Opinion on periodic updates

[HollowedIchigoo]

I was wondering, to anyone who is really into genshin like myself do you guys prefer having the periodic updates or would you have preferred to have had all the game will have to offer at launch?

Due to not getting into genshin when it was first available, upon starting it up for the first time until even now the grind to get to where the story is currently at feels like a real intense grind.

 

Be it for ascending character and weapons, or for story progression due to the amount of grinding that it requires I tend to only really get into it for a couple of days at a time before leaving it again for a good couple months and by then there's a new update to further aim to reach.

 

I really do love the game and the story that's unfolding, but I can never seem to fully immerse myself into getting through it all. 😱

[Dark_Overlord]

With a game like Genshin i'd say periodic, it gives them time to test things out in the Betas and see what does/doesn't work.  They've changed things based around feedback and Fontaine has def benefitted from this.

 

You don't need to grind that much, hold off on increasing your world level till everything is a pushover at your current one

[tomhannay]

Even limiting the game to the seven nations we know we're visiting, that's a 1,500+ hour game if done all at once. I played FFXIV in 2019 and got to the end of the second expansion after 500 hours, which is when I had to put it down to play something else. I'd recommend anyone starting it now play it an hour or so at a time, as a side game, aiming to get caught up in two years rather than mainlining it for six months and burning out. The game is designing to be slowly explored, and playing every day is the best way to earn primogems and grind for character and weapon materials.

[shadaik]

I do like that this gives us a running game. Yeah, I get getting a complete game at once is nice, but also means we only get new content in a franchise every few years. So, kidna the same deal as with series v movies, really.

 

What I don't like in the case of Genshin is how there are temporary regions and events that become unavailable afte rsome time but have major lore and character development in them. E.g. almost everything we know about Alice (Klee's mother) comes from such events - and Alice seems to be an extremely important character for the end of the story.

[Tothoro]

I like the periodic updates, but I'd prefer they be bigger and more spread out. I don't enjoy the time-gated mechanics that make the game feel like an obligation (dailies, events, reputation, resin, limited characters). Ideally I'd just be able to take a break for a bit and come back when I feel like it without missing out, but unfortunately that's not how live service games work.

 

It does feel like they're getting better about release pacing. Inazuma's drip-feed of one island per update was a big turn-off for me.

[Phlegeth]

I like it.  Like @tomhannay said, it reminds me of FFXIV or any MMORPG.  Like each new area is an expansion.  And I feel for new people who are just starting.  Also a little envious.  On the one hand there is so much backlog.  Just the Archon Quest alone is over 30 hours.  And there's everything.  But that's also the appeal, I started day 1 and just had Mondstadt and Liyue and still felt overwhelmed.  And now there's all of Sumeru and Fontaine they can explore whenever.  Inazuma is still locked behind story.  It's going to be crazy in a couple of years when all of Natlan and Snezhneya and maybe Celestia is available.