always be useless, how often I use Condensed Resin to receive garbage each time, or just quickly do Leylines. So having something else to use Original Resin on just to quickly farm Daily Commissions if I'm busy or just want to hurry up and move on to something else is pretty good.

Cooldown on World Bosses finally, the domain changes really are happening. It made sense for the ones that really affected the player but there's some that doesn't really need it but whatever. Plus some other rather pointless changes but those were for lower level players anyway. The glider quest wasn't difficult at all.

[Dragon Lord]

I am in love and I will spend my entire bank account for her.

Especially since according to leaks she's apparently even more powerful than Neuvi. So I get to have my super OP easy win Hydro character in cute waifu form instead of crappy man form.