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After much waiting, HoYoverse’s latest gacha game is finally here, and everyone is jumping into New Eridu as fast as they can. However, Zenless Zone Zero can be a bit overwhelming, especially if it’s your first gacha adventure. With so many items to get, mechanics to memorize, and currency to acquire, all Proxies are prone to short-circuit in seconds. But don’t fret. Because just as the helpful Bangboos of the game are there to guide you, we are also here to give you a few beginner tips for your Zenless Zone Zero journey.
10. Watch Out For Your Hollow Pressure
One of the first beginner tips for you pertains to something we wish we knew when entering the Hollow-riddled world of Zenless Zone Zero. Exploring a Hollow is already a perilous thing to do, but it gets worse the longer you stay inside one. You might’ve noticed a blue bar above your team’s icons that fills up with every square you move. This is the Pressure bar. Each step you take generates 10 Pressure, and reaching certain thresholds will give you a debuff. While there are certain squares that clear this status, it’s better to plan your route before moving around a Hollow aimlessly.
9. Hanging Out With Characters Leads to Great Rewards
We’ve all been waiting for a HoYo game that really lets us hang out with furries, waifus, and all other types of characters, and Zenless Zone Zero delivers on that front. However, it isn’t just for fan service, which we don’t complain about, by the way. Hanging out with Agents and building trust leads to you obtaining juicy rewards, such as Polychrome, which you need to pull for Agents. Furthermore, certain Trust milestones will reward you with a character’s wallpaper for your pause menu, so there’s a good reason to befriend all Agents in the game.
8. Visit Your Workbench
Usually, we don’t pay attention to a game’s database unless it has a few rewards behind it. However, one of the best beginner tips we can give you for Zenless Zone Zero is to pay attention to the video store’s workbench. Besides the usual tutorials that reward Polychrome, you can also find useful information regarding some of the enemies you’ll face inside Hollows. It might not seem like much at first, but knowing the weaknesses of certain foes will let you assemble that three-agent team much faster.
7. Don’t Ignore a Hollow’s Recommended Element
Sometimes, we tend to look at any type of content’s recommended element, character, or any other mechanic and go, “Nah, I can wing it.” Don’t do that in ZZZ. Whenever a Commission says you must bring a specific element, bring that specific element. Certain enemies will have a shield that you can only break with some attributes. If you decide to bring your favorite Agents instead of the ones that can actually tackle a foe’s weakness, you’ll have a hard time, especially on greater difficulties.
6. Don’t Spend Your Polychrome on Master Tapes
This is a beginner tip that’s aimed at those whose who’re unacquainted with the gacha genre. If you’re unfamiliar with how HoYoverse operates in its character banners, you’ll always have a permanent one and a limited-time one. Polychrome is Zenless‘ currency that’ll allow you to buy Master Tapes and Encrypted Master Tapes. At launch, many might want to get the former because you get guaranteed S-Rank Agents after 50 and 300 pulls. Don’t do that. You’ll get a lot of free Master Tapes as you play, so save your Polychrome for the Encrypted ones. You’ve been warned!
5. Stun and Support Agents are a Must-Have in Any Composition
During the launch of Zenless Zone Zero, there won’t be too many Agents that change the gameplay drastically. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t pull off some great team composition. Right now, any team needs a Stun and Support agent. These are necessary characters as the former will fill up enemies’ daze bars faster, and the latter will either buff your team or perform some crowd-control moves, which are extremely helpful. We imagine the meta will change as time goes by, but for now, stick to these two roles when prioritizing who to level up.
4. Focus on Specific W-Engines
W-Engines are your weapons or Light Cones in Zenless Zone Zero. They are some of the most important items to buff your characters’ stats, and they will also provide certain buffs depending on an Agent’s attribute and element. At first, you might be getting a lot of B-Rank W-Engines and you may think you have to level them all up. Don’t. You’ll be wasting a lot of money and resources when the best W-Engines are A and S-Rank. While they are harder to get, we recommend sticking to a few good W-Engines at first, making a good three-Agent team, and waiting until you get better items to build other characters.
3. If You Feel Weak, Progress Through the Story
You’ll quickly learn that HoYoverse puts almost everything behind its main story, at least during a game’s first version. During your first few hours, you might not have a lot of W-Engines, Ascension materials, or other items that’ll make your Agents more powerful. The easiest way to get all of them is by rushing through the main story. We recommend you watch every cutscene, though. ZZZ‘s story is quite intriguing, especially due to the game’s setting. However, if your endgame is building your characters, you can always skip it all and use the workbench to rewatch everything.
2. You Can Craft Items
We previously mentioned how important A-Rank W-Engines are. Well, there is a way to craft them. Once you unlock the Notorious Hunt system, which allows you to farm materials from bosses, you can obtain W-Engine Chips. Having enough specific ones will let you craft W-Engines, which is great if you want a particular one. Thankfully, the crafting options in Version 1.0 are fantastic for the launch characters, so if you want to build your character properly, you better go on some chip-hunting.
1. Practice Before Entering a Hollow
While the developers mentioned the game is quite accessible for anyone who’s never tried an action-oriented gacha, that doesn’t mean you can button-mash your way through everything. Even if the game offers an easy mode, you should take the time to practice with every Agent you have, especially S-Rank ones, which are the ones you’ll likely use more once you get them. Each Agent has different mechanics, and some synergize better with others. So, designate a few minutes of your day to test the waters with each character, and once you get the hang of them, start delving into more dangerous Hollows.
Ultimately, you’re free to take whichever path you prefer, but we recommend taking these tips into consideration. Gacha games can be overwhelming for many, especially with all the stats, walls of text, and items to get. But if you take the time to learn every mechanic and get the hang of every Agent, not even the most dangerous Hollow of New Eridu will be a problem.
