Depends on where you set the goalpost for obsolete. Old DPS are still functional and they'll do the job, just not as easily or as fast. The current meta DPS will feel much easier and faster to play in the current meta suited for them, but if you just look at objective numbers, they don't generally get you more rewards or anything.
> only have one meta DPS at a time
And there's generally 2-3 mechanics/teams that are "currently meta" at any time, because the endgame all require 2 simultaneous teams, and because a full team takes time to build up (sell) and it's not like they're generally all released back to back. The staggered release means as the new "meta" is in the process of building up to their full potential, the previous meta teams would still remain relevant in pure numbers, if not in mechanics.
Currently, meta is the Acheron team and the Firefly team, with Yunli team a bit behind them. Before them, the meta teams were headed by Seele, DHIL, Jingliu, Kafka (DoT). Currently, DHIL and Kafka teams are still valid and played by people who either didn't spend/pull/play the 2.x DPS, just from raw damage (Jiaoqiu can also potentially stand-in as a slight downgrade of Black Swan in Kafka teams for those who didn't pull her since he does do some DoT). Seele can often do well in some scenarios too, because all her mechanic requires is that there are side fodder-mobs to feed on; she's just more fiddly to play, but day-1 players who have her should presumably be used to it.
Jingliu is the only one who's kinda faded out from usage except for the rarer occasions when a boss will have ice vulnerability. Though her case is different as it's less she's been powercreeped as more like the devs just don't like the ice element or something... Presumably once we ever get an ice DPS in the future, and dungeons start having a lot more ice weak enemies, Jingliu will become relevant again for people who don't want to pull the new DPS.
The next change in mechanics is rumored to be coming in the 3.0 update. But that won't start until next year. So the 2.x meta teams still have plenty of time to shine before they get "replaced". Similarly, the 1.x meta teams had plenty of time to shine too, because while Acheron came in the 2.0 patch, Firefly didn't come around until 2.2 or 2.3 IIRC, which was near mid-year.
> there's no chance of any older units ever returning back to the meta cycle
There's some exceptions, such as when there's overlap between mechanics. For example, Yunli is an explicit upgrade of Clara (standard banner character, so you can't pay to specifically pull her, and thus ok to replace with a limited 5 star). This means that situations suited for Yunli will also be 70-80% suited for Clara (more if you just pull Yunli's lightcone and give it to Clara).
But in general, yeah, older units aren't expected to become meta. But that doesn't mean they're not usable or anything. Having older DPS with the right element works fine for completing the endgame.
Case in point, I don't have any of the currently meta DPS: Acheron, Firefly, or Yunli, or even a lot of the meta-supports like Sparkle, Robin, Huohuo, Aventurine (my healer Luocha is considered "obsolete" by meta-chasers). But this initial post is me completing the endgame anyways. And the 5 stars I used were "never-been-meta" Jing Yuan, "replaced-by-Yunli" Clara, "replaced-by-Sparkle" standard banner Bronya, standard banner Himeko. The only "meta" characters I have are HarmonyMC (free), Ruan Mei, and Topaz.
> so anyone who ever invests in any character is purely doing it for pretty and not gameplay
That's the best way to play this game, IMO. I don't know how much of a percentage that hardcore players who always chase the meta make up in this game. But from my experience in the EN reddit community, at least most of the people there don't seem to be chasing raw numbers.
At most, they'll consider if they need a DPS of a particular element, but rarely more than that. Or, on reruns, if a particular characters has had overwhelmingly positive reviews by people who pulled them the first round, people might be inclined to get them the second round.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2024-08-27 05:41 pm (UTC)Depends on where you set the goalpost for obsolete. Old DPS are still functional and they'll do the job, just not as easily or as fast. The current meta DPS will feel much easier and faster to play in the current meta suited for them, but if you just look at objective numbers, they don't generally get you more rewards or anything.
> only have one meta DPS at a time
And there's generally 2-3 mechanics/teams that are "currently meta" at any time, because the endgame all require 2 simultaneous teams, and because a full team takes time to build up (sell) and it's not like they're generally all released back to back. The staggered release means as the new "meta" is in the process of building up to their full potential, the previous meta teams would still remain relevant in pure numbers, if not in mechanics.
Currently, meta is the Acheron team and the Firefly team, with Yunli team a bit behind them. Before them, the meta teams were headed by Seele, DHIL, Jingliu, Kafka (DoT). Currently, DHIL and Kafka teams are still valid and played by people who either didn't spend/pull/play the 2.x DPS, just from raw damage (Jiaoqiu can also potentially stand-in as a slight downgrade of Black Swan in Kafka teams for those who didn't pull her since he does do some DoT). Seele can often do well in some scenarios too, because all her mechanic requires is that there are side fodder-mobs to feed on; she's just more fiddly to play, but day-1 players who have her should presumably be used to it.
Jingliu is the only one who's kinda faded out from usage except for the rarer occasions when a boss will have ice vulnerability. Though her case is different as it's less she's been powercreeped as more like the devs just don't like the ice element or something... Presumably once we ever get an ice DPS in the future, and dungeons start having a lot more ice weak enemies, Jingliu will become relevant again for people who don't want to pull the new DPS.
The next change in mechanics is rumored to be coming in the 3.0 update. But that won't start until next year. So the 2.x meta teams still have plenty of time to shine before they get "replaced". Similarly, the 1.x meta teams had plenty of time to shine too, because while Acheron came in the 2.0 patch, Firefly didn't come around until 2.2 or 2.3 IIRC, which was near mid-year.
> there's no chance of any older units ever returning back to the meta cycle
There's some exceptions, such as when there's overlap between mechanics. For example, Yunli is an explicit upgrade of Clara (standard banner character, so you can't pay to specifically pull her, and thus ok to replace with a limited 5 star). This means that situations suited for Yunli will also be 70-80% suited for Clara (more if you just pull Yunli's lightcone and give it to Clara).
But in general, yeah, older units aren't expected to become meta. But that doesn't mean they're not usable or anything. Having older DPS with the right element works fine for completing the endgame.
Case in point, I don't have any of the currently meta DPS: Acheron, Firefly, or Yunli, or even a lot of the meta-supports like Sparkle, Robin, Huohuo, Aventurine (my healer Luocha is considered "obsolete" by meta-chasers). But this initial post is me completing the endgame anyways. And the 5 stars I used were "never-been-meta" Jing Yuan, "replaced-by-Yunli" Clara, "replaced-by-Sparkle" standard banner Bronya, standard banner Himeko. The only "meta" characters I have are HarmonyMC (free), Ruan Mei, and Topaz.
> so anyone who ever invests in any character is purely doing it for pretty and not gameplay
That's the best way to play this game, IMO. I don't know how much of a percentage that hardcore players who always chase the meta make up in this game. But from my experience in the EN reddit community, at least most of the people there don't seem to be chasing raw numbers.
At most, they'll consider if they need a DPS of a particular element, but rarely more than that. Or, on reruns, if a particular characters has had overwhelmingly positive reviews by people who pulled them the first round, people might be inclined to get them the second round.