The action RPG showdown is on!Zenless Zone ZeroandWuthering Wavesbring fluid combat, rotational mechanics, and high-speed action, which are best-in-class in the market, but each executes them uniquely. But which reigns supreme? The answer isn’t so simple, but it may surprise you.
My Expertise in Both Games
Before we start throwing punches, let’s get one thing straight: I know both of these games like the back of my hand. I have completed all available endgame content inWuthering WavesandZenless Zone Zerowith max scores. That means total clearing ofWuthering Waves’Overdrive content, Holograms, Tower of Adversity, and Whimpering Waste (triple-S this season). ForZenless Zone Zero, this means surpassing floor 100 in Battle Tower (both versions) and flexing over 30,000 points on all Deadly Assault stages this season.
Needless to say, if there’s a challenge, I’ve conquered it. If there’s a mechanic, I’ve mastered it. So rest assured, this isn’t just speculation. This is a take from someone who has tested the limits of both combat systems.
Complexity vs. Control: A Matter of Approach
Wuthering Waves – The Freeform Fighter
Wuthering Wavesthrives on flexibility. It lets you string together attacks, abilities, and swaps in a way that feels organic and open-ended. Want to animation cancel into a parry? Go for it. Chain ability after ability into a rapid-fire onslaught? Absolutely. The game encourages experimentation, rewarding those who push its combat to the limit.
However, this freedom comes with its own set of problems. The fluidity of combat can sometimes feel a little too loose, making certain high-intensity fights harder to control. Worse, most event activities strip away the need for skill expression due to just how ridiculously easy they are. You have so much power under your control with the intricate combat system, yet there’s hardly anything to use it on when it comes toWuthering Wavesevents.
Endgame-wise, let’s talk about Whimpering Waste, for example. It is one of Wuthering Wave’s latest endgame modes, but it’s all about mass AoE fights, which means you can clear it by spamming attacks with enough DPS rather than outplaying your enemies. There is a strategy to it, as many of the enemies in the game mode have large health bars, but it still boils down to “Do I have the AoE DPS needed to clear waves quickly?”. There’s not much else beyond that, which is why the mode is so disappointing to not just me butalso the community in-large.
Zenless Zone Zero – The Precision Brawler
On the flip side,Zenless Zone Zerois all about tight, controlled, momentum-based combat. Instead of overwhelming players with endless attack variations,Zenless Zone Zerorefines its approach with timing-based dodges, tag-in combos, and a strong emphasis on synergy. Each character has a clear role, and executing a perfect counter or assist attack is as satisfying as landing a critical hit in a fighting game.
Rather than an open sandbox of mechanics,Zenless Zone Zerogives you structured tools and asks you to master them. And because the game’s enemies are balanced around this structured system, fights feel consistently challenging, which is a big advantage overWuthering Waves, where absurdly powerful buffs can often undermine combat depth.
Early Game Combat: Wuthering Waves Starts Strong
If we’re talking about which game throws you into the action faster, thenWuthering Wavestakes the lead. From the very start, it forces players to engage with mechanics like parries, dodges, and cancel animations, rewarding those who learn its intricacies early. You’re not just mashing buttons; you’re actively learning how to master the game.
By contrast,Zenless Zone Zero’searly game is a bit of a snoozefest. you may get by with basic attacks, and meaningful combat depth doesn’t kick in until much later. When you start encountering enemies that demand counterplay and synergy (the later half of the game), only then doesZenless Zone Zerostart taking itself seriously. While this isn’t a deal-breaker, it does mean thatWuthering Wavesprovides a more engaging combat experience out of the gate.
The Great Parry Debate
Parries are a huge part of both combat systems, but they’re implemented very differently:
Which one is better? Really, it depends on what you want. If you love a high-risk, high-reward system, Wuthering Waveshas the edge. If you prefer a forgiving yet powerful parry that plays into structured team mechanics,Zenless Zone Zerowins.
High-Level Combat: Who Wins?
Now, let’s talk about real difficulty — the kind that separates the casual players from the combat gurus.
While it is undeniable thatWuthering Waveshas a higher skill ceiling and a more complex combat system,Zenless Zone Zerooffers a more consistently rewarding challenge. The reason?Wuthering Wavesrarely forces you to master its own mechanics.
Meanwhile,Zenless Zone Zeroconsistently demands precision, proper team synergy, and mastery of its mechanics. Battle Tower floors get excruciatingly difficult the further up you go, forcing players to actively use all available tools to win. Because the game is built around controlled, skill-based execution, it ensures that every hard fight is actually challenging.
So Which Game Has the Best Combat?
While both games have incredible combat,Zenless Zone Zerocurrently holds the edge for one simple reason: its combat is consistently rewarding across endgame content. Wuthering Waves, for all its depth and creativity, often undermines itself with encounter design that doesn’t always demand high-level play and buffs that trivial any sense of combat accomplishment the moment you enter a fight. Until Kuro Games provides more skill-intensive endgame challenges, Wuthering Waves will remain a game with amazing combat mechanics but without enough opportunities to truly utilize them.
So, if you want a combat system that is satisfying where it matters most (the endgame), Zenless Zone Zero takes the crown. But ifWuthering Wavesever gets the skill-expression-focused high-level content it deserves, it will undoubtedly be the ultimate action RPG. For now, we’ll just have to see where the future takes it.
