We’re bringing back Kopi Talk, our op-ed column where THE MAGIC RAIN members share what’s been on their mind. These articles are solely of the opinion of the author and do not reflect the collective thoughts of our team.
Powercreep is a phenomenon that every gacha game experiences. For some, it becomes an issue, while others may see it as an opportunity for developers to buff older characters and resell them to the community.
In the case of Honkai: Star Rail, I feel like the current 3.0 characters are significantly more powerful than some of 1.0 and 2.0 characters. It’s so bad that 3.0 characters like Mydei and Tribbie can compete with E6 characters like Blade, Sparkle, or Robin. As a dolphin ($$) player myself, it feels really bad to see characters I spent a lot of money on get powercrept so quickly.
HP Inflation
The latest 3.0 Memory of Chaos (MOC) update has especially caused a lot of frustration, especially in both the English and Chinese communities. One major issue is how the game pushes players to pull for new units.
The image above is from a Chinese user named HomDGCat. It shows that with the new MOC update, health has reached the tens of millions. As a meta player, I am somewhat worried that if this continues, Honkai: Star Rail will become a ‘pull for the latest character or lose’ game. This is disappointing, as many players just want to enjoy their favorite waifus and husbandos, but this situation forces players to mainly pull for the Alpha-tier characters and ignore the rest.
My guess is that Hoyoverse is trying to make endgame content harder for players, but HP inflation is the easiest (and laziest) way to increase difficulty as it pressures players to pull for the latest characters just to keep up with new content. Remember that 80% of the player base are just casuals who don’t want to perfectly speed tune their characters, have perfect 30 Crit Value on every artifact, or have all the meta units. They just want to log in, have fun with their favourite characters, and leave.
Hoyoverse has tried to implement changes like the addition of a self-damage mechanic for the boss Nikador when you defeat its armour. It’s a unique mechanic, but the issue is that he still has way too much health. Even if you remove its armor and defeat all the minions, the boss still has 2 million HP left. He also deals a lot of damage, reminiscent of pre-nerf Adventurine. Without a good Preservation or Abundance unit, it’s almost impossible to complete MOC 12 especially for casual players.
Locking Kits Behind Eidolons/Lightcones
Another major point of contention is how characters like Acheron depend heavily on their lightcone for proper performance. There has never been a character so dependent on their lightcone that without it, the gameplay, build, and team compositions feel completely different. Pulling for lightcones as a free-to-play player feels really bad because it requires the same number of pulls as getting a new character, but instead, you’re only getting a weapon, and the most diabolical thing is that it is not guaranteed.
The same goes for Eidolons. Characters like Acheron and Robin are much stronger at higher Eidolon levels (e.g., Robin E1, Acheron E2). For example, getting E2 on Acheron changes everything — her team compositions, builds, playstyle, and damage output, and the difference between E0 and E2 is significant. At E0, you need to play with 2 Nihility characters to utilize her trace that gives 160% extra damage. But at E1, you only need to play with 1 Nihility character, and you even gain 1 extra stack every time Acheron takes a turn. This allows you to slot in a Harmony character, or you can opt for a double Harmony/single Nihility setup.
Yes, I understand that if you really like a character, you would want to support the company by getting Eidolons, but the issue is that a lot of people now feel they have to get Eidolons because they are crucial to performance.
Buffing Old Characters
We saw from the recent update that the developers announced they would be buffing older characters — huge news for the community! But will this help with any of the game’s issues? I will only be discussing limited 5-star characters here, as players have invested more time and money into them.
For older characters like Seele, Blade, and Argenti, simply buffing their multipliers wouldn’t make them competitive with newer characters. Instead, their kits should be improved or redesigned to fit the current meta. For example, it would be pretty cool if Blade had an inbuilt taunt skill alongside his enhanced attack. Seele’s major traces could also be reworked — her current A6, “After using a Basic ATK, Seele’s next action will be Advanced Forward by 20%,” is really underwhelming.
Some people might argue that buffing old characters would lead to lower monthly sales for newer characters, thus impacting the game’s profits, but I don’t think that’s the case. In fact, I believe it will encourage more people to spend, but in a way that feels more rewarding to the player. What makes a character great isn’t just their numbers but also their design, kit, and synergy with teams.
Overall Thoughts
I believe that if Honkai: Star Rail buffs its older characters and reduces HP inflation, many players will find the motivation to continue playing. Currently, many people are losing interest because their favorite waifus and husbandos can’t keep up with the current meta.
The big question remains: Will they implement changes? Will they stop the massive HP inflation? Or will you have to solve every issue by opening your wallet? Only time will tell.
With that said, those are my final thoughts on powercreep in Honkai: Star Rail. For more Honkai: Star Rail content and guides, check out our website!
