Honkai: Star Railcontinues to add power creep to the hit gacha game, and it is on track to give it an early death.HSRis arguably the top of HoYoverse now thatGenshin Impacthas somewhat slowed down. While the open-world action RPG is still popular, its recent 5.0 update was less well-received than previous.Zenless Zone Zeromay also be on the rise, but it is still too early to give any definite claims.
Power creep and kit locking have always been issues withHSR, but usually in small amounts. Early characters like Seele and Bronya just couldn’t compare when options like Acheron, Sparkle, or even Sunday came out that essentially do what they do, but better. However, these characters could still be viable when built and used correctly. Kit locking has been another new issue, as things like Eidolons or signature Lightcones usually just enhanced a character’s kit, but now seem to unlock a core part of it.
3.X Characters Are Breaking Honkai: Star Rail
The Newer, The Better
Since the start of 3.0, the newly released characters and leaks about upcoming ones showcase two things: they will be immensely stronger than their predecessors, and they need extra pieces. Characters like The Herta,Agalea and her best builds, and the heavily anticipated Castorice have damage numbers that few DPS before can reach. This is becoming a big issue as theendgame activities such as MOC continue to inflate boss health pools, which means these new characters are becoming nearly essential for levels 10-12.
Outside the DPS role, characters like Anaxa are also showing immense power creep signs. His ultimate will make all enemies on the field weak to every damage type inHSR,which puts someone like Silver Wolf into a category of never being needed. As an Erudition character who can be used in Pure Fiction, he may also lower the need for characters like Jade or Argenti. Surprisingly,Tribbie has been the one new addition that hasn’t caused much power creep. Her kit largely helps with different kinds of DPS, even if it seems similar to those of Robin or Ruan Mei.
The most controversial recent announcement was thediscovery of Castorice’s passive. This will allow teams to revive once per battle as long as the player’s account has Castorice.Something like this is too game-breaking to be a global passive, and would possibly be too strong even if limited to a team Castorice is on. Overall, it sets a bad precedent and could open the door for worse down the line.
The other big issue has been kit locking, as seen with characters like Agalea and Tribbie, where their first Eidolon plays like something that should be in their base kit. Other examples of this are Acheron (along with Castorice) and her Lightcone, where it, while being the stat sticks they are meant to be, seem to fill in the blanks of their kits. Understandably, these bonuses need to be appealing, so the game can make money, butmaking it feel like these characters have been nerfed on purpose to encourage spending money will end poorly.
How Honkai: Star Rail Can Reverse Power Creep
Immediate Changes Are Needed
It is impossible to fully remove power creep from long-running gacha games, but there are still ways to reduce it. The first step would be tostop increasing the damage every new DPS has and instead focus on having multiple DPS that all deal the same damage in different ways. These different ways would be the major appeal of the character and prevent any loss of profit. This solution would also help stop endgame modes from feeling inflated.
Part two is listening to community feedback, with a clear example of this being Castorice’s passive. The large uproar this leak has caused has been palpable, and if it is changed before her release it would be a good step. Hopefully, thecharacter buffs thatHSRhas been planningcan help this side of things too, and perhaps bring characters up to par.
Kit locking may be the harder thing to stop, as previous characters can’t be changed, as massive changes like this are never seen in gacha games. The hope here should be thatthe outcry becomes so large that HoYoverse is forced to make changes so future characters are complete. There is no problem with Eidolons or signature Lightcones greatly increasing the strength of characters, but they shouldn’t feel like requirements.
Overall, the rest of 3.X will be an important time forHSR. As the gacha gaming competition is starting to catch up, players are more inclined to leave the game or close their wallets, which has already been evident inGenshin. If the rest of 3.X and beyond continues like this,Honkai: Star Railmay be looking at an early death.
Honkai: Star Rail
Set after the events of the ongoing game Honkai Impact 3rd, Honkai: Star Rail is a turn-based online RPG from developer Hoyoverse. Two members of the Astral Express, March 7th and Dan Heng, are on their way to the Herta Space Station with precious cargo when ambushed by members of a group known as the Antimatter Legion. Chaos ensues as among them is the god of destruction, Aeon, who steals a seed known as a Stellaron, which they implant in an artificial human known as the “Trailblazer.” Players will assume the role of this character as they try to avoid their fate and save all of civilization.
