a stage is cleared when all enemies are defeated, so the most valuable thing an operator can do is damage. you cannot win a stage without dealing damage, and everything other than damage that an operator can do, be it healing, buffing, debuffing, crowd control, etc, is ultimately all to facilitate the dealing of more damage.
the more endgame you get and the more enemy stats bloat up, the less viable it becomes to defeat enemies with a quick burst of damage, and the more valuable these non-damage abilities become in ensuring you get the opportunity to deal the required damage.
because nearly every operator deals at least some damage, and new operators that primarily deal damage will continue to slightly outdo each other at dealing damage as somewhat inevitable consequence of new releases in a live service format, damage is also the most replaceable thing an operator can do.
consequently and paradoxically, damage is the least valuable thing an operator can do in terms of staying relevant in "the meta" in the long term.
EXAMPLE: ch'en the holungday was the dps god of her release era, but her high instance physical aoe damage and crowd control on s3 have been completely outdone by wis'adel, who additionally has wider range, more survivability, and a cheaper deployment cost. now all ch'en has to set herself apart is her ammo saving talent for snipers, but most of the operators who can make use of it overlap with her role of high instance physical damage and have other more effective support options, so there's very little reason left to use ch'en over other units in terms of combat efficiency.
EXAMPLE: suzuran herself deals negligible damage, but the wide area slows, heals, and fragile debuff on her s3 mean she's never not been relevant since her release at the end of year 1, and it's unlikely she will ever become irrelevant. similarly, ela's ability to drop slow and fragile nearly anywhere on the map would make her an evergreen operator even if her personal damage were to fall off.
this is why new 6* operators all bring their own unique busted utility to the table these days, it's to future-proof them. even if their damage numbers get outscaled eventually, be it in one year or in another six, the particular unique bullshit that they can do is going to remain as a reason to use them over other units. you don't use mostima for her damage, you use her because she's the only operator who can tell a big chunk of the map to stop moving for 27 seconds and/or you want to have sex with her.
this unique bullshit approach means the way powercreep looks in this game isn't just a new operator who does the same shit but stronger, it's a new operator who interacts with the game in a new and creative way. rather than just killing enemies harder you get to kill them in increasingly unusual and peculiar ways. new units aren't just offering easier stage clears, they're offering more interesting stage clears. 6 years in arknights continues to keep making new ways to approach the game instead of just repeating a proven formula, not just in operator design but in mechanics and gamemodes too, so I personally don't consider the way each new unit feels more cracked than the last to be a problem when the way they're cracked shows this degree of investment in the way the game actually plays.
(which isn't to say numbers bloat isn't also happening, but I do think it's happening at a slower pace than it otherwise might thanks to the emphasis on unique bullshit over raw damage)
I also think these mechanics are striking a decent balance between expanding mechanical depth and being appealing to players who aren't strategic geniuses. a lot of the unique bullshit we're seeing on new operators is also stuff that can serve as a panic button for unskilled players. that's a balance arknights Wants to hit, because it's an in-depth strategy game but also a visual novel and also a gacha game, and ideally every new operator appeals to each of those demographics. that's a difficult thing to actually achieve but I think they're feeling it out pretty well.
this is because, at least for now, none of the unique bullshit that these 6* can do has ever been, like, necessary. it's all very powerful and completely extraneous. yeah lemuen can track enemies anywhere on the map but it's not like they're designing bosses to never come into your range otherwise now. exia alter can immediately redeploy an operator for you, but on any map where your operators get mauled so fast that you actually need that, the problem is going to be with the way you the player are approaching this stage. sure, pramanix alter can freeze your blue box to turn it into a 3 block unit enemies have to defeat first before they can enter, but like, there's a melee tile to put down an actual defender too you know. these things are primarily relevant if you the player either don't know what you're doing or know exactly what you're doing.
well, all of which is a long way to say, i hope they keep making shit that is busted in a funny way
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