My Genshin Impact Main Party + Tips on how to use them
Saturday, January 23, 2021
My Genshin Impact main party + Tips on how to use them
I started picking up on Genshin Impact these days after receiving a mechanical keyboard from my partner— and I am in love with this game! Spending hours threading on grass, fighting monsters and gliding across mountains is something that captured me entirely.
Read my first impression and review of Genshin Impact here.
However I always have shit luck at gacha games— and Genshin Impact’s 5* characters are gained through lottery/gacha methods which is still based heavily on your luck and probability. So I can only do my best with 4* characters.
There’s a huge urge to splurge a few dollars on the game but of course, I know I would be hooked as soon as I start so my better self is telling me to hold back and just be patient with farming the in-game currency, Primogems to prepare myself for a pity pull.
What’s a pity pull in Genshin Impact?
Basically if you have shit luck like me in pulling 5* or desirable characters/items, Genshin has a pity system that guarantees you a 5* item/character at every 90th pull. Basically you’ll have to play the gacha 89x before you get a 5* on your 90th time. If you’ve gotten lucky at getting a 5* on your 30th time pulling, then the pity system resets to 0.
With me waiting for my pity pulls, let’s take a look at my current main party! I absolutely love this team for carrying me throughout the entire game until this point.
- Traveller (Anemo)
- Beidou (Electro)
- Barbara (Hydro)
- Bennet (Pyro)
How I use my party + elemental combos
I prefer fast attackers, and that would mean short sword-wielders like Traveller and Bennet for weak enemies. And also because they attack fast, they can dodge at a faster rate. Barbara is a healer but also provides elemental effects like inflicting the Wet status before elemental combinations. Beidou on the other hand, wields a claymore and is slower but her attacks pack a more powerful punch.
My favorite elemental combination would be Pyro + Electro, meaning to cause Overload where Bennet steps in with his elemental skill then followed up by switching to Beidou to unleash her electro skills. But how I do it is to switch to Traveller (Anemo) before Beidou, by using Swirl to spread Bennet’s pyro AOE which inflicts a burn status on all enemies before Beidou swoops in to electrocute them.
Another combination is to inflict the Wet status by using Barbara as she heals the characters before swapping with Beidou to cause Electro-charged which causes DOT (damage over time). The combination of Barbara + Bennet also causes Vaporize, which if triggered by Hydro will cause 2x damage. Meaning Bennet will have to inflict the burn status first before Barbara attacks.
Genshin Impact artifacts for my team
Artifacts can be confusing but as you gain higher Adventure Rank, you’ll be rewarded with better quality artifacts. I generally equip Barbara with artifacts that increase her HP, as her healing is scaled with her max HP or a healing-bonus item.
As for Bennet, I’ve equipped him with energy recharge + HP so he can always perform his elemental skill with a buffer of 2 seconds in between. Which is really quick.
Beidou is equipped with artifacts that increase her elemental mastery + ATK as I use her mainly for her elemental skills. Elemental mastery increases the damage dealt from elemental combos.
There are so many ways to build your character and party. I am still in the midst of learning it, hence my party and built may not be agreeable to everyone but nevertheless, this team is the one I’ve settled with for now until perhaps, my first 5* character?
Wishes,
Melody
There are so many ways to build your character and party. I am still in the midst of learning it, hence my party and built may not be agreeable to everyone but nevertheless, this team is the one I’ve settled with for now until perhaps, my first 5* character?
Wishes,
Melody
Movies to watch over & over again (during lockdown)
Friday, January 22, 2021
Movies to watch over & over again (during lockdown)
Malaysia has once again declared the state of emergency however unfortunately for my poor soul, I am still tasked to be working in the office. A part of me felt a great despise but then on the brighter side, I am happy to still have my job, go to work and be around my coworkers.
Weekends have turned boring— with so many places closed and dining, limited to only take-aways. I could rejoice, for I am able to spend more time home and this gives me more reasons to re-watch my favorite movies over and over again.
My personal selection to feel good and enjoy what fictional narratives can offer, here are 10 movies to watch over and over again.
1. Pretty Woman
An early romantic comedy, Pretty Woman is dear to my heart after watching it once in class. I believe it was for an assignment and I just fell in love with the movie. Julia Roberts was stunning, and Richard Gere handsome. You’ll enjoy watching fashion transformations, high posh life and sappy romance in this movie.
2. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
I trust this movie needs no introductions. Re-experience the magic of Hogwarts in the first movie of the Harry Potter series. Oh, my favorite part is when the boys bought the whole lot of snacks and candies off the trolley on the Hogwarts Express. It makes me want to chew on gummy worms while watching.
3. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
Whisk yourself into the world of Narnia with the Pevensie. Beautiful landscapes, talking beasts and singing trees greet you upon your entrance. The best part of the story has always been the war between Aslan and the Witch. Also, it makes me think a lot about Edmund’s Turkish Delights.
4. Howl’s Moving Castle
A favorite by Studio Ghibli. Although not as prominent as Spirited Away, I have always preferred Howl’s Moving Castle for its story. Not to mention that Howl is almost every girl’s first love. A romantic magical masterpiece of a cursed girl, Sophie and a wizard named Howl.
5. White Chicks
If you’re a fan of chick flicks, this is one movie that you are sure to watch over and over again. The acting and jokes will really get you laughing, not to mention with a little bit of action towards the end of the movie. It still makes me giggle thinking of the dinner date scene with Terry Crews.
6. Anastasia (the animation)
If Disney songs are your thing, Anastasia is a movie I can re-watch many times for it’s songs and story. Based in Russia and Paris, this story is about finding family, romance with a little bit of magic. It nurtures the little princess in me every time I see her dance.
7. Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King
I love all 3 movies (not so much for The Two Towers, where I actually just snoozed halfway through), the last and final movie from the trilogy is an epic battle-adventure from the start to end. Gimli and Legolas’ friendship got me giggling throughout the movie.
8. Mary and the Witch’s Flower
A fantasy animation by Studio Ponoc about a girl who found a magical flower and is granted magic for one night. She discovers the world of witches where she is forced to save her friend and stop a grand scheme of experiments.
9. Crazy Rich Asians
Dream of living the upper-society life in Singapore? A full Asian cast, typical romantic Korean drama-esque story of a middle class girl struggling to establish her place in the society of her mega rich boyfriend is something we definitely dig, right? Of course watching this movie made me miss Singapore so much.
10. The Princess Diaries
Time to channel my inner secret princess! Although I did enjoy watching Chris Pine in the second movie, I enjoyed the first movie so much more. I love watching Mia transform as she struggles with keeping her identity and learning to be a princess. Her little date with Julie Andrews really got me missing my grandmother too.
Wishes,
Melody
Review + Thoughts on Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland
Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Review + Thoughts on Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland
Atelier Lulua is my first game of the Atelier series and it will stay as one of my favorites till the end of time— perhaps until I get my hands on Atelier Ryza 2. I cannot express how sad I am to part with this game upon its ending. I’ve taken months to complete this game (not constantly gaming) and I felt like a part of me just left with it.
Atelier Lulua is the 4th installment of the Arland story and talks about a budding alchemist, Emerulia Frixell also known as Lulua, and her journey to surpass her mother, Rorona (yes, Rorona is all grown up!) in the craft of alchemy. Along the journey, she teams up with new friends to complete quests, battle monsters, and craft items. One day, she happened upon a book, the Alchemyriddle that only she can read. She decides to decipher the book and it’s contents to help people and see where the book will lead her.
I bought this game after a long research because it is my first game into the world of Atelier. The art mesmerized me so much where I had to try it out— to my surprise this game is exactly the type of genre I love! Collecting materials, battling monsters and doing small routine quests.
I hope this review doesn’t turn out biased, but I love this game to dust therefore you’ll mostly only see positive reviews for every aspect of the game.
Atelier Lulua brings you on an adventure around Arland with a mysterious book, the Alchemyriddle.
Game
This game focuses on Lulua which you will control and play. Most times, you’ll have missions or quests to fulfill to increase friendship levels with other NPCs or to move along the plot. You’ll be required to synthesize items as an alchemist to create magical items, weapons, food, etc. The only thing I struggled with was, synthesizing. Reaching 999 quality items depend on a lot of factor. While collecting materials is fairly easy, you’ll be needed to find rare materials as the story progresses to synthesize advanced quality crafts.
Storytelling
On all notes, this game is just extremely chill. The story of Lulua progresses as she meets new people who requests for her help and the Alchemyriddle helping her solve the puzzles and quests. No heavy plot or lore (unless you have played the previous Arland series, you might have a few questions answered). I didn’t think much of the storyline or plot flow of this game, it was simple and seems to just scratch an itch I have for a good JRPG game with gorgeous art. The story is simple, as I’ve written above. There’s no deep lore to understand or things to pick out— nothing puzzling. So it was just a very relaxing game to enjoy when you don’t wish to think too much.
Battle
The battle system is turn-based and you’ll have to equip your best frontliners with the best weapon and accessories. This is when you’ll have to study the characters a little more to see what works with their stats and what they can utilize. Having two alchemists as your support is my hack throughout the game.
While the supporters cannot actively attack, alchemists have a specialty which is to equip them with one weapon/healing item where they can use at any point of the battle, it’s called the interrupt system. Also, various characters can be paired up to invoke special attacks or battle effects.
Tips:
1. Rorona and Lulua are weak attackers but great supporters with their ability to interrupt and land light magic/physical attack on a range of enemies.
2. Upgrade Piana's weapon + armor and have her as your frontliner. She can use items which is extremely useful for immediate healing/attacking. Her physical attacks are great too as long as you upgrade her weapon.
3. Aurel + Sterk ups the physical damages and prevents knockback, giving you additional attacks if equipped with speed up items.
Characters
When characters are simple to understand and adorable, you just have no way to dislike them. This applies to all characters in Atelier Lulua. The characters are adorable in their own way, each has their own quirk and brought to life by the voice acting. Lulua’s love for curry is so prominent throughout the series and Aurel’s motivation to fight is one of his character’s driving forces. Although the characters could be more elaborated, I personally think that it’s enough for the game flow. What you need to know about the character is given to you, nothing more and nothing less.
Also, there are recurring characters from the previous Atelier series of Arland. You’ll see the famous trio of Arland— Meruru, Totori and Rorona all grown up. Piana as well. It’s so wonderful to come across Lulua’s predecessor and see them interact together.
Also, there are recurring characters from the previous Atelier series of Arland. You’ll see the famous trio of Arland— Meruru, Totori and Rorona all grown up. Piana as well. It’s so wonderful to come across Lulua’s predecessor and see them interact together.
Voice acting
Oh, imagine Kamado Tanjiro in Atelier Lulua? You can see him as Aurel in this game as a lovable, stern cutie. The voice acting is extremely fitting and definitely brings each character to life. The only complaint I have about the voice acting is that the woman, yes not girls, sounds a bit too squeaky and high-pitched for their age? Rorona and Piana has this very cutesy voice which doesn’t seem to fit their age— and it does hurt my ear a little.
Art style
If they released an artbook of Atelier Lulua, along with landscape, character, material, craft items and monster artworks, I would buy it in a heartbeat. Illustrated by Kishida Mel, the artwork has a unique flavor to it. The art style is gorgeous even when translated to animation. The colors blend and tones are especially beautiful and comfortable to look at. It’s gorgeous.
Difficulty
Atelier Lulua is not a difficult game, younger kids can enjoy this game as much as older adults. You basically breeze along the game on easy difficulty (which is my default difficulty setting). I tend to set my games to the easiest difficulty as I want to relax while playing my game, not to cuss over the screen when I mess up something.
Multiple endings
Atelier Lulua has multiple endings, I believe 10 different endings? There is an ending for each important character of the story as well as 3 game endings. It's simple to trigger each ending, as long as you save at the right chapter! Best to follow guides and walkthroughs. Each ending by itself is cute and fulfilling.
Music
The one thing I want to point out is that the music in every Atelier game is so good, I enjoy listening to it even at work. Most times, some in-game music would be a turn off but Atelier Lulua has a lovely blend of music taste. It feels almost magical as if you’re in the game. The music really sticks to you, on days when I play before sleep, it keeps playing in my head refusing to let me rest.
My thoughts
Atelier Lulua is by far, one of my favorite games I’ve owned until today and I cannot wait to get my hands on more Atelier games— Atelier Ryza 1 & 2 being the next one I will be getting. A silly wish that I have is that I want to be part of the game, to embark on a journey and live in their lands. It’s so magical and beautiful. I could imagine myself as a character in the game. Well, if only we get to live in games, I would no doubt select the Atelier series.
Rating: 4 / 5
Till then,
Melody
Review + Thoughts: First impression on Genshin Impact
Friday, November 6, 2020
Review + Thoughts: First impression on Genshin Impact
*Update 1: You cannot pet or interact with the CUTE FLUFFY DOGGOS around Mondstat!
*Update 2: Genshin Impact is now sitting on my backlog, I lost interest after having difficulties maneuvering with my keyboard.
Imagine yourself thrown into a massive, beautiful world of endless curiosities, endless magic and endless possibilities. Genshin Impact does all that paired with gorgeous artstyle, satisfying combat and a solid story. Playing this game feels like I’m living in an anime. Isekai, maybe?
Boots crunching on wildflowers as you walk, the vast blue sky looms above you, lushes of greens sparkling with dew drops greet you beyond the yonder. The world of Genshin Impact is gorgeously magical. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from its enchanting beauty for my reality is dull and grey. I want to live in the game.
Genshin Impact is undoubtedly the largest open-world game I have ever experienced. The thought of being able to explore the edge of the world is terrifying yet so exhilarating. But like a moth drawn to flame, I couldn’t stop wanting more of it.
In this review, I will be sharing my first impressions on the game, although I’m still far from wherever others stop (I’m never a PC gamer so playing this is extremely tedious). But this game is too beautiful and thrilling to not talk about. I want to talk about it everyday, indulge myself in the world of Teyvat.
First Impression on Genshin Impact
Game
From my little understanding of this game, since I have much left to explore, you, a mysterious traveler, were attacked by God where your twin was captured. You awake by a beach with a quest set in mind— to save your twin. Before you start the game, you get to select as a female/male player, basically selecting which twin you are. Along the game, you will be introduced to more characters which you can switch to using them as you like. This means you’re not only controlling one character until the end, but you may switch to any of your party members and walk them around.
Storytelling
While this story is still under development, only 2 world areas are revealed. There is still so much left in the story but so far, along the story, you were to meet friends, skill up, assemble your party and explore the world freely. As the plot goes on, more and more characters will be introduced along with finding out the truth behind the attack and your stolen twin. So far, the story is threading on a light surface where not much is revealed yet. The enjoyment of the game comes from the ability to define your own story at this point.
Battle
Hack & slash. My favorite combat mechanic is just to hack away the enemies. When your player is granted an element, you’ll be able to use it during battle as well. Conjuring gale to blow your enemies off or combine various elements for a combo attack (fire + wind to create a massive burning whirlwind). There are so many things you can do with the battle system.
Characters/Voice acting
You know how much I love properly animated and voiced characters. Additional points for having famous voice actors/seiyuu to bring the character to life. I squealed when I found out Kohsuke Toriumi was voicing one of the characters in the game. As game characters define how much you can relate and invest in the game, Genshin Impact did a wonderful job at casting the right seiyuus for the right characters which actually helps a lot with getting accustomed to the game.
Art style
I love myself some anime-esque art style in games. This is a fair reason why I enjoy visual novels so much. I love seeing 2D characters animated to look like I am watching an anime instead of a blurry mess of a pixel. The character designs of Genshin Impact was what drew me to the game initially and now I’m extremely hooked on the beautiful artwork. The character design, monsters, items and landscape is so much like living in an anime world. Gorgeously fictional.
Micro-transactions
Gacha games are very addicting, like in many mobile otome games, we pay a lot of cash to try our luck at getting impressive loots. Genshin Impact uses a gacha system to lure its players with lucrative loots, special weapons and unlockable characters. This gacha system hounds on those who are vulnerable to wanting better characters and in-game materials like weapons, closet, consumables, etc. As a F2P game, you can still complete the game (from what I've read) but it will take a lot of hours grinding and hoping for luck.
Co-op playing
Run the world, explore the map, defeat monsters together with your friends. Unlocking only at Adventure Rank Lvl.16, you can pair up with your real team/friends to play Genshin Impact together! Only up to 4 players or a minimum of 2 players, this game became so much more fun. I can decide if I want to play leisurely with my friends over a party on Discord or a more serious gameplay where we have to discuss how to pair our elemental skills together. Read more here.
My thoughts
Genshin Impact is a free-to-play (aside from the gacha) game that everyone has to experience even if it is not your cup of tea. Immerse yourself in the world of Teyvat where endless possibilities and adventure guides you on a journey to finding your twin. Enjoy all the goods that Mihoyo (developer) has to offer in this beautiful, picturesque game.
While I’d love to comment so much more about his game, I am in no place to be making reviews as I’m still an Adventurer Level 8! That’s really early in-game. Once again, this post is a first impression review. I may enjoy the game now, but moving forward, my thoughts may/may not change.
Till then,
Melody
While I’d love to comment so much more about his game, I am in no place to be making reviews as I’m still an Adventurer Level 8! That’s really early in-game. Once again, this post is a first impression review. I may enjoy the game now, but moving forward, my thoughts may/may not change.
Till then,
Melody
What are otome games + top 4 otome games
Tuesday, October 27, 2020
What are otome games + my favorites
What is an otome game?
乙女ゲーム, otome game or maiden game are games created and aimed towards female audiences. These games are a form of visual novel games— a story based video game where the general goal is to romance one of the male characters in the game. Otome games are usually packed with more male characters than female characters, in an average ratio of 5:1.
It has been years since I was stuck in this rabbit hole like Alice being pulled into Wonderland by her curiosity and naivety— otome games have been a genre that defines my casual gamer status on atelierbymel. It felt like my love for hot 2D anime boys + gaming + reading merged into a single wish, presenting me a gift called otome game.
Most otomes games, and by most, I meant 90% of otome games are first Japanese before getting localized or translated to English to meet market demands. Compared to Japan, there are not many English otome games on the market but still enough to curb curiosities and indulge in the fantasy of being in love with various men. It almost felt sinful, to love these men so much.
Over the years of playing various otome games, only a few stuck close to my heart. From elegant, poised men to rugged, adventurous men, I have had my fair share of romancing them all in otome games. Let us take a look at a few of my favorite otome games.
4 of my best otome games by rank
1. Ikemen Sengoku (mobile/PS Vita)
Initially a mobile game which later on was introduced to PS Vita with additional characters, I have been obsessed with Ikesen for years, and never spent a single dime on this game. It's a free otome game but of course, if you are interested in getting more exclusive stories from their events/gachas, you'd have to pay. The name probably gave you an idea how the story was going to be. Your MC (main character, you) were accidentally transported back to the Sengoku era of Japan in a heavy thunderstorm— and from there on, your life as a châtelain in the Oda forces.
You may find very familiar names such as Oda Nobunaga, Date Masamune and Uesugi Kenshin in this game, where you can romance them. All of the Sengoku warlords are in your palms. Unlike other otome games, Ikesen’s two endings are both happy. Ikemen Sengoku will always be my no.1 otome game for its simplicity in character selection to blossoming stories and attractive artwork.
2. Nightshade (Steam/N.Switch)
This is my first ever Switch otome game— I had the game shipped in from Singapore, imagine how desperate I was to get a physical copy of this beautiful game. Similarly set up in the Sengoku era but instead of the warlords, you’re romancing ninjas who are hired to protect the warlords. The game is more lengthy compared to mobile otome games and each story is deeply developed. While Ikemen Sengoku is all about feel-good, giddy excitement, Nightshade carries the more serious, deep emotions of loss and lots of angst. MC is a ninja but also a sheltered princess as she is the daughter of the head of the ninja clan, her craving for more dangerous missions led her on a group mission where a murder unfurls a lengthy escape to survive.
3. Samurai Love Ballad Party (mobile)
Also set in the Sengoku era. Oh my, do you see a recurring theme going on here? With similar counterparts in Ikemen Sengoku, the personalities among similar characters are truly different. The MC is a woman running her family’s restaurant but was coerced into a marriage with a snobbish, old lord. While Ikemen Sengoku has better artwork and music, SLBP’s stories are more angsty, where it deals with character death (not spoiling but I did cry so much). It is also a free otome game where you pay only if you wanted their event exclusives. Compared to Ikesen, SLBP has more male suitors to romance including not only the warlords but also their ninjas.
4. Hakuouki (PS Vita, N.3DS, Steam)
The few best otome game on Steam and an otome fan favorite, Hakuouki is ranked no.4 in my list for the lengthy storyline. I usually lose interest even before I can get one route completed. Although the story is so well written and firmly held together by very fleshed out characters, I couldn’t help but just snooze off at some parts of the game. The MC sets out on a journey to search for her missing father but is drawn into the Shinsengumi and their battle against demons. The artwork and music is lovely and I’m a huge fan of the characters, just that their stories seem so long to the point where I lost interest.
The PS Vita is the best console to enjoy otome games for its many choices and Japanese localization while Steam and Nintendo Switch are getting more and more otome game ports coming up soon. As much as I’ve been enjoying JRPG games these days, it is always comforting to fall back to the familiar warmth of otome games.
Till then,
Melody
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