Genshin Impact Content Creators – Some Thoughts

That’s where the “Do not recommend channel” comes into play.  It’s not the perfect substitute though since those channels will still show up in searches if they rank high in relevancy.  But the main objective is what YouTube’s algorithm throws into my recommendations (so I want to bend the algorithm to my will and not the other way around).  Some of the first ones I began removing were the ones that dealt with leaks.  Originally, character leaks that didn’t go into detail, I had no problems with early on because they kind of gave a preview of what was coming up.  The problem that I began to have however is that a lot of it began to broach into showing off actual game play from the closed betas (which are under an NDA).  What’s worse is some of these leakers would have thumbnails and titles that weren’t even subtle at all (let’s just say that part of patch 2.0 was spoiled at least a month prior to its release).  Since then, I’ve been diligent with using the “Do not recommend channel” for anything that looks like a spoiler including datamined stuff for just upcoming characters.

This then had me removing the recommendation of content creators that used clickbait titles regarding “build guides” for characters that haven’t been officially previewed/released yet.  Some of that info may be based on leaks or pure speculation, but they end up being at the top of the recommended algorithm regardless once a character officially releases and often times are inaccurate.  I prefer channels where the player (like Zy0x) does actually pull and build them, THEN puts out actual relevant guides.  

I’ve also taken the “hatchet” to a lot of meme makers (including those who use the MMD models in ways that miHoYo has sort of indicated is not appropriate).  I originally enjoyed some of the memes because they were honestly humorous.  The problem is that some folks end up overdoing it to where it loses its value as being funny.  As for some of the questionable MMD stuff, I’m no prude, but it gets old seeing character models that miHoYo officially releases (and some newer models that were ripped and rigged from the closed betas), being used in ways that they’ve made clear they don’t want them used (as in over sexualizing them or anything R-18).  I would hate to see them stop officially releasing these models just because some folks end up taking it too far (most game companies do not even offer downloads of in-game assets due to exactly these reasons).

I’m also very aware of the drama that exists in some circles of this community; drama that I really try to avoid in any game since all it does is take up unnecessary time and energy.  And there was some ridiculous stuff happening over the recent 2.1 livestream where some folks were complaining about the stream itself, attacking the voice actors, and complaining about the 1st anniversary being somewhat lackluster.  It didn’t matter to me if some of these content creators were qualifying their videos by saying not to attack the voice actors since the script they were given was not their fault.  I learned it got out of hand where some voice actors were receiving actual death threats on Twitter and Facebook.  Every community has toxic assholes; it’s just magnified with this game due to its sheer size.  So I have to go on a short tangent…

The issue I have with some of these content creators (the ones qualifying about not attacking the voice actors while launching into complaints about how terrible the livestream and script was) still provided a means for others to ignore that qualifier, and to pile on to everything else being complained about.  They know better about how slices of their complaints will be taken out of context and amplified in bandwagon fashion.  That entire incident made it easy to blacklist a bunch of channels.  I personally am indifferent to the livestreams since they are pretty much PR fluff that miHoYo doesn’t have to do or waste resources on.  But they do hold them and do give out codes for free Primogems.  After this recent drama, I would not be surprised if they start to put a brake on those streams or just do pre-programmed content.  I’m also indifferent to stuff they do giveaway because again, it’s something they don’t have to do (many other companies also rarely do that).

I also often times see people complaining about how miHoYo could do more considering how much they make off the player base.  Uh…. they are a business, not a charity.  Sure, that would be a nice goodwill move if they’d give out more Primogems, but I’m okay with what they do give out because again, it’s better than most other companies.  Even their events are better than most other games that I play.  And no, I am not any sort of white knight fan of miHoYo either.  Nor is it because I’m easy to please.  I’m just realistic about stuff like freebies and compensation.  I also detest the gacha business model they use and the rapid cadence of new character banners to milk the cash out from the whales wallet (which is why I do not whale in these type of games).  Sure, there is a guaranteed pity system that many gacha games don’t have (or aren’t as generous) that sort of offsets the mechanic.  But I’m also aware that these whales help fund the content that free to play players and those of us who spend less on just blessings or the battlepass, can enjoy.  And that content is pretty decent and high quality.  So it’s a trade off for myself as to the leeway I give miHoYo.  The issue I have is some of these folks complain about miHoYo being stingy, but still continue to throw money at the company not only to get the character, but to also rate up their constellations (this is giving the company permission to continue to abuse you versus voting with ones wallet and being stingy back).

Digressing, that leaves the rest of the Genshin Impact content creators; most of whom I do not subscribe to except for two who mainly cover the game lore (Ashikai and CatWithBlueHat) and a smaller streamer from Japan (LilyFizz).  I don’t utilize most of the guides from guide makers because there is that old school RPG player in me who likes the discovery by trial aspect that we had to use in the early days.  The only time I will consult a guide is when I’m really banging my head for a solution (and I normally use taka gg’s channel for that purpose when I need it).  That’s basically it.  I don’t sub to the larger folks (because that will jack up what ends up creeping into my recommendations); it doesn’t mean that I don’t occasionally (which means rarely) view their content though.  But who I end up watching is also only like two at the most like dish and Mtashed (who gets too much grief because of his multiple “I’m quitting” videos, many of which were entertaining as they normally were due to his own detest of the gacha system after starting out as a whale before switching to free to play).  That makes culling whatever else gets thrown into my Genshin Impact recommendations a whole lot easier to deal with.  The end result is that I’ve managed to trim down what YouTube recommends for this game.