Metagames in Gacha Games: The Illusion of Free Choice

[@rek8193]

You play Neuvillette and Zhongli because they’re meta. I play Neuvillette and Zhongli because I have daddy issues. We are not the same.

[@garknight6928]

you use them because you have daddy issues i play them because they're dragons we are not the same

[@HandsomeFrederickFastbear]

REAL

[@febrizey]

i dont have either and I dont think i ever will

[@Legion-D]

I play because, they are only the good characters I got, we are not same

[@ArcadeAce21]

Daddy issues🤣

[@Tristslayer]

The real meta is having the patience to endlessly grind for artifacts 😂

[@kingclarke8866]

One more into the Arti grind we go

[@Squashua2727]

Patience? I'll suffer severe withdrawal if I STOP grinding for artifacts.

[@AvengeButterscotch]

Last yelan banner i finally got aqua simulacra for my amber 🗿

[@ازهارالساكورا-ث6ع]

A gigachad fr

[@Rage_sawS]

bro 🎉🎉❤❤😂

[@megalynn]

Pulling c6 Sigewinne is my favorite meta decision i'll ever make

[@ekkusu9493]

This means you're either stupid or a pdf file, there's no winning with sharing this info.

[@sandroguzelj1234]

thank fuck someone says it. i recently decided to go for c3 r1 raiden ( had her c2 before" and the amount of people calling me an idiot for investing in her when chlorinde is so much better or people saying" just pull neuvi or kinich or.." was staggering. well i am proud to announce that today i had my first 36 star clear and i did it with my favourite character raiden shogun who was the entire reason i even started the game. meta doesnt fucking matter

[@roennyh1362]

I have both C2 and Clorinde hardly feels better. Raiden can also be built in 2-carry teams as a dps/support. Clorinde does not that thay flexibility. They are the same units. Anyone who told you that is just straight up uninformed lol.

[@LurkingLarper]

Raiden is kinda based anyway. What's the point of playing the game if you don't enjoy it..? It's just a hobby and I don't know about you, but I usually only have hobbies that I enjoy.

[@eherden2169]

I think it just depends on the goal of the players, some don't care much what they to make teams better and other do what to improve their teams but it affected by other goals and preference (like using your favorite characters regardless of meta and rankings). The important thing is that the game in some way allows you the variety.

[@zard2341]

meta is most effective tactic, not most effective unit to pull, IMO if you want to clear content way more easily you should still follow meta, but only for the team of a character that you like. i easily clear the current spiral abys with eula (c0r0) and noelle, both are a really bad unit if you compare it to arlechino or neuvilette which is the staple dps these days, but by understanding meta, i can build a team around them that can make them competitive, i used furina yelan and xilonen for noelle and nahida xinq kuki on eula, and they actually clear way more comfortably than my arle due to high def and stagger resistance, those enemy shield actually make these teams way better than any dps i have due to them having claymore

[@shamsielshahar120]

If you already have a well built character that can clear the abyss then it doesn't really matter for your account because there is not enough difficulty in the game that requires you to get the new meta character. Meta will matter but not to the point that older characters will suddenly become useless and can't clear the hard content the game offers.

[@orangemage9522]

One of the best things about Genshin is how they balance characters so they can remain relevant. I have watched @GachaJoshIRL update his Noelle team so many times from Redhorn Stonethresher to Furina and the Maruchausse Hunter set to now having Xilonen and that team is crazy strong. Noelle was the giveaway 4☆ banner at the very beginning of the game and she is still strong

[@radianceswift5589]

Actually, you're correct. For me it is Xiao, he released first back in 1.3 he still didn't get his signature artefacts, but now he can use vermilion, not only that furina can buff him alongside faruzan did. And the last time he got more buff by releasing xianyun. Ps: also right now I think Cyno got buff aggravated with the release of Xilonen. So yeah many characters might get buff in the future.

[@privatesectorsec]

That’s the one thing about genshin you can play any character and do big damage numbers as long as you have good supports to back them

[@XSkimmilkmanX]

Noelle the goat

[@soos.mpvier3187]

I like how you used "balancing" in the same comment as Furina.

[@rabbits2345]

Noelle + Furina is legit my favorite team to play. Still working on getting a good MH set for her but she already goes crazy with redhorn

[@hachicirro]

"The illusion of free choice" is the best way to summarise it 😭

[@jarrenraves]

this video felt well timed to me. Earlier this week it dawned on me just how many comments/posts I've seen of people saying they constantly use neuvilette and yet also saying they don't like him or find his gameplay boring in the same line. I thought that was just sad and silly all at the same time. Meta does weird things to people.

[@asummusa2023]

Imagine hating neuvillette man. he is sweet, kind, fair and strong, his story was among the best and his role in the archon quest was epic, if you hate him, you are the problem

[@noel_is_notwell]

they weren't talking about his character writing tho they were talking about his gameplay ​@@asummusa2023

[@Sh4kai]

I have Neuvi, and I tend to not use him, same as you, his gameplay is kinda boring, but he is indeed strong, I try to avoid him for gameplay reasons, but when I got a dps wall, or just wanna get things done quickly I use him

[@luluirl]

that just goes to show how things like neuvi or hyperbloom "break" the game I heard they heavily buffed enemy HP because of hyperbloom, then had to release characters with insane numbers to contest hyperbloom damage and be able to do abyss ofc

[@Art.f.d]

He was my main for a long time Still use him to farm artefacts but in world Kinich nr 1

[@adeniyimarvellous8259]

This is what affected those that pulled mualani, she is very strong and when played optimally can easily be an S tier dps up there with the likes of arlechinno, but a lot of players pulled her because of big screen nukes but forgot the fact that she is the clunkiest dps in the whole of genshin impact and now they are hating on her, this also happened to characters like hutao, Eula etc in their hay days people pull them for meta all to discover that there was more to their kits than the big numbers they showed on screen😂 I am also a testimony to this I pulled characters because of screen nukes and now I easily get burned out cus I dont really like the characters playstyle, I just like seeing their numbers on screen, to where I have always overlooked characters who have playstyles I really love like wanderer, lyney because of the META

[@tmtravlrsgoogleaccount1984]

I pulled Mualani because I loved her animations, and to ride around the overworld on a shark... I had no idea she'd be as strong as she was. I was kinda shocked. But yeah... she's nearly as clunky to play as Eula (my first limited 5 star... and a lesson to really try out a character before getting them). At least Mualani has an artifact set that gives a ton of crit rate, so it's easier to build her with ~100 CR so her nukes don't miss! Also, Wanderer has one of my fav playstyles too!

[@faerieinwonderland]

wow a fellow Lyney and Wanderer playstyle enjoyer hello :D!

[@rerg6923]

@@tmtravlrsgoogleaccount1984 THIS. the 100% crit rate mualani is sooo easy to achieve thanks to the set + her CR ascention. personally i saved up alot and insta - pulled for C2R1 so I don't really have to deal with her "clunkiness". Also have you played her in 5.1? They fixed some of her issues and she's much more smooth now. Go check it out and have fun!

[@bjornnilsson2941]

I pulled her because she is my boo-boo. The fact that she has an insane nuke play style doesn’t hurt honestly. To me she feels rewarding when you almost instantly vaporize an entire chamber. Her fighting style is not exactly smooth tho, I’ll give you that.

[@lyneyfan69]

LYNEY MENTIONED

[@Zeke1460]

Just play who you enjoy most. Genshin does have SOME powercreep. Hu Tao powercrept Diluc. Arlecchino slightly powercrept Hu Tao. Generally that doesn’t matter though. Very importantly: the powercreep only matters at higher investment. And there is almost no content in the game that requires that level of investment. Pretty much everything can be done with a C0 Diluc for example, so long as you build him and his team well. And even when there is ultra-hard content (like the saurian boss rush event in 4.7 where bosses had crazy gimmicks, damage resist, and 600% HP), none of the primogem rewards are tied to completing the hardest version of the fights. So you don’t miss out on anything for not rolling on constellations. So even Diluc can still clear all of the “endgame” content like abyss fairly comfortably. So the existing level of powercreep doesn’t limit the available rewards to players. You can keep playing Diluc (or any other character you love) whether or not they’ve been powercrept or are meta, and still beat everything with them just fine. Also very importantly: Genshin will occasionally release characters, whether 4 or 5 star characters, that will strengthen older characters and make them really strong again. Example: Xianyun makes Diluc a top-tier plunge DPS who can clear abyss almost effortlessly. Dendro as a whole makes Keqing a top-tier aggravate DPS. Furina made Noelle an incredibly strong DPS. Chevreuse makes Fischl a god-tier damage dealer for low investment overload teams. So with just a few targeted pulls, for which we get more than enough free primos, you can clear all of the hardest content with even the earliest free characters. So again, just play whoever you want.

[@robertlaidlaw4592]

The fact is if you ignore floor 12 you don’t even have to think about any kind of meta at all you don’t need to grind artefacts and you don’t need to pull if you don’t want to. Even floor 12 you can clear with a couple of stars. At the end of the day floor 12 is mainly a dps check. Ignore it and you miss out on what 15 pulls a year. Not exactly a big deal. And i will add to the point you do need to grind good artefacts if all you have is c0 4 stars hell even riden isn’t putting out the numbers anymore. So there is that aspect.

[@traplegend5065]

literally every team can beta floor 12. But going for fast times isn't necessary. ​@@robertlaidlaw4592

[@jex-the-notebook-guy1002]

​@@robertlaidlaw4592i ignore floor 11. Last abyss was the first abyss i tried beating and i didn't get 9 stars

[@thatalbeeguy]

the point of clearing with starter or free characters is to avoid pulling. You fail to realize, how the thing you described is exactly the illusion of free choice. Want to play someone in abyss? you need this this and that, and all of it is in the gacha system.

[@Michael-y6n]

And leveling up characters also takes a lot of resin, so you can only afford to play two teams at most for the majority of the early game.

[@Alpeglow]

You play for meta, I play for hot men and women 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

[@Tac0belle]

Petting my dog so she is happiest dog on the leaderboard is meta

Would be awesome to see a tier list based on fun-to-play!

[@NikocadosPopeyesChickenSandwic]

Too subjective and would cause people arguing over their own opinions aka play who you like 🤷‍♀️

[@Cosmic-Clod]

I’m considering making a Genshin account souly dedicated to making Layla a monster of a dps because she’s my favourite character

[@ACatThatCantSing]

Justice for my boi venti FOR THE LOVE OF GOD BUFF HIM HE'S AN ARCHON FOR BARBATOS'S SAKE

[@huangjoondae272]

The reason why I stopped playing afk journey was exactly because of the PVP system; the necessity to play according to the meta which means that spending money is most likely inevitable. Initially, it was fun, but as I kept playing, spending more and more, it started to feel like I've been imprisoned. I'm glad I quit. There are so many negative aspects of gacha gaming and it's great to see a video like yours in this community. I really enjoy your videos, and I'd love to see more content like this! ❤

[@unixtreme]

Afk journey is bad... I actually just quit. The game core was kinda fun but the monetization is absolutely the most predatory I've seen in any game, you need many copies of each hero and of course it's expensive. There's no way on earth an f2p can be in the top in most servers, especially in Asia which is where I live, you can see people who've at least spent 10k on a 1-month old server. Lmao.

[@GerriFuryman]

After pre season game died, they x2 the grind and boring shit to oblivion. My guild was top 5 and 80% of players dropped the game with season 1

[@StarrZal332]

I think the good thing about genshin is 4* characters Actually being good Like you can make really good teams without pulling once Dendro MC - Free Barbara - Obtained at AR 20 Lisa - Free Collei- Spiral Abyss Bennet - Obtained Via 4.0 Event Xianling - Spiral Abyss Xingqiu- Obtained Via Lantern Rite Lynette - Obtained by reaching at 25 Obviously this is mostly relying on a lantern rite and the 4.0 event but that’s a no pull account even if you have the worst luck ever and get nothing useful ever you will rack up starglitter to obtain Bennet and Xingqiu through the starglitter shop, along with this you could make a taser comp if you use starglitter shop with beidou and fischl 5* characters are not mandatory, that’s why I pull characters I like and make them work, if they are “meta” then that’s even better, I use dehya, she isn’t good, but I had fun when I put her in a burning comp (this was prior to emilie and all so she didn’t even buff the burning) Dehya Nahida (could be replaced with dmc) Xianling (I needed to deal some damage but actually I used her for the small pyro damage bonus from one of her cons I think with guoba) DMC (if dmc being used in second slot use collei) Meta is fake and people who tell you otherwise are wrong, play how you want to, if you want to use the most broken characters in the game to get the fastest times, suit you I will also make a note of the fact that I have spent a considerable amount of money on genshin because navia (or enter any other non-little character because genshin has amazing character design) pretty In terms of powercreep, its real, just not with meta They are clearly powercreeping designs why is every character so pretty tho No I didn’t spend 10 minutes making this for god knows what reason and no I haven’t gone back to edit this 4+ times to add more and more pointless comments

[@user_7727Xkdt]

This video really helped me For the past few days I've been going back on forth whether I want to pull for Hu Tao or not Now I've decided I'll get her 100%

[@TheVincident.]

Pulled for Hu Tao with homa because everyone kept talking about how she’s a must pull, hated her playstyle and ever since started pulling for characters that compliment existing teams or that I enjoyed in the archon quest

[@threethymes]

Same here. Never use her hate her gameplay and her singing!

[@SunsetTwist]

As someone who used to play PVP games before, the idea of meta in Genshin felt so ridiculous to me, like, what do you even want meta for? You can't fight others, there is no in-game rankings, co-op and events are always PVE and the only time characters make any difference is for floor 12 with full stars. But you can clear 1-2 stars with your mid teams, and only miss out the same primos as a daily commission once a month. Even if you don't do floor 12 at all you lose only one single wish. Unless you like speedrunning, getting a character you don't like after months of saving just for 1.5 wish once a month is just silly.

[@OsaZen992]

The worst part about pulling characters in Genshin because they are considered strong is that even if they help you clear the late game content, they wouldn't even give you a return of primogems in years of playing unless you got really lucky with your pulls. Just as an example, if you got Venti in 1.0, and since the first spiral abyss reset on the 1st of October 2020, he has somehow singlehandedly been able to help you go from getting 6-8 stars on floor 11 and 3-5 stars on floor 12 to getting 9 stars on both floors, he would as of writing this comment have provided your account with 14500 extra primogems from Spiral Abyss. That is 90 pulls over 4 years, assuming a single character will give you at least 5 extra stars in the abyss which is probably not happening. If you lost that 50/50 he still might not have payed back the primogems it took to get him. And keep in mind that now a single character would give you less, because even with the primogem increase for Spiral Abyss there is only 1 Spiral Abyss reset per month, and there can be several months in a row where you cannot use them in Imaginarium Theater, and even if you can use them that is only for maybe 4 fights at most. In short, don't pull characters just to get rewards, its not worth it. Pull characters because there is some aspect of them that you think will improve your experience with the game. Maybe you find them really fun to play, maybe you have that a team you really like and a character makes that experience even better, maybe you get bored if you play the same teams too much so you want to play more varieties of teams, maybe you just like how the character looks or sounds, or maybe your main source of fun in Genshin is from speedrunning Abyss as fast as possible. There are countless reasons why you might want to pull for a character, just don't do it because you are in the mindset of "I need this character, or I won't be able to do the hard content".

[@AetherCat221]

Just gotta say, I like the new direction this video is going in. dont get me wrong I think your youtube banner is true and I dont want genshin videos to stop however it really feels refreshing hearing you speak about broader topics and getting your insight on things related to the game that I recently fell in love with. Pretty cool Eakes!

[@crossingcommune123]

following all of eakes challenges and content since before fontaine has helped me go from compulsively pulling meta units to really dedicating to units that i actually love. great video, great creator!

[@ABC-yj6cy]

It's a good thing that the characters I want are meta units. Win-win 😂

[@thegamewoods8473]

I think another reason meta becomes so important to people is that well, These units are fucking expensive. IIrc the average dollar cost for a 5 star is ~200 bucks, if someone is spending that equivalent in free currency, they probably want some confirmation that said investment is worth it, in whatever matter "worth" can be defined.

[@nickh4354]

And... what feeds into that to make it even worse? When every youtube thumbnail of every new character is "BROKEN?!?! OVERPOWERED?!?! HOYO MADE A MISTAKE WITH THIS CHARACTER?!?!?!" to put pressure onto anyone on the fence into pulling and / or spending when in reality, a character rarely ever *cough* neuvillette *cough* actually makes that much of a difference on your account

[@roennyh1362]

This is kinda of moot point. Because you’re equivocating whether the unit is “worth it” to dmg performance or Abyss cleartime. Not everyone has that same subjective take, and many pull and main units that don’t have the same numerical performance to more optimal units. And it doesn’t matter. Clearing abyss doesn’t give you much tangible items like cosmetics, etc. - jjst more wishes and some resources, and you can get most of those rewards easily with just 30 stars.

[@comfibee]

Love seeing someone actually make a video about this!!

[@VetoShizu]

As a day one player and someone who skipped a bunch of so called meta characters, I think what matters at the end of the day is playstyle of the character more than big PP damage. Characters like Hu Tao and Ganyu were THE characters to go for back then, but luckily the game has way more options if you're not into how the characters feel. I can't compare Kazuha and Xilonen cause my luck went into overdrive and I snagged C2R1 Xilonen, but I can't say my early Kazuha hasn't carried me all these years. I'm just here to pull pretty characters and build the characters I like then out till next region. Mavuika waiting room now.

[@ChirpyMisha]

I cleared the 2nd half of the 5.1 abyss with Hu Tao, Xiao, Bennett, and Xingqiu. Xiao was there to break the geo shields, and that was the only way I was able to 36* the abyss. I don't have geo characters (apart from Xilonen) so I had to get creative and I had to rely on old characters 🤣

[@MrOMGanASIAN]

"Meta" for genshin, i think, is only truly important if: 1. You want your favorite character to "feel" nice to play. Either teamates fix their "issues" or make them do big numbers DMG or both. 2. Want to clear abyss as fast as possible with the least amount of time/resin investment. Ultimately, knowing what the "meta" helps if you want to do one or both of the points i made. If you don't care about either, then literally just pull for whoever. E.g. Itto is cool, and i like their design, but i ain't playing them (or actively pull for them) without the proper characters around them first because he just feels like shit to play otherwise. If i "pulled who i liked" without knowing Itto's weaknesses, im feel like shit for wasting primos or money and that's where "Meta" matters. The people that chase meta are generally the ones who find those weaknesses to inform others.

[@tmtravlrsgoogleaccount1984]

Yeah... some characters want very specific teammates to work at their best, like Xiao, Itto, and Cyno. Without their better teammates, you will have a much harder time playing them. (Though I just tried Itto with Xilonen, Bennet, and Furina, and it did better than his old team with c6 Gorou, which was kinda sad to me).

[@UnofficialAstronaut-ul7zh]

@@tmtravlrsgoogleaccount1984as a fellow Itto enjoyer, thank you for the new team idea!

[@UnofficialAstronaut-ul7zh]

@@tmtravlrsgoogleaccount1984as a fellow Itto enjoyer, thank you for the new team idea!

[@WinterDoll06]

I prefered to go for Kinich C2R1 instead of Mualani and Xilonen, never cleared an abyss so fast. I can definitely say that I would feel really sad if I ended up getting Mualani or Xilonen instead of him just for the sake of meta and some big numbers on my screen. Not saying Kinich is weak ofc, either way I was already clearing abyss with Xiao and Tighnari with their premium teams, which I much rather dedicaticate myself to them as my favorite characters over a meta character that would never bring me enjoyment in playing with.

[@Kalagni1000]

1. Pull your favorite DPS 2. Pair it with good Support 3. Build it 4. Repeat the process 1 more time 5. 2 teams ready to go. Maximize your fun and result. Profit 😂😂😂 Following that step, now i have 3 team that i really like. Clorinde quickbloom, Arlle Double Geo and Mualani Vape.

[@brahahaga]

I agree with it all but every point made here is just heavily biased towards an end game player. Meta exists, and will always matter for new and mid game players. Since resources are timegated, spending less time to accomplish a goal is a thing, so meta matters. Plus sure every character can clear the abyss, but artifact strength comes into play. And if better artifacts take more time to farm, again, meta matters.

[@iamhere4427]

12:58 that snake jump scare

[@caioreis350]

One thing I would like to add about hoyo gachas is that without cracked artifacts, it's so hard to complete content without meta characters. I have been playing for 4 years and my artifact luck is just out of this world horrible. For example, i have an Archeron e0s1 premium team in Star rail. But i still can't clear the new MOC because my artifacts are dog shit

[@Yami-mugoni613]

Acheron is a meta character so I don’t see your point

[@nickh4354]

that sir, is a SKEEEL EEEESSUE

[@johncardboard4624]

@@nickh4354 TRUE

[@caioreis350]

@@Yami-mugoni613 i meant to say how important good artifact rolls are in clearing stuff. With or without meta characters, without the artifacts it's going to be really hard to clear endgame. I would love to get some help on clearing, i just need 1 more star on this moc, but i can't seem to figure out how to clear with what i have

[@aryosheva8204]

​@@caioreis350 just git gut tbh. farming relics and artifacts is not as hard as you think. 2 weeks of farming will give you a decent pieces that will help you to clear the last floor if you are consistent. all you have to do is patiently wait.

[@RafaelGonzalez-vs2bu]

Meta chasers probably don’t have a main because they pull and dump characters as new meta ones arrive. Meanwhile players who have one main even if it’s not mete they put a lot of love on them.

[@dawoodsamad7344]

Not really Alhaitham is my main and I always play him in abyss and overworld but I also love to play meta build new teams, getting new characters and doing insane Big Pp damage is insanely enjoyable.

[@kurotsuki12]

That's just wrong, im noelle main, and was eula main for a while, but i always pull for meta too. Knowing the meta is good for me because i know for what character i can pull as f2p so my noelle can do big pp dmg, most of the meta support is now my noelle best team, furina yelan and now xilonen. This meta vs casual war in genshin is dumb as hell, never understand it because i play both.

[@H00DEDCR0W]

nope, Rosaria was the first character I pulled from a banner and she's been my main ever since. If you want to play an "off-meta" character and do well with them, you better learn the meta (at least in abyss, in overworld kinda anything goes.)

[@khloodrashed4765]

My favorite character in genshin is kazuha and ever since his release hes been controversial despite being good and fun. I pulled him and he was the only character i ever spent money on (then i spent money on chiori bc i love her too) i always loved kazuha i love his personality, the samurai aesthetic , his gameplay, and all his voice actors are great!! even when people were encouraging players not to pull for him i pulled for him. Then years later everyone wants a kazuha i was so happy that people finally recognized his potential, but then people started comparing him to every single unit that comes out even dpses. it seems that kazuha will never catch a break. Yes i play him because of the meta but more importantly i play him because i love him so in my eyes he will never be outclassed. So no matter what people say play the character you like and don’t let people control you.

[@khloodrashed4765]

Also i would like to add that im at a point where i pull for characters i like and i clear all my abyss with my favorite characters so even if the game make the abyss hard to encourage you to spend money i wont fall for it

[@nesaaliyah4821]

Yokay. I’m signing up for your patreon. This was such an important reminder, thanks Eakes! I was determined to get Xilonen because the hype all-consuming. 15 10 pulls later, I lost a 50/50 to Tighnari and C6’ed all 3 of the current banner’s wretched 4-stars. The fact that I felt GENUINE despair is a clear sign that I need to stop taking this game so seriously.

[@therealgah777]

Couldn't have said any of this better myself. Thank you for being a voice of reason in the crazy community, lol

[@yueyueqinn]

Honestly thank you so much for this video. I was just debating pulling for mavuika earlier today since I really don’t like her design but know she will 100% break the meta. And then I realized that that really doesn’t matter at all, since I can clear any abyss with ease anyways.

[@lalaboo2158]

I love seeing players whos favorite characters aren't as popular or aren't as strong, and building them to be as strong as they can be 😊❤️

[@kazuu_44]

I do love how genshin does the meta system. they might power creep old units, but those units are never rendered null and void. venti for example is still great, kazuha and xilonen well.. kazuha has things over xilonen, like grouping and extra element application (I literally use him in my mualani team more to apply extra pyro bc my xiangling build kinda sucks than I do to buff her lmfao) and let’s take arlecchino and hu tao for example even though arlecchino is basically a direct power creep, hu tao still has some things over arlecchino, like furina synergy, while arle has direct furina anti-synergy (which is kinda funny ngl) and likewise hu tao cant really work in chev teams (bc the heal without furina, and also lack of vapes is eugh) in general though i think it’s crazy how an early game unit took like 3 years to get power crept. and on that note, characters like bennett xingqiu sucrose xiangling fischl beidou are all still amazing and high in the meta units. genshin handles powercrept really well but regardless, you can make due with just your fave characters. I have a friend who rlly likes navia and lynette, and I tend to do most her building for her. she’s okay with me building meta units for her, but I know she wants to use lynette so I made a team with lynett, bennett, navia and chiori for her. lynette might not have much synergy but her burst can swirl and apply pyro with bennett, it’s a scuffed team but it works and uses characters she likes, which is more valuable than just some other meta unit for her lol I myself like to use kazuha as a dps rather than to support meta chrs and I’ve 36 starred almost every abyss like that lol, aside maybe two (the infamous 4.7(or 8? idk) abyss being one, and the recent one bc it was like 3am and I didn’t feel like doing a whole lot so I switched my kazu and hu tao teams out for neuvi and lyney lmao (I however never take kazuha off his dps build or raiden off her hyperbloom build lmfao. me lazy) I also wanna add I use the isshin blade for kazuha and like a 70/120 crit ratio just to keep him on 4pc vv so I don’t have to switch between that and 2pc attack, and even with a scuffed dps build he still really well lol (albeit plunge with furina and benny is kinda cracked ig lmao) the one thing I think is good investing into meta, is the meta for your fav character, to make them stronger. as long as you at let somewhat like the supports. like I love and triple crowned furina, and got her c1 bc I like her and it’s good rather than just “unda bunga stronk” and I only got xianyun bc I wanted gaming cons and got jumpscared by her early, but I was happy purely bc she’s a great support gaming and dps kazuha basically there’s cases where I think it can be good to go for meta, if the meta is supporting your maybe not meta but favourite character, like say you fav is heizou, it’s worth it to try get c6 faruzan, furina bennett etc to support him and clear with him.but it’s not feels like it’s forced- especially in overworld. you don’t need to clear abyss to have fun and exploring can be very fun. I often d with really scuffed teams,like nahida scara kazuha and furina for example lmao. or maybe even ayaka over furina. or heizou. next to no synergy but I enjoy playing them and it works well enough lol

[@the7blargs]

Endgames can make you feel like pulling meta units like in Star Rail. Almost every rotation of the endgame modes will have weaknesses or bonuses that are definitely nudging you to pull for a current banner character. It's possible to beat a lot as a f2p but I can still feel the nudged characters will be able to clear easily. They've been adding more mechanics over time so I think it will keep getting harder to clear unless you pull new characters that are favorable against those mechanics.

[@sohammanna1540]

That's why hybrid comes off.1-2 new character per version which may upgrade your favourite team or built a team with your favourites with the new one.(Such as diluc xiao xinyan plunge,furina geo,ororon electro charge and maybe citlali physical).And it's realistic to get a copy of a new character in a year.But yeah ,this is a gacha game,so we have to scrab for better results and good experience .😅

[@quietAvery]

ironically all the characters i like are considered meta, and i love how much quality of life they bring to everything from exploration to combat, like Yelan and Nahida for example

[@KraizenFaraway]

It is an Illusion alright........ The Illusion of YOU trying to escape OPPA XIANGLING 🧸🧸🔥🔥 *Inserts Xiangling Copypasta* (Mavuika, Save us 😭😭)

[@kurotsuki12]

Mauvika will make xiangling EVEN STRONGER!! we can't run from oppa xiangling.

[@Wartalk]

idk if you mention it yet cause im at 8:36, but I do think the artifact system is one way they combat their own powercreeping, i.e. there are improvements still being added to characters whose toolkit remains untouched otherwise.

[@K1ra_245]

Thank you so much for mentioning people who enjoy the META! I am someone who would probably be considered a tryhard by your average player but i still skipped alrecchino because i wasn't ready to bench hu tao,who is one of my favorite characters!! So even though i am a "meta slave" i still do what i wanna do and can still clear the game "True meta is making the best team for your favorite units."

[@paulamblard3836]

Thank you for giving the real definition of "meta" instead of the false acronyme.

[@Jshoea]

Super Entertaining, and so comprehensive, well done and hope this gets out to more folk to educate and enlighten~!

[@meluseelie]

ty for this video eakes! a majority of the characters that i like are supposed to be supports - but i build them as i please :D it may not be optimal but its the only way that i enjoy the game!

[@mandyd9681]

I just want my all gun girl team, doesnt matter if its a good team, all gun girls is what im running

[@bjornnilsson2941]

Totally understand your point of view. For me personally the last thing I want to do is reset over and over until I’m blue in the face (it’s fun watching you do it tho 😂) so I tend to go for meta 5 star teams so that my run goes smooth ideally with no resets or having to change the teams halfway through. Big numbers make my brain happy too, so there’s also that. With that said I’ve never done top ups in any gacha game, that’s where I draw the line. So if I can’t get the next meta powerhouse, so be it I’ll be able to get the next one.

[@AmoritaStorre]

My favorite dps are Xiao and Kaveh. The effort to make them work well ended up making me care about them even more than I already did because of their story/design/voiceover.

[@danielschomburg2140]

I have been playing for a little over 3 years(Raidens first Banner). I can tell you with certainty that the diminishing returns of being a meta slave will catch up to you. Eventually over time if you play long enough you will have multiple characters of the same element that have similar battle impact and it eventually will come down to who you enjoy more and fits your comfort level/playstyle best. This is why you should almost always wish for characters that you enjoy the most. If I could do it all over again I would have gotten multiple C1 and C2 characters rather than playing Pokemon and "trying to catch em all" for characters such as: Yoimiya, Itto, Albedo, Ayaka, and Nilou. Vertical investment is still relevant, don't let Imaginarium Theater bait you into horizontal investment into 5star characters. Just build 4star characters there are plenty that are extremely good to playable now for each element for the IT, especially since IT is so easy but I think Hoyoverse will continually buff the difficulty of IT just like they are abyss so ymmv.

[@jeileen1896]

I feel like i need to watch this video every now and then. When I was first playing I never cared for the meta and did my own thing. However, I have not managed to clear the spiral abyss even once. I've been playing for a long time now and I still haven't been able to do it. So I tought I needed to have the "meta" characters to win. I even skipped my favorite charater (yae miko) just because I tought my account didn't need her. Just now I have understood that I don't need the meta to win anything. I just had to understand the system of the game.

[@EYFWG]

Collei is best girl and I got zero constellations for her 😭

[@soos.mpvier3187]

I really wanted to believe this yesterday, so i put it to the test. Current abyss has a def increase so i wiped out the geo squad of albedo, chiori, gorou and itto for the second (harder) half of the abyss. The first half took me roughly 1min and 10 sec. My itto is according to akasha in the top 1% but the geo res of those ball enemies are just to much. Couldn't get 3 stars. (I didn't want to use my whale status of redhorn or c2 furina, just raw geo power. And i couldn't get xilonen and even if without cons she doesn't work in mono geo.)

[@thomasfalcon5234]

great video man!

[@FreakGeSt]

Also don't forget about the insane luck you need to have for good artifacts to make faster and faster clear the abyss, people with Neuvilete stil struggle doing 36 stars because don't have good enough artifacts when people using only 4 stars have tons and tons of good artifacts, and whales can accelerate the process of get better artifacts using their money.

[@Chariotuber]

seriously great video and message!

[@peterparker1262]

Recently with all the geo shields i was considering pulling navia even though i don't like her then i thought why do i need to spend 80 pulls just to get 100 primos this month. But still wanted to 36 star so i decided to build noelle (early game noelle main btw) and it almost feels nostalgic and so much fun playing a character after so long im having an absolute blast with it.

[@nickh4354]

Eakes is based, and cute, and smart, and not a furry (send the check directly to my house my good sir)

[@adriangenshin9284]

I think trying to be as meta is a lot of the fun of the game. I get the most enjoyment out of trying to find the best characters to pull to make the game easier, and trying to line that up with pulling characters I like has always been a hassle.

[@thom449]

I have problems clearing (i.e., can't clear) floor 12 even with Neuvi and Raiden teams. So apparently, it is definitely about more than having good characters (or not just about that) ^^` Thank you for the video, interesting and nicely structured!

[@rerg6923]

This is a really good video with a good message. Well done. However I wished you would present the 4star/old character clears better, and explain how it would take waayyy more time and resin to clear with those compared to the recent big hypercarries (or even any hypercarry at all). Neuv Hypercarry is going to be alot more reasonable to farm for than something like national or other teams IMO. Obviously this only applies if you want to play a recent hypercarry character but in general I just think that the amount of investment 4star only clears (or teams that have no meta 5 stars in general) takes is alot more than meta teams with good 5 stars. More importantly, I might have missed it but it should be mentioned that all of this goes straight out the window the moment you enjoy playing abyss at all, in which case your only concern (which was recently added) is WL9. Thanks again for the interesting topic. Have a nice day

[@C00lRanch]

Yeah I try to tell him this in his streams. A quick " with enough knowledge and character investment , you can clear with all 4 stars."

[@kasuha]

Even after 4 years, I am nowhere near clearing Abyss 12 in 30 seconds even with my best characters and there's no way I could clear it with 4*s. So for me, Meta matters a lot because getting good characters means I will hopefully be able to clear Abyss in the future, after its HP pool gets increased again. Meta characters may not be necessary in Genshin but they bring comfort when playing. And being a casual game, comfort is important.

[@racem4517]

i don't understand why aren't you the most subscribed genshin creator, your content is gold while others who are close to hitting a million are either somewhat funny and over the top(zyox) or absolutely obnoxious, making stupid jokes about how alrecchino can step on you while constantly guilty tripping your viewers to feel bad because you'll be eating ramen for 3 months after every time you pull for a character(Doro). keep it up my man.

[@Ofir_R]

you don't need the best meta, but....... have you tried the recent abyss? do it with only 4 stars would be insane even with the best builds it won't be ez, si if people take the meta in a way they make their life easier in the abyss

[@triumphofsteel13]

Proud to have never played Neuvi, Arle, Raiden, or Hyperbloom. With comfortable full star clears every time

[@maxwellfolina8358]

I love making my account stronger! But sometimes the waifus come first :) at the end of the day everyone’s gotta find their personal balance. For me, I follow the meta so that I can weigh it against my excitement about a character and the units that are coming in the near future

[@vitor900000]

Following the meta gets you to the end game faster and the faster you reach it the more premium currency you get. This will let you invest on more character over the long run (meta or not). I only pull for characters that I like to play with and that aren't that far from being meta.

[@TomasM303]

Solid takes 👍

[@endryryzal718]

The strongest dps right now is Arlecchino. Arlecchino: -Can do elemental attack and physical attack -Strongest Nuke and strongest normal attack -Variable attack moves by normal attack Neuvillette: -Can only do elemental attack -Easy to build -Many weapon available -Just one attack move by charged attack -Easy to play

[@Munchkindavey]

none of these have anything to do with whos better as a dps..? nukes dont matter in account for whos a better dps, also arle WAS arguably better, but xilonen made neuv considerably the best dps in the game

[@itsmejoy5758]

the day I pull for zhongli is the day I’ve given my soul up for the meta

[@caioreis350]

2:22 i lost on that clown song so much hahaha

[@Drancks]

banger video brotha

[@yaruyasha]

this is what you should say to people who don't understand what "Just have fun" means and is anxious about their pulls. Just pull for who you would enjoy playing ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@rosa_jp]

100% agree. It’s a game after all so it’s supposed to be fun at the end of the day. If you like following the meta that’s fine but you don’t have to feel forced to do it. I play Genshin since it’s release and I’m a proud main Noelle (36 stars with her) because it’s my favorite character in the game.

[@mynamejeff6627]

me playing aether raid in FEH with only using based felicia... is wut drove me to play genshin only for the giggle of it

[@CactusMushroom]

If you invest enough into one team with your fav character you can complete abyss floor 12, so invest into the diluc or xiao team and go at it, just remember to have fun with who you like

[@phoenixlau]

I pull according to meta, but from the opposite perspective. That is, first I start with whether I like the character, then try and see if I can find meta reasons NOT to pull for them. If I don't like their playstyle, too clunky, if their kit is limited or scuffed in annoying way or power level is too low that it would make me mald in Abyss with them, then skip. Otherwise, green light. I don't care about absolute power level per se to the point that I would pull for a character I straight up don't vibe with in the first place.

[@yomomma3342]

Thanks for the enlightenment, now I don't feel left out for only having Raiden shogun and Kenich. Most people tell other newbies like me to pull for the "meta" carry character like that upcoming water guy character and zhi long character but I don't give a f*ck about those bozo characters.

[@blankspace712]

Meta this meta that, have you ever met-a content creator as underrated as Eakes before?

[@MatteoMalvezzi]

After spending a few years on Destiny (which is not entirely gatcha, but close), I can say that the level of fomo in genshin is nearly relaxing. Never again! P.s. I'm lazy and f2p so i pull for whatever will make my life easier. My go to now is jean fischl rosaria furina, with f2p weapons and suboptimal artifacts, but slowly getting there. I really hate they put time rewards for the new content. I was working through the storyline and had to skip ahead and go back to make sure I didn't miss out on primos, not cool.

[@galerinha]

Forget about the primos on new content. The minigame is ok and don’t spoil anything but the missions and exploration? It’s 1000 primos or 6 pulls. Ignore them

[@rambutan7768]

Meta in Genshin boils down to how a character can clear f12 spiral abyss in the most comfortable way possible with the least resources spent. Amber can still clear f12, but with which teammates? What's her constellation? How good should her artifacts be? What weapon and refinement level? Imagine the months worth of time and premium currency you have to farm/spend to reach that goal. (Sorry Amber mains)

[@Tamytaummta]

Now power-creep in HSR 🫢

[@caioreis350]

I`m a simple man. I see Eakes, i like

[@unknownkw]

Even banning all male characters, nothing is stopping me from getting 36 stars in every cycle using Noelle and Barbara teams just yet, but you do need to care. I pulled Furina because she works great with either. I pulled Navia because I like the character and she works well with Noelle. I pulled Raiden although I don't actually like the character, she is the best trigger for Barbara's hyperbloom team so I can't pass up on this. I pulled Nahida to complete the death shutter team with Barbara, which is one of the most comfortable team to play in the game. It can clear abyss without even using elemental burst. Your decision to pull is better to be related to which character you absolutely wanted to play. It is why support characters are usually the most important since they are more likely able to work with the characters you wanted to play.

[@MrJayslayerjay]

I always pull who I want or they don't get used lol. I invested in the characters I like so it doesn't matter who gets release my c6 r5 ayaka always destroy what I want her too lol.

[@doctorezio]

Not gonna lie, pvp in mobile gacha games is what made the reputation of p2w expirience in my mind for the genre as a whole. Bc of that i was sooo sceptical about hoyo games, i came in only 1.5 year ago to check out and have my own perspective and opinion.

[@nohackershere6592]

The only time I ever pull for "meta" is when it makes my favorite characters more fun to play. I really don't understand at all why people can't think for themselves and just pull for what they want. All of the "guides" everywhere are for information and entertainment, they aren't meant to tell you who to pull for... I wish more people could understand that. Every time I see someone ask if they should pull a character I make sure to repeatedly mention that they should just pull the character if they want them. Only after that do I provide the pros and cons of the character. Besides, I personally find it much more fun to make my own teams out of the characters I like. Why would I ever play a game in a way I don't enjoy?

[@castlus]

my genshin team since 1.1: "solidify!"

[@Marta1Buck]

For me it's the gameplay. That's the reason I don't have CA bow unless its name is tighnari and why I don't want hu tao, childe or alhaitham since they need more braincells to operate. And that's why I always love kazuha because he makes everything more convenient.

[@nakano8412]

I think having a meta is nice if a player is struggling with "endgame" and looking for some directions, but I'm really not fan of it personally, I prefer to play with characters I enjoy. I remember earlier this year I was chatting with someone while doing Spiral Abyss, had Ayaka, Zhongli, Navia and Kazuha in a team and the guy I was talking to was really confused why I didn't use my Shenhe (person in question really follows meta), still got 36 star in abyss. A game like Genshin is relatively easy, so there really is no point in following a meta, not pulled for the new geo 5 star or someone like Alrecchino, still just sticking with Hu Tao and Kazuha for abyss. There definetly will always be some characters that powercreep the state of the game, Neuvilette is geniunely a one man army, but you can really use whatever character you want. For awhile I would use my Kokomi as a main DPS and it worked just fine. With the relatively new endgame mode Imaginarium Theater I honestly have barely any characters built (AR60, so not a new player), still beat it with relatively easily. I don't really use alot of 4 star characters (except Kirara and Fischl), but the 4 stars in Gensihn is geniunely super strong. At the end of the day, the only challange where a strong account "matters" is in Spiral Abyss or Imaginarium Theater which is purely optional, it's not like you have to beat x boss to progress in the game.

[@galerinha]

36 staring the abyss doesn’t matter on itself. It’s just 100 primos, has no meaningful impact on your account.

[@aceswildfire]

Buck the meta, have fun! Genshin can be beaten with your waifu of choice.

[@HadouGun]

What are your thoughts of the abyss buffs, apparently, they doubled the health or something for floor 11 and 12.

[@Clouddot32]

Eakes is the main reason i pull for people i want and not meta

[@VVNB-dr9pf]

the meta exists because its the only "endgame" in genshin. most people dont wanna discuss archon quests or characters because they enjoy the gameplay more. so thats the only thing that drives them. what are combat players supposed to talk about after a patch? exactly. and most people dont really care for the story so. speaking as someone who despises combat in this game and makes people do the spiral abyss for me

[@timbles208]

Youre right. A 4 star characters can beat abyss. BUT it depends how good is your artifacts. People pull meta characters to make their life easier in genshin.

[@AugusXD]

Point of Genshin is to get a wife

[@D1ANEL4]

tbh, if your favorite character is META, then that's great! but no one should feel pressured to pull for a character only because it's the new "meta breaker"