Genshin Impact Serenitea Pot Changes That Should Be In The Next Update
Despite its many months since release, Genshin Impact's Serenitea Pot still has improvements that could be made. After fulfilling the prerequisite quests, players are given a teapot they can enter it and call it "home." Players are able to build furniture and decorate their own homes in any of the 4 areas they choose. These areas are expanded more and more as they craft materials and gather resources. Because the Serenitea Pot has never really been an essential part of the game, it was considered "filler" content. It simply provides players another way to enjoy the game as they wait for Resin to restore.
Many players often express their disappointment with Genshin Impact’s lackluster endgame. There just isn’t much to do once a player has completed their dailies and retired their Resin. It becomes a waiting game: waiting for Resin to restore, waiting for the clock to reset, etc. miHoYo has tried to keep players happy by providing a simulation mechanic. As mentioned earlier, the Serenitea Pot does not add anything to the lore or gameplay in Genshin Impact, so there are a significant amount of people who have yet to actually use the pot. In addition, it does not feel as rewarding as it should, especially to those who put in so much effort to beautify their home. There are achievements that players can try to complete to earn some Primogems, but these can only be acquired over long periods of time.
Players who managed to utilize the Serenitea Pot in Genshin Impact provided feedback to miHoYo. Since then, there have been multiple changes and additions to the Serenitea Pot. Players mentioned how long it took to travel from one island to another. They also stated their annoyance at how often Tubby speaks when a player selects a command. As a result, miHoYo has added teleport waypoints that players can place anywhere. Tubby also does not speak as much. Gardening and fishing inside the pot were added, so players can enjoy a simple pastime. Although these small quality-of-life changes are good, miHoYo's response to critique proves that it can do more to keep the pot brewing.
One significant change would be the actual companions that are invited to stay in the Serenitea Pot. Perhaps the characters can do more than just stand there. Being able to place favorite characters and give them a home is a great feature. This allowed players to gain companionship experience and thus, increase their friendship level. Players are able to learn more about these Genshin Impact characters and unlock new conversations, even so far as some characters request the player to hang out with them should the friendship level allow.
However, all they really do is just stand exactly where the player places them and do a few poses. They do not even do their signature idle motions. An improvement to the Serenitea Pot would be to make these companions able to interact with certain objects or have them move around the area more. They seem more like pieces of furniture rather than their beloved friends that have journeyed with them. Unlike leveling and Ascension materials, furniture materials do not consume Resin but are still annoying to gather. There are over 10 different types of wood and in order to farm each type, one must travel to different areas and chop trees. A player must memorize which tree gives which wood in which area. Thankfully, miHoYo has resolved this by providing a recommended farming area in Genshin Impact.
However, this still becomes a chore. It still means multiple loading screens and running into monsters that just won't leave the player alone. Each tree only gives 3 pieces, and some pieces of furniture require a lot. It is especially inconvenient if a player quickly wants to craft a certain piece of furniture on the spot, but they must go out and farm a missing material. In this case, there should be an option to buy wood and other crafting materials directly inside the Serenitea Pot in Genshin Impact, albeit at a higher price, but an option nonetheless.
Next, even when resources are enough, crafting takes too long. Furniture requires 12 - 16 hours of real-time so if a player wants to create something, they must wait the required hours for the piece to be finished. There is an item that can immediately finish a furniture piece called "Vial of Adeptal Seed," but it is again something that players must obtain. There is a limit in how much furniture a player can create at once. This can hinder a player's creative flow, having to wait for a certain piece to finish before being able to place within the realm. Friends and strangers invited through co-op in Genshin Impact may help speed up this process, but this opens the window for more bugs and lags.
Just like how everything is limited in gacha games, both the NPCS Tubby and Chubby need improvement in Genshin Impact. After reaching level 10 trust level with Tubby and obtaining all the rewards, there is no more incentive to play around with the teapot, so that could be increased in the Serenitea Pot in a later update. Trust rank increases the limit for the amount of Realm Currency. Much like how increasing the Resin limit from 120 to 160, increasing the amount limit for Realm Currency only means that a player is able to stay away from the game longer, which defeats the purpose of having more content.
Chubby's goods are not as rare as they seem in Genshin Impact. Although he only comes a few times every week, his inventory is limited so he will most likely be selling the same items that a player has already bought or seen. Because of this, there is, again, no goal for players to constantly check their Serenitea Pot or change their realm. What players really want are Primogems or rare items, but there can only be so much that can be obtained through the pot. Just like how miHoYo has consistently updated and changed the Spiral Abyss due to players' demand, they can bring forth changes to the Serenitea Pot.
When Genshin Impact is the only game that some people play, especially non-mobile players, or the game that content creators work on, miHoYo must offer more. The Serenitea Pot is a fun mechanic to play with once someone has exhausted their Resin. But if the teapot has so much room for improvement, it is not a reliable feature to keep players satisfied. Genshin Impact has so much potential, but the combination of being a gacha and mobile game sometimes prevents it from being more.