Genshin Impact 2.7 Yelan banner: is it worth it?-Joel Loynds-Entertainment – Metro

An accurate visual metaphor for all gacha games (pic: MiHoYo/Pexels)

Genshin Impact’s 2.7 update has recently hit and outside of some new content, the featured character has caused a stir.

Role-playing and gacha game Genshin Impact just got its latest update, after a few delays due to the ongoing Covid lockdowns in the Shenzhen area in China. The new update, 2.7, brings some much needed new content for people to begin working through as they build their team. 

If you’ve never played Genshin Impact or another gacha game they’re huge, especially in Asia. Mainly coming from China, Japan, and Korea, these games derive their name from gachapon, which were those little machines you’d find that spat out rubbish little toys contained in a Perspex ball, after you’d popped in 20p.

The games operate similarly to this, with players putting in either paid-for or earnt currency into a chosen ‘banner’ for a chance to get hold of a particular character. Genshin Impact, however, has once again drawn the ire of fans due to its 2.7 featured character being lumped in with other characters you can get just by playing the game.

A new banner, the term used for each particular promotion of a character, features the newly introduced Yelan. There’s been some excitement around this character, who offers excellent damage and exploration skills. 

However, the mood has darkened as MiHoYo, the developers, have bundled in the chance to get Yelan – you can’t pay outright for her – with two characters the game gives you for free. 

Characters Barbara and Noelle are given to everyone for free as you progress through the game. Noelle is given during the Beginner’s Wish, an introduction to the gacha mechanic in the game, and Barbara is awarded for completing a particular quest at level 18. 

Barbara can even be acquired during the Beginner’s Wish if you’re lucky enough. 

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Since both characters have an increased chance of appearing alongside the much rarer Yelan, it could spell disaster for those throwing cash into the machine and hoping for the new hero. 

YouTuber Mtashed has a whole video elaborating on it, with his recommendation being to carry on playing the game as if the banner wasn’t even introduced. In fact, even with the 2.7 updates he recommends players to hold onto their money until the next update, to see if things improve things. 

This isn’t the first time that MiHoYo has angered fans with this type of thing, as the first year anniversary was a disaster. With gacha games, anniversaries and holidays are massive, with some games like Gran Blue Fantasy and Destiny Child offering lots of free goodies which would usually cost a hefty sum if paid for. 

Genshin Impact’s first year anniversary gave a pitiful amount of currency and not much else. Which perhaps explains how MiHoYo has managed to make, on average, a billion dollars every six months since it launched the game in 2020.

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