Originally uploaded to Bilibili.tv
It's funny actually. Last year we got popstar Astra Yao in v1.5 which was the Chinese New Year update. In a few weeks we'll be getting the v2.6 update with the Angels of Delusion idol group and that's once again the Chinese New Year update. Last year I decided against getting Astra in favor of her body guard Evelyn and Evelyn's been pretty fun to play. But now we have this brand new banner style which I thought was a good idea by the devs.
It's actually better than I originally thought it would be too. Back when it was announced I thought the only drawback to it was that it used the same resource as the limited banner which meant players would be choosing between them and limiting the profitability of the new banner. But after actually using it I realize this was by design. Essentially what miHoYo's done is create a beneficial though potentially still painful choice: Do you go for the new character knowing that there's a 50/50 chance you won't get it or do you take the safe route and get the one that's guaranteed but only older characters will be available on it? If they play their cards right and create a situation where players want to do both then even players that don't spend might be incentivized into going for it just a little. There are characters in this game that people do want. Astra, Alice and even Anby are potentially on that list. In this update there was also a Void Hunter and those are very powerful characters so once again players might want them too. This increases the likelihood of spending on both but even further than that, you have the new Angels of Delusion characters releasing next. Normally in these situations the players would go after the super powerful Void Hunter and then save up for the next new characters but now you have this banner with its guarantee to stop them from doing that.
Of course this only works imo because Zenless lets you earn enough banner resources (called Encrypted Master Tapes) to get some kind of rare drop for every update. Therefore players who don't spend can still ensure they get something each time just from spending earned tapes and that means the only choice is if they want to be a little more greedy and get another drop which is then entirely up to them. It isn't predatory.
Anyway that's also something that will work in the short run. I'm still going to be looking to see if they expand on the Standard Banner in the future since there's going to be a hard limit to the allure of Year 1 characters.
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