Hey there, welcome to my first discussion! This is about a particular topic that is currently filtering itself through the Fate/Grand Order community is the issue of Powercreep and Demerits. Now, I’ll go over the brief history of both words, a few examples, and I’ll hope to stir your interest by the end of this.

First of all, what is Powercreep?

Powercreep is defined as: “Power creep is a process that sometimes occurs in games where new content (in this case cards) slowly outstrip the power of previous alternatives. This leads to players abandoning previous options in favour of the latest and more powerful alternatives, resulting in an inevitable increase in power throughout the game.”

The term itself is usually taken with a grain of salt on the Fate/Grand Order community due to it’s spotty frequency, but overall the game through the course of it’s lifetime thus far has shown that it is slowly powercreeping. Unlike in other games, such as World of Warcraft, Yu-gi-oh, and so on, of which do not attempt to hide it. But rather they ride the wave of powercreep, watching as old forms of power are tossed to the curb for the latest fashion of power. After all, even if a piece of equipment is cool looking, why not just equip another piece that not only benefits you more, but if you didn’t – you’d be at a disadvantage.

I’ll give you a simple example of Powercreep to help you understand.

Before you, you see two options. Which do you choose – the one with the least benefits, or the one to the right, with the most benefits? Both cost you the same, both have the same health and attack, but the one on the right gives you another card effect. This is a very watered down example, but it shows you just how it works at it’s core. It takes what was good prior then makes it better. There can be worse examples, sometimes there is less cost, another passive. Sometimes there’s more attack, less cost, and an additional passive. In almost all circumstances of powercreep, it is an ugly beast that gets ignored because it generally starts out as a creeping presence in a game and then takes over, and when you look back, you realize it’s already too late.

I’ll give you two examples for Fate, and then we’ll get into the discussion about how it occurs, why it occurs, what to do if it occurs, etc.

This is the prime offender of what I am talking about. It’s recent, and a lot of people got the fanservice events for the fanservice alone. But they are not just that, they introduced a great example of what powercreep is in Fate/Grand Order. At the beginning of the game, there was a skill introduced as Charisma. It is a strong skill that allows a Servant to mesh more easily into a team, and since it is a flat Attack bonus it benefits everyone irregardless of their deck, class, or role. In the Summer event, there was an introduction of many servants of which were given Beachflowers. Beachflowers is a skill that performs the same function as Charisma, but as stated – also gives all male allies a ton of Star Generation. Meaning Star Generators [or Servants who weren’t star generators prior, but had the hits or decks for it] can now do so with impudence. At the cost of only -1.5% less Attack.

There are other examples, such as Golden Rule, Instinct, and so on.

Ignoring the issue, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Infact, it empowers it’s existence and allows the organization operating the game you are playing to get away with it further, if they are aiming to push that. Organizations that do, do so in order to draw in more money.

A culprit of Powercreep

And now for my favorite example, because it’s the most recent and it’s a controversial discussion due to her recent release, who she’s emulating, and her role in a team mimicking all but ONE thing to the person she is identical, which is EMIYA himself. That one thing is the difference between an AoE NP and Kuro having a ST NP. I wanted to do a Versus Review, but I am waiting for more information on her detailed stats to talk about this further.

Kuro embodies many of the same traits, having all the same skills, a higher Attack stat, and with HP that if Grail Ascended will actually overtake EMIYA’s own Max HP via Grail Ascension.

So where do the differences occur? A difference in their deck, the minor details like star generation and NP generation. Aside from that the two major differences occur in their Noble Phantasm type and their decks. Kuro has a single target ARTS Noble Phantasm, and EMIYA has an AoE BUSTER Noble Phantasm. The deck for EMIYA is QAAAB, while Kuro’s is QQAAB.

What makes Kuro better? At a raw value, she has better stats. She has more hits, and a deck better designed for hybrid gameplay. Her third skill also offers a NP fill along with Clairvoyance, allowing her to NP spam accordingly [versus EMIYA’s own Clairvoyance with NO extra skill attachment]. As well, she has the inherit strength as a NP Spammer irregardless of lacking one ARTS card in comparison to the Faker that she is trying to imitate. With the aid of a single target deck, she fits better into end game content, such as Raids, Hard Events, and Bosses in Story Mode. The added bonus is that her Noble Phantasm being ARTS is more beneficial then being an AoE BUSTER. With her hit count being higher then EMIYA’s, she also produces more stars then he does, thanks to the addition of more QUICK cards.

So how is EMIYA able to keep up? In only one regard can he do so, and that is clearing multiple units at once, or in farming. For that reason alone does he still have value. As a NP Spammer, her critical strikes and ARTS NP allow her to more easily gain the mana she needs. As a end game Servant, she has more potential and viability due to high health targets. With the added benefit: Kuro can get to NP5 in a span of 2 weeks, if you put your heart into it.

End Result: Kuro ends up out-scaling EMIYA in all but two categories and one minor category, and that is AoE / Wave Clear, ARTS Chains via basic attacks, and being in the STORY Gacha, allowing him to be permanent.

What can Delight Works do to prevent this?

The answer is through Interludes and Strengthening Quests. By giving him additional quests that can boost his role in one field or another, he can play a stronger role in the team as a different character. As it stands, he will likely only be used for farming versus Kuro who has a stronger damage potential.

An example might be to give him an attack bonus on his Clairvoyance. Or maybe a simple boost to his Noble Phantasm damage.

Aside from that, there is the third option: nothing. As the game’s longevity continues, keep placing better options that will eventually outscale one another in an attempt to make more money as people go from one Servant to the next better and stronger one.

The reason I mention Kuro and EMIYA is because of how easy an example can be made. Sure, she doesn’t fulfill all the roles – but she fulfills MANY of the characteristics that he had prior, down to the skills. The next question you have may now be: “But what about newly released Servants with Demerits?”

Now what about Demerits?

The two prime candidates right now are Tamamo (Lancer) and Illyasviel von Einzbern. Both new 5-Stars with demerits, both with work arounds, strategies, team compositions, and built in anti-demerits that prevent them from suffering their own negative side effects.

The demerits play a role in balancing a certain unit, in one aspect or another. Tamamo suffers a demerit of giving her enemy NP charge, at the benefit of charming them and poisoning them. She also has a huge cost of self stunning herself while gaining a plethora of great stats for that turn.

These Servants have demerits, and there are multiple forms of countering their own Demerits. By play style, by Craft Essence, by team composition. Illya herself has a small chance to apply debuff immunity to herself via her heal for the Demerits she’ll apply to herself every time she uses her Noble Phantasm.

So why do these Servants have Demerits, why some others as well? Some Servants need them for balancing intentions – however, Delight Works has a reputation for slapping on demerits about randomly whenever they feel like a future Servant may be too strong for the role they are filling. A lot of early Servants have demerits, for the sake of learning how to properly balance Heroic Spirits.

If Demerits are used to balance out Servants, doesn’t that mean it curbs Powercreep? Sort of, but not really. The intention can be occurring for several reasons. To stop powercreep, to negate a Servant from being prioritized over a crowd favorite [that they will then re-release for Limited Gacha’s / EX: Scathath and Tamalancer, both ST nukers], or simply… because they are doing testing. In any regard, the demerits that occur will almost never be removed.

Do Demerits make my Servants useless?

No. They don’t. Demerits are a means to curb power, but unless they are stacked in such a way that completely debilitates their viability in a game. Most Servants have demerits that can be resolved through the before mentioned assets: Craft Essences, certain Servants, and sometimes just a change of playstyle. [EX: Tamamo Lancer’s charm w/ demerit NP Fill, save it for when the foe is at max NP]. Your Servants can accomplish just about anything in the game.

What it does however, is make them more unpopular for use. This is not because of who the Servants are, and it’s definitely not Servant bashing. What it is, is a hatred of the kit that they are given.

In the end, this is a waifu/husbando simulator, and who you choose to use is up to you. All Demerits can be dealt with, but it won’t stop how it reflects on their viability or use, compared to other Servants who do not have such demerits.

End Thoughts

Powercreep is real. It appears, and when it does, it either takes the game by show or simply trickles in, adding bit by bit until before you know it the game you played before has changed. This can be healthy or detrimental. In a game like Fate/Grand Order, I see it as a light negative, since it allows the popularity of Servants to shift and vary every so many months. With this however, comes the downsides of certain beloved characters losing their spotlight and falling to the way side until they are either fixed, buffed, or new types of challenges/events give these way side Servants more meaning.

Will Powercreep ever stop? In my experience, no. It’s never been fixed or altered, and going back and nerfing content does not benefit the company, unless it is a PvP game or has a PvP setting.

After all, in a game like Fate/Grand Order, all you can do is wait and hope…

Advertisements