How Shikanoin Heizou Breaks the Catalyst Curse (Genshin Impact Gameplay Design Analysis)

It's not really a secret that I hate how catalyst users play in Genshin but I think that Heizou is really fun! In this video I explain why he's fun and what his uniqueness means on a larger scale.

Intro: 0:00
Heizou is Built Different (from other catalysts): 0:47
Catalyst Problems: 1:56
What Heizou’s Kit Does Right: 3:29
Hoyoverse’s Design Philosophy: 6:16
#Genshin #GenshinImpact #ShikanoinHeizou #Heizou

[RedFlaim]

idk how the hell I forgot to mention ICD's in this but yeah: faster attacks = more reactions and also he can also swirl off every charged attack

[kami_artzhi]

idk why people saying that his playstyle being catalyst makes no sense. it literally does if you think about it. since catalyst just emit the element, no one never said u couldn’t wrap the elements around ur body. that’s all he’s doing keeping the elements around his limbs and releasing them on impact

[AshVXmc]

I think catalysts are the most unique type of weapon genshin has (and a lot of variety on how wielders use them, klee throws bombs, ninguang fires 2 rocks at once, heizou punches enemies, lisa producing lightning strikes, etc) and that's why its my favorite weapon type. Its great to see a new 4 star catalyst DPS that feels great to play and does respectable damage

[andreshidalgo]

It's so cool that Heizou got all the attention he deserved, cuz they did a really good job creating him. Kazuha was a media and player favorite since lunch and he created a lot of buzz at his time, and now he's back, Heizou still shines so much. Honestly, he's absolutely fun. I play him in my Last Airbender Team, with Yelan, Thoma and Albedo. He's Avatar Aang himself!

[ENDERMOUS]

Yeah, also heizou is one of inazuma 4 stars character that less confusing and relative easy to understand right for the kit and the gameplay, because much of inazuma 4* is specific, underwhelming, confusing or maybe just exists for only for showcase

[nicos]

This really highlights how ranged mechanics really need to get reworked in the game, melee characters always feel better to play because there's no screwups in the targeting. As someone that mains ningguang I find going in melee range to always be necessary for effectiveness, rendering the whole range mechanic useless

[strangermanly]

you should do a video on tartaglia. i think his kit is very unique from most character back then and even now. his gameplay loop is great and the way he makes the max of both of his stances is wonderful. he's very much like heizou, different for a reason and his easiness to play but high skill ceiling is and feels great. his kit reflects his own character, always improving on the battlefield.

[thingnumbertwo]

Homeboy is shockingly good for what he is. He's relatively easy to build and simple to play, his skill hits like a truck, and he's just fun to use. I really hope that we see more 4 stars like this from Hoyo; that is, not broken, but balanced, flexible, capable and fun. More units like this Hoyo!

[Mutualititve]

Now I wish a character that use melee weapons but instead, do something like manifesting the weapon power or even control the weapon using telekinesis to do range attack. Like imagine this, launching copies of your weapon like Xingqiu burst, using element to launch weapons forward, ... Thers are so many possiblities with how a weapon can be used just because in teyvat, you also use elements and magic, not only physic.

[WakanaGojo]

Heizou finally breaks the curse of niece and underdeveloped 4 Star Inazuma characters and easily becomes one of my favourites and for many others too.

[chunko]

for me personally, the most incredible part of his kit is how at lvl 13 his skill's multiplier goes up to 1000% once you have all stacks. like. for a FOUR STAR???? WHERE YALL AT FELLOW HEIZOU MAINS.

[WakanaGojo]

After looking at Heizou's attack style now I am more inclined to believe that Zhongli at some point during his development was supposed to be a catalyst user a close ranged fist fighter like Heizou instead of a polearm user that he is now.

[kurtkron]

I really hope they make Pyro Archon a Melee Catalyst user as well! Imagine how amazing it would be!

[jonnevitu]

Im just glad that they arent afraid of using no icd skills to benefit an interesting gameplay, you can spam charged atks with Heizou to build stacks really fast, this with his burst also having separated icd makes his kit so cool to use, he looks almost like a 1.0 character but a little bit weaker.

His constelations are good too.

[rvpairofdicethewanderer]

At this point, this should be the trademark of Catalysts.

Since the Catalyst, itself, is not directly involved with damaging opponents (such as getting hit by it), the Characters often get away with being able to hold something else.

In my opinion, Catalyst Character Class has the benefit of making Characters wield weapons outside the other 4 we already have (Sword, Claymore, Polearm, and Bow), such as throwing projectiles, martial arts, axes, hammers, swinging polearms (greataxes, halberds, and scythes), crossbows, and even guns.

If only Genshin Impact allowed us to build our Characters with only Stat-enhancing Items like what MOBA Games like League of Legends does with their Characters so Hoyoverse does not need to only stick to 5 types of Weapons.

[princelibra.]

i love the catalyst weapon cause it gives almost all its characters some of the flashiest and most unique animations in the game. I just hope that no every male catalyst is a melee one tho!

[krispiek]

I think now in addition to Sucrose and Yanfei Heizou feels like one of the better designed catalyst users the latter two having a much more focused and cohesive design with Yanfei’s main focus as her charged attacks and everything else complimenting that and similarly Heizou’s skill being his main focus but he fulfills the role of driver very well because of his overall kit fluidity. Sucrose’s kit overall still made her a good driver especially in taser comps but her autos weren’t as well designed for driving as opposed to Heizou’s (their biggest difference there is their charged attacks). While Sucrose is an excellent unit I think Yanfei and Heizou just have such more focused, simplified, streamlined designs that still work effectively for their intended purposes.

[grizzy-thekiwi]

yan fei has also been a really good on field dps with her auto/charged atk sigil combat loop and burst that makes them stronger. heizou has definitely improved the catalyst dps playground but he is not the only one. klee is still pretty good and fun to play but yan fei is more optimal than klee's admittedly slight clunkiness for more focused teams.

no defence for yae, wouldn't want to since i don't like her. kit and character.

[inciknight]

god i hope they don't make every male catalyst melee...
the fact that catalysts are ranged already makes them more unique and i wouldn't want a weapon type converted into melee when we already have three melee weapon types

[avej]

I always imagined catalyst users in genshin to be similar to grimoires in black clover. Meaning they honestly can fight any way they want as long as they have the book