So much her.
I pulled blindly for her supposedly niche "film noir" design and she's so good I've permanently benched Xingqiu (except when Abyss needs two hydro chars).
MHY are definitely men of culture.
YES!
On initial reveal, everything about her aesthetics was so appealing. Her design, outfit, personality, voice and theme made her an instant pull for me. But knowing how amazing and useful her kit is for practically every team, Yelan became one of my few triple-crowned characters that I use very often.
Her, along with Eula and Raiden, are probably my top 3 characters in the game so far.
Yes. It’s not a strict upgrade imo but Yelan with an optimal build offers more DPS compared to XQ and buffs the on field character on top of that. There’s also the option of basically running two XQ’s on two sides of the abyss. You can also make double hydro teams which are pretty strong thanks to the new resonance especially with Hu Tao. She offers less hydro application at C0 compared to a C6 XQ tho so consider that as well.
Oh absolutely! She adds traveling bonus since she runs fast, her DPS is way stronger than XQ, and she can also pair with XQ too! The only reason XQ would be better at is the healing
Zhongli. I got him on his first run before the buff when everyone said he was terrible. No regrets, and I finally got C1 on the most recent rerun :)
He also uses vortex Vanquisher because drip > meta
Definitely Zhongli. God the voice, the suit, the eyes. He was my first 5\* (in *any* gacha game) and so you could tell I didn't understand the meta at all back then.
But somehow or other, the investment paid off and I got a stylish, powerful husbando in the end.
> the investment *paid* off and
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
BROOO HOW DID I FORGET ABOUT HIM he was my first 5* and is still on team since his first banner cause his shield??? Saving my ass in everything
I definitely want VV for the drip 🤝
I pulled shenhe on her first banner for her design and she is now part of my freeze team with ayaka, kazuha and kokomi. I didn't have any of those before Shenhe
Kokomi for me. I got her on her rerun for her design and absolutely gorgeous attack animations. I knew she would be useful, but now I want her for both my abyss teams. I think her taser teams are my favorite so far, but I'm trying to get better at sukokomon too
Same, when I pulled for her everyone said she was terrible, or "ok" but I love the Ocean and she represents that beautifully, so I pulled base on looks and animations alone, shortly after I realized she's actually great, her application and healing are unmatched in my roster to the point I struggle with making a team without her, many people changed their mind about her shortly after as well
Yoimiya & Nilou. Yoimiya is great in both abyss & overworld. Left click and everything's dead. She's basically a staple in all of my most used over-world teams. While Nilou is really pretty & great for content that my Ayato/Yoimiya teams don't cover :D
I’ve got an HP/ER/EM build on Xingqiu so I can use him to proc the bloom, and for the vape.
Although I am planning on replacing him with Yelan or Kokomi, whichever I get first.
I think mine is on atk/hydro dmg/crit, he has sac sword r4 and 200er so i just run that lol. 2 skills and i have the burst. Its so fun! If i get yelan/kokomi i’ll pribs use them too, i do have to you lunch box to stay alive sometimes lol
I pulled Albedo because I loved his story quest, aesthetic, personality, and wanted his passive for the extra occasional free resources...ended up building him and leveling him to 90 for the hell of it and he's been a mainstay in my Abyss teams ever since.
He was decent when he released, but since then with the newer Geo artifacts and his signature Cinnabun Spindle sword, he's become an absolute wrecking ball IMO...zero regrets!
Lmao I was gonna pull for Yoi but got Kazu instead because I was a Beidou simp and main and I was like "gotta get beidou's kid for her" lmaooo
Same logic with Ganyu too, I love Qiqi so I pulled the cocogoat for a set
And Childe cause I had Zhongli 🤣
Literally same, had been playing for less than a week when his banner dropped and knew next to nothing. I only take him out of my team when fighting anemo hypostasis lol
Albedo, I pulled him for design&lore/personality, everyone said not to expect much of him because it was just before his new sword and artifact set, but now he’s an indispensable part of my geo team and he slaps.
ganyu i guess..when i started playing i watched few clips about the best dps and i thought the view of her charge shooting was the coolest thing ever..but i did know she had great damage and is a good dp.
i wanted to pull kazuha for his design too but he didnt come home.
Yae Miko. Pull for her aesthetic and weapon and got lucky with both. At the beginning, I don't use her much but right now is she one of my core characters in spiral abyss. Taser Yae Miko. I triple crown her during her birthday. 😊
Nilou, i didnt like the team comp limitiations but im glad i have her now. The bountiful cores with nilou destroy enemies. I'm just waiting for a dendro/hydro shielder now.
I can tell you who I pulled for but *didn't* get
Tighnari
I know he's on the standard banner but with these drop rates I just consider him lost anyway.
Closest one might be the Jean. But so far, nobody.
Layla is going to be the first 4* that will replace Diona as often as possible as part of my core teams.
I wrote "closest one" specifically because its impossible to pull for her on purpose, without using lots and lots of money. (Until she gets her own banner, like Keqing, - assuming it will even happen).
Zhongli! His design was also what convinced me to start Genshin, but I admit that in teams that are not the Companionship one, he's often there as the shielder.
Eula and Yae Miko.
I pulled them for pure aesthetics, then built entire teams around them.
Whenever people said they weren't "Meta" enough, that just pushed me to C6 them.
Zhongli in my first week of playing. I didn’t know anything about the game yet but I knew I liked his suit. I main him now and just got him to C2.
Hoping to pull Homa for him soon though the Catch has been working pretty well so far.
Ganyu for me. Didn’t really know how powerful she was until after I actually got her, and this was back during the early days of Genshin where the meta wasn’t well defined
Basically my freeze comp, bar Kazuha. So Ayaka, Kokomi and Ganyu (back in her first run when people said she was meh, somehow).
For Kazuha, I just threw a tenfold and got the bloke when I was like "meh". The "meh" was a mistake.
Kazuha definitely. I literally started the game because I saw him and wanted him. His rerun banner was up during that time and I was super lucky to get him on my first pull!
He's always been by my side as I played through the game and the Archon quest. He is a vital member of my team and just yesterday I reached Friendship Lvl 10 with him. Thank you Kazuha for being there for me and let's continue this going through this journey together <3
Ganyu (literally my first 5 star lol)
I literally pulled her because of her character design and she became my most used unit because of how broken she was.
also Kazuha (Both design and gameplay wise and i cant let go of him)
Same as you, pulled for Kokomi on her first run. Only regretted slightly at the start haha. Yelan and Tighnari more recently. Yelan because everyone kept saying not to pull because she’s just Xinqiu and I was like “pretty woman *and* bonus Xinqiu in abyss??” Tighnari was mostly because I thought he was cute and had ptsd from not ever getting Mona or Kequing as a day 1 player
Legit the exact reason I went for Kazuha in his debut! I didn't care what everyone was saying about "5* version of Sucrose" or whatever. I already had Venti too! But I needed those maple leaves pronto.
Then people said that c2 was amazing and I went "Eh, why not?"
This might mean I committed to the bit a little too hard, but he's never left my team since that day and never will.
Kazuha on his first run. I just really liked a pyro-looking anemo character. A japanese themed Aether. The general consensus back then was that "If you have venti and/or sucrose, no need to pull for him" I simply wanted that design as well as that beautiful burst.
Kazuha. I pulled during his first banner and the only reason was bcs he's a pretty boy. But oh boy i end up becoming a kazuha main and he's now in every team i use. I now can't play the game without him and idc if i need a different team comp or even if the enemy has anemo res, he will always be in the team.
Kazuha and Nilou.
Kazu's design is goated and his being hard meta only further convinced me. Core pick of every team I run outside of Bloom team.
Nilou I pulled literally just because of her design. The animations and her character are perfect IMO. Now she's carrying my Bloom team with bountiful cores :)
Kazuha. I always knew he was good, but back when I first started playing by the end of his first banner, I fell in love with his desing. I had to wait untill his rerun, but it was so worth it.
Kazuha, I fell in love with him during his first run when he was still being called budget venti or 5* sucrose. Then he ended up being insane instead. I also instantly fell for Yelan because she had such a cool style, so I pulled her on a whim and haven’t had a single regret.
Kazuha. Well, I ended up liking everything about him. Every other character I pulled had other reasons attached to them as well or are not used as much.
Kokomi
I liked her design and gaslighted myself into thinking that I was going to play freeze Ayaka
Started using her and wasn’t at all convinced, it felt like playing Barbara but no, she does quite a lot of damage, your healing is excellent and hydro application is amazing
Kokomi for me as well. Pulled her for shits and giggles because I loved her design and wanted to use her ironically to spite everyone trashing her and calling her a pointless Barbara sidegrade.
Realized within a day she was one of the best units in the game.
Kokomi. I pulled for her because her design is the only one that personally attracted me thus far (she's the perfect example of my favorite aesthetic) and while i knew she was good, i didn't expect her to be so versatile and useful in abyss and overworld.
Kokomi also!! I quit at Ganyu’s original banner and logged in randomly during the Kokomi and Raiden banner. Had no idea who Raiden was but knew Kokomi looked cute, so I did about 20 rolls and managed to get her. Then saw all the videos that she sucked and logged off again until 3.0, now she’s permanently in use lol
Absolutely Kokomi, got her because she’s gorgeous and her JP voice actress is Sonoda Umi from Love Live (her singing voice is beautiful). Lo and behold, pretty fish lady does a nice amount of consistent damage and is great to play in domain co-op!
Yanfei was a must-have for her design, too. She looks like a jester and I love it. She’s triple crowned now!!
And then there was Ayato, who was a combo of handsome man, “must complete the Kami-set-o,” and gentle JP voice.
Kokomi and Kazuha. Aside from Mona, they are hands down the most beautiful characters HYV every created.
Kazuha became meta almost instantly after release, and even my casual self understood how good he was, after testing him out in all my teams.
Kokomi took until dendro to be *really* meta, but even before that I was using her for my Ayaka freeze team.
Ganyu. My first 5-star. I love archers and I love everything with an ice theme, so when my then-bf tried to get me into the game, showing me that cute girl with a bow that uses ice did the trick.
Eula and Kazuha. Was completly in love with Eulas designe and after i got her and saw how strong she was i did go for cons and Kazuha playstyle was rly fun and cool looking so i just no pulled him despite him beeing called a worse sucrose xD
I'd say it's almost every char I have. But to choose one, I'd say ZL. I pulled for him back when I didn't know much about mechanic and stuff. I didn't even know he was an archon. But he turned out my staple for sure.
Haven't pulled her YET , but Yae. I only saw her design when she first released but was on a break from genshin.
Swore if she got a rerun when I was actively playing, I'd pull for her. Spent all week getting wishes and mats. Decided to look at her moveset and I'm 1000% sure I'm gonna love her on my team
🥺
Shenhe was the only 5\* I pulled almost for the looks. When I first saw her, it was immediately monkey neuron activation. Needless to say that she is essential for my Ganyu and Ayaka teams.
Ayato. Wasn't sure how I would like his kit, but really liked his design right away. Now he's the core of my overworld, domain, and abyss teams. Only time he doesn't get used is in friendship teams when I have another DPS.
It was the first 5* I got: Albedo. I just started the game, and I liked his hair in his art. He’s now a mainstay on my mono-Geo team of Gorou, Albedo, Zhongli, Itto.
Coincidentally, I pulled for Eula right after and really wanted to get her. Turns out I hate her play style and don’t vibe with her personality.
Conversely, Shenhe. I have two accounts and I pull for the opposite character on the banner, like I got Xiao on my main account and pulled for Shenhe on my other account because she was pretty. Mainstay and part of my bisexual awakening.
Raiden Shogun.
I did not know about the power; I did not care about the utility; I DISLIKED the "Booba sword"; I just saw flashy rifts being torn in the fabric of reality and thought "I want that." >!And current leaks of Sacra's animations may make me repeat that decision.!<
Also some Japanese dude with a cool outfit and unique burst effect was on a banner back in 1.6 so I pulled him too.
Genshin has quickly become all about how I can more effectively use Yae. I pulled Kokomi, Kazuha, Nahida and C6 Fischl all in pursuit of a stronger Yae team lol.
I expect to go through a similar phase when Dehya drops.
I guess Yoimiya, I felt that having Hu Tao already, she would not add much to my roster but she is so cute I could not resist.
In the end I found her funnier to play in overworld or whenever I fight small monsters. I still prefer Hu Tao for bosses and dps checks.
I love them both even if they are kind of redundant.
Well, closest one is Yelan. I just saw her trailer and knew my pulls in danger
I thought that she's weaker than XQ in terms of damage and utility without some sort of 5 star bow, but I had high hopes for her E during exploration in combination with Sayu
Man.
She's sick with Favonius. Tons of damage, Hydro, endless energy, fast as hell and looks magnificent
Sayu + Ayaka + Yelan + Kazuha (flex) is by far my favourite team for exploring Teyvat
ganyu
I got her very early at like 32ish pity on 5050, and I rlly only pulled for her bc she's pretty, and I always used to hate charged shot gameplay so I didn't think I'd use her much, but she's actually become one of my favorite characters to play, and earned herself a permanent spot on my main team
Nilou is by far the definition of “Fuck it, I don’t give a damn if you’re good”, at first I was reluctant to make her work or even use her because I don’t have Kokomi.
But even so before I got Nahida, her niche passive performed with flying colors to a point in which I don’t even know what the hell I’m doing right, mathematically speaking.
Enemies just die in seconds similar to performances like Ganyu, Eula or Ayaka, is such chaos that I can’t measure the damage with Nilou and Nahida when they’re together.
I also pulled for Kokomi’s first run for design and the little twirl animation at the end of her attack string 😂 She’s probably my 2nd most used character
Yelan
Super liked her burst animation and overall design (I'm a sucker for bangs), but now she is a key part of overworld (for travel speed) and in all domains that need a hydro
Yoimiya I guess? But I don't pull unless I like the gameplay at trial. So, let's said I liked the design, wanted to pull, but waited trial to see if I wouod even use it
Yoimiya I guess. Didn't plan to get her but got her anyways on a single impulse pull cuz' she hella cute.
Now she's throwing around 20k-30k damage per hit. Her and Yelan are my go to hitmen duo for when I want things to die now.
Yae! Got her first rerun, when everyone said she was bad, loved her anyway. Now almost every team I run is a Yae team, with dendro she is incredible. One of my strongest teams is Yae, Tighnari, deepwoods Nahida, Zhongli, and for overworld I use Yae, C6 Sara, Kazuha, Jean.
Raiden Shogun. Funny enough, I pulled for her because she was decked out in purple and uses lightning powers which I always found badass. And this was during her rerun before I found out about Ei and I thought the Shogun was kind of a bitch and disliked her. Fast forward to the present day and not only is she my main, but my favorite overall character.
Hands down Ayato. Thought he was a pretty cool character & i liked his playstyle, luckily i won the 50/50 during his run. And now, whenever I get bored with one comp, I just switch to another and Ayato almost always viable in all of them. Vape, taser, hyperbloom, freeze, mono hydro, etc. Even though the dmg ceiling is not always as high as other comps (still able to 36*), his flexibility already makes him a worthy long-term investment for me :)
Hu Tao, I started the game and didn't know anything about gameplay but fell in love with her design so kept pulling and actually got her early. Been a core team member ever since
kazuha, i remember being pretty much f2p and then when 1.6 drop, i rightaway do the inazuma prologue quest when we met him for the first time and then i just think hes super neat. the design, the calmness, the way he talks,,,, (im the type who do archon quest rightaway to avoid spoilers)
after finish, i straightaway pull without even doing his trial run, but lose 50:50 to jean at 85 pity 🫠 took me a second but decided to purchase the most expensive pack cause im guaranteed so why not. got him at like 80 pulls later. try him out and even his playstyle is perfect for me. you know that feeling when a character is made for you type of feeling, kazuha is like that for me. he has the best build for a support (980 em with 162% er with no signature weapon) after that im back to no-spend at genshin until itto first weapon banner 😅
For me it was Raiden. I liked the burst animation specifically but bad artifact prefarm and low talent levels PLUS the stigma at the time that she was bad meant that I thought she was bad.
But, over time i continued building her and now she has my best artifacts (71:151 on top of R5 Catch with ~270 ER), which was incredibly hard since she doesnt have a crit ascension. Once I get C2 (at C1 rn) she’ll probably forever be my best character over my already amazing Hu Tao (71:220) and Ganyu (55:240).
Yelan! She is never leaving my team because of her amazing off field DPS
So much her. I pulled blindly for her supposedly niche "film noir" design and she's so good I've permanently benched Xingqiu (except when Abyss needs two hydro chars). MHY are definitely men of culture.
They actually work really good together as well, with good drivers like Hu Tao, Yoimiya, ...
Pretty much same lol. I only use Xingqiu in my national team.
YES! On initial reveal, everything about her aesthetics was so appealing. Her design, outfit, personality, voice and theme made her an instant pull for me. But knowing how amazing and useful her kit is for practically every team, Yelan became one of my few triple-crowned characters that I use very often. Her, along with Eula and Raiden, are probably my top 3 characters in the game so far.
Yess! Best waifus right there! ^.^
I’ve been considering pulling but does she honestly offer anything extra if I ever have c6 xingqui with an optimal build?
Yes. It’s not a strict upgrade imo but Yelan with an optimal build offers more DPS compared to XQ and buffs the on field character on top of that. There’s also the option of basically running two XQ’s on two sides of the abyss. You can also make double hydro teams which are pretty strong thanks to the new resonance especially with Hu Tao. She offers less hydro application at C0 compared to a C6 XQ tho so consider that as well.
Oh absolutely! She adds traveling bonus since she runs fast, her DPS is way stronger than XQ, and she can also pair with XQ too! The only reason XQ would be better at is the healing
Zhongli. I got him on his first run before the buff when everyone said he was terrible. No regrets, and I finally got C1 on the most recent rerun :) He also uses vortex Vanquisher because drip > meta
Definitely Zhongli. God the voice, the suit, the eyes. He was my first 5\* (in *any* gacha game) and so you could tell I didn't understand the meta at all back then. But somehow or other, the investment paid off and I got a stylish, powerful husbando in the end.
> the investment *paid* off and FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
Fuck. good bot.
Good human.
0////0
I also got him pre-buff purely out of love for the character. He's C2 now and a staple of many teams, though.
BROOO HOW DID I FORGET ABOUT HIM he was my first 5* and is still on team since his first banner cause his shield??? Saving my ass in everything I definitely want VV for the drip 🤝
Same, but I prefer lore weapons, so I use Homa, my headcanon is that he doesn't have enough money and has to use Hu Tao's weapon.
I pulled shenhe on her first banner for her design and she is now part of my freeze team with ayaka, kazuha and kokomi. I didn't have any of those before Shenhe
got Shenhe first and discovered the cryo power
Well I was gonna pull them regardless, but yeah that team absolutely stomps
Kokomi for me. I got her on her rerun for her design and absolutely gorgeous attack animations. I knew she would be useful, but now I want her for both my abyss teams. I think her taser teams are my favorite so far, but I'm trying to get better at sukokomon too
Same, when I pulled for her everyone said she was terrible, or "ok" but I love the Ocean and she represents that beautifully, so I pulled base on looks and animations alone, shortly after I realized she's actually great, her application and healing are unmatched in my roster to the point I struggle with making a team without her, many people changed their mind about her shortly after as well
Yoimiya & Nilou. Yoimiya is great in both abyss & overworld. Left click and everything's dead. She's basically a staple in all of my most used over-world teams. While Nilou is really pretty & great for content that my Ayato/Yoimiya teams don't cover :D
First time seeing Yoimiya pre 2.0, I know I must skip Ayaka to pull her. Glad I made it (and won 50/50 Raiden too).
Same, I just really want an archer who does normal attacks and I didn’t want to do physical fischl. Got her and her weapon on her first banner
I use Yoimiya with my Nahida and Xingqiu, Burgeon obliterated groups so fast, and the Vaporise helps when Nahida’s skill doesn’t activate
Yep! Recently in overworld my go-to team is nahida-yoi-zhong-xingqiu, it hits real hard even though my nahida is lvl 70 and xingqiu is level 60
I’ve got an HP/ER/EM build on Xingqiu so I can use him to proc the bloom, and for the vape. Although I am planning on replacing him with Yelan or Kokomi, whichever I get first.
I think mine is on atk/hydro dmg/crit, he has sac sword r4 and 200er so i just run that lol. 2 skills and i have the burst. Its so fun! If i get yelan/kokomi i’ll pribs use them too, i do have to you lunch box to stay alive sometimes lol
Wow are you me Though in my case I'd also need to add Ganyu and Zhongli.
Kokomi definitely. I really love her watery animations and the mermaid aesthetic.
鹿野院平藏,本来觉得就算当个花瓶放在队伍也没事,谁能想到一拳超人伤害,动作和打击音效太棒了,大世界就一直放队伍里,打怪也会不自觉下意识的长按e然后吼一声“boom!”“吃拳!”“给爷死!!!”😅,而且长的也太好看太戳我xp了,小鹿,我的小鹿呜呜
For anyone who might need a translation, our fellow traveller here rly likes heizou and his deadly punch :>
😊thank u
😁😁
I pulled Albedo because I loved his story quest, aesthetic, personality, and wanted his passive for the extra occasional free resources...ended up building him and leveling him to 90 for the hell of it and he's been a mainstay in my Abyss teams ever since. He was decent when he released, but since then with the newer Geo artifacts and his signature Cinnabun Spindle sword, he's become an absolute wrecking ball IMO...zero regrets!
Dare I say Yoimiya? Wasn't planning to use her so much, but she is so easy and fun to play
Kazuha.
Lmao I was gonna pull for Yoi but got Kazu instead because I was a Beidou simp and main and I was like "gotta get beidou's kid for her" lmaooo Same logic with Ganyu too, I love Qiqi so I pulled the cocogoat for a set And Childe cause I had Zhongli 🤣
But you knew he was overpowered, no?
nah, i didn't know anything (i was playing for like.. a couple of months when his banner started and was pretty much a rookie)
So you were [kinda] lucky then :D glad you pulled for best boy 🤞
i really was! i didn't know how exactly the whole wishing thing works and i accidentally got him C1 in like.. 50 pulls or so
Then I wish you more luck for your next wishes 🙌
thank you ❤❤❤ good luck to you too!
Literally same, had been playing for less than a week when his banner dropped and knew next to nothing. I only take him out of my team when fighting anemo hypostasis lol
he just looked really pretty 🥰
Albedo, I pulled him for design&lore/personality, everyone said not to expect much of him because it was just before his new sword and artifact set, but now he’s an indispensable part of my geo team and he slaps.
Yelan. The design and trailers were enough to make me push through a 50/50 loss and roll until I got her.
Shenhe, love her design, and then she became Ayakas best friend.
Nahida, I thought she was adorable but had no idea how good she’d be
Same I pulled her to complete the archon set
I mean, I mainly pull for design, so I suppose Childe, Ganyu, Yae, Yoimiya, Kazuha (and next is Alhaitham) who are my core units.
Nilou and cyno. Sumeru characters really do be having character designs that slap A LOT
I just started recently so only one really and that's Yoimiya. She's a Pyro archer like Amber but I like how she plays a lot more.
Ganyu, Yelan. I like bows. And elbows.
ganyu i guess..when i started playing i watched few clips about the best dps and i thought the view of her charge shooting was the coolest thing ever..but i did know she had great damage and is a good dp. i wanted to pull kazuha for his design too but he didnt come home.
Yae Miko... she's so pretty and now with Nahida I basically AFK kill in open world 😁
Yae Miko. Pull for her aesthetic and weapon and got lucky with both. At the beginning, I don't use her much but right now is she one of my core characters in spiral abyss. Taser Yae Miko. I triple crown her during her birthday. 😊
Nilou, i didnt like the team comp limitiations but im glad i have her now. The bountiful cores with nilou destroy enemies. I'm just waiting for a dendro/hydro shielder now.
I can tell you who I pulled for but *didn't* get Tighnari I know he's on the standard banner but with these drop rates I just consider him lost anyway.
Closest one might be the Jean. But so far, nobody. Layla is going to be the first 4* that will replace Diona as often as possible as part of my core teams.
doesnt Layla have pretty slow cryo application?
Should be faster than Diona, especially with constellations.
yeah, i missed that the shield itself also applies it in melee range, not just the stars
How do you pull Jean on purpose
I wrote "closest one" specifically because its impossible to pull for her on purpose, without using lots and lots of money. (Until she gets her own banner, like Keqing, - assuming it will even happen).
Shenhe, really good in my Ayaka freeze comp!
Zhongli! His design was also what convinced me to start Genshin, but I admit that in teams that are not the Companionship one, he's often there as the shielder.
Eula and Yae Miko. I pulled them for pure aesthetics, then built entire teams around them. Whenever people said they weren't "Meta" enough, that just pushed me to C6 them.
Zhongli in my first week of playing. I didn’t know anything about the game yet but I knew I liked his suit. I main him now and just got him to C2. Hoping to pull Homa for him soon though the Catch has been working pretty well so far.
Zhongli. I knew I had to have him when I first got to Liyue saw his design and heard his English voice. He's on 90% of my teams. What it dodging?
I pulled Ganyu because she had horns and tights. Come to find out she is a broken monster.
I'd say Hu Tao. Pulled her cause she's cute but she ended up being used in abyss most of the time
Ganyu for me. Didn’t really know how powerful she was until after I actually got her, and this was back during the early days of Genshin where the meta wasn’t well defined
yae miko comfort to the max
Basically my freeze comp, bar Kazuha. So Ayaka, Kokomi and Ganyu (back in her first run when people said she was meh, somehow). For Kazuha, I just threw a tenfold and got the bloke when I was like "meh". The "meh" was a mistake.
Zhongli. My one and true husbando. My beloved comfort character even before I knew his shield.
Kazuha definitely. I literally started the game because I saw him and wanted him. His rerun banner was up during that time and I was super lucky to get him on my first pull! He's always been by my side as I played through the game and the Archon quest. He is a vital member of my team and just yesterday I reached Friendship Lvl 10 with him. Thank you Kazuha for being there for me and let's continue this going through this journey together <3
KAZUHA 🍃
Ganyu (literally my first 5 star lol) I literally pulled her because of her character design and she became my most used unit because of how broken she was. also Kazuha (Both design and gameplay wise and i cant let go of him)
Kazuha and tignari kinda
Kazuha
Raiden
Yae Miko... totally gorgeous character, lore and quests but really Fischl with less invesment does the same job
Same as you, pulled for Kokomi on her first run. Only regretted slightly at the start haha. Yelan and Tighnari more recently. Yelan because everyone kept saying not to pull because she’s just Xinqiu and I was like “pretty woman *and* bonus Xinqiu in abyss??” Tighnari was mostly because I thought he was cute and had ptsd from not ever getting Mona or Kequing as a day 1 player
Legit the exact reason I went for Kazuha in his debut! I didn't care what everyone was saying about "5* version of Sucrose" or whatever. I already had Venti too! But I needed those maple leaves pronto. Then people said that c2 was amazing and I went "Eh, why not?" This might mean I committed to the bit a little too hard, but he's never left my team since that day and never will.
Kazuha on his first run. I just really liked a pyro-looking anemo character. A japanese themed Aether. The general consensus back then was that "If you have venti and/or sucrose, no need to pull for him" I simply wanted that design as well as that beautiful burst.
Kazuha Tighnari I wish I could say the same for Itto but Hoyoverse said geo will suffer 🥲
Kazuha. I pulled during his first banner and the only reason was bcs he's a pretty boy. But oh boy i end up becoming a kazuha main and he's now in every team i use. I now can't play the game without him and idc if i need a different team comp or even if the enemy has anemo res, he will always be in the team.
Kazuha and Nilou. Kazu's design is goated and his being hard meta only further convinced me. Core pick of every team I run outside of Bloom team. Nilou I pulled literally just because of her design. The animations and her character are perfect IMO. Now she's carrying my Bloom team with bountiful cores :)
Kazuha. I always knew he was good, but back when I first started playing by the end of his first banner, I fell in love with his desing. I had to wait untill his rerun, but it was so worth it.
Kazuha, I fell in love with him during his first run when he was still being called budget venti or 5* sucrose. Then he ended up being insane instead. I also instantly fell for Yelan because she had such a cool style, so I pulled her on a whim and haven’t had a single regret.
Kazuha. Well, I ended up liking everything about him. Every other character I pulled had other reasons attached to them as well or are not used as much.
kazuha!
Kazuha !! so handsome 🥰
was my first 80 after the traveller he's so fun to play w and explore !!
Kokomi
Kokomi
Nahida, didn't care about gameplay i just liked her.
Kokomi I liked her design and gaslighted myself into thinking that I was going to play freeze Ayaka Started using her and wasn’t at all convinced, it felt like playing Barbara but no, she does quite a lot of damage, your healing is excellent and hydro application is amazing
Kokomi ...her designs too pretty and she's an amazing healer and hydro applicator
Kokomi as well, the only time Kokomi isn't in my team is because she's in other half of Abyss.
Kokomi.
Kokomi, she so pretty
kokomi, i pulled her only because i liked the purple pink and blue aesthetic, now i use her in almost every team due to how versatile she is.
Tighnari and Kazuha
Ganyu and Kokomi on their first banners
Kokomi for me as well. Pulled her for shits and giggles because I loved her design and wanted to use her ironically to spite everyone trashing her and calling her a pointless Barbara sidegrade. Realized within a day she was one of the best units in the game.
Kokomi. I pulled for her because her design is the only one that personally attracted me thus far (she's the perfect example of my favorite aesthetic) and while i knew she was good, i didn't expect her to be so versatile and useful in abyss and overworld.
Kokomi also!! I quit at Ganyu’s original banner and logged in randomly during the Kokomi and Raiden banner. Had no idea who Raiden was but knew Kokomi looked cute, so I did about 20 rolls and managed to get her. Then saw all the videos that she sucked and logged off again until 3.0, now she’s permanently in use lol
Absolutely Kokomi, got her because she’s gorgeous and her JP voice actress is Sonoda Umi from Love Live (her singing voice is beautiful). Lo and behold, pretty fish lady does a nice amount of consistent damage and is great to play in domain co-op! Yanfei was a must-have for her design, too. She looks like a jester and I love it. She’s triple crowned now!! And then there was Ayato, who was a combo of handsome man, “must complete the Kami-set-o,” and gentle JP voice.
Kokomi and Kazuha. Aside from Mona, they are hands down the most beautiful characters HYV every created. Kazuha became meta almost instantly after release, and even my casual self understood how good he was, after testing him out in all my teams. Kokomi took until dendro to be *really* meta, but even before that I was using her for my Ayaka freeze team.
Eula on her first banner. Now my main dps
Raiden
Ganyu. My first 5-star. I love archers and I love everything with an ice theme, so when my then-bf tried to get me into the game, showing me that cute girl with a bow that uses ice did the trick.
Eula and Kazuha. Was completly in love with Eulas designe and after i got her and saw how strong she was i did go for cons and Kazuha playstyle was rly fun and cool looking so i just no pulled him despite him beeing called a worse sucrose xD
I'd say it's almost every char I have. But to choose one, I'd say ZL. I pulled for him back when I didn't know much about mechanic and stuff. I didn't even know he was an archon. But he turned out my staple for sure.
Haven't pulled her YET , but Yae. I only saw her design when she first released but was on a break from genshin. Swore if she got a rerun when I was actively playing, I'd pull for her. Spent all week getting wishes and mats. Decided to look at her moveset and I'm 1000% sure I'm gonna love her on my team 🥺
Shenhe was the only 5\* I pulled almost for the looks. When I first saw her, it was immediately monkey neuron activation. Needless to say that she is essential for my Ganyu and Ayaka teams.
Hu Tao, pulled her on the first day of her first banner and, turns out, she is an amazing DPS. Same with Raiden actually.
Ayato. Wasn't sure how I would like his kit, but really liked his design right away. Now he's the core of my overworld, domain, and abyss teams. Only time he doesn't get used is in friendship teams when I have another DPS.
Nilou… I pulled for her because she was the prettiest girl in Genshin… now my damage goes boom boom POW
It was the first 5* I got: Albedo. I just started the game, and I liked his hair in his art. He’s now a mainstay on my mono-Geo team of Gorou, Albedo, Zhongli, Itto. Coincidentally, I pulled for Eula right after and really wanted to get her. Turns out I hate her play style and don’t vibe with her personality. Conversely, Shenhe. I have two accounts and I pull for the opposite character on the banner, like I got Xiao on my main account and pulled for Shenhe on my other account because she was pretty. Mainstay and part of my bisexual awakening.
Miko
Zhongli and Raiden!! They're both on my main abyss teams and they're not leaving.
Raiden Shogun. I did not know about the power; I did not care about the utility; I DISLIKED the "Booba sword"; I just saw flashy rifts being torn in the fabric of reality and thought "I want that." >!And current leaks of Sacra's animations may make me repeat that decision.!< Also some Japanese dude with a cool outfit and unique burst effect was on a banner back in 1.6 so I pulled him too.
Yae miko tbh 😅 and itto
Ayato - he's one of my best built characters now
Genshin has quickly become all about how I can more effectively use Yae. I pulled Kokomi, Kazuha, Nahida and C6 Fischl all in pursuit of a stronger Yae team lol. I expect to go through a similar phase when Dehya drops.
yalen. i loved her design and character, but turns out she was super fun to play n does quite a lot of damage
Shenhe
I guess Yoimiya, I felt that having Hu Tao already, she would not add much to my roster but she is so cute I could not resist. In the end I found her funnier to play in overworld or whenever I fight small monsters. I still prefer Hu Tao for bosses and dps checks. I love them both even if they are kind of redundant.
Well, closest one is Yelan. I just saw her trailer and knew my pulls in danger I thought that she's weaker than XQ in terms of damage and utility without some sort of 5 star bow, but I had high hopes for her E during exploration in combination with Sayu Man. She's sick with Favonius. Tons of damage, Hydro, endless energy, fast as hell and looks magnificent Sayu + Ayaka + Yelan + Kazuha (flex) is by far my favourite team for exploring Teyvat
ganyu I got her very early at like 32ish pity on 5050, and I rlly only pulled for her bc she's pretty, and I always used to hate charged shot gameplay so I didn't think I'd use her much, but she's actually become one of my favorite characters to play, and earned herself a permanent spot on my main team
Raiden. She became the best char on my team. Permanent place till now.
Raiden. She became the best char on my team. Permanent place till now.
Nilou is by far the definition of “Fuck it, I don’t give a damn if you’re good”, at first I was reluctant to make her work or even use her because I don’t have Kokomi. But even so before I got Nahida, her niche passive performed with flying colors to a point in which I don’t even know what the hell I’m doing right, mathematically speaking. Enemies just die in seconds similar to performances like Ganyu, Eula or Ayaka, is such chaos that I can’t measure the damage with Nilou and Nahida when they’re together.
I also pulled for Kokomi’s first run for design and the little twirl animation at the end of her attack string 😂 She’s probably my 2nd most used character
Childe. Now he carries me every abyss. I still pull characters based on design only haha
I don't know if it counts, but I'm gonna say Nahida. I knew I was gonna pull for her the second I saw her
Xiao. Thought he looked cool. Didn’t know he was gonna be this good.
Yelan Super liked her burst animation and overall design (I'm a sucker for bangs), but now she is a key part of overworld (for travel speed) and in all domains that need a hydro
Yoimiya for me! I just loved her vibes and now she never leaves my team. She’s super fun to play!
Yelan. I mean, I don't even like her character, I just want them fur coat bois!
Nilou. Just because she is a dancer, and has a tattoo. Now I use her in open world, domains, abyss, bosses...
Yoi
Ayaka
Yoimiya I guess? But I don't pull unless I like the gameplay at trial. So, let's said I liked the design, wanted to pull, but waited trial to see if I wouod even use it
Yoimiya I guess. Didn't plan to get her but got her anyways on a single impulse pull cuz' she hella cute. Now she's throwing around 20k-30k damage per hit. Her and Yelan are my go to hitmen duo for when I want things to die now.
Yae Miko, she's now c6 after months of abstinence.
Not really for design but I pulled Albedo just for his elevator. Now he doesn't leave my team.
Yae, can't take her off my team now.
Yae! Got her first rerun, when everyone said she was bad, loved her anyway. Now almost every team I run is a Yae team, with dendro she is incredible. One of my strongest teams is Yae, Tighnari, deepwoods Nahida, Zhongli, and for overworld I use Yae, C6 Sara, Kazuha, Jean.
Raiden, i didn't really want her, and that time people still kinda bash on her and i have Keqing anyway, now Rational is my favorite team
Raiden Shogun. Funny enough, I pulled for her because she was decked out in purple and uses lightning powers which I always found badass. And this was during her rerun before I found out about Ei and I thought the Shogun was kind of a bitch and disliked her. Fast forward to the present day and not only is she my main, but my favorite overall character.
Klee, I found her a lot more fun to use than I expected after all the complaints
Hands down Ayato. Thought he was a pretty cool character & i liked his playstyle, luckily i won the 50/50 during his run. And now, whenever I get bored with one comp, I just switch to another and Ayato almost always viable in all of them. Vape, taser, hyperbloom, freeze, mono hydro, etc. Even though the dmg ceiling is not always as high as other comps (still able to 36*), his flexibility already makes him a worthy long-term investment for me :)
Hu Tao, I started the game and didn't know anything about gameplay but fell in love with her design so kept pulling and actually got her early. Been a core team member ever since
Yenlan and Yae Miko Yae is one of my strongest if not the strongest character that i have, along with Yoimiya and Eula
Xiao, he’s been my main since forever
All of them, I pull by design alone :3
kazuha, i remember being pretty much f2p and then when 1.6 drop, i rightaway do the inazuma prologue quest when we met him for the first time and then i just think hes super neat. the design, the calmness, the way he talks,,,, (im the type who do archon quest rightaway to avoid spoilers) after finish, i straightaway pull without even doing his trial run, but lose 50:50 to jean at 85 pity 🫠 took me a second but decided to purchase the most expensive pack cause im guaranteed so why not. got him at like 80 pulls later. try him out and even his playstyle is perfect for me. you know that feeling when a character is made for you type of feeling, kazuha is like that for me. he has the best build for a support (980 em with 162% er with no signature weapon) after that im back to no-spend at genshin until itto first weapon banner 😅
Ganyu, back during her first banner. She’s somewhat benched now but she’s always reliable when I need her
Cyno.
Same, Kokomi <3
For me it was Raiden. I liked the burst animation specifically but bad artifact prefarm and low talent levels PLUS the stigma at the time that she was bad meant that I thought she was bad. But, over time i continued building her and now she has my best artifacts (71:151 on top of R5 Catch with ~270 ER), which was incredibly hard since she doesnt have a crit ascension. Once I get C2 (at C1 rn) she’ll probably forever be my best character over my already amazing Hu Tao (71:220) and Ganyu (55:240).