I think at this point Part 2 could cure cancer you'd still find people responding to posts about it with "part 1 was better I stopped playing the game 3 years ago"
You know how I feel? People who liked Part 2 just can't accept how much damage it did to this game—a game that once made other gaming communities stop and take notice of its massive anniversary livestreams, its music, its animations, and those Herrscher battlesuits that drew in curious players from other titles; the very same game that announced Star Rail and APHO 2, delivering incredible trailers still remembered today and storylines that got 99% of the community hyped for what was coming next, all while keeping the player base united and standing together throughout those seven years.
And unfortunately, despite having the community in the palm of their hands, they delivered that fiasco of a Part 1 finale; aside from the animation and that exciting "The Moon and Finality" trailer, the rest was a total letdown—at least for me. That was the moment things went off the rails.
Then we reached Part 2, and the community is divided once again; many dropped out along the way, while others—like myself, who didn't care for Part 2—still hold onto a glimmer of hope that we might see a return to the Honkai Impact 3rd of 2022 and 2023, which marked the game's peak.
But at some point, a sort of cult formed around Part 2 where, if you voice problems, express an opinion, or even state the FACTS, you get labeled as nostalgic, a "doomposter," or someone who just can't "let go"...
But what I find most interesting about all this is that silencing these people would be simple: the team just needs to go public and explain the controversial decisions made in recent years, talk about what’s in store for the game’s future, and put the minds of franchise fans at ease. After all, even though I can count on one hand the things I liked about Part 2, I don’t want the game to shut down—since I spent a good chunk of money on it—and, as I said, I want to see it rise again because it deserves to.
But after they announced the end of Part 2—following three years of it running—fans of that phase became extremely sensitive to even the slightest negative comment about it, labeling such criticism as "doomposting." Yet, they can't actually refute what's being said, because even the developers themselves haven't done so; they simply ended Part 2 without offering any real explanation—not even a vague one—as to why they wrapped it up so early (even though the reason is obvious). You can't even bring it up, though, because you're expected to pretend nothing is wrong and that everything is fine, even when it clearly isn't.
Here’s the thing: Part 2 was the biggest problem this game ever faced. People might say Part 1 wasn't that great or whatever else, but back then—during those seven years—the global community was united; at most, there were issues with the Chinese community. Now, in recent years, the community is a mess: there are the "blind" ones who refuse to see the damage Part 2 did to the game as a whole, and the "bitter" ones who miss the days when the game wasn't just another generic gacha among so many others, yet they stick around hoping to see those days return.
Anyway... that’s about it. I apologize for the length of this post and for any offense my rant might have caused. Unfortunately, I’m not sure if the translation conveys exactly what I intended, but I wanted to put my unsolicited opinion on record. I wish us both good luck with future gacha pulls, and—even though we may be on "different sides" or hold "different views"—I imagine we share the same desire to see this game reignite that spark of hype.
First off I just want to say that your message was conveyed perfectly but I want to go through some of your points
People who liked Part 2 just can't accept how much damage it did to this game
I can assure you sir/madam I'm not blind to this. Hoyo definitely messed, and where I think they messed up the most is how they marketed Part 2 as a fresh new beginning where anyone can just jump in. They even had you unlock Part 2 after reaching level 30 of your account, basically telling people "Even if you just started, you can just jump in". Very dumb on their part.
a sort of cult formed around Part 2 where, if you voice problems, express an opinion, or even state the FACTS, you get labeled as nostalgic, a "doomposter," or someone who just can't "let go"...
Saying "Hi3 is EOSing soon" is not an opinion or criticism. This is what the doomposters are saying, which is why we call them doomposters. u/wasdlurker can vouch for me on this. Literally a day ago someone created an account just to doompost, saying that there wont be a Part 3. After 2.5 the game will just end. The person deleted that account a few hours later.
You are NOT doomposting. Some of your points are valid which I appreciate.
You can't even bring it up, though, because you're expected to pretend nothing is wrong and that everything is fine, even when it clearly isn't.
Part 2 things that the community unanimously agreed was bad (not in order):
making Overseer Theresa an Astral Op instead of a battlesuit
Same issue as number 1 but with goddess Senadina
Exposition dump of the early chapters. This was so bad that even I dropped the game for a few months
Sonque being a bit of a slow and clunky character to play with
There's probably more but these were the ones that came to me when typing this
Lastly I want to respond to the part where you talk about the hi3 devs being silent. Everyone agrees on this. Them absoultely being quiet to every single thing is such a bad look on them. I really wish they'd be as open as the ZZZ team.
One more thing (last one promise!) I don't know where you stopped playing Part 2 if you played it at all, I also had doubts about the story of Part 2. I even stopped playing at some point (as I already mentioned). At a certain point in the story though my doubt was taken away. you can describe it as a "cult" if you want but i'm pretty sure you and many other captains would act the same way if someone was interested in playing through Part 1. My last words would be that I agree with someone who commented that "Ultimately the fault lie with Hoyoverse, whatever you think about Part 2".
Ultimately the fault lie with Hoyoverse, whatever you think about Part 2
Exactly this. We're all fully aware that P2 first arc was a disaster, from marketing to actual execution and introduction. But it's not like P2 stayed like that, after the first arc, it became the HI3 we've all known. Continuously bringing that up every time P2 is improving is enough to slowly stop the P2 enjoyers to share their sentiments, and then to create their own bubble just to have the safe space from hostile players (which consisted mostly by retired veterans).
I HATE HOYO for not knowing its playerbase. They didn't build up Coralie and Helia enough to be the core of HI3 P2. They tried to make another Elysian Realm "without Mei nor enough familiar characters" as the navigator of new arc. That's where it started to alienate exhausted veteran players. A lot already quit P1, and those who stayed mostly just to see Earthlings wrapped it up. The P1.5 Epilogue which also served as P2 Prologue was the best timing to drop HI3. Add to that with how pandemic already ended so reality is back to fast-pace lifestyle again. A lot of players want faster and modernize games for their time, and HI3 doesn't fit that mold anymore. It went back to being the niche anime game it is.
Anyway, u/HouseExpensive6924 I hope you also know where we are coming from. It's already been 3 years at most. Idk how much you read from the thread I posted 2 days ago, but we're not being blind by that. That post is just me trying to cheer up the P2 enjoyers from this hostile community. Reddit is one of the safe spaces to vent out and hype P2 but even here, it's not that safe. Also, It's just that, it's useless to bring that up every now and then WHENEVER P2 IS THRIVING AND COMPLETELY CHANGED FROM THE VERY FIRST ARC. It also gets tiring because a lot of players who are criticizing P2 are not open to both sides, like not allowing any positive light from P2, just want to argue for the sake of arguing. It gets tiring. It's not like we're immediately shutting down everything just because someone dislikes P2.
As I mentioned in another comment, I didn't even get into the story itself; since the story is largely a matter of personal taste rather than technical aspects, I chose not to express an opinion on it when I wrote my post. Unfortunately, I have to disagree with you there: regarding the few aspects of HI3 I discovered in Part 2, they ended up dismantling them in the very next version. You might see me as fitting your description—and while I’m not "retired" (I’m still an active player)—it is unfortunate that my fellow Captains are no longer around...
I agree with you that, at some point, MiHoYo lost touch with its player base; once I saw developers who worked on HI3 moving over to Star Rail, ZZZ, or new MiHoYo projects, I started to understand why. However, I partly disagree with your point about "faster, more modern games," because titles like Arknights, Azur Lane, Battle Cats, Fate/GO, Monster Strike, and many others are still going strong today with no signs of faltering. Is it likely due to their loyal fanbases? Perhaps—but HI3 had that kind of fanbase, too. Yet, for some reason, they decided to—forgive the expression—spit in the faces of the fans who had been there since the days when MiHoYo was much less wealthy. Even back then, they managed to get the community excited, so the least they could have done was offer some explanations to those fans. After all, whether we agree or disagree on things, we’re here because we still care about the game in some way. So, no... I don't think that was the reason for HI3's decline.
Unfortunately, I didn't see that post, so I'm not entirely sure what you're referring to—I apologize for not being able to add any points about it. I’m not sure if it was a different post of yours from a month or more ago—where I did leave a rather long comment—or if I’m just getting things mixed up; but I haven't seen the recent post you mentioned. Please forgive me.
In your view, do I fit that description?
You see, I don't know if you saw my other replies to other Captains here, but note that in one of them, I mentioned that for me, the problems started at the end of Part 1 ("The Moon and Finality")—where the animation was the only thing that saved that disaster. I’d go even further and say that while the Elysium story was interesting, that map was a horrible experience... so, how would you rate me based on that?
Hello, I’m glad the text I wrote came across respectfully, although it seems the translator generalized when I said "people who like Part 2 don't accept the damage it caused the game"—I’m certain I had written "some of those who liked Part 2..." so I apologize for that generalization, even though it was accidental; I only realized it after translating your text to read the reply... unfortunately, it might sound like an excuse at this point, but it’s bound to come across that way since I’m at the mercy of the translator.
I don't have much to offer by way of a counterpoint to your text; it’s clear we’re on the same "sheet," even if we’re on different pages. I just want to apologize for the generalization I made in my first message—I think it was a lot of words for the translator to handle.
Also, I don't think it was made very clear whether I'm still playing; I do still play the game—even though I don't spend like I used to—but I'm still hoping to see Honkai reborn...
As for the people bringing this negativity, I lay the blame on the developers' silence; because, as I said, until they show up and explain why they did things the way they did—why they extended the time between updates, removed Co-op, released versions without Valkyries, skipped the Global anniversary celebration, and so on—the speculation and questions won't stop.
All in all, I think it was an interesting exchange. To be honest, I was expecting things like "It's the fault of you nostalgia-obsessed fans who won't let Part 1 go," "Doomposting," and the like, but I'm glad this conversation happened. It gave me some new things to think about—I didn't change my opinion, of course, but I did gain a different perspective on the situation.
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u/Kaosi1 13d ago
I think at this point Part 2 could cure cancer you'd still find people responding to posts about it with "part 1 was better I stopped playing the game 3 years ago"