Zenless Zone Zero might be HoYoverse’s most welcoming game

If you’ve never been able to stomach the gacha of HoYoverse games, then Zero zone without zen could be for you. The next game from the developer behind GenshinImpact And Honkai: Star Rail will be released on July 4th (in just a few days) and should bring some welcome quality of life changes to the formula that, if successful, could make it the most user-friendly Hoyoverse game yet.

For the uninitiated, Zero zone without zen is a city-punk action RPG. In previews and trailers leading up to its release, HoYoverse highlighted the game’s combat as the biggest draw. The recent special preview program went deep into the fight and showed how spectacular he is. Unlike the real-time action of Genshin Impact (which can be quite simplistic), ZZZ seeks to offer a deeper combat system with normal, special, secondary, combo, and assist attacks that allow players to mix and match their party composition to deal massive damage. Without getting into the nitty-gritty, this seems like a welcome improvement to the combat of Genshin Impact and arrives just in time to match the gacha competitor’s combat prowess Howling Waves.

In addition to focusing on combat, HoYoverse also wants players to be able to progress through ZZZThe story of at a faster pace than they often can in the company’s other games. Typically in these games you have to constantly do daily quests to gather upgrade materials to make your characters more powerful before you can take on the final story quests. (Of course, this is intentional, so players are tempted to spend money and speed up the upgrade process.) ZZZ The team, however, is making big promises about how it will avoid the usual gacha grindan evolution that is based on two major design decisions.

The first is the removal of the stamina system that was present in previous beta versions. This system ensured that you could only complete a limited number of story missions per day, creating an artificial limit to player progression. Fortunately, this system is now removed (as noted Eurogamer (in its most recent preview). A more notable character trial system will allow players to access properly leveled party members for story missions. This eliminates the need to always have your collection of characters perfectly leveled and equipped with the appropriate equipment.

With this system, it seems like players will essentially be able to play through the story like they can in a typical, non-gacha game. I remember Honkai Impact 3rdanother HoYoverse game that implemented story trial characters later in its life to great effect. Just a week ago, ZZZZhenyu producer Li talked about not punishing players who want to take a break from the game. “Maybe the team will try to find new ways to allow (returning players) to experience the latest content without completing some pre-packaged missions,” Li said. VG247. These systems seem to allow precisely that.

Some might wonder how a simplified journey through the story can exist alongside traditional gacha mechanics. However, by emphasizing the intricacies of combat in moment-to-moment gameplay, I think most players will still find leveling up and unlocking new characters to be a satisfying loop, even if they can play through the story at their own pace.

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