Honkai: Star Rail Main Character at Maximum

 It hasn't been a year but here is version 2.0 now and my main character is at maximum.  That took a while, especially since I didn't use any real money.  Am I the only one?  Probably, that is the case.  Still, the main character on the other account needs more Eidolons to be complete, but I'll take one complete over none.

Update 2024.02.14: Both accounts are at maximum, as well.

Update 2024.04.24: On the account where my main character is at maximum, I also have Yukong and Dan Heng at maximum.  They don't have all of the Eidolons, so they could go higher in the future.  I'm almost afraid to do a warp, in case I get another character to take to level 80.

I'm still working on my other account's main character, which is on the path of Preservation.  With Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae, who is much more powerful, I'm trying to balance progress on all characters.  I want my main character to be more powerful, but he doesn't always seem that powerful.

I'm still waiting for the Year of Linux

 Back around 2005, I got my parents x86 machine because my adoptive dad was suffering from Alzheimer's Disease and wasn't really coherent enough to handle a computer.

I'd been experimenting with BeOS on my PowerPC 604e-based Mac Clone from Power Computing.  The Power Center 120 was fairly powerful but at some point, I bought the upgrade processor card, which was quite an enhancement.  Still Mac OS 8.5 was slow.  BeOS certainly showed me how good it could be.  However, BeOS was lacking almost everything except an internet connection.  Mac OS X was coming along but wasn't quite finished.

When I got the x86 machine, it was running some version of Windows that wasn't very reliable.  Having run Windows NT at work and finding it only somewhat more reliable, I decided to replace Windows at home with Ubuntu Linux or FreeBSD.

After trying multiple times to install FreeBSD and having 90% success and not being able to fix it, I installed the Ubuntu distribution of Linux.  It was a more user-oriented version atop the Debian distribution.

It was sufficient.

About the time I became familiar with GNOME, they introduced Unity, which was their own User Interface.  It was better, and worse.

However, people kept shouting "This is the Year of Linux!" and I kept wondering how they were going to get grandma and grandpa onto machines running Linux, if I was taking time finding out how to use it.

A lot of time has passed and a lot of releases have been released and macOS is past X and both Macs and Windows machines are running 64-bit operating systems.

There is also a handheld Linux-based machine called Steam Deck.  You can regularly find machines running Linux and buy them easily, if you know where to look.  If you want to count them, anything running ChromeOS is a Linux-based machine.

 

I spent some time with KDE on Steam Deck after adding a keyboard and mouse.  It's quite comfortable, although I didn't do much.  Things are better, if you get the best desktop environment for you.

I always thought that a simple machine for e-mail and web browsing would help grandparents deal with family.  Why isn't there a self-contained family machine or perhaps, recycled machines re-purposed for that?  The only reason I need Windows or macOS is so that I can run specific software.

Certainly, Linux is better for everything than it used to be.  Valve's work on Proton and funding of related software has assured that gaming on Linux is the best it has ever been.  SteamOS in handheld mode and desktop mode is quite good at running games.

I've been looking at converting my mid-2012 MacBook Pro with GeForce 650M to a Linux distribution, but I can't decide which.  I considered Kubuntu and Arch.  Kubuntu will probably be easier to install, but will it accept the Nvidia driver for my 650M?  Arch is used for SteamOS but will it be easy to install for Mac?  SteamOS itself has too many requirements for newer equipment that it won't work.

I'm currently looking at an article on Gaming on Linux that Linux is in second place on Steam, above macOS.

It shouldn't be much of a surprise that macOS users on Steam are playing less.  Those paying for Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), found that their game had been removed and all the money they spent was just gone.  There was a download to Counter Strike 2, without an executable.  All of the Valve games that introduced Steam to Mac users were 32-bit, so no more Half-Life 2, Portal, or Portal 2.  Yes, Mac users are not playing on Steam as much.  Linux is doing better.

I really hope that there will be more than Steam Deck pushing Linux distributions forward.

Update 2024.02.27: I've been in Steam Deck desktop mode today.  Like a successful operating system, the Discover application presented me with software updates to be installed.  I didn't have to fight with anything.  I clicked "Update All" and everything was fine.

I also wanted to download the Heroic Games Launcher for Linux.  That was a bit more tricky.  I downloaded the wrong version at first and it asked how to open it.  My first thought was to find "tar" and use that, but it didn't seem to be that kind of archive.  Then, I was reading the page and noticed "and Steam Deck", and that one ended up showing up in Discover, and the installation was easy from there.

There is a new Linux-based gaming device like Steam Deck, the Orange Pi Neo that runs Manjaro Linux Gaming Edition with an AMD 7840U.  That's more powerful than Steam Deck and hopefully, better organized than the ASUS ROG Ally or Lenovo Legion Go devices running Windows.  Ayaneo started to do something similar and then, installed Windows instead.

Honkai: Star Rail with all characters and their light cones at level 80

 It's been more than half a year since I started playing.  I've added quite a few characters.  Some are strong and others are not so strong.  It's a trip that I'm at a point where all of my characters are at level 80.

That's not to say that they're 100% complete. That would be 21 on one account and 20 on the other.  I'm still working on Light Cones and more.  However, how can you deny the awesomeness of having all of your characters at the highest level possible?

Even at level 80, the characters sometimes struggle.  Multiple teams make it easier to succeed.

I wish that I could do so well in Genshin Impact.  I've done okay, being at AR 41 without spending a penny but it seems impossible to have all that you need when you can't get to some of the locations to find upgrade materials.

Now that I've received my free fancy Warp tickets, I'm probably going to wait to enjoy having all of my characters at maximum, for a while anyway.

Update 2024.01.06: Used my Warp tickets and got no new characters.  Adding a couple of Eidolons was better.  It's still amazing that I haven't spent any real money.  Being at account level 68 now, I'll be a the maximum some day.  I've got a couple of Light Cones up to level 80 on each account and brought others up to level 70.  I've also managed to increase Traces levels, though I'm not doing those in any predictable way.  I just have some resources from working to Ascend Light Cones, and used those to upgrade Traces.

Update 2024.01.16: All light cones that are in use for all characters are at level 80, also.  Still working on Traces.

Update 2024.01.17: After I got everything set, Dr. Ratio comes along and undoes my numbers slightly.  He's at level 40 on each account, and I happened to have the same Light Cone on each account that was never used, at level 1.  He's a third character with Imaginary damage on one account and the second on the other.

Well, a couple of hours later on one account, Dr. Ratio is at level 60 and the Subscribe for More! Light Cone is at level 50.  That's not bad for about an hour of upgrading.  Of course, there is more to be done and the other account needs to be handled.

Got the other account up to 60 and 60 for Dr. Ratio, plus some of the Traces have been upgraded.

Update 2024.01.21: Dr. Ratio is at level 70 on both accounts with some of the Traces upgraded again.

Update 2024.01.27: Dr. Ratio is at level 80 on both accounts and the Light Cones are both are level 80.  More of the Traces are upgraded, but it's slow going.

Update 2024..02.12: I did my two warps on each account.  Got another Tingyun and Guinaifen on one account and Misha and Imbibitor Lunae on the other.  I wish I had appropriate Light Cones, but that isn't going to happen apparently.

Update 2024.02.18: Guinaifen is and 80 and her Light Cone is at 80. I've got Imbibitor Lunae at 76, Lynx at 71 and Misha at 50.  I probably need to complete some seasonal events to get the items I need for Misha.

Update 2024.02.20: Imbibitor Lunae is at level 80 and Misha is free to rise from 50 to 60 now.  Seasonal events have provided the needed materials.