Now, what video is this gonna be about, what topic should I put here? Hmmm… meta relevance? Nah... Character fashion sense? Not too experienced in that. Gameplay fun… -ness? Fuck it, let’s go with that.
Sauce: http://genshintool.com/genshin-impact-best-build-for-traveler/
First on the list is Traveler. Well, this one’s pretty easy. At least in theory. Three elements, all in one character. Our introduction to Anemo, and truly showcased what a chaotic force of nature that element was. Granted, it was super simple and kinda got old quick (which I suppose is a given considering that IS your very first character), but all things considered, it coulda been worse. I hope to build an Anemo Traveler one day, the same way I wish to get an enjoyable, fulfilling day job someday. It’ll happen eventually, but it’s probably gonna be a few fucking years until that day comes to pass. I really hope that was in jest, because if it turns out that psychology becomes a bitch and really implants that belief into your brain, well… I kinda wanna use the Traveler at some point, okay? Just… Christ, man. Why must self-hatred carry so much negative connotations even if you’re using it jokingly?
Anyway, we still haven’t really rated ya boy/girl equally. But if we were to place ‘em on a scale… Well, Anemo’s probably a solid C. I’ll give ‘em a solid place above D tier because while that playstyle is very rudimentary, I’ve still had some fun-ass experiences corralling bitches into a tight spot and making crowd control effects even easier to proc. And mind you, this is a FREE character with a succ ability (if anyone reads this they’re probably gonna endlessly shit on me, but I thought I’d say it nonetheless). One of Gust Surge’s upgrades also gives you a taste of 4-piece Viridiscent Venerer power, because God knows how goddamn fucking long it’ll take you to farm a decent set of those bloody things.
"In this world, nothing is certain except death and shitty Artifacts,” -Benjamin Franklin
Geo Traveler. Solid A. Or even S, if I may be so bold. Why? Because Geo Traveler just feels mighty. The Geo element in general is known for being a very reliable element because it does. Not. Discriminate. All is equal under the wrath of the rock. Even fucking Geo, for crying out loud. Can a Frost attack whittle through a Cryo shield? I wish. Can a fireball melt a Pyro shield? Fuck no. Geo, though? Hoooooo baby, have I got news for you. Apparently in this universe, rock beats rock. Geo abilities CAN indeed chip away at Geo shields. When you think about it, if Liyue decided to unleash Geo Abyss Mages upon us in another alternate universe where MiHoYo gave us better daily login rewards, there’d be three counters to that shit. Some might call this “too easy”, but for me? Geo shields are probably my favorite shield type to deal with. Not so much due to how easy they are to deal with, but more because there’re so many goddamn solutions to the problem.
One day, maybe Dendro will actually be implemented into the game. Or at least that's what I keep telling myself every night.
For even more depth, this even applies to ore mining. Sure, you COULD use a claymore to smack dose stubborn mineral outcrops into submission, but das some small smooth brain shit. If you’s got grass near the orez, a Pyro and Electro unit on the squad can work together to set fire to the grass and proc mad Overload reactions and chip away at the ore at a decent speed. Or you could just go with what I said before and use the stones to destroy the stones. Which is to say, just bring a Geo Catalyst. The ONLY Geo Catalyst in da game. Ya know who I’m talking aboot. Jesus Christ, it’s Ningguang, okay? I guess other Geo characters work too, just pop their Elemental Skill and it should make quick work of those ores. Unless you’re Albedo, I mean. Hell, wasn’t Zhongli the master of mining due to his ability to shatter mining outcrops just by holding E? Anyway, so this gives three solutions to dealing with Geo shields: either you Overload it, fight fire with fire (in this case, you bang a few rocks against each other), or bop it with a huge-ass sword. All these options are viable when faced with a wall of stone. At least when you’re playing this game.
"You guys have multiple weaknesses?" -Pyro/Electro/Cryo Fatui Skirmishers to their Geo-using comrades, probably
Now this is a butt-ton of side-tracking for a topic that’s ultimately supposed to be singing the praises of Geo Traveler, but that’s just what makes ‘em so goddamn awesome: Geo is a swiss army knife. It cares not what shield you’ve got packin’. Hell, it PUNISHES shields thanks to Crystallize Reactions; when you fight an Abyss Mage with Ningguang Rock Lady-san, you might not be dealing as much damage as you would when fighting against it with its preferred counter-element, but you’re still degrading it a respectable amount WHILE receiving these mad dope Crystallize shields. Granted, if you're fighting a Cryo or Hydro Mage you're still not immune to being stasis'd in a freaking bubble or frozen because you touched a single atom of ice while wet (because shields in this game are about as good at negating crowd control in this game as a pacifistic riot cop), but protection is protection.
Which brings us back to our boy/girl Geo Trav. This motherfucker ain't an exception to the Geo formula. First, let's talk skills. Big Dong Zhong's got his pillars and pixeloid meteor. Ningguang's got a bling curtain and throws away more precious gems than the average whale during a Ganyu banner. Albedo has an elevator. And a forcefield that Geo damages any foe foolish enough to take damage within its vicinity, I guess, but that shiz ain't nowhere near as memeable as the elevator. Still really solid, though. Albedo's pretty cool, the more I think about it. Also last but not least, Noelle, who's got the defense of a diamond-coated panzer.
A preview of one of the many absurdly effective tactics Geo mains have at their disposal.
So what's the Traveler got, you may ask? Rocks, mi amigo. Primarily in two forms: meteorites and craters. If Zhongli and Albedo's Geo constructs fit in the "deals periodical Geo damage" category, Ningguang’s and Traveler's constructs fit in the "enemy projectiles don't exist, they can't hurt you" group. Except in Geo Trav's case, it ain't just projectiles. Do you have trouble protecting a Ley Line Monolith? Do you need a platform to plunge attack off of? What about a ticking time bomb that shatters in a shower of Geo damage upon destruction? Geo Traveler' Elemental Skill's got it all. Hell, if you can master the skill's arc, you can even snipe faraway enemies with it.
Now let's get into the Elemental Burst. Fun fact, Geo Trav's Burst animation looks different depending on whether you pick Aether or Lumine as the MC: Aether punches the ground, while Lumine kicks it. In either case, this causes a Geo-dealing shockwave to ripple across the ground, dealing multiple instances of rock damage to any hapless victims caught in the shockwave (the description also says that it knocks foes back, but considering the nature of most Genshin enemies these days it certainly doesn't feel like it). This shockwave also creates a crater of sorts, leaving these wack rock-looking things at the edge of the Burst that- you know what, I give up trying to explain this verbally. Allow the visual aid to describe the look of the "crater" to you.
God, I need to work on verbally describing shit better.
So anyway, this ability comes with a few perks on top of the quick volley of Geo damage: as I've mentioned before, it knocks back enemies (although you'd probably only ever see this on weak-ass combatants). The jagged rock wall thingies created by the Burst also count as "Geo Constructs" (probably only relevant information to Zhongli mains, frankly), which can body-block enemies and nope quite a few enemy attacks. Geo Trav's first Constellation (which is insultingly easy to get if you're remotely competent with story progression, which I assume a vast majority of y'all are) also gives a neat Crit Boost and interruption resistance increase to teammates.
So to sum up Geo Trav's combat capabilities, we've got a ridiculously versatile Elemental Skill that summons a swiss-army meteor and a reliable Burst that rocks your enemies' world(s?), both literally and metaphorically. With enough upgrades, these abilities refresh within seconds of being casted, deal a crazy amount of non-discriminative damage and can last for a ludicrous amount of time. Hell, this ain't even getting into the myriad uses of the swiss-army meteor I mentioned earlier, which I find is the most entertaining part of playing Geo Traveler. So with all this in mind, what role does our good friend fill in the roster?
In a pinch, Geo Trav can also be used as a Support unit you can just swap between from time to time to deal a good chunk of Geo damage before swapping to your main damage dealer. And remember, Geo deals reliable damage against everything, so you'd be hard-pressed to find a situation where Geo Trav would be completely useless (which would be against Geo Slimes, but even then, Geo counters Geo shields). Sure, they're no Zhongli when it comes to power and defense capability, but the viability is definitely there. And it's FREE. Carried over across THREE ELEMENTS that all share the same level and equipment (not Talents, though, because for some reason the Traveler could be a master fencer in one element and swing their sword like a wet noodle when wielding another element). You ask me, that's a pretty good investment.
When it's all said and done, let me leave you, dear reader, with this final quote: consider building Geo Traveler. They're pretty good.
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