Developer miHoYo has a reputation in the community. Genshin Impact players often find themselves frustrated at the heel of miHoYo’s decisions and lack of community outreach, and that’s continuing with some of the anniversary events that are in progress.
Genshin Impact is approaching its first anniversary, and so far, some fans are expressing disappointment over the promised rewards. Currently, Genshin Impact players will receive 10 free intertwined fates and some in-game materials. But miHoYo is giving away more goodies through community events through the Hoyolab message boards. And it’s not a lot.
Corporate decision-making
At the moment, the only guaranteed rewards for the average player are an unspecified amount of Primogems, in-game materials, and 100,000 Mora (one of the game’s currencies), which is a negligibly small amount. Also given away to 10% of players is a Blessing of the Welkin’s Moon, which is the equivalent to 3,000 Primogems, valued at $5 USD. However, other rewards require the community to create content for the game, indirectly generating free advertising. Fans who record small videos, create art, or solve word puzzles will be entered in a raffle to earn 100 Primogems with only 1,000 winners — 100 Primogems is not even a summon, or $0.99 USD.
Only 10% of players will receive the Blessing of the Welkin Moon, a $5 value.
The upcoming web event, “An Unforgettable Journey,” has not yet started. We don’t know how many Primogems that event will give away. However, fans are still noticeably upset over these decisions. Players on Reddit and other message boards have made several posts voicing their disappointment over the current rewards. Even prolific Genshin Impact streamers, like Dish or Tuonto, have expressed disapproval.
Fans have pointed out different disappointing aspects of these rewards. For instance, despite being the first anniversary, a previous event based on the Lunar New Year gave away more in-game goodies. Players got 10 intertwined fates and a free four-star character, while the anniversary is giving away 10 intertwined fates. Most players who participate in the community rewards (which is not even linked in-game, meaning you must create a Hoyolab account and share content over social media) will not even receive two days of daily commissions on average.
Turning a blind eye
miHoYo has earned a reputation by the community for its lack of responses. For example, the recently released Yoimiya was deemed weak by the community, and many fans have asked for buffs. A post on Reddit received nearly 20,000 upvotes outlining the issues with her kit. Unfortunately, there are no signs of any changes or fixes on the horizon. (This is particularly troubling as many of these bugs impact all of the ‘Bow’ characters in the game, not just Yoimiya.)
Zhongli is the only character to receive major buffs post-release, but his buffs were only added after some astronomical community outrage. The playable character Eula even has an issue with unfinished animations, yet, despite her popularity (Eula is the second-most viewed character demo on YouTube), she has not been fixed.
Based on miHoYo’s prior actions (or lack thereof), it’s unlikely any of these rewards will be changed or increased. There’s still the possibility of more in-game rewards and unannounced events featuring more prizes. But despite raking in a tremendous amount of cash (over $1 billion USD, in fact, according to Forbes), miHoYo couldn’t even guarantee $0.99 to artists creating content based on the game. So the question becomes, will the developer listen to the community? My expectations are lower than the rewards it’s pawning off on me.
Published: Sep 21, 2021 07:15 pm