Dive into the vibrant chaos of New Eridu with confidence! Before you step into the fast-paced, action-packed world of Zenless Zone Zero, arm yourself with these 9 essential beginner tips that will help you master combat, build a powerful team, and navigate the mysterious Hollows like a pro-whether you’re playing on mobile, PC, or PlayStation. Unlock the secrets to efficient progression, resource management, and strategic gameplay to dominate the Ethereals and uncover the city’s hidden depths. Your journey into this thrilling urban fantasy RPG starts here!
Whether you’re an expert coming over from Honkai Impact 3rd, Genshin Impact, and Honkai: Star Rail, or a newbie who wants to try out their first gacha mobile game, we’ve listed some things to know before diving into ZZZ.
Yes, ZZZ is a gacha game
Zenless Zone Zero (ZZZ) is indeed a gacha game, featuring a system called Signal Search that serves as the primary method for acquiring new Agents, W-Engines (weapons), and Bangboos (companions). Players use in-game currencies like Polychromes and Encrypted Master Tapes to pull from various banners or “channels,” each dedicated to different types of rewards. The game incorporates a pity system to guarantee high-rarity items after a certain number of pulls, making it somewhat forgiving compared to other gacha titles. This system unlocks after progressing through the early story, and mastering it is essential for building a strong team and advancing in the game.
If you were wondering if Zenless Zone Zero was just a really stylish mobile RPG or if it has the notorious gambling element to it – yes, it has gacha. That means, when it comes to unlocking new powerful characters and weapons, you’ll need spend hard-earned or bought premium currency for a chance to get your desired character.
ZZZ is the same as the other Hoyoverse games – the free, lower-rarity characters are good enough to clear the story with, and you’ll amass an army of higher-rarity characters as you play the game. Just don’t expect to get every character.
ZZZ follows the same gameplay loop as other popular mobile games
Zenless Zone Zero follows the same gameplay loop as many popular mobile games, centered around collecting characters (agents) and weapons through a gacha system, progressing by completing daily missions and story quests, and gradually upgrading a core team to tackle increasingly difficult content. While its story, combat, and puzzles offer unique twists, the daily routine of character building, resource management, and team optimization will feel familiar to players of other mobile RPGs.
The story, combat, and puzzles in Zenless Zone Zero are different from the other games, but the gameplay loop that you’ll follow every day as you do dailies is the same as your average mobile character building RPG.
You collect characters (agents) and weapons (W-engines) via the gacha system. You’ll need to use stamina (battery charge) to farm materials to power up these characters. You will eventually hit a point where you collect sub-equips for each character (drive discs), which have unique passive abilities and gain randomized stats.
There are a few different things, like minigames and specific game modes that sets ZZZ apart from these other games, but at its core, you’ll be doing similar stuff from day-to-day after you complete the game’s story.
Don’t forget about the noodle house and coffee shop
Don’t forget to visit the Noodle House and Coffee Shop daily in Zenless Zone Zero, as they provide valuable buffs and energy restoration that can significantly enhance your gameplay. The Coffee Shop, in particular, offers special buffs that help boost your team’s performance, while the Noodle House can be a useful resource for replenishing your energy or stamina, allowing you to engage more in missions and combat without waiting for natural recharge. Incorporating these stops into your daily routine helps maximize your resource management and progression efficiency in the game.
You can get buffs from the coffee shop and noodle house in exchange for money. Additionally, ordering a cup of coffee will let you replenish 60 battery charge per day, so that’s more free materials to farm!
Use your battery charge (stamina) as soon as you can
In Zenless Zone Zero, it’s crucial to use your Battery Charge (stamina) as soon as you can once you unlock the ability to spend it, typically after progressing through the early story and accessing the HIA Club. Battery Charge replenishes slowly over time, at a rate of one point every six minutes, up to a maximum of 240 points, so letting it sit unused wastes valuable farming opportunities. Spending your Battery Charge promptly on activities like Combat Simulation, Expert Challenges, and Routine Clean Ups allows you to efficiently gather resources needed to level up your characters and progress faster. Additionally, you can boost your stamina daily by visiting the coffee shop for a 60-point recharge, further encouraging regular use rather than hoarding your stamina.
Not too long after starting the story, you’ll unlock the HIA Club, a place you can drive to in order to farm materials for your characters. You should start doing this immediately to burn some of your battery charge (what the game calls its stamina system). Since battery charge caps out at 240 with excess getting wasted, you should spend it on farming materials, since you’re just wasting a valuable resource otherwise.
Completing these levels also rewards you with EXP to increase your Inter-Knot level (your account level), which you’ll need to progress through the game.
Test your agents before you commit to building them
Before committing resources to building your agents in Zenless Zone Zero, always take advantage of the opportunity to test them out first. This allows you to understand their abilities, elemental attributes, and how they synergize with your team composition. Testing agents helps you avoid wasting limited upgrade materials on characters that may not fit your playstyle or team strategy, ensuring you invest wisely in those who will maximize your combat effectiveness. By experimenting with different agents early on, you can build a balanced and powerful squad tailored to overcoming the game’s challenges more efficiently.
The VR device in front of the Hollow Deep Dive System lets you learn how to use different agents in the Agent Academy. You might want to try out the various characters, not just because you get rewards for doing so, but because the characters you might end up liking the kit for may be ones you weren’t planning on building. Koleda sure looks cool, but maybe after testing things out, Lycaon’s kit suits your fancy more.
Early on, your resources will be limited so you can’t build every character you get. Figure out which ones you like best and go from there.
Turn trial mode off if you don’t want to use the story’s characters
In Zenless Zone Zero, you can turn off trial mode if you prefer not to use the story’s preset characters during missions. This option is available in the bottom-left corner of the character selection screen, allowing you to play with your own collected agents instead. However, be aware that some story missions may still require you to use specific trial characters occasionally.
There will be instances where Zenless Zone Zero wants you to play as specific characters who are relevant to the story, but you can toggle this in the bottom-left corner of the character select screen. If you want to use your characters instead, turn this off.
Don’t use your Polychrome to pull on the standard banner
Don’t use your Polychrome currency to pull on the standard banner in Zenless Zone Zero. Instead, save your Polychromes for limited banners that feature exclusive characters or W-engine banners, as these provide better value and more desirable rewards. For the standard banner, only use the free tickets given by the game, since spending Polychrome there is generally considered a waste of resources. This strategy helps you maximize your chances of getting powerful agents and gear that will enhance your team’s strength more effectively.
Polychrome is the premium currency that you’ll get to spend on the gacha system (and some other, less important things, like paying to replenish your battery charge). As you play, you’ll amass a ton of Master Tape, currency you can use to roll on the standard gacha banner. This banner never changes and will likely keep the same S-rank agents and W-engines in it.
You should instead use your Polychrome to buy Encrypted Master Tape, which allows you to roll on whichever event banner is happening. Event banner characters are only obtainable for a certain period of time (though they will return in later updates), so rather than spending your precious premium currency on the standard characters who are bound to get power-crept, you should use your Polychrome on the limited characters.
Every gacha game expert will tell you not to waste your precious currency on permanent banners, as you can still get these characters from event banners anyway.
Get used to dodging and countering
Get used to dodging and countering is essential in Zenless Zone Zero as enemies become increasingly challenging beyond the early stages. While early foes may be easily defeated by button mashing, progressing in the game requires mastering the timing of your dodge to perform Perfect Dodges and Dodge Counters. When you dodge just as an enemy attack is about to hit-indicated by a red or orange glint-you can trigger a Perfect Dodge, which opens an opportunity to counterattack with a heavy attack, dealing significant damage. This defensive skill not only helps you avoid damage but also generates energy for your special attacks and sets up powerful chain attacks when combined with your team’s abilities. Developing the habit of dodging and countering early on will prepare you for tougher battles and improve your combat efficiency in Zenless Zone Zero.
The monsters you fight early on will be easy peasy, and it’ll feel like all you need to do is button mash to take them out. As you progress, things will get tougher, and you’ll want to start utilizing that dodge, making sure to time it right when the enemy shines so you can parry and counter them. You might as well form good habits early on and get used to dodging attacks, even if you feel like you don’t need to.
The time of day affects what you can do, but don’t stress about it
The time of day in Zenless Zone Zero influences which activities and quests are available, as the game is divided into four distinct periods: morning, afternoon, evening, and midnight. Some missions, shops, and character interactions are time-specific, so paying attention to the schedule can help you plan your gameplay effectively. However, the game offers convenient ways to pass or skip time, such as resting at your home or completing certain missions, allowing you to advance the day without stress. Since you can only skip time once per day, it’s best to use this feature strategically, but overall, the time system is designed to enhance immersion without causing frustration, so there’s no need to worry too much about the clock while enjoying the game.
Some side quests are only available during certain times of the day, but don’t fret too much about min-maxing your day. There’s no punishment for taking extra days, and you can rest on the sofa to pass the time as needed to access whatever quests you want.
What are the most overlooked beginner mistakes in Zenless Zone Zero
The most overlooked beginner mistakes in Zenless Zone Zero include:
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Randomly picking characters without considering team synergy, elemental strengths, or role balance, which hampers combat effectiveness. Beginners should prioritize building a well-balanced team with a main DPS and supportive roles rather than spreading resources thin across many characters.
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Investing too many resources early on into multiple characters instead of focusing on upgrading a core team gradually, especially prioritizing the main damage dealer first.
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Ignoring side quests, which provide essential rewards and unlock important overworld mechanics, slowing progression if neglected.
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Overlooking stamina management, such as letting stamina overcap by not using it regularly or wasting premium currency (Films) on stamina refreshes instead of saving for summons.
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Ignoring main mission requirements and challenges, which grant premium currency and world-level progression when fully completed.
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Farming Disc sets (equipment) too early instead of focusing on character level-up materials, leading to inefficient resource use.
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Failing to try character trials to understand playstyles and avoid wasting resources on unsuitable units.
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Not establishing a preferred combat style, which can lead to summoning and investing in characters that are not enjoyable to play.
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Neglecting daily NPC interactions that provide buffs, rewards, and free stamina refreshes, which can enhance early game efficiency.
These mistakes collectively slow down progression and resource optimization for new players starting Zenless Zone Zero.
How can I avoid wasting resources on unnecessary character upgrades
To avoid wasting resources on unnecessary character upgrades in Zenless Zone Zero, follow these key strategies:
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Focus on a Core Team: Prioritize upgrading a small, well-balanced team of characters rather than spreading resources thin across many units. Concentrate on your main DPS first, then supports and tanks that complement your playstyle. This ensures your strongest characters are powerful enough to clear content efficiently without resource shortages.
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Avoid Frequent Character Switching: Constantly switching characters strains your resources and slows progression. Commit to characters you enjoy and build synergy around them to maximize resource efficiency.
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Upgrade Gradually and Efficiently: Level up characters step-by-step, ascending them at key levels to unlock major power boosts like new abilities and talents. Avoid rushing upgrades on characters you don’t use regularly, as farming materials for them can be time-consuming and wasteful.
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Be Selective with Equipment Upgrades: Don’t invest heavily in upgrading weak or low-tier gear early on. Save resources for high-quality weapons and relics that provide significant stat boosts. Upgrading suboptimal equipment wastes valuable materials that could be better spent later.
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Manage Stamina and Farming Smartly: Use your stamina (or equivalent resource) efficiently by farming high-value materials and events instead of low-reward activities. Avoid letting stamina cap unused, and save stamina-restoring items for important farming sessions to maximize resource gain.
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Plan Your Character Pulls Wisely: Avoid impulsive gacha pulls on standard banners. Focus on limited-time banners featuring powerful characters to get the best value from your currency, preventing resource waste on less effective units.
By applying these principles, you’ll maintain a balanced approach to character development, ensuring steady progress and minimizing wasted upgrade materials in Zenless Zone Zero.
