Gaming on the Cheap, part 3

 A few years have passed since I wrote one of these.  I was probably playing Honkai: Star Rail and Genshin Impact and Seven Knights back then.  Now, it's Solo Leveling: Arise, Where Winds Meet, Wuthering Waves, and Tower of God: New World.

I've spent some money on each, not a lot, but something.

Too often games become like work and I don't want to feel that way about games.  I don't want to put money into something that isn't enjoyable because I'll probably abandon it at some point.  After all, in Honkai: Star Rail, I had maximum level characters and wasn't enjoying it.

I've been playing Solo Leveling: Arise for two years and it takes some work but it's still quick-and-dirty for me.  I can pick it up, play a little, and put it down.

Where Winds Meet is overwhelming.  I'm paying for the minor Battle Pass upgrade, which is helpful.  I wasted way too much time not collecting skills and just wandering.  My character level is 93 (out of 95) right now and I'm three months behind on skills. There is so much going on in the game, and if you don't look at the Improvement Guide under Develop, you'll be like I am.

 Wuthering Waves definitely seems a pay-to-win game.  I've got a few 5-star characters that I can't upgrade past the low levels.  I mess with the game but I'm not sure I want to commit any real money to achieve better results.

Tower of God: New World follows the anime and is an idle, handheld game that requires too much attention.  Then again, I'm playing on Android AND iOS.  I started the iOS version about 1 year after I started the Android version and I'm within just a few floors.  There are so many characters and things to do that it's becoming work.  It's often something I would play while waiting for another game update to finish.  Now, this game's updates are taking hours to finish.

 There are so many gacha games out there now, especially from Chinese publishers that you can play without paying.  When you use up all of the game's energy for the day, switch to another game.

I'm looking forward to Limit Zero Breakers and Ananta when they're released.  However, I've seen a few in preview, and they don't really turn out all that great. 

Update 2026.05.18: Now that I bought a new Windows machine, I'm definitely on the cheap side.  Thankfully, it wasn't too expensive but everything else seems to be much more expensive these days.

Have You Played Where Winds Meet?

 Have you tried this game?

 I've been playing off-and-on for a few days and I'm starting to understand the complicated battle strategy.  Button mashers beware!

The developers, the artists, and everyone putting the game together have put their best into it.  It's obvious that they've worked hard on it.

 

The worst thing I've seen is the reaction to it.  People try to categorize it.  Don't!  It does so many things and you can do so many things that you should just enjoy it.  One moment, I'm in a battle.  The next moment, I'm solving puzzles.  That sounds like Genshin Impact or Wuthering Waves but it doesn't feel anything like those.  I even saw something about building a house.

I've been playing a bunch of games from China, South Korea, and Japan.  However, it's surprising to me that I'm seeing or hearing some of the same places mentioned.

I seem to find that playing one game that leads to another gives me a versatile viewpoint and I can switch to another game and find my way more quickly.  Then, I can return to the earlier games and solve problems that gave me headaches. 

This game has a Solo episode to start.  Apparently, there are co-op episodes.  It's funny how it feels a bit like real life.  However, I never thought that I'd play Mah Jong as a dog, but that has happened.  One thing I did was to activate all of the teleport/fast travel locations as soon as possible.  Trying to find the resources to finish a quest may require something far away.

 Hopefully, I can make some progress.  I've been spinning my wheels a bit on Wuthering Waves because the ability to level up the 5-star characters is a bit much using 4-star characters.  Solo Leveling: Arise is still interesting.  Finishing the stories can sometimes be too easy, especially since I've been playing from the first day.

Upgrading weapons and armour in WWM can require additional resources. 

 

 I haven't seen a need to buy anything.  I usually don't, but I did it for a while with Solo Leveling: Arise.  It made sense for a while.  However, WWM is something new and whether I will last or it will last are yet to be determined.  They supposedly had over 250,000 players on Steam at one time, but the average is lower.

 

There is a test of ascension via combat. Making it past level 20 is the trick right now.  I missed some snakes and was defeated.

Update 2025.12.14: Got through the ascension test and I'm at level 25 now.  I would tell you about what's happened but all I can say is that I'm not going to Kaifeng City yet. 

Oh, a couple of hours later, I'm at level 31 and had another ascension (breakthrough) test.  It's still weird seeing/hearing Qinghe because that's been mentioned in two other games I've played.  I've been able to tie up some loose ends and finish quests.

 

 

They sent me a survey request and I was pleased that the survey was so precise.  They asked me if I had any other suggestions and I mentioned that I'd like the iPad version to be modified to work on Mac, as Wuthering Waves is. 

 

Update 2025.12.16: I finished another breakthrough last night.  This time, it used the mausoleum trials.   I wonder if I finish trials levels 3-5 early, if it will help.  The latest only grants access to levels 50-55.

According to Steam, I have got 8 of 34 achievements.

Draining a lake was interesting. 

Update 2025.12.18: I have another breakthrough/ascension test to handle.  At this rate, I should be at level 1300 by next year (with only two weeks remaining) as long as I can surpass the tests.  I never expected that my knowledge of Daoism, Buddhism, and astronomy would be helpful in a game.

I'm not as slick with the battles and I have one battle with an angry woman in the lowest level and she isn't about to be beaten.

Update 2025.12.24: This game is a bit of everything and should be game of the year.  It requires so much of a player, as it calls on knowledge that westerners might not have, and some extra keyboard combinations (macro time?) that I don't have in muscle memory.

 It's beautiful and sometimes disgusting, but you can see that the artists went 100% to get the look and sound that make you feel something.  Then again, I'm seeing a lot of that in the free-to-play games.

Update 2026.03.16: I've been playing in Hexi, and I've done okay.  Last night, I finally tried the breakthrough/ascension again and did okay.  I'm at level 52.  I'm definitely not great at it, but some situations make so much sense and others are a reach for me.

The bigger bosses are still a problem and a world boss is going to remain a while.

Update 2026.03.26: I'm at level 55 and waiting for the Mausoleum trials.  I've been clearing outposts, which requires some strategy but isn't too difficult.  I've got 12 of the 44 Steam achievements, which is probably sufficient.  I went from 10 to 12 fairly quickly, but it took a while from 8 to 10.

Finishing some of the quests doesn't seem possible.  I keep seeing "buggy" around the bad quests.  Maybe, there are several possible directions but they didn't make allowances for the quest to work that way.  Progress is progress.  I've solved more in Qinghe lately. 

Update 2026.04.02: Cleared all of the Qinghe outposts the other day.  Even cleared a World Boss, the Puppeteer.  I came close on the drunken boss with the enormous wine jug but was killed just before the finish.

I've been trying to clear quests, but suddenly, there is dialogue during a fight and I can't fight any longer.  My character can be hurt but can't respond.  I first noticed this during a gold leaf quest but it's happened a few times since then. There have been two large patches since version 1.5 was released.  Haven't been able to complete the photos quests in Hexi. 

Update 2026.04.07: The odd thing about photo requests is that Qinghe looks about the same but says "complete".

Is Hexi Sexi? 

In Chinese, they don't sound anything alike He=huh and Xi is like She with your tongue behind your teeth. 

I've been into the snowbound areas of Hexi, and made some decent progress.  I've activated most of the teleport locations.  I did not arrive through Whitecrown Fortress, so I can't active the desert teleports.  There is a sandstorm.

I haven't been to all of the "cup" locations, although everyone has to make it to the Governor's Mansion regardless.

Most of them don't seem to have any combat.  One only seems to have combat.  Remember to have your "Q" ready when you're falling hard.

I was impatient during the Moonlight Wine quest and advanced the clock too far and I'll have to try another day. 

In the past week, I noticed that a lot of the Kaifeng quests have fallen into place and they're finished now.  Perhaps, WWM is impatient with my progress. 

 

Update 2026.04.09: The cups are overflowing with bloody wine.   I completed the Moonlight wine bit with a lot of retribution.

I've completed Whitecrown Fortress and the path from desert to snow.  It's strange how I was so close and my defeat caused me to believe that I wasn't close to finishing.  However, the first defeat is automatic, regardless. 

Update 2026.04.14:  I met that angry woman below Blissful Retreat again and I taught her a thing or two.  My Snowbound Spear and Blade helped me quite a lot.  Having a weapon at over 300 somethings has helped.  I completed the Palace of Annals the other day, with help.  I'm not sure how the co-op thing works, but I seemed to have some help exactly when I needed it.  With the new weapons, I'm not sure I'd need the help.

 Is the Bag a problem for anyone else?  I want to dump the lower-ranked stuff but it isn't easy to do that.  Occasionally, I actually replace my good stuff.  Don't right-click.

I tried the Vernal Umbrella and it was helpful but not powerful enough.  Finding a set of four of anything kind is difficult.  The sword and spear I'm using are not quite matched, even though the name would suggest that they are.  I have three Jadeware pieces and the blade/sword is not one of those.  Still, I'll go for results, since I'm not a collector. 

I'm back to the Governor's Residence tonight and after what seems like three hours of history, there is a five boss fight.  I got close the second time and became worse a third time.  I need rest.  I can only do so many boss fights per day.

 

Update 2026.04.29: This new area is gorgeous and troublesome right from the start.  It should be interesting. 

 

Update 2026.04.30: I saw some achievement about a fish in the tallest tree and attempted it.  Unfortunately, I'm not sure what the actual achievement is. 

Update 2026.05.02: Finished An Unholy Prophecy after a bit.  Frustrated that I turned on the mashers in the hallway because I had to return.  Finding the short sword (spoilers?) was difficult.  Got into Mistveil City but that seems like another three hours to complete.  I don't care about the chests at this point, except for the final one saying that I've completed the quest.

 

I'm up to Level 13 Universal View, which was the top level until version 1.6.  I'm also at level 87 but my gear is at level 81 until the shops reset on Sunday (or Monday in Asia).  I will switch to Tier 86 gear and get it tuned to 300 or so.  

 

Update 2026.05.04: Star Wars Day?  I went to level 90 and Level 14 and using Tier 91 gear.  I just updated to level 86 gear yesterday. I defeated a bunch of outposts since the previous breakthrough.  Being at the top level of breakthrough is interesting.  Picking and choosing weapons and armor should be interesting, as well.

 The thing about tuning gear is that you can compromise yourself by not placing gear right away.  I did that around Tier 81 gear, IIRC.  I put the spear into place, and tuning it took away the sword and other gear.

If you haven't seen, there is a way to upgrade your Tier 86 weapons to Tier 91, but it keeps you from improving the skills all the way to 95.  Is it me or are there just so many levels and they're not clearly different in nomenclature? 

I have expanded the Bag several times and never seem to have enough room.  Can't get rid of the old stuff for some reason.  I tried that and got mail with low-ranking gear, as though I lost them.

 

Things are going quickly and I'm surprised.   I finished the Buddha's Light campaign and have two more gold categories.

 Update 2026.05.05: Finished the Granary campaign.  It must have been buggy.  Now, I need to deal with a big fish twice.  Now, I'm going to regret not taking training in Japan for o-sushi.

Update 2026.05.07: I decided to start the Jinming Pool campaign.  I just learned that I need to use Touch of Death, so I need to configure for that.  I've got Meridian Touch, Tai Chi, Celestial Seize, and Wolf-like Frenzy on 1, 2, 3, and 4.  I suppose this is about panache instead of outright violence, so Touch of Death can go on 4.  It didn't go terribly wrong so far, but I know I'm going to need a few hours to complete it.

I've got Touch of Death and I believe that it works when I drop behind an enemy and press the F key.  I've also got Cloud Steps but didn't have them configured.  I switched out Ghostly Steps at Alt-3.  I'm going to need all four on the set of 1-4 keys without Alt.   Cloud Steps had an upgrade available so, it's at Tier 3, level 9 now.

Update 2026.05.09: I'm no a co-op person.  However, this week, I had some help with a boss and I made a friend who is leader of a Guild.  I joined the Guild and that requires some co-op time to accomplish goals.  I thought that I was joining a group battle and I found that it was just me.  I died four times.  I tried it today and died two times.  

I had some co-op time with another friend and took on the Twin Lions.  I died several times, but the friend can resurrect the dumb.  We were victorious.  We took on the Snake Doctor and were victorious, as well.  He wanted to retrieve a box in a pit of snakes.  I did my best to draw them away from him.  I died several times.  Notice a theme?

I need my Sword Morph shield to be much stronger.  I need my keyboard to perform all of my Mystic Skills with just one key.  I'm vicious once I get going, but I fail too often because I don't have my equipment up to higher levels and the same applies for Inner Way and Mystic Skills.  I'm working on it.  I'm also working on another blog entry to get new players on the right track quickly, to avoid my mistakes. 

Update 2026.05.11: I'm at character level 95, so I cannot go higher, although there is a Solo level 15 in "30 days" whatever exactly that means, probably 31 May.

I've spent some time tackling bosses with guild mates.  I'm so aggressive, and I don't care if my character is killed.  It sounds as though the other three were on Xbox or Playstation.  Certainly, that would be better since Microsoft doesn't have AI running in the background, even when you try to turn it off in Windows 11 Pro.

 I've finished a few more Encounters and easy quests.  Playing in the Guild Hall is different. 

Update 2026.05.13: I beat Dasan Pass lion on my own.  Feels better.  Tried wireless earbuds.  Microphone still not working.  Every Windows 11 Pro update seems to mean more glitching and lower performance.  WWM provides plenty of heat from RTX 3050 Ti.

Playing co-op is good, gaining assist points, even Sect points.  Martial Mastery still just under 23,000.  Waiting for Sunday and chance to find better Inner Way notes, and mystic skills upgrades.  Professional development has got Paragon Doctor 2.  Didn't have enough extra for Scholar upgrade. 

Trying my best to stay positive.  So much to do, although with some bug fixes, my Campaign completion is growing. 

 

 

Update 2026.05.14: Woke up, got another couple of games started, closed.  Went to WWM.  Was called to Guild Party and after that, got called for a 5 person fight, first with Puppeteer and second with Drunken Martial Artist.  Was killed and revived.   Went from a total of around 380,000 in the first to 730,000 in the second.   Breaking the wine jars helped.

 Out of everyone, I was the lowest with only physical skills that could be used.  It's interesting playing on a team. 

There is one problem I've noticed from playing on a team in strong graphical circumstances: my Windows 11 Pro machine is overheating.  This is a creator's machine, not a gaming machine and it's over three years old now, playing a game that's not six months old.  Still, I want to replace my Mac laptop with another Mac laptop, not replace Windows 11.   Ordered an MSI Crosshair HX 16 that's about three years newer, because this machine is from 2022.  It's not a 2026 machine but the AMD Ryzen 9 8940HX and Nvidia RTX 5060 should be a huge upgrade.

Update 2026.05.15: I've played almost 400 hours according to Steam.  Compare that to Unreal Tournament that I've had (again) since 2017 with 10 or so hours more.  I've really been playing too much.

I upgraded Ghostly Steps with the final Young Fungus.  Equally fun picking Jade Tower Peony for Wolflike Frenzy upgrading.  Those, plus some Gear updates caused me to beat a Martial Mastery number for Talents, and now, I'm at HP + 1000.  I might have a little more breathing room before my character is killed. 

Update 2026.05.24: I tried to create a new character profile and start fresh.  Apparently, it's been seven days, as I got a survey.

I'm almost to level 80 versus my older profile being at level 95 (in almost half a year's time).  I'm using the Panacea Fan and it's mostly working out.  According to a game friend, it can raise a fallen ally turning a co-op or team battle.  He's revived me a few, errr, several times against a big boss.

In another hour, those shop refreshes will help me with Inner Way, Mystic Skills, and other enhancements.

Yesterday, he got me started in co-op, and I hit all the outposts in Qinghe, most for the first time.  Cleared everything with a little help.  Then, he had me helping him with Supreme Freedom and more, where I didn't do so well.

Once again, there are so many ways to advance weapons and armour that it's confusing.  At least, with Martial Skills and Inner Way, you have a clear path.  Inner Way requires a lot of good luck. 

 

Update 2026.05.29: The new profile is now at level 84 after completing the new campaign inside the Imperial Palace.  I'm not sure how I can defeat the latest big boss on first try (0.1% of players?) and not be able to handle other bosses on my own.

I'm betting that I will try it with the advanced, level 95, profile and not succeed that quickly. 

Another Gaming Mouse Bites the Dust

 I can't really be this aggressive, can I?

I'm replacing my ASUS ROG Strix Impact III with a Steel Series Aerox 5.  It's been almost one year since I bought it to replace my Corsair M55 RGB Pro.  I broke the left mouse button entirely.  I blamed that on a combination of Genshin Impact and Honkai:Star Rail.

At the same time I bought the ASUS mouse, I bought a Steel Series Rival 3.  Each was around US$30, which isn't much, especially for a gaming mouse.  I've been using the Rival 3 on my M1 MacBook Air, even though the trackpad is excellent.  I have a few games I play and the whole set of buttons makes playing much easier.

A couple of weeks ago, Solo Leveling: Arise was updated and suddenly, it was taking me 3-5 clicks for a click to register.  I noticed that there was a visible lag in movement.  Using the Rival 3, I was still getting some of that, but not as much.  I don't expect anything like that to change because of the Aerox 5.  I'm not sure what the developers are doing, but maybe they haven't had enough sleep.

Being able to see inside the shell of the mouse is interesting.  I don't know that I needed something this fancy, but it was US$20 off and I hoped that it would be more durable.  However, I'm not likely to ever buy a mouse for over US$100.

 Back in 1991, I bought an IBM L40SX, which was an Intel 486SX (486DX without math coprocessor) laptop computer with just enough storage and RAM for Windows 3.0.  It was available on HSN for 25% of the original US$6000.  I bought a Logitech Trackman laptop trackball for about US$150 because there was nothing else at the time and it hung in the gap between the numeric keypad and the case.  Today, there are plenty of choices, and good trackpads are part of the laptop computer.

In any case, another little journey has started and I'll see how well this Aerox 5 performs.  I suspect it will be fine.  My other Steel Series products have been.

After trying it with a few games, including Solo Leveling: Arise, the Aerox 5 has been responsiveness than the previous mousies.  I had to change some settings on the side buttons because it's much to easy to tap the forward side button with my thumb.  It was sending the F3 key and changing settings while I was playing.  The mouse is a bit bigger than expected, but I'm sure that I will adapt.  The cable is sometimes a pain, but the responsiveness wouldn't be the same using a wireless mouse, especially one with an adapter using an extra port I don't have at the moment.

Update 2025.03.10: I seem to have damaged my laptop computer's keyboard, especially the "W" key.  This might be difficult to have replaced.  Maybe, when I take it for repair, they can substitute a gaming keyboard in  my Creator's machine.  It's been acting up for a while, mostly since I've put away Genshin Impact and picked up Solo Leveling: Arise.  If necessary, I can add a keyboard, but I don't really have room.  That's why I use a laptop computer. 

Update 2025.12.14: The Steelseries Aerox 5 is still great. My ASUS keyboard is inconsistent but mostly okay.  I got a Redragon half keyboard to be a substitute and take some pressure off the laptop's keyboard.  I chose Redragon because they seemed to have a lot of products AND they had software.  I've got another mouse from a Chinese company that's attached to my MacBook Air and it works fine, but there is no configuration software.

Solo Leveling: Arise End of Summer and Four Months of Play

They're about to make some changes and there is a live broadcast in 2.5 hours.  The chat seemed pretty serious about the little girl characters not being appropriate.  It's ridiculous how most of these freemium games are pushing Objectifaction of females, but children should be off-limits.  Every time I play Giant Arachnid with Amamiya Mirei, I'm surprised to see up her skirt when the Giant Arachnid rises from the playing floor.

 

 It feels like a short time and there have been a lot of changes.  When I got my hands on the game, it felt familiar to Hoyoverse Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail.  Many of the items have different names but have similar mechanisms.

The most unusual aspect of the game is the character level.  You earn it by playing.  There is no Trial of Equilibrium or facing a beast of the correct kind to receive the leftovers once it is defeated.  You just play and claim funds and play more.

This is where I am:

Character level 78
Reputation level 43
Battle Tier 20, 288,256
Mining Team Level 24 127/1000
Difficulty 22

Chapter 18 on Normal
Chapter 11 on Hard
Chapter 3 on Reverse

Challenges Chapter 16

That's decent.  I look at CM Prizm with everything at maximum and I feel okay because I worked to get this far.  You can't cheat to accomplish the story levels.  There are no tricks.  I'm sure people pay loads to get the correct weapons that I'm getting more slowly.

I have spent some money, but nothing on the scale that I've seen Genshin Impact players spend.  One person I know spent US$200+ and I was shocked.  I haven't spent anything and I'm at AR 43 now.  It's similar to how I have dealt with Honkai: Star Rail, except that my characters are all at level 80, with decent Light Cones, etc.  I didn't think that I could get to maximum without spending money, but it's possible.

I know that getting from Character level 78 to 85 will be more challenging.  I'm on Story Chapter 18 and it seems to end at Chapter 20 so far.  Difficulty 22 has been difficult enough and I'm not as good with the ice bears on A-rank red gates and I haven't played an S-rank red gate for a while because it just isn't working for me.  I should be playing a higher difficulty but until I can do better, I'm being more cautious.  What's strange is that on the red gates, I'm on manual control and the game still seems to be controlling the player somewhat.

I have all but five of the SSR-ranked characters.  I have all of the SR-ranked characters, working to get all of the exclusive weapons crafted.  The Summer edition helped with great characters and weapons for free.

I've been lucky to draw the best stuff.  For Sung Jinwoo, I was using SR-ranked and R-ranked weapons up until Character level 25 but it's better now, with an SSR-ranked weapon in each category.  It's good to have two SSR-ranked fire element weapons when dealing with the ice bears.  Most of the SSR-ranked weapons have skills up to level 5 and even to level 6 on some skills.  That's too low, I'm sure, but that's why Difficulty 22 is where I'll be for a while.  Getting the level 78 artifacts will have to wait.

Upgrading skills has been expensive in terms of resources.  I'm sure I could do better if I spent actual money on what I need.  I always try to spread the resources to the three (sometimes, six) Hunters I feel can do the most good.  Giving resources to Hunters that have little chance of winning doesn't make sense.

Time to Play

I've been playing for almost one hour.  First thing I've noticed is that I have to click/tap 3 times to get the interface to respond.  I appreciate the maintenance compensation and the codes to redeem, but why make the game perform more poorly?

Having developed business software, language translators, and more, I know that you get it going correctly, first.  Then, you take the time to make it better.  In a year, it will be as smooth as melted butter but I'm playing now.

At least, when playing Gates, it seems about the same as previous versions.  Hopefully, that will be the same for the biggest bosses.

Did anyone get anything useful out of the weapons draw coupon?  I salvaged the whole lot.  Those Hunter weapons needed leveling up, so it wasn't all bad.  Hopefully, I will have all the SSR-ranked Hunter weapons to level 80 within the next two weeks.

Reputation level is 44 now.

Update 2024.09.12: Character level is 79 as of this morning.  I raised my Difficulty level to 23 but will probably raise that to 24 this evening.  I'm not pushing enough to get the better artifacts.  There was a box of level 78 artifacts waiting for me, but I could only choose 1 of the 8 available.

Update 2024.09.13: There was another box of level 78 artifacts waiting for me.  Hopefully, there will be six more and I will get the whole set.  Do I change Sung Jinwoo out of the summer sets of artifacts?

Does Manage Teams work correctly for anyone else?  I changed the teams to reflect fire, wind, water, etc. and I changed Sung Jinwoo's weapons to match the Hunters but the weapons are changed everywhere.

While working with teams, my Battle Tier was increased to level 21.

Update 2024.09.14: The next set of artifacts box was available.  Now, I have 3 of the 8 in the set.  I will wait patiently.  Lots of little changes but the annoying delays need something to be fixed.  Clicking/tapping up to 5 times to do anything is too much.

Update 2024.09.15: Another artifact box was available.  They all say "Greed" but do they all match?  Reputation level is up to 45.

Update 2024.09.16: Character level is 80.  That was the original limit.  It's also the limit in Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail.  Now, the limit is 90 for Solo Leveling: Arise.  Given that there are no tests or special items to use to rise to this level, does it matter?  Is it just another number?

Update 2024.09.19: The game had a promotion to craft some level 78 artifacts of the kind they gave away.  I had the Boots and Gloves of the Burning Greed, so I crafted the Helmet and Body Armor of the same type.  Unfortunately, I don't know whether I'll get the other pieces of the Burning Greed or fill the extra artifacts of the Burning Curse or the Burning Blessing.  I have some of those.

I've been trying to handle everything in the game and that's just not possible.  I had my birthday yesterday, so I just did as much as I could after going out to eat.  The Guild requires a lot to finish the daily requirements.  I haven't finished the whole set since last week.

The game seems overly buggy right now.  I've seen some small updates, but nothing to take care of the 3-5 clicks/taps problem I have.  I can hope, though.

In the middle of Challenges Chapter 15, I'm making progress.  It requires many of the Reverse Story episodes.  Challenges shows you every corner of the game.

 

Update 2024.09.22: Character level is 81.  Reputation level is 46.  Battle Tier is 22.  Challenges Chapter is 15.  In Story mode, I'm at Normal Chapter 18, Hard Chapter 11, and Reverse Chapter 6.  The Guild is small, with only three of us.  I feel that my levels are okay, not great.  I see the same names at the top and I expect that they started during the beta testing and got some extra free items and then, they spent a lot of money.  I don't want to spend money, even though I have spent some.

 

Update 2024.09.25: Got a Sung Jinwoo weapon up to level 100.  Continuing to progress, even if it is slow.  Managed to get enough resources to limit break another weapon on the way from level 80 to level 100.  Reputation level is up.  Draw tickets have been a bit light lately, so I've been filling the gap with Essence Stones.  Still have a lot but I have to slow down on using them.  Got one of the new SSR-ranked characters but I'd rather have Cha Hae-In at this point.  I could use a second light element character.

I've been trying to get the Hunter's skills up a few levels.  Noticed that a couple of the newer SSR-ranked Hunters have level 3 skills.  Go Gunhee is one of them and he's most powerful.  I can't imagine if everything of his was at maximum levels.

I bought/exchanged the Trinity Force 7-day buff through the Guild Exchange Shop, and it's excellent.  I made it through a rough patch of the story with Kalgalgan and more.

 

Update 2024.09.26: Character level is 82 and Reputation level is 47.  I got another Sung Jinwoo weapon to level 100.  I was working the Gates and the story in Hard, Normal, and Reverse modes.  Tried everything to get enough power to struggle through the Hidden Chapters of the Story.

Playing some of the side stories made me realize that I haven't updated some of the early Hunters I used.  Skills are low on every character but I tried to balance it over the few I needed.  Having so many good Hunters and weapons means that I spread the resources thin.  Returning to early story chapters meant that I would use characters that were fine then, but in Hard mode, wouldn't make it.

As I continue, will SR-ranked weapons for Sung Jinwoo even be useful?  I have two SSR-ranked dark-oriented weapons at level 80.  I only have one wind-oriented weapon and that's at level 100.  As well, my only light-oriented SSR-ranked weapon is at level 100.  Both of my fire-oriented SSR-ranked weapons are at level 80.  The skills of each are level 5 or 6.  I have one water-oriented weapon at level 80 and the other is at level 47.

Update 2024.09.28: Reputation level is at 48.  Most SSR-ranked weapons for Hunters are at level 80.  One is not quite to level 60, another is at level 40, and the third is under level 20.  Having new Hunters and their weapons every month can be inconvenient.  Since I have the whole Greed set of artifacts now, I've got those on Sung Jinwoo and the Battle Tier is up another level.

It's going to be a while for the couple of Precision Design bits I need to Limit Break another weapon past level 80.  They "offered" a pack with one of the Precision Design bits but not two.  I'm guessing that the next "offer" wouldn't be three times the price.  That one might give me two of what I needed, just to keep me wanting more of them.

Update 2024.10.02: Reputation level is 49.  Continuing to continue.  More weapons leveled up.  Using Harper for my daily Level up a Hunter.  Got her weapon with one Advance and a lot of extra pieces in order to craft Advance number two.

Update 2024.10.05: Character level is 83.  The exclusive weapon for Go Gunhee is going to level 100.  Since that weapon had 4 Advances, it was the best to level up.  I also have the light-oriented weapon for Cha Hae-In, but I don't have her.  I just got Baek Yoonho, not beast version but I already have that one.

Recently, I kept wondering about the Army of Shadows.  The game was informing me about changing numbers but didn't remind me about making modifications to the shadow characters themselves.  Suddenly, the battles are going better.  More resources needed again.

I'm still far from the top, not that being at the top would make a real difference in my life, but it would be interesting for a moment.

Once I'm at character level 90 and there is no further to go, can I concentrate on being better?  Will there be more to do?

Update 2024.10.07: Up to Reputation level 50.  The weapon for Go Gunhee is at level 100.

Time to give up on Hoyoverse? (All gone!)

 After my recent "fun" with Honkai: Star Rail and my trial of Honkai Impact, I've updated Genshin Impact and visited their new area, Natlan.

I found that I ended up in a battle I couldn't win.  I also couldn't leave.

I'm only at account level 42, although my main character is at level 70.  Genshin Impact developers apparently feel depressed over negative feedback.  I'm considering removing their games from my devices.

This isn't the first time they've put me in a situation that was impossible.  I'm sure with all the money they've made that they're constantly thinking about the money and not how it feels to play when you're not fully leveled up.  If I return in one year, maybe, it will be okay, similar to the Knights of Beauty mess that happened in Honkai: Star Rail.

I appreciate that they're working on ways to make it fresh.  It's always been a struggle to play.  Maybe, this will save me some disk space.

Update 2024.08.30: After I lost the battle a few times, they gave me the option to downgrade my World Level to 4.  I finished the battle successfully.

While I was avoiding being in a loop, I made some progress in the other account on a quest that was taking too long, which got me into another quest that will take too long.

There is a common theme to upgrade the other characters and I haven't had much luck getting the materials, due to battle problems.  Is this the outcome of not spending real money?  It probably hurts.  I still haven't seen Inazuma because I haven't completed some huge quests since I can't figure out the puzzles.  I've tried a couple of walkthroughs.

Natlan is agreeable and there seem to be fewer enemies, but I haven't got into the two specific World Quests.

 

Update 2024.12.23: I just removed Genshin Impact from my drive.  I tried to use the relocate functionality to move it to a portable drive but that doesn't seem to work.  It was taking 11% of my 1 TB drive.  I've been looking at spending for a 4 TB drive, but I bought some photographic equipment instead.  My Mac's 1 TB drive is worse at around 100 GB free but it still works fine at that size of free space where Windows seems to be confused and works erratically.

I'm still opening Honkai: Star Rail every day and still building characters, but I'm not really up to date, even though many of my characters are at maximum.

I tried one of the character trials in Genshin Impact a few days ago, and it was too much for me.  I might be able to do better if I was playing every day, but I haven't made progress in months.

Update 2025.09.23: It's been a little over a year and I've tried to keep Honkai: Star Rail going but it's just not fun.  Genshin Impact was more work than fun and Honkai Impact 3rd was just crap.

I've been playing Solo Leveling: Arise for over 1 year and I took up Wuthering Waves before their 1st anniversary.  I'm still playing Tower of God: New World on the portable devices.  I'll probably tire of those eventually. 

Solo leveling: ARISE first thoughts

 I've been playing this game from Netmarble since Wednesday evening (it's Friday afternoon) and it's like a combination of Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail, which I've been playing regularly.

It takes a fair bit of storage but it works on my Google Pixel 6a fairly well, and it's better on my ASUS ZenBook Pro with Ryzen 7, 16 GB of RAM, and GeForce RTX 3050 Ti (laptop edition), even on very high settings.

I've seen a few reviews from people thinking that whatever phone they have is going to play it well.  I wouldn't expect that, especially since it's new and they need some time to fix the problems and make it work correctly before addressing performance.  The game guides you a bit frequently to items you can buy, but they didn't make the game without money any more than Genshin Impact was made without money.

I've been playing games long enough to say that I prefer to pay for games upfront and not be bothered later, but that's a thing of the past.  Even when you buy games, they bother you to buy more things.  Right now, I'm learning what I need, and not blindly looking at my wallet to solve the problems.  One game I play, Black Clover M, seems to work so that you never get what you want and I don't want to spend money on anything that "randomly" gives you items you might need.  So far, those types of choices always end up giving me more of what I've got, not what I need.

 The Special Summons bit where you summon and summon and summon and it chooses some good characters and weapons for you and makes you wait seemed to be a bad joke.  It made me wait two days and didn't instruct me to buy something but now, it just says Expired.  Maybe, someone in South Korea or elsewhere in Asia managed to get something good. but it was poorly implemented.  It's a new game on the market.  I don't expect everything to go my way.

Game Play

On the keyboard, E and Q are similar in function to Genshin Impact or Honkai: Star Rail.  F and R have higher functions.  Left-Click on the mouse is the basic attack.  Left-Shift has different functions.  For your Main Character, Left-Shift initiates more powerful attacks.  For your fellow hunters clearing a dungeon, Left-Shift cycles through the team members.  Right now, I have Lee Joohee, Song Chiyul, and Yoo Jinho.  The main character is Sung Jinwoo.  You can add your nickname, but it won't replace the main characters name.  All of my characters are at level 20 now and so are their weapons.  My reputation (account level) is at level 4.  It's a few hours later and my characters are above level 20 and my reputation is at level 5.  It's difficult to believe that it's moving more quickly.

The worst flaw I've found is that you use the block/menu to get to a function like enhancing a hunter and you want to enhance the main character, it throws you all the way out, and makes you start again, with a delay.  It's an annoyance, not a reason to quit playing.  They'll probably notice it at some point or already plan to change it.

There is a semi-automatic mode, so that the character will run in the direction of the enemies but you still have control over the battle.  It can perform the battle but I'm not sure it's ready for that yet.  I've ended the Gates battles with SSS level outcome a few times, but too many have been level S.  Still it's not been two days, and I have been to work and back a couple of times.  I play games, but they don't play me, right?

There are all sorts of nooks and crannies where they give you points and free stuff, but you have to look.

Instead of assignments, they have Gate Mining.  Once you clear a Gate, you should return to mine the Mana.  Obviously, you always need supplies.

Since I've never seen the anime or the written stories, I don't know a thing about the ranks and such.  However, I know that R is low, SR is better, SSR is even better. Whether it uses LR or UR as higher levels is something I have yet to see.

I'm using an SR-level weapon for the main character and R-level weapons for the other hunters.  Just like with Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail, you can take multiple weapons of the same type and put them together for a stronger weapon.  There are other item to use for skills and weapon enhancement but I've already forgotten if the tutorial mentioned how to use them.

I'm guessing that, in a year, my main character will be complete and my other hunters will probably be just as amazing, just as I've done with Honkai: Star Rail.  I just need to pay attention to learn what I need to do.

I tried the Encore Missions and got artifacts that increase the characters attributes.  Being that I've accomplished one of the goals shown on the main page, I ended up completing a few of those "you have cleared this 100 times." situations.  I've now got a second SR-level weapon for the main character, for Slot 2.

I hope you have fun.  (I also hope that they do as well as HoYoVerse and make enough money to make this game even better.  They don't have to update it every month but right now, bug fixes would be ideal.)

 

Update 2024.05.11: It's been off-and-on for about 4 evenings since I started.  I'm still not 100% sure what I'm doing.  I'm at Reputation level 5 and Level 29 for my main character.  I've got enough artifacts and enhanced them enough to make battle better.  I'm at difficulty 6, so I'm still going slow.  I haven't spent any money, but I'm wondering if it gets you better equipment and better characters.  SSR equipment and characters would be helpful but things are still going fairly well.  I had one battle end at 7.01, so that was close.  When you're playing with the characters they want you to use, you need to end with the first one to get the full award.

Occasionally, I'll be fighting the boss and use the Ultimate at the wrong time and not have the raid leader on at the end.  Today, I've had fewer SSS finishes and even an A finish, as I've turned up the difficulty.

 

Be sure to enhance your equipment.  It helps a lot.  Check your characters regularly.  They stop pushing you to do it fairly soon.  If you're not aware, you may miss opportunities.

Update 2024.05.12: I'm at level 31, Reputation level 6.  I'm stuck on chapter 8, Ready as You'll Ever Be.  I'm pretty much finished, and then, there is a second boss.  I was thinking "how did he go back to full health?"  Apparently, using light-oriented weapons helps.  We'll see if I can manage it.  I changed both weapons to light-oriented weapons and this helped a bit.  They're not as powerful as they need to be.  I finished the first boss more quickly, but there still wasn't enough time for the power held by the weapons.  This may take some time.

I used up all of my custom draws.  Now that the story isn't going forward, I don't have any way to get more, except to buy a package.  Hopefully, I can figure out something.  Maybe, one of the light oriented weapons and the SSR-level weapon at level 40.

 

With the Lycan Slayer weapon at level 26 and the Shadow Scythe at level 40, things were better.  It's especially interesting that the Lycan Slayer is a R-level weapon.  None of the light-oriented weapons had a lot of power but since I had so many of them and used them together (Advance is your friend!), it became powerful enough.

 Okay, be careful.  I had some extra Lycan Slayer weapons and I went to combine them to see if I could have a second weapon to complete the next mission.  I got a message I didn't understand, and the extras replaced my level 40 weapon.

Since I was failing so often, I didn't expect a SSS result.

Update 2024.05.12: So, I lost the weapon I was successful in using.  I sent a message to support but don't expect for it to be returned.  It's going to take a while for all those upgrades to be re-worked on another weapon.  Still, I'm at Reputation level 7 and character level 32.  It would be interesting to level up every day I don't go to work.

After sleeping overnight, I battled through a few gates and my Reputation level is up to 8.  Wish I had more resources.  After finishing the "You're Ready as You'll Ever Be" battle, the next one, "Protector of the Throne", is a bit more.  Without the Lycan Slayer at level 40, I've switched to the Lustrous Dragon Sword at level 29.  It seems somewhat more powerful and I feel that I've come closer, but with both Light-oriented weapons, I'm betting that it would be so much better.  I'm not giving up, but I might have to wait a while.

Update 2024.05.15: I'm up to Reputation level 9, character level 34.  Got the Lustrous Dragon Sword to level 40.  Increased my difficulty level to 8.  Still going.  Got more characters, including an SSR hunter, Woo Jinchul, but only an SR weapon for him.  Still working on "Protector of the Throne".

Update 2024.05.17: Woke up, did a few gates, and I'm now at Reputation level 10, character level 35.  Tried a Red gate with Woo Jinchul but took too long.  Have a new SSR light-oriented weapon but it's stuck at level 20.

Update 2024.05.19: Up to character level 36.  Making progress, but progress is slowing.  Getting weapons above level 40 will take a while.  Still can't get through chapter 8.  Stuck at "Protector of the Throne".  I could use another light-oriented weapon.  I got a response from support that they are passing my request to the correct team.  I suspect that means that no one is going to do anything about my missing weapon and that I just need to build another of its kind and be more careful.

Update 2024.05.20: Up to Reputation level 11, character level 37.  Working on making certain weapons more powerful.  Attempting to get through chapter 8 still.  I need a little bit of this, more of that, and a helluva lot of those.  I got a 12 days of logins achievement which seems strange.  Why not wait until 14 days?  The game still seems to have a lot of pauses.  Special Summons are back.  It doesn't seem to let me choose in each of the 15 drawings.  I believe that I understand how the guaranteed drawing works: US$21.99 once or US$9.99 subscription each month.  It doesn't explain whether you can cancel the subscription or not.  It's interesting but why would you pay US$21.99 for some characters or items you don't want?  You should be able to choose each time.

Update 2024.05.22: I'm up to character level 38.  When has that happened so quickly?  Within two weeks on Honkai: Star Rail, I was probably at level 12 for my main character.  On Genshin Impact, it took me months to get the main character past level 4.  Getting the weapons up to where they're good is another matter but even then, that's faster than the other two.  Well, Reputation level 12 is here.  Working on Light-oriented weapons and with two, not quite complete, The boss in Chapter 8 is still successful and my main character is not.  Two R-level weapons aren't extremely powerful, but one R-level weapon and one SR-level weapon should be enough.  My new Lycan Slayer is at level 35 with 1-Dimensional Advance while the Lustrous Dragon Sword is has no Advance but is at level 40.

Update 2024.05.25: I'm up to character level 40 and Reputation level 13.  I'm able to upgrade characters now and made changes to my top three hunters.  The SSR-level Thetis' Grimoire for the main character is excellent.  It feels as though battles are shorter and easier.  Whether this will work for the end of chapter 8, I'll try any combination that makes sense.  Anna Ruiz is a useful hunter but her weapon could use some help.  It has no Advance.

Update 2024.05.27: I'm up to character level 41 this morning.  The Reputation level is halfway between 13 and 14, with that +2 after each gate keeping me humble.  The custom draw tickets have added to my weapons.  I'm doing everything I can to get those weapons up to level 60.  It's odd to have an SSR-level light-oriented weapon for hunters and not for the main character, which has SR-level and R-level light-oriented weapons.  Either way, gotta keep trying.

I'm up to Reputation level 14.  Weapons are going closer to level 60.  There is still much to do.  Playing Battlefield of Trials and I'm at Floor 8, having completed or cleared the others.  I tried to add a quick video of it but it seems too big.  Perhaps, I can link to it later.

Update 2024.05.29: It's been a couple of hours since the update became ready.  It's been three weeks and they've added content, changed a few things, and fixed bugs and improved performance.

I've completed chapter 8 and gone up to character level 42.  I can't say that it was pretty but with Thetis' Grimoire at level 60 and the Lustrous Dragon Sword at level 40, it was enough.  Improving the Hunters and their weapons probably helped, as well.

Getting through the Gates, I've noticed that the Hunters are more able.  They've finished a couple of Rank A Gates without a problem.  I'm still working on learning how to use Anna Ruiz and her bow in close quarters.

With the custom draw tickets, I got Silver Mane Baek Yoonho and Moonshadow, among others.  I feel lucky to have any SSR-level equipment or hunters.

I heard from support and they said that they cannot restore the Lycan Slayer as it was, as I caused the problem, and to lock my weapons in the future.  I didn't know that you could destroy a weapon so easily.  With everything else being repetitive, you'd think that the game would make sure I understood.

Update 2024.05.30: I'm up to character level 43 and Reputation level 15.  Things are easier but on occasion, I don't have enough power to defeat the enemies in Chapter 9, not yet, anyway.

Update 2024.05.31: I just completed two episodes of Chapter 9.  I got the new job title of Necromancer.  Then, after the second and final episode, I got the new job title of Monarch of Shadows.  Each came with an extra 30 points to spread around the abilities.  There was also a new outfit, and Instance Dungeons were opened, as well as new slots for artifacts you get from Instance Dungeons.

Update 2024.06.02: I'm at character level 45 and Reputation level 16.  The difficulty level is up to 9, but I'm probably going to change that soon.  I'm partway through Chapter 11 but I'm seeing a warning that my group isn't powerful enough.

I've been experiencing a problem where certain keys on the keyboard don't function after playing the game on Windows.  There are more than I'm going to mention but specifically, the "d", Enter, and Backspace keys don't work after playing.  At some point they're better, but it's not like I use Enter or Backspace in the game at all, so it doesn't make sense.  In a few days, it will be a month that the game has been available.  It feels as though some new functionality is available every few days.

Update 2024.06.07: I'm using a keyboard I got from Temu for the Steam Deck and it's awkward since my Windows computer is a laptop computer.  Anyway, the other day, I got a 40 days of log-ins which seemed a little off since I haven't even been playing for 30 days.  I'm at Reputation level 17 and my character level is almost to 47 but has some time to go.

I was watching a video of someone explaining how to get to a certain level of performance on Solo Leveling: Arise and I noticed that I'm not far from his levels.  That's just crazy because he's probably spend a couple hundred dollars. I have spent US$40.88, which is much more than I usually spend unless I'm buying a game. I'm wondering what happens when I have my characters maxxed out.  Will I find it fun?  On Honkai: Star Rail, I'm in maintenance mode, where I just keep things going until I see something interesting.  Who knows?

Update 2025.06.13: Looking back at this is interesting.  I'm at Character level 106 and Reputation level 66. I'm at maximum on Mining level which is now 40 and my Difficult level for gates is 41.  I have 5 Sung Jinwoo weapons at level 110 and I've got one Hunter weapon almost there.  I'm down to spending $3.99 per month.

Genshin Impact, from AR 6 to AR 40 in a few months, without money

 I tried Genshin Impact when it was a few months old.  People at work had been playing and I was interesting in trying it.  I was terrible at it.  I was determined not to spend money--something that my co-workers were doing--and I didn't go far.  When Honkai: Star Rail became available, I was still at AR 6 in Genshin Impact.  That's a long time.

After playing Honkai: Star Rail for a while, and getting my characters up to high levels (many are at level 80 now), I started to play with Genshin Impact while I was bored waiting for the energy to be recharged in HSR.  With level 80 characters and at game level 60+, it takes a long time to level up characters.

Now, in Genshin Impact, I'm up to AR 35 and my main character, in both accounts, is at level 60.  I need to finish the Dvalin/Stormterror quest to go further and reveal many opportunities.  I've made decent progress or I wouldn't be at AR 35, but there is much to experience.  I haven't made it to the peak of Dragonspire and I haven't be allowed to see Inazuma, although the occasionally talk about it.

I've finally got a 5-star character on both accounts: Dehya.  So far, the 4-star characters seem more reliable, but all characters seem to have incredible weakness and they fail at the wrong time.  Most weapons are 3-star varieties with lots of duplicates, so using the Refine function helps.  I've unlocked the weapons upgrade materials sites, so it's easier to do that.  Upgrading the characters is another matter.  How do you upgrade a character that isn't strong enough to fight for the materials it needs?

Well, just having made it to AR 35, I have that ascension challenge happening.  I need to get the other characters up a few levels.  However, the things I need to accomplish don't seem possible.  I guess all I can do is be patient, upgrade artifacts and weapons and keep trying.  The ascension challenge wants all characters at level 60.  The other characters are at level 40 right now, except for Dehya, who is at level 60 on one account and level 50 on the other.  Her materials are much easier to get.  I need two others at level 60, though.  My main character is now at level 70 on both accounts.

 The mechanisms in Honkai: Star Rail seem to be almost the same as Genshin Impact.  It's just in the presentation where they differ.  The fighting style is the biggest difference, of course.

Update 2023.10.09: It took a while to make it past the Ascension challenge.  One account worked quickly, but the other struggled and I finally got a team with a characters at levels 70, 50, 40, and 60 to work.  It took so long that the second account went directly from AR 35 to AR 39.  The first account to succeed went from AR 35 to AR 37 but they're both nearing AR 40 right now.

Upgrading weapons works, but upgrading 4-star weapons is more difficult, of course.  My trouble is that I have characters from Inazuma, which is not open to me yet.  You can't upgrade characters with unavailable items.

Still, I haven't spent any money on the game.  My frustration level may not be any higher than those spending money, though.

Update 2023.10.11: Make that AR 40, on both accounts.  I still have much to learn.  I really wish I had 4-star weapons on both accounts.  The mix of 4-star characters is good enough.  The Dehya character has been extremely useful, even though most rankings I've seen are not positive.  Keqing should be interesting, once I can move her past level 20.  I ended up having to use Noelle with a strong weapon to get past AR 35 on the lagging account.  My previous experience was that the character was not useful but she was enough to handle the situation to upgrade Kaeya, and will be needed again.

Update 2024.03.08: Up to AR 42, but not really making progress.  My main character is at level 80 on both accounts and the weapon is at level 70 on one and close to that on the other account.  It's interesting to have the same characters on both accounts and frustrating not to have certain characters on both.

I got into the new area with this latest release, but I still have early quests with the Adepti to finish in order to progress.  At least, I got to see the Lantern Festival around Lunar New Year.  That was the main reason I started Genshin Impact years ago.

Update 2024.09.04: At AR 43 this week, after having trouble with the battle when entering Natlan.  I've lost interest after finding some of the puzzles and battles too difficult.

Trial of the Equilibrium: Part Six

On one account, I'm at level 65, which means I have to face the Trial of the Equilibrium again.  This time, the characters are at level 80.  I had the Main Character, March 7th, Bailu, and Welt Yang.  I still have Traces to finish but 7/10 isn't bad.

Well, it took a few minutes.  Always, remember the personal shield, Cosmic Fried Rice, and an energy drink or something to help your DEF.

The other account might struggle more, but it's been good in the past.  I may wish to strengthen the Traces more than 7/10.

The new version struggle with the assassins went quickly.  Jing Yuan and Imbibitor Lunae were good, even though they were at level 78, which is lower than my own characters and in the one case, I only selected three characters for the team.

 I'm sure that you can appreciate that I haven't spent any real money on playing the game.  It's taken a lot of patience and planning to get to this point without paying for anything.  I'm not paying anything to play Genshin Impact, and it's certainly difficult to get even 4-star characters there.

Update 2023.09.05: How did everyone do with their free pulls?  On one account, I got an extra Himeko and an extra Yukong.  This is especially important because Yukong is my only Imaginary character on that account.  The other got an extra Herta and a Yukong-specific Light Cone, Past and Future.  Eidolons are good.  Both are getting an extra Sushang because of the Aurum Alley event.

With both accounts into level 65, I wonder what else will happen as I complete characters.

Update 2023.09.12: I've been completing every character I can.  I've been working the Aurum Alley event, as well.  Mostly, I'm waiting for Traiblaze power to be regenerated and credits to be enough.  I was playing the event with Bailu at Scalegorge Waterscape and I noticed level 85 characters afterwards.  When did that happen?

I've also been working on Genshin Impact again and I'm up to AR 32 on both accounts.  I see so many prerequisites and I'm not sure where they are.  I'm finding new temples for artifacts and weapon ascension materials lately.  I'm getting caught up in little side quests, but they might be exactly what I need to move further.  I have a feeling that I need to finish Dragonspire quests before I can find Inazuma.  I found Fontaine after dealing with the desert.  I don't suppose I can use the Waverunner and take it all the way to Liyue and on to Inazuma.  There always seems to be something in the way.

Honkai: Star Rail, Level 80 characters, Genshin Impact revival

 As I'm past the Trial of the Equilibrium: Part Five, I've been increasing my characters to maximum levels.  I've got four characters on each account at level 80.  It's been a while to achieve that.  I've got most of their Light Cones to level 80, as well.

Finishing the Traces has been difficult, due to Echo of War constraints.  Finding Eidolons will take time and much patience.

While I've been waiting, I've been messing with Genshin Impact again.  I was at level 6 for a year or two, but now, I'm at level 17 on one account and level 16 on the other.

Running around the beautiful landscape with a group of four has been interesting, especially when they aren't as powerful as their enemies.  I only have one four-star character on each account, with Rosaria on one, and Kuki Shinobu on the other.  Since I got to Adventurer level 15, I was able to level up the characters to near level 40.  That has greatly increased their chances of winning.  Stamina is always a problem, and the characters seem to want to climb anything, as if they're trying to commit suicide by lack of stamina.

I've thankful that I have two accounts.  I have different experiences in Genshin Impact, and that leads to greater success for both, eventually.

The next few months of both games should be interesting.  Version 4.0 of Genshin Impact will arrive soon but I'm still not at a level where I would notice.  It feels as though the training wheels will be gone soon, though.  By the time Honkai: Star Rail reaches version 4.0, I should have all of my characters at maximum.

Update 2023.08.13: The Genshin Impact training wheels are gone at Adventure Rank 20 on both accounts.  It feels as though Spiral Abyss is the Simulated Universe from HSR.

Update 2023.08.17: Is it strange that I've barely accomplished anything in Genshin Impact and I'm suddenly in the new area of Fontaine?  I'm up to AR 21 now.  I've recently been dealing with The Sign of Apaosha, which seems a bit advanced.  Still building characters on Honkai: Star Rail, at level 63.

Update 2023.08.22: I'm at AR 23 on both accounts in Genshin Impact and managed to cover quite a bit of territory and light up teleport sites.  On Honkai: Star Rail, I'm getting a couple more characters up toward level 80 and Traces are on the rise, as well.

Update 2023.08.27: I'm at AR 26 on one account and AR 25 on the other.  Midsummer Courtyard seems like Trial of the Equilibrium.  I finally went there after wondering why I had too many points for AR 25.  It wasn't easy, as there aren't really any instructions or directional indicators.  I didn't even know to go to the tree for the rewards and didn't get anything the first time.  Spiral Abyss is almost as confusing, but there is some indicator of what's happening.

On Honkai: Star Rail, I'm still working on building characters to their maximum levels.  This is taking time and resources.

Update 2023.08.31: On Genshin Impact, I've got enough points on the other account to be at AR 27, but I can't get pass the Midsummer Courtyard trial.  Apparently, I need better characters, better weapons, better artifacts.  I'm not sure how I did it on the other account.  Never mind, the Electro Hypostasis was a problem, but learning how to work against it helped.  I'm not sure how the other account accomplished this because I really don't remember that part at all.  Both accounts are at AR 27 now.

Honkai: Star Rail is all shiny and new.  Breezed through the challenges with trial Imbibitor Lunae at level 78.  On one account, I accidentally stopped adding characters and only had a group of 3, rather than 4.  They were all easy wins, though, with level 80 characters.  The Aurum Alley management tasks are annoying, moreso than the Belobog Museum tasks.

Update 2023.09.06: On Genshin Impact, both of my accounts are now at AR 30.  Things are looking more difficult again, as they seemed to be approaching AR 15.  Updating characters to level 50 is difficult with many of them.

Honkai: Star Rail, One Month Later

Isn't it amazing how far we've come since May 1st?

I had no real clue what this game would be but I knew that I had no luck with Genshin Impact and would try anyway.  I didn't want to spend real money.  That would probably limit things more than I would hope.

I have two accounts.  I started one on May 1st and hit a road block quickly, and I used another account that was also connected to Genshin Impact.

One account has Yanqing, Bailu, Bronya, and Gepard, while the other has Himeko, Seele, and Clara.  It's good to have such characters for the sake of progress.  The set of four have been able to take on level 53 characters and win.

 I've seen some lists that say some of the characters I have aren't the best.  Still, they're 5-star characters and are more capable than 4-star characters, in general.  It's odd to think that I have all of these characters at level 50 or more.  They'll be at level 60 within a day or two.  I noticed the Aptitude Showcase has characters at level 80.

Yanqing seems to do most of the work for Bronya, while she increases damage potential.  Bailu is a more versatile doctor than Natasha but either will do.  Gepard, being a Preservation character is an interesting mix of attacking enemies and keeping allies safe.

Himeko is useful but falls too easily, similar to Serval.  They can both deal a lot of damage but they'll be out of the battle sooner than others.  Seele is holy-shit amazing but she leaves the battle too quickly.  Clara is a strange mix of her and Mister Svarog.

IMHO, some of the characters like Dan Heng are much more than 4-star characters and some of the 5-star characters aren't as good as they could be.  I guess that they can't have 4.5-star characters, though.  It's interesting to use Dan Heng and Yanqing on the same team.  Much more is accomplished quickly.

There are so many little things to do to make these characters do their best.  Changing things once you think it's finished is difficult, but it works in the end.  I've switched Light Cones at fairly critical times simply because a 5-star Light Cone arrived.

The good thing in all of this is that I'm not spending money and I'm giving Honkai: Star Rail the attention it needs without making it an obsession.  I've seen loads of people spend hundreds of dollars on Genshin Impact.  I wouldn't, which is partly why I'm only at level 8 and you have to be at level 15 for anything interesting to happen.  On Honkai: Star Rail, one account is at Trailblaze level 44 and the other is at level 42.  That's pretty good, especially since no real money has been involved.

Of course, you need to get your character's level and Light Cone level as high as possible, but make sure all Traces are complete and buy 4-star Relics when possible.  Switch when necessary.  You can always build them on one character and switch them later.  Enhancing Relics is something I haven't found straightfoward.

Update 2023.06.13: Most of the 5-star characters are at level 60 and many 4-star characters are at level 60, as well.  I'm working on finishing traces for level 60.  The account with Himeko is at level 45 and is facing the Ebon Deer, without much success so far.  I've removed Himeko for the moment, as she isn't effective.  Qingque is probably more important, given the Quantum DMG, along with Seele.

Special Rail Passes did not get me a new character but Serval on each side, turning into an Eidolon, which boosted her.

Update 2023.06.16: Still feel the need for one Abundance character and one Preservation character to keep the team going.  Attempting to upgrade March 7th on the account that doesn't have Gepard.

Trial of the Equilibrium, Part Four is upon me, on one account.  One is at level 50, and the other is at level 48.  Most important characters are at level 60.  Is that enough?  I have no choice.  They can't be upgraded until the test is complete.  What combination will work?  Quantum DMG is probably a wise option, but Qingque is a four-star character and isn't strong.  Then again, Seele, on the other account, is a 5-star character who falls too easily.

Update 2023.06.18: Arumaton (Gatekeeper) is in the fourth Trial of the Equilibrium and is a pain, defeating every team quickly.  I finally finished one of the other missions where an Arumaton was involved.  Of course, it wasn't level 60 and the one in the trial is at level 60.

I've upgraded Herta on both accounts.  She and Qingque make it difficult for the Arumaton.

Update 2023.06.20: Both of my accounts are at level 50.  I continue to receive the "relic levels are low" message but I can't go get better relics because I get the "underpowered" message when I try Cavern of Corrosion or other bits where I could receive better relics.

Oh, and on the account with fewer 5-star characters, I changed the main character to Preservation.  This means that the character uses fire and needs to have his Light Cone replaced with one from Preservation.  It also means that all of the Eidolons that were already there (all six) did not apply.  I wonder if they're waiting, so if I switch the character back to Destruction, they'll be there.  He's weaker and stronger, at the same time.

Update 2023.06.25: Trail of Equilibrium, Part 4 has been succeeded on both accounts.  This took a lot of relic enhancing, a Kinetic Cannon, some Cosmic Fried Rice, and a disposable shield.  Accounts are at level 53 and level 52.