The concept of “powercreep” is not recent in the world of gacha games. Today’s shiny recent toys almost always aim to outshine yesterday’s heroes, but… Honkai: Star Railwaythe rate at which older characters are being outclassed seems particularly aggressive, causing many in the community to raise the alarm.
Characters that once seemed like a premium investment are being pushed aside at a rate that’s strenuous to ignore. The latest example of this? Sparkle’s rapid rise and fall.
Flash and Sunday treatment
When Sparkle was launched in the early versions of Update 2.0, she was hailed as one of the best Harmony characters in the game. The on-demand Advance Forward mechanic changed the game by allowing her to manipulate turn orders in a way that increased both her utility and the teams she supported. She quickly became a fan favorite and a staple of high-level content, sharing the spotlight with other Premium Harmony units such as Ruan Mei and Bronya.
Funnily enough, Sparkle and Bronya have a lot of similarities to their sets, but both characters had situations where they were better than the other. Even though Bronya is a standard character, she has struggled with Sparkle in many team compositions for various reasons. It was definitely some degree of power creep, but it was done in a graceful, masterful way that allowed Bronya to remain in the spotlight thanks to the niches she occupied over Sparkle.
But then Sunday came. Released at the end of 2.0, literally a month ago, before 3.0 even came out. Sunday brought a whole recent level of usefulness to Harmony. His kit was designed to not only provide the same type of turn manipulation that Sparkle excelled at, but also to offer additional buffs and synergies that Sparkle simply couldn’t match. The biggest of these was his completely superior forward attack mechanics.
Result? Overnight, Sparkle stopped being a favorite and became obsolete. When a character that should be built for the long term is sidelined so quickly, you have to wonder: what’s happening to the game’s balance? Seriously, where’s the logic here? Sparkle is a premium five-star Harmony unit, the kind of character you can expect to stay relevant for centuries. Isn’t that what everyone talks about support units in gacha games? That they age best? Well, Sparkle would beg to differ. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case.
Yunli vs. Clara: A familiar tale
Another blatant example of power creep, although less aggressive, is the comparison between Yunli and Clara. Clara, as a standard flagship character, has always had to face an uphill battle against newer, confined releases. But Yunli’s arrival painfully highlighted this discrepancy.
Yunli has a similar skill set and playstyle to Clara, focusing on delivering powerful counter-attacks and dealing massive damage. However, Yunli’s design takes Clara’s core strengths and amplifies them to a degree that makes Clara struggle to stay relevant. One of Clara’s greatest weaknesses is her inability to force enemies to attack. Without being attacked, Clara deals very little damage, but here’s Yunli to solve this problem.
Yunli has a taunt that completely eliminates this problem, and the same taunt ability dramatically increases her counterattack damage. With this and several other changes, Yunli is simply better in most situations, offering excellent damage, survivability and utility.
Clara still has a few niche scenarios where she can shine, but they are few and far between. WITH Honkai: Star Rail the end game getting harder and harder with each update, for the average player Yunli is the obvious choice, making Clara feel like she came in as an afterthought despite being one of the game’s first flagship characters.
Seele vs. Acheron: Disaster
The most egregious case of power creep Honkai: Star Railway it has to be Seele vs. Acheron. Seele was one of the original five-star DPS units, heavily advertised as a must-have character at launch. She was lightning brisk, hit strenuous and felt unstoppable… back then.
Fast forward to the present, two years later, and Seele’s kit seems unwieldy and completely obsolete. Her damage output is barely noticeable by current standards, and her single-target focus often makes her struggle in newfangled endgame scenarios, which very often involve several enemies at once.
Acheron doesn’t just deal damage to Seele; it’s also more versatile, making Seele feel like a relic of the past. I want to make this clear: the difference is so stark that it’s strenuous to believe they exist in the same game. For players who built Seele expecting it to stand the test of time, this is a bitter pill to swallow.
The root of creeping
Power creep problem in Honkai: Star Railway it’s not just about the recent characters being powerful. The idea is that they should simply replace the older ones. This is a real kicker. For players who have put time, resources, and maybe even money into their favorites, it feels like a slap in the face when these characters become irrelevant so quickly.
The fundamental question is how Honkai: Star Railway deals with character publishing and end-game design. New characters are being released at a breakneck pace and it seems like the newer final content is tailored almost exclusively to the latest additions. This creates a vicious cycle: newer units become a necessity while older units, no matter how well-built and beloved, struggle to keep up. The older they get, the more true this becomes.
The bigger picture
It’s not just about Seele or Acheron. It’s a pattern. Sparkle being overshadowed by Sunday, Clara being outclassed by Yunli, and countless other examples point to the same problem: Honkai: Star Railway favors shiny recent units over maintaining balance in its lineup.
The problem gets worse with the speed at which the character is released. Players barely have time to enjoy their investments before another character shows up to pull out. And as recent content is designed with recent characters in mind, older ones inevitably get left behind.
Not everything is bad
Despite these frustrations, I still believe that the power creep problem is not as catastrophic as some may claim. Characters like Sparkle and Clara may no longer dominate the meta, but with the right investment they can still hold their own in most content. Seele… well, Seele is unfortunately not so lucky. Admittedly, there aren’t many examples like Seele in Honkai: Star Rail, but it’s still a shame that a character as compelling as her is almost completely useless in any form of content.
Most units in Honkai: Star Railway they remain somewhat viable, even the older ones. Dr. Ratio remains a powerful, single-purpose tool. Topaz remains the best refill buffer in the game. Even Black Swan, part of a DoT team that has had almost no updates since its introduction, still has some potential employ in some teams. It’s not all doom and gloom.
Powercreep’s reality
Powercreep is an inevitable part of any live-action game, but how it’s handled makes all the difference. In Honkai: Star Rail, the rapid turnover of meta-defining units is undeniably frustrating. Characters like Sparkle, who should have reigned longer, are pushed aside too quickly. Meanwhile, characters like Clara who could benefit from balance updates or niche buffs are left behind.
Nevertheless, it is worth remembering this success Honkai: Star Railway it’s not just about having the newest characters. Smart resource management, strategic play and a little patience can go a long way. You don’t need every meta unit to enjoy the game or clear its contents.
So there is a loss of power Honkai: Star Railway problem? Yes it’s true. Power creeps in Star Railway it definitely sucks, but it’s not the end of the world, at least not yet. This is just part of the grind in a gacha game. Sure, it could be handled better, but it’s not the game-breaking nightmare that some players make it out to be… most of the time. What will happen next? Will the situation improve or will it get much worse? Well, that’s the most essential question. I know the likely answer, but let’s see what the future holds.
