The stream was Fantastic! But...

IMO, it's kinda sad that their solution to the many, many problems of the Valley 4 storyline is to just let people skip it entirely, rather than try to make it better in some way. HSR is likely where it is today because Belobog was and still is one of their best storylines, and even after 3 CBTs they still thought Valley 4 was good enough as the ever important introductory storyline for new players.

The contrast with Wuling is still kind of Unbelieveable. Right after you get there you are greeted with 2 of the best charachters in Endfield, Ardashir and TangTang. I know it is probably a good sign that they recognise their issues and cut their losses like this, but I always wished for some kind of improvement for the long term health of the game.