Seeing meltdowns about Genshin on my timeline is funny as hell because some people are just taking the monetization model too seriously.

It's a system worthy of criticism, but not everyone who partakes in it and derives enjoyment out of it are fools.

Getting randomized items and figuring out how to best adapt with what you have is one of the biggest appeals of the genre.

Easy to say that the idea merely exists to nickle and dime folks, but there are great non-monetized examples such as in Xenoblade 2/Hajimari no Kiseki.

Not defending gacha monetization. I do think regulations need to be put in place to protect minors especially from these kinds of games. Genshin in some aspects is more egregious than some of its peers in the industry - mainly Primogem output and 0.6% rates on the rarest items.

But taking away the implications of a game like this on a macro level, it's a game that's well designed for F2P players. Just about every obstacle can be beat with the existing cast you get for free. Some people, like myself, enjoy that challenge.

To clarify on what spurred this thread: someone got frustrated about the gacha mechanics and got on their high horse about how traditional gamers are better than gacha players (along those lines). Though the frustration is understandable, it was also toxic towards others.