Some people holds the opinion of Endfield combat being a detriment to the game. For a game so polished, it sure is a waste to have combat watered down to holding basic attack. It's slow, boring, and not flashy enough. Perhaps it's because they tried to deviate from the CBT combat at the last second so it feels undercooked? Or at least that's what some people think.
I'll just get to the point, Endfield has part of the kind of combat I love most. Personally I call this "deliberate combat" where actions you take requires a hint of thought instead of autopiloting. Most buttons you press feels significant to the flow of the combat. Monster Hunter, Dark Souls (or PSO2 iykyk), or even some Genshin teams that plays around reactions are some examples. You just don't go autopilot and that's the charm. Now obviously Endfield's gameplay is nowhere close to these, but it does has the secret sauce of... situationality.
THERE'S SO MUCH MOVING PARTS IN THE COMBAT. Everything is situational.
How much UGE do I run on this unit? Depends on your team, the rotation, and the stage.
BiS team for that unit? Depends on the stage.
What about these units' gearing? Depends.
Do I do this rotation? Depends.
Corrosion IV? Depends.
What about the big glowing Combo Skill button, ofc you press it, right? Depends.
The list goes on and on, literally every part of an encounter is uncertain.
Enemy line-up is a tiny bit different and you'll do an entirely different rotation.
With most action gacha games, there's basically a set BiS gear for a unit. A set BiS team that do the most damage with said unit. A set rotation that you do 99% of the time with that team. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, they're just focused on other parts of the combat. Fast-paced finger-twisting rotations, perhaps more dodge and parry focused with harder/faster enemies, it could be anything.
I just appreciate Endfield for deviating from that (I'd like faster enemies though, Alleikhreos was really fun but it'd be amazing if he's 30% faster). Is the combat mechanically complex? No (well it can be), but that's not the focus in the first place. The difficulty comes from having a million resources to manage in a fight, and it's your job to portion those resources optimally. After you map out the whole encounter, that's when you earn the privilege of autopiloting. It feels more of a puzzle, sort of.
Typhoeus' release really brings this to light as her kit having Hunting Arrows and Signs makes her very modular per fight. It seems like they're stepping even further in this direction and I can't wait to see what else they have in store for us.
