With Zenless Zone Zero. HoYoverse has cornered the market for gacha games and is reaping the rewards. Though each title has had its ups and downs, they are still massively successful games that have allowed each other to innovate and improve.
Honkai: Star Rail recently entered its 3.0 stage, arguably the biggest update of the entire game. This included a move to a new planet and the introduction of an entirely new Path focused on summons. Meanwhile, Zenless has entered the intermediate stages of its 1. X stages. However, early leaks have shown that its next update, 1.6, will be adding an entirely new fighting style that should make for a good refresh.
HoYoverse Has A Power Creep Problem
The Past Falls Away
HoYoverse is no stranger to power creep in any of its games. Though unfortunate, it is understandable given that the games need to sell new characters when they are released. However, things have gotten out of hand in some ways. Genshin hasn't had as many issues, but examples like Arlecchino being an upgraded version of Hu Tao are around.
Why Zenless Zone Zero Will Likely Get Another Class & What It Could Be
HoYoverse has a track record of adding a new class or element to its games, meaning Zenless Zone Zero is on track to receive similar treatment.
Star Rail has arguably had the worst of all power creep, with numerous early characters being inferior in current content. That's not to say these characters can't clear endgame content, but it is significantly harder than new characters. This has also led to some endgame content having enemies with heavily inflated health pools. These health pools are one of two aspects that have been pushing newer characters to the forefront, with previous characters feeling lacking in comparison.
The other aspect that has been generating power creep is how HoYoverse stages endgame content. Though this happens in all the games, endgame content usually has buffs or enemy weaknesses that are tuned to the new characters. A clear example of this is how many of the current endgame enemies in Honkai: Star Rail have a weakness to Ice, making The Herta and her best builds a popular and powerful choice.
How Zenless Zone Zero Can Fall Into Power Creep
Repetitive Mistakes
Though early, Zenless may fall into the same power creep problems as the other games. In some ways it already has, as someone like Ellen Joe, though still viable, has been outshined by Miyabi. This may not seem like a big thing now, but it could get worse as more characters are released. The standard banner characters are already feeling this, as everyone besides Lycaon feels on the weaker side when compared to options.
Luckily, so far, the enemies have felt like they have avoided any simulated difficulty. Zenless still employs the technique of enemies being weak to the new characters, but it doesn't feel as crucial as with Honkai or Genshin. Genshin is also not as bad as Honkai, but given that its damage is entirely based on elemental reactions, some teams are naturally weeded out.
How Zenless Zone Zero Can Avoid Power Creep
Prioritizing What They Do Best
Since it is still early, Zenless has the chance to limit the amount of power creep that enters the game. Before that, the one thing it has going for it is the natural difference in its combat compared to the other games. As fun as they are, Genshin is hamstrung by its elemental system, and Star Rail is more about player dedication than skill. In contrast, Zenless has a high skill ceiling that allows teams to excel even in situations where they are not the top pick.
These blends with the second way Zenless can avoid power creep, by continuing to make creative characters, like Miyabi and her semi-dual element kit. Every character in Zenless has a unique kit that has hidden nuances. These nuances allow them to excel in certain situations, and reward players with the dedication to mastering them. With the Ellen and Miyabi example, Miyabi may have higher damage, but that is not to say someone who masters Ellen's dash and dodge playstyle can't clear content just as well.
Zenless Zone Zero Leaks Show One Popular Character Will Be Free (& Helpful With A New Mechanic)
Zenless Zone Zero 1.6 looks to be changing the game's combat with a new mechanic, spearheaded by a popular side character becoming a playable agent.
This is the hardest thing that Zenless's developers will have to manage. Properly balancing fun new characters that will make money while not leaving behind early ones. So far, they have done a great job at this, but it will be a challenge to see how it continues. Given how gacha games work, it is fate that some characters will fade, but if Zenless can end up where Genshin is, where more early characters still have uses, rather than Star Rail, then it will find a healthy balance.
The last aspect that the developers have to manage is enemies. However, this may not be as big of an issue as with Star Rail. Given how Zenless works, fights are more about mechanics than large health pools, meaning, if done correctly, there is no reason Zenless enemies will see any large health pool increases. By keeping the more soul-lite combat that the RPG has, characters will not be forced to do increasingly more damage.
Overall, it will be a wait-and-see scenario about whether Zenless can avoid the power creep problems that have plagued other games. On paper, it certainly has the qualities, but in practice, things can get messy and other priorities can rise to the forefront. Even if things don't go as smoothly as may be desired, unless new characters are released that essentially copy and improve previous characters, Zenless is unlikely to see the same levels of creep as Star Rail. Regardless, while it is still early, Zenless Zone Zero should try everything it can to avoid Honkai: Star Rail's power creep.
Zenless Zone Zero
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- Top Critic Avg: 75/100 Critics Rec: 69%
- Released
- July 4, 2024
- ESRB
- T (Teen) - Suggestive Themes & Violence
- Developer(s)
- HoYoverse (Formerly miHoYo)
- Publisher(s)
- HoYoverse
- Engine
- Unity
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