Genshin Affect and Honkai: Star Rail are two video games plucked off the identical vine. These two video games share DNA as the preferred gacha video games from developer HoYoverse. They share related gameplay mechanics, launch schedules, and so forth. However how does Genshin Affect succeed the place Honkai: Star Rail may fail?
Genshin Affect’s greatest success story
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As a seasoned veteran of gacha video games, I’m effectively conscious of how the style will get you to spend extra until you’re left with an empty pockets. The designs get extra lavish, extra mechanics are launched, however most significantly, the characters get stronger. Not solely do the characters get stronger, however the content material will get tougher, and so not solely do you need a greater character; you straight up want it.
Typically phrases, we’d name this “energy creep.” Energy creep is an idea that exists in each dwell service sport. Do you play League of Legends? Evaluate a champion launched right this moment to a few of the very first champions within the sport. Energy creep is a real idea that new characters or mechanics outshine older ones, and the older champions are sometimes left within the mud, typically in an unusable state.
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However right here’s my favourite and virtually unbelievable side about Genshin Affect: energy creep…isn’t actually a factor. Infamously, followers have seen a development of “reverse energy creep,” as they wish to name it. Newer characters in Genshin Affect aren’t stepping on the toes of older ones. Actually, many new characters in Genshin Affect are straight-up worse than numerous characters at launch.
How Genshin Affect avoids energy creep
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I don’t essentially suppose energy creep is a nasty factor in a sport. It does appear pure for any dwell service sport to introduce shiny new mechanics and gameplay additions. In any other case, why would you retain taking part in a 12 months or extra after the preliminary furor? Remarkably, nevertheless, Genshin Affect doesn’t actually purchase into energy creep in any respect. How is that?
For starters, Genshin Affect’s newer characters handle to introduce new mechanics to the sport with out going overboard with the numbers. Characters like Cyno may deal the identical quantity of harm as an older 5-star character, however how he offers injury is exclusive by means of a particular minigame in his Elemental Burst that’s not like another character within the sport.
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It additionally helps that Genshin Affect’s staff constructing typically permits older characters to shine with newer ones. The introduction of the Dendro factor, for instance, launched new gameplay mechanics that really buffed older characters, due to elevated synergy. Characters that had been as soon as perceived as weak obtained a brand new second wind, equivalent to Keqing and Kuki Shinobu interacting with Dendro in a optimistic means. Thoma is one other character who turned decidedly stronger after Dendro was launched, after being launched as an underwhelming help unit.
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However actually, I feel Genshin Affect has gracefully stored the sport accessible to informal gamers by not ramping up the problem of the endgame too laborious. A lot of gamers may complain about how shallow Genshin Affect is after you have a totally decked-out staff, with the one endgame to check out your groups being the Spiral Abyss. And I do agree that Genshin Affect may use some tougher content material the place I can actually take my whaled out Wriothesley to the restrict.
However I additionally recognize that the Spiral Abyss hasn’t degraded to a disgusting numbers race, the place you straight up can’t kill issues with out summoning the brand new shiny unit that offers extra injury. Genshin Affect retains their newer characters in verify, however in addition they don’t flip their current laborious content material into one thing that would depart older characters within the mud.
Honkai Star Rail is already falling into this entice
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What I recognize about how Genshin Affect treats its characters is the way it minimizes the fear-of-missing-out side of a gacha sport. In different gacha video games, I’d typically pull for characters as a result of I used to be afraid of lacking out on some actually excessive injury, or necessary help mechanics. Say what you need in regards to the gacha style and the way predatory it’s, however Genshin Affect does strive its hardest to maintain a stage taking part in discipline, so that you don’t want to drag any new characters in the event you can’t afford to.
However taking part in Honkai: Star Rail alongside Genshin Affect, I can already see the 2 video games differ on this regard. Not even a 12 months after launch, characters like Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae completely left characters like Yanqing, Himeko, and Seele within the mud. Whereas these three characters are nonetheless viable, it’s a bit regarding to see characters like Dan Heng already push the ceiling so dramatically. It seems like older characters I liked to play, like Jing Yuan and Blade, barely have time to compete towards a few of the newer monsters releasing proper now.
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What helps with Genshin Affect is the interactivity of its fight mechanics. It’s not simply so simple as bringing a healer and constructing help round a DPS. The fundamental fight system in Genshin Affect permits older characters to remain related, as elemental reactions can deal simply as a lot injury as somebody who may simply dish out some actually excessive uncooked numbers.
Honkai: Star Rail will not be like that. It’s a turn-based sport, and the one goal is to decrease the HP of your enemies. There’s no mixing components collectively to create reactions equivalent to Vaporize or Soften to deal explosive injury. On the finish of the day, you’re simply dealing injury – and that’s it.
How can Honkai: Star Rail keep away from energy creep?
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Honkai: Star Rail’s lessons are at the moment meaningless. For instance, a personality in “The Hunt” class supposedly excels at dealing single-target injury. In the meantime, an “Erudition” character excels at AoE injury. However what’s the purpose of a Hunt character, when an Erudition character may be capable to deal simply as a lot single-target injury as a Hunt character?
Except for simply protecting numbers in verify, which I feel Honkai: Star Rail isn’t doing practically in addition to means Genshin Affect, I feel Honkai can actually profit by giving characters some weaknesses. The current Huohuo is a superb healer, however she can also buff allies’ ATK and power regeneration. Ought to an Abundance (healer) character be capable to buff your allies as effectively when there’s a category (Concord) devoted to buffing allies? Why do I would like to drag for Concord characters when HoYoverse has proven they’re prepared to let healers buff your staff as effectively?
Honkai: Star Rail is nearly as informal as Genshin Affect, arguably extra so, with auto battles and shorter each day necessities in comparison with Genshin. However Honkai will not be afraid to amp up its endgame content material with even tougher battles. The Simulated Universe Swarm is an unbelievable problem in comparison with the Reminiscence of Chaos…which, by the best way, is getting even tougher sooner or later with new flooring and tougher bosses on the best way. Is that this how Honkai: Star Rail ought to proceed? Making bosses so laborious, that you simply want the newest unit to succeed? It may not be that means but, however will it change into like that sooner or later?
I don’t suppose Honkai: Star Rail is at a degree the place energy creep is a big challenge…but. Jing Yuan may not maintain a candle to Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae, however that doesn’t imply he isn’t viable for endgame content material, such because the Reminiscence of Chaos or Simulated Universe. However as newer characters are already dramatically outshining older ones, I’m sitting right here hoping I’ll nonetheless be capable to use my Jing Yuan a 12 months down the road, the identical means I can nonetheless pull out my Tartaglia who launched close to the sport’s launch.
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