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Video Games🇨🇳China21st century

Zenless Zone Zero

Third HoYoverse gacha (2024) — urban-fantasy action combat with 3-character team-swap chains, hyper-stylized 'anime-punk' aesthetic set in post-apocalyptic New Eridu city. Focus on tight combo combat + weekly hollow zero exploration.

⏱~30 min🌤indoor
Photo · Wikipedia

What is Zenless Zone Zero?

Zenless Zone Zero (ZZZ) is the third HoYoverse gacha title released July 2024 (after Genshin Impact + Honkai: Star Rail). Set in post-apocalyptic urban world of New Eridu where dimensional 'Hollows' spawn Ether monsters, players are Proxies (guides) leading Agent teams into Hollow instances. Combat is real-time action with tight 3-character team-swap chain combos: Basic → Chain → Ultimate rotations focusing on Assault (stagger break) + Anomaly (elemental DoT). Signature 'anime-punk' urban aesthetic — bright neon + street fashion + gritty tone unlike prior HoYoverse titles. Rapid combat pacing distinguishes it from turn-based Star Rail + exploration-heavy Genshin. Endgame: Deadly Assault + Shiyu Defense + Hollow Zero roguelite.

Quick facts

Category

Video Games

Type

Individual

Players

1–3

Duration

~30 min

Where played

indoor

Country of origin

🇨🇳 China

Estimated origin

Released July 4, 2024 globally

Olympic

No

Popularity

global

How it works

Objective

Progress story + explore New Eridu + build Agent teams + clear Shiyu Defense + Hollow Zero + Deadly Assault.

Match structure

Real-time action combat with 3-character swap-chain system: Basic attacks charge Chain Attack meter → Chain Attack triggers ally swap-in; Ultimate rotations.

Rules

Basic rules

  • 3-character team

    Deploy 3 Agents in combat rotation.

  • Chain Attack + Ultimate rotation

    Basic attacks fill meter → Chain Attack calls in ally → chain up to 3-character combo → Ultimate finish.

  • Assault vs. Anomaly damage

    Two damage archetypes: Assault = stagger + break; Anomaly = elemental status DoT (fire/ice/electric/ether/physical).

  • Perfect Dodge + Parry

    Timed dodges enable counter windows; parry heavy attacks for damage advantage.

  • Gacha Signal Search

    Character + W-Engine gacha with 90-pull hard pity.

Advanced rules

  • Disc drives (artifacts)

    6-slot equipment system; set-bonus stacking + main/sub stat tuning.

  • Hollow Zero roguelite

    Persistent progression roguelite with random buffs + curses.

  • Bangboo companions

    Deploy bangboo (utility pets) alongside 3-character team for utility skills.

Scoring

Star clear on endgame content + gacha collection.

ActionPoints
Shiyu Defense stars0-3 per stage

Win condition · N/A single-player.

Equipment

  • Smartphone / PC / PS5

    Cross-platform F2P.

  • Gacha 'Signal Search' pulls

    Agents (characters) + W-Engines (weapons) gacha with pity + 50/50 rate-up.

Positions & roles

  • Attacker

    ×1

    Main damage dealer.

  • Anomaly / Stun

    ×1

    Status effects + stagger.

  • Support / Defense

    ×1

    Buffs + shields + healing.

Officiating

Single-player.

  • N/A

Strategies

  • Chain Attack rotation optimization

    Sequence characters to maximize chain hits for max damage window.

  • Anomaly stacking teams

    3 anomaly characters stack multi-element status for massive DoT ticks.

Terminology

Signal Search
Gacha pull.
Agent
Playable character.
W-Engine
Weapon.
Bangboo
Utility pet companion.
Proxy
Player character (Belle/Wise).
Hollow
Dimensional rift instance.
Polychrome
Premium currency.

Major competitions

  • Shiyu Defense biweekly leaderboards

    biweekly · worldwide · since 2024

Where it is played

Governing bodies

Famous names & records

Famous athletes

  • YouTube ZZZ community creators — MrPokke, Twennyone, Cygnify

Records

  • HoYoverse third pillar

    ZZZ — Third HoYoverse gacha after Genshin + HSR; consistent top-20 mobile revenue in 2024-2025 (2024)

  • Distinct urban aesthetic in gacha

    ZZZ — First HoYoverse gacha with urban-punk + street-fashion aesthetic; distinct from fantasy Genshin + space HSR (2024)

Learn this sport

beginner

  1. 1

    Complete main story chapter 1

    Learn Chain Attack + Assault vs Anomaly system.

advanced

  1. 1

    Max Shiyu Defense stars

    Requires 2 built teams.

Frequently asked

Is ZZZ different from Genshin + Star Rail?+

Yes — action combat like Genshin but with tighter 3-character swap-chain focus. Aesthetic is urban-punk not fantasy. Combat pacing is faster than Genshin, real-time unlike turn-based Star Rail. HoYoverse's genre experimentation.

F2P viable?+

Yes — fully F2P clearable through Shiyu Defense with careful team-building.

Sources & provenance

Last verified 2026-08-29.verified