Similarities and Differences in ARPG Mobile Games: A Case Study of Honkai Impact 3rd

This article translates and reorganizes a study about onboarding a PC-oriented ARPG player into Honkai Impact 3rd. It combines combat-system analysis, action design breakdown, a short player diary, and reflections on the differences between mobile and PC ARPG experiences.

Structure

The original presentation has three parts:

1. Combat system analysis of Honkai Impact 3rd.

2. Action design breakdown of Honkai Impact 3rd.

3. A record of trying to onboard a friend into the game.

Basic Introduction to Honkai Impact 3rd

Honkai Impact 3rd tells the story of a world invaded by a mysterious disaster known as Honkai. Players act as the Captain, recruit Valkyries, and fight to protect the world. The game includes combat development systems such as weapons, Valkyries, and stigmata, while also offering PvP-related modes such as brawl racing and Armada battles.

Basic information:

• Release date: October 14, 2016.

• Developer/publisher: miHoYo.

• Platforms: iOS, Android, PC.

• Official site: https://www.bh3.com/

Image: Honkai Impact 3rd introduction visual

Recent Market Performance

The source notes that Honkai Impact 3rd remained highly ranked in the iOS mobile action RPG category, with search-interest peaks in the observed period. The comparison includes Crystal of Atlan, Punishing: Gray Raven, and Honkai Impact 3rd, positioning Honkai Impact 3rd as an older but still influential action RPG.

Image: Market performance visual

Combat Rhythm

The combat rhythm in a single PvE stage can be read as an alternation between normal attack, charged attack, weapon-skill or form-switch combos, QTE events, skill cooldown windows, ultimate animations, and faster special attacks.

Slow-motion moments are especially important:

• Perfect dodge: triggers dodge skills and healing.

• QTE: special skill plus character-switch anticipation.

• Ultimate: performance animation plus character-skill effects.

• End-of-battle slow motion: emphasizes closure and impact.

Image: Combat system framework
Image: Combat rhythm timeline

Action Design Breakdown

Using the initial character Kiana as an example, the action design emphasizes speed and reduced friction:

• Basic movement includes walking, running, jumping, turning, and direct dodge direction switching.

• Transitions from idle to movement or attack cancel much of the anticipation and recovery, making the character feel fast.

• Hit and damage feedback use prediction effects and aim-assist.

• The camera follows the character and moves around her continuously.

Image: Action design visual 1
Image: Action design visual 2

Friend Onboarding: Player Profile

The test player was a 21-year-old university student with strong PC/console ARPG experience. They had played Monster Hunter, Elden Ring, Hogwarts Legacy, and Genshin Impact, but had not played mobile ARPGs. Other 100-hour-plus games included The Binding of Isaac, Hades, League of Legends, and Don't Starve. Their mobile preferences included Arknights and Onmyoji.

Player traits:

• Anime-oriented.

• Easily immersed.

• Enjoys challenge.

Interview highlights:

• Most attractive part of ARPGs: good-looking characters and strong positive feedback.

• Reason for not playing mobile ARPGs before: storage size, phone performance, and inconvenient controls compared with PC shortcuts.

• What could convert them from PC to mobile: stronger social play, especially if classmates or friends also played.

Image: Player profile

Onboarding Diary

The player tried the game from October 21 to October 26. On the first day, after about one hour of play, they reached the first ten-pull and obtained an S-rank character, which motivated them to continue. The game also gave strong returning/new-player rewards, including high-value characters. By the fourth day, the player pursued a matching weapon for the S-rank character, and after six days they reached level 44.

Image: Onboarding diary

Mobile ARPG vs PC ARPG

Mobile strengths:

• More suitable for casual sessions.

• Easy to play outside, while waiting, or during fragmented time.

• More compatible with social play.

Mobile weaknesses:

• Small screen on phone; iPad performance may still be insufficient.

• Lack of controller vibration feedback.

• Gacha systems can create power inflation and pressure to keep pulling new units.

• Not ideal for high-intensity, long-session grinding.

PC strengths:

• More varied gameplay and stronger strategic depth.

• Better input comfort and feedback, especially with controller vibration.

PC weaknesses:

• The combat system can be too complex for broader audiences.

Core Issue 1: How Can Limited Mobile Inputs Support a Rich Combat System?

Mobile ARPGs often reduce operation complexity to fit touch screens, which can weaken combat depth. Honkai Impact 3rd handles this relatively well by expanding strategy through limited inputs:

• Weapon-form switching and combo routes.

• Tap/hold attack distinction.

• Three-character team building.

• Role positioning, attributes, control, buffs, and damage allocation.

• QTE design that links character switching with skill timing.

Image: Input limitation and combat expansion

Core Issue 2: Automatic Camera Follow Can Fail to Match Player Intent

On PC, players usually separate movement and camera control through keyboard and mouse, or dual analog sticks on a controller. On mobile, the camera often follows automatically while the player uses the right hand for skills. This makes the experience heavily dependent on auto-camera quality.

Potential design references:

• Free camera settings like those recommended by players for Crystal of Atlan.

• Motion aiming inspired by Splatoon.

Image: Camera follow issue

Core Issue 3: Late-Game Power Inflation Can Make Play Feel Like Work

After the main story is complete, the player may log in mainly to grind resources for gacha and character development. If key resources and equipment can mostly be acquired through payment, the sense of skill-based progress weakens.

The source compares this with systems like:

• Genshin Impact artifacts.

• Onmyoji soul sets.

These systems use randomized attributes to extend long-term progression, but they can also become both grind-heavy and payment-heavy.

Image: Late-game inflation comparison

Additional Reflections

Enemy AI:

The source argues that Honkai Impact 3rd has relatively simple enemy types and AI, with limited feedback to player actions. Difficulty often comes from numerical adjustment rather than ecological behavior. Monster Hunter is cited as a stronger reference because monsters feel embedded in an ecosystem: they drink water, move through the world, drop materials, and connect combat to crafting goals.

Narrative after main-story completion:

The source asks how ARPGs can add story and immersion beyond dialogue in open-world combat. References include The Witcher 3, where letters and local aftermath reveal what happened after monster encounters, and Baldur's Gate 3, where books and items supplement narrative context.

Conclusion

For a PC-oriented ARPG player, mobile ARPG onboarding depends on three things: immediate positive feedback, social motivation, and control comfort. Honkai Impact 3rd succeeds at early feedback and compact combat design, but the long-term experience still faces familiar mobile action problems: limited input surface, camera dependency, gacha-driven inflation, and late-game routine fatigue.

Visual Appendix

Selected extracted visuals from the original deck:

Image: Character and system visual
Image: Sales/search chart visual
Image: Player diary chart
Image: Team composition visual
Image: Artifact/soul system visual

Full-page PDF layout renders:

Image: PDF page 01
Image: PDF page 02
Image: PDF page 03
Image: PDF page 04
Image: PDF page 05