Cortyn from MeinMMO has really taken a liking to Genshin Impact. But one thing is extremely annoying – and it’s not the gacha mechanics, but the system around “Original Resin.”
Genshin Impact is fun. Not only players who can warm up to gacha systems have found enjoyment in the game. Everyone in Teyvat who enjoys an open world or beautiful anime graphics with numerous characters to fall in love with is also having a great time.
However, the fact that Genshin Impact is free is felt in many corners. Many characters are only available through the gacha system, meaning through a random principle. One can easily put in hundreds of euros and still not get the hero one wants.
That is generally not so bad, because Genshin Impact works flawlessly with the free characters as well. But a second limitation leads to problems that ruin the fun for free-to-play players – the resin system. This runs parallel to the gacha mechanics and thus the developers shoot themselves in the foot.
Gacha is not the problem
People can think what they want about the gacha system. If someone absolutely wants their favorite hero, they can invest several hundred euros into the game and still be dependent on a large portion of luck. That is how the game finances itself, and by now, most people should be clear about this. The unlocking of new characters is pure gambling and anyone who engages in it should know what they are doing.
But the gacha system does not make Genshin Impact unplayable.
Rather, a different mechanic that is also known in many mobile games is to blame. The original resin.
Original Resin – The unnecessary remnant from mobile games
Until about Adventure Rank 35, original resin is just one of many resources in the game. If you run out of resin to conquer mini-dungeons or bosses, you just turn to the open world. After all, over 1,000 chests are waiting to be looted, and there are small and large puzzles to solve everywhere, enticing you with hidden rewards.
But the open world is finite, just like the quests. Once exploration ends, so does the gain of primogems essentially runs dry.
Relatively suddenly, you encounter a barrier to fun, which is reached when all the secrets of the game world have been unveiled. Then the world feels quite empty, and the possible activities are limited. Even if there occasionally is a new quest line, like the one from Mona right now.
Yes, allegedly chests respawn after a while and are supposed to lure you back into the game world – so far, that hasn’t been the case for me. I can roam around for hours, but I don’t discover any new chests anymore. More time has to pass, I guess.
Now, only the various farming activities are an option.
Whether I want to gather Mora, search for new equipment, improve my heroes’ talents, or simply level up a bit: everything requires original resin, which regenerates over time. For about a day of waiting time, I “buy” gameplay and rewards that keep me occupied for approximately 20-30 minutes – sometimes more, sometimes less.
Original resin can also be replenished for the premium currency Primogems, at least a few times a day. But that gets expensive quickly.
I want Jean, but I don’t want to wait 2 months for her
Of course, one could say now: “Man, Cortyn recognizes the mechanics of gacha mobile games. Good morning!” In a way, that is probably true. But here are two mechanics – gacha and resin – that stand in each other’s way and rather reduce my interest in spending money.
Let’s just take me as an example: I want Saber Jean. I think the character is great, I want to play her. I would potentially be willing to spend way too much money to get Jean with some luck.
But when I look at my hero team and my inventory, I dread it. Even if I were to get Jean, I probably couldn’t play her “properly” for days and weeks. Because I would first have to equip her with artifacts and weapons, increase her character level, and then also upgrade her talents.
These are all things that I can (almost) only do through activities that cost me resin. For Jean to be at the same level as my other heroes, I would have to spend a lot of premium currency for resin to be able to upgrade her relatively quickly. Otherwise, I would need 3-6 weeks if I only spend my resin on her every day. That is not an exaggeration. This is actually the time required to level a character using only daily farmable materials and to equip them reasonably.
Or in short: I have to spend a lot of money on Jean, only to spend even more money to be able to play her in content where I am supposed to spend money.
That is one or two times too many “spend money” in this concept. Here, the ratio of investment and reward simply does not add up. If I spend money to buy the opportunity to spend even more money, that’s not exactly a factor that promotes fun.
So far, this has prevented me from putting any money into Genshin Impact at all. Yet I would really like to, if it weren’t for this vicious circle of expenses.
One of these two things needs drastically lower limitations. Either the heroes should be much easier to access (unlikely!), or the resin should play a less important role (possible!).
Does Genshin Impact really need the resin system?
In the official forums and on Reddit, there is always criticism of the resin system. Some find it quite good because they are already used to it from other games. It naturally limits playtime, so you are not tempted to play all day long. Many, however, condemn the system and wish that original resin would simply be completely removed.
How could this be solved? Resolving this issue is certainly no easy undertaking. In the forums, there are repeated calls for the resin system to be completely abolished. One should be able to play as much as one wants and collect as many rewards as one invests time. That would certainly be one option, but would completely remove resin as a source of income for the developer.
Some other players, including myself, would welcome a mixed form where resin still holds a high value, but no longer represents a completely restricting blockade.
One fairly simple approach could be to reduce the loot from spheres when entering them without using resin. If only half or a third of the loot drops, free-to-play players could continue to play without having to log out with a shrug because there’s simply nothing else to do today.
This reduction of loot without resin would have several positive effects:
- Free-to-play players can play as much as they want per day. They have less progress, but this progress is still unlimited.
- Resin would remain a valuable resource, as one could specifically increase loot in certain activities and thus reduce farm time or increase drop rates.
- Players who spend a lot of real money can continue to farm efficiently as before. For “whales,” nothing changes.
Why does resin even exist?
Systems with limited resources are completely normal in mobile games. They usually call it “energy,” but it serves the same purpose as the original resin. However, unlike in Genshin Impact, these games usually have some PvP component or a leaderboard with which one can distinguish oneself from other players. There, you send your heroes in mini form against the troops of other players and enjoy the fact that your team is better.
This represents a clear form of “pay-to-win,” as those who buy “energy” can achieve more than other players, have better and more loot, and climb the ranks.
But in Genshin Impact, there is no PvP component. The game is a solo RPG with a small co-op mode that, in its current state, is at most a neat addition. Here, resin is only a “pay for faster progress” – and that is absurd, the longer you think about it.
Because even though Genshin Impact presents itself as an open world and lures with RPG elements, at heart it is a grinding game. The complete character development works through hours of grinding bosses, challenges, and mobs. That’s not even a bad thing, because fighting in Genshin Impact is really fun.
I can shoot Electro slimes into oblivion for hours with Amber or push people into the water with Noelle to then electrify them with Lisa. That’s fun.
But when all relevant fun aspects are hidden behind a pretty strong paywall, I don’t want to spend money. The developers would likely make a fortune from me if it weren’t for resin.
At least the upcoming patch 1.1 brings a slight improvement to resin – although not enough.
But what do you think?
