Zenless Zone Zero vs Wuthering Waves: Which one really has the better combat system?

The action RPG showdown is on! Zenless Zone Zero and Wuthering Waves bring 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 in Wuthering Waves and Zenless Zone Zero with max scores. That means total clearing of Wuthering Waves’ Overdrive content, Holograms, Tower of Adversity, and Whimpering Waste (triple-S this season). For Zenless 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 Waves thrives 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 to Wuthering Waves events.

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 but also the community in-large.

Zenless Zone Zero – The Precision Brawler

On the flip side, Zenless Zone Zero is all about tight, controlled, momentum-based combat. Instead of overwhelming players with endless attack variations, Zenless Zone Zero refines 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 Zero gives 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 over Wuthering 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, then Wuthering Waves takes 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’s early game is a bit of a snoozefest. You can 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 does Zenless Zone Zero start taking itself seriously. While this isn’t a deal-breaker, it does mean that Wuthering Waves provides 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:

• Zenless Zone Zero uses Defensive Assists, which act as powerful parries that deflect attacks and play a big role in staggering enemies. However, they are finite, so you must rebuild them over time. They are also rather forgiving, hence the limitation.
• Wuthering Waves has a more skill-intensive parry system that requires precise timing but isn’t as strong as Zenless Zone Zero’s version. However, they can be done at any time, provided the enemy's attack can be parried in the first place.

Which one is better? Really, it depends on what you want. If you love a high-risk, high-reward system, Wuthering Waves has the edge. If you prefer a forgiving yet powerful parry that plays into structured team mechanics, Zenless Zone Zero wins.

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 that Wuthering Waves has a higher skill ceiling and a more complex combat system, Zenless Zone Zero offers a more consistently rewarding challenge. The reason? Wuthering Waves rarely forces you to master its own mechanics.

• Whimpering Waste is just a mass AoE fest. If you don't have the DPS, you won't be clearing it.
• Tower of Adversity focuses more on rotational gameplay. Yes, some team comps get away from this, but the Intro Outro system in Wuthering Waves heavily encourages rotational play.
• Many combat events grant buffs that let players easily brute-force fights.

Meanwhile, Zenless Zone Zero consistently 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 Zero currently 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 if Wuthering Waves ever 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.

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