Zenless Zone Zero is a new game from the HoYoverse studio, which, although different in its aesthetics and gameplay from the company's previous projects, still remains a typical gacha system that requires significant time and financial investments from the user.
Whether you are a fan of the studio's previous games, such as Honkai Impact 3rd, Genshin Impact, and Honkai: Star Rail, or a regular newcomer who wants to get acquainted with the widely advertised gacha game, we will list some important tips that will help you get started in Zenless Zone Zero and allow you to enjoy the gameplay as quickly as possible.
At first glance, Zenless Zone Zero might seem like a very stylish slasher with RPG elements and social interaction à la Persona. But in reality, it is a typical gambling game from the Chinese, whose systems are entirely dependent on gacha pulls. This means that when it comes to unlocking new powerful characters, weapons, and enhancement items, you need to spend hard-earned or purchased premium currency. Yes, at first, you will be generously «showered» with resources and other paid items that will allow you to make pulls for free. But do not blindly believe that this kind of «freebie» will happen on an ongoing basis. Pretty quickly, the currency will stop pouring in from all directions, and you will have to seriously strain to obtain it without investing earned funds.
Zenless Zone Zero is exactly the same as the previous games from HoYoverse studio. All free characters will only be useful in completing the main story campaign, but they will be of little use in the future. At the same time, you should not immediately donate to the game in the hope of getting the desired hero. Many agents you will receive for in-game achievements and progress through the storyline. First, finish the story campaign and unlock all the free content. Only after that can you start spending accumulated currency on pulls to open powerful heroes for endgame content.
In Zenless Zone Zero, there are too many diverse game systems, which include: the story campaign, battles in linear arenas, puzzles, and exploring small city districts. Unfortunately, all the listed mechanics only mask the main game design cycle, which is entirely tied to completing daily tasks, for which you will receive a tiny amount of in-game currency. In ZZZ, it is important to log in every day and perform actions such as visiting the developer's website, watching an advertisement trailer, or subscribing to social media groups.
After completing the rather lengthy story campaign, you will face the tedious task of collecting agents and W-engines through the aforementioned gacha system. You will have a limited supply of stamina (battery charge), which you can use to farm materials to enhance your characters. Eventually, the energy will run out, and you will have to wait until the next day to continue gathering resources. The entire endgame of ZZZ, until the release of subsequent updates, consists entirely of collecting gear for agents (drive disks), which give unique passive skills and random characteristics. Essentially, after finishing the story, you will face either tedious farming or excessive financial investments.
There is no open world in Zenless Zone Zero. The player has access to a small location for exploration, which at first glance may seem like a regular hub to distract from the main story. In reality, there are several important places on its territory that will help you farm resources faster to upgrade agents.
In exchange for in-game currency, you can get serious buffs at the local noodle shop. They will help you clear caverns (local dungeons) faster and significantly save time on boss fights. Additionally, a cup of coffee from the local coffee shop will replenish 60 battery charge points per day, allowing you to earn more free resources in a single gaming session.
After a couple of chapters of the main story, the HIA Club will be unlocked, where you need to go to farm materials for your agents. Do not delay visiting this place and go there immediately after unlocking it. This is because, in the first gaming session, you will have an excess of battery charge (the local stamina system), which will disappear on its own if you do not use it completely. You should use the excess to gather materials, as you may seriously lag in farming later and lose a lot of time on upgrades.
Additionally, for completing levels in the HIA Club, you will receive experience needed for the growth of the main account. The latter, in turn, gives free currency and unlocks access to new chapters of the main story adventure.
The VR device before exploring the caverns (local dungeons in the Deep Dive System) allows you to recruit various agents. You always have a trial period to test different characters, during which you will not only learn about the nuances of a particular hero's abilities but also receive additional rewards. Players often like heroes only because of their appearance, but in the actual gameplay, they are often completely ineffective and useless for clearing difficult caverns. Testing will allow you to find the most successful agents who will help you farm resources faster.
In the early stages of the game, your resources will be quite limited, so you won't be able to craft all agents indiscriminately. Determine your preferences and create only those who are effective in combat scenes.
During the main campaign, the game will give you certain characters that are important for the story. Often, they are quite weak and useless in combat, which will significantly affect the duration of battles and overall difficulty. In the lower left corner of the character selection screen, you can disable trial mode to recruit only those agents you want to play as. This is a very useful feature that will allow you to progress through the story mode faster.
Polycrystals are a premium currency used for banner pulls and some other less important things like replenishing battery charge. During the story campaign, you will accumulate a lot of another currency — master tapes, which can be spent on standard gacha pulls. Standard banners never change. From them, you can also get S-rank agents and W-engines.
Use your stock of polycrystals to buy encrypted master tapes, which allow you to perform event pulls (event banners). Banner characters are available only for a limited period of time (although, sometimes they return in subsequent updates), so don't spend polycrystals on standard characters. They are not as strong as event agents, and the value of your account will significantly increase with the number of rare heroes.
The first hours of Zenless Zone Zero are very easy. Monsters are very weak in combat, and at first glance, it may seem that it's enough just to press attack and special ability buttons. But as you progress, battles will become more difficult, and you will have to use dodges, which require timing. Also, when the enemy glows, you can parry the attack and counterattack. Try to use these features from the very beginning of the game to learn the timings in advance and develop a reflex.
Some side quests in Zenless Zone Zero are available only at certain times of the day, but you don't need to worry about not being able to complete them within the given period for some reason. There are no penalties for missed days. You can rest on the couch to pass the time and return to the quests at any convenient period.
Before starting the main campaign, you will be offered to choose the ZZZ mode: normal or hard. Without any hesitation, choose the normal mode, as the hard mode does not provide additional rewards. Of course, the combat scenes themselves are very easy, but in the later stages, when you have to do a lot of farming, the hard mode will greatly hinder the rapid progress.
When forming a squad, pay attention to the factions of the agents they belong to. For example, Cunning Rabbits or Belobogs. Also, consider the elemental attributes that the heroes possess. For a successful combination of fighters, you will receive significant combat bonuses that will be useful in battles with bosses.
Depending on the time of day, events will occur in the city that are not marked in any way. You may stumble upon them randomly. Be sure to talk to everyone you meet. Some characters during the dialogue can give rare items that will eventually unlock achievements with useful rewards.
In the city, you can find a newspaper stand with a dog where you can use a lottery ticket. The rewards in the lottery are not random and depend on how many times you have logged into the game in a given month. On the 3rd, 8th, 15th, 20th, and 27th day of logging in, you will receive a random reward of 20/40/60/100 polycrystals. On any other day, you will receive a random reward of 2888/5888/8888/12888 denny or 10 polycrystals. The reward counter should reset at the beginning of each month. Keep in mind that the count is based on the number of times you log into the game, not the calendar date.
When you are in the caverns, you will often receive a certain number of gear coins from golden chests. It is wise to spend the resource on opening additional chests with more valuable rewards (Observation Data), as well as on completing additional missions with resources important for pulls.
In Zenless Zone Zero, there is an absolutely linear plot, in which for some unknown reason there are choices of dialogues and the initial hero. Your actions and the initially chosen character will not affect the narrative and rewards in any way. Don't be afraid to choose everything in a row and skip dialogues if you are not interested in the story. You will not receive any penalties or punishments.