Zenless Zone Zero (ZZZ) Hollow Zero Guide and Overview

Players can progressively unlock Operation Zones upon completing Chapters in the Main Story. Each Operation Zone has up to five Challenge stages: starting with Edge as the easiest, then Frontline, Interior, Heartland, and ending with Core as the last and most difficult Challenge in the Operation Zone. As players progress through each Zone, the number of Challenges reduce, eventually leaving only the Core for Nest: Withering Garden, the most difficult Operation in the game.

Currently, there are six Operations available in the game:

Each Challenge will also have Key Enemy Info, as well as Recommended Attributes for your Squad. Upon finishing a Challenge or Bounty Commission for the Operation, players will receive completion rewards.

After players have completed the "Withering Garden: Core" for the first time, they will gain access to Ether Activity effects. To increase the difficulty of a player's experience when playing through "Withering Garden: Core," they can enable certain Ether Activity effects. Additional Ether Activity options unlock when more effects are enabled with each completed Challenge run.

If players successfully complete a "Withering Garden: Core" Challenge with these Ether Activity effects enabled, they can receive additional rewards on top of the normal completion rewards, such as Polychromes, Hi-Fi Master Copies, Ether Plating Agents, and another Tuning Calibrator. Players can review the list of rewards within the "Withering Garden: Core" menu.

Every week, players can complete Challenges and receive Investigation Points. This can be tracked within the main Hollow Zero menu. When players have reached the maximum Investigation Point limit for the week, they can no longer receive any more points until the period has been reset. The Investigation Point Limit will also increase as players progress to the next Hollow Zero Operation Zone.

After accumulating enough Investigation Points to level up your Investigation License, you can receive the following general rewards:

• Inter-Knot Credits (Inter-Knot Level EXP)
• Polychromes
• Dennies
• Boopons (Signal Searching for Bangboo)
• Ether Electrolytes, Energy Transfer Fluids, and Concentrated Cooling Fluids (Increase a Bangboo's Level Cap)
• Bangboo System Widgets (Bangboo Level EXP)
• Tuning Calibrator and Hi-Fi Master Copies (Music Store: Advanced Tuning)

Hollow Zero also has exclusive rewards, which are only available through increasing the Investigation License Level:

• Booressure's Cores, up to 5 (Bangboo Core Updates)
• "Winding Roses" Namecard (Hollow Zero Qualification Reward)
• "Fragrant Infusion" Avatar (Hollow Zero Qualification Reward)

More rewards may be added in future game updates.

Bounty Commissions are side objectives for players to complete during Challenges. Bounty Commissions are split into two categories: Special and Common Commissions. You can complete Special Commissions up to 2 times each week, and they cannot be refreshed. Common Commissions, however, can be refreshed up to 2 times per week. You cannot get a Bounty Commission that shares the same rank as another in the same week.

Players can keep track of their Bounty Commission Progress either in the Final Results upon completing a Challenge, or within the Investigation License menu. The Bounty Commissions rewards can be claimed within the Investigation License menu. The Bounty Commissions will reset every week with the standard weekly reset (at Server Time).

Under the Exploration Results menu, players can review their past Challenge Records. It keeps track of the following data per Challenge run:

• Name of the Operation and Challenge Stage
• Recommended Stage Level and Last Floor Reached
• List of Corruptions Obtained
• List of Resonium Obtained
• Agents' Damage Stats
• Bangboo Squad
• Various Exploration Stats

Not only does it keep track of all records from normal Hollow Zero stages, it also includes runs of Operation Reaper: Inferno Reap.

Within the Combat Configuration for Hollow Zero, players can add gameplay modules to make their Challenge stages more enjoyable or easier to conquer. For example, players can unlock increases to their stats, Gear Coin gains, combat bonuses, or unlock new features for certain Hollow Zero events. Players can exchange Withered Crystals to unlock Modules, obtainable through progressing and completing Challenge stages in Hollow Zero. Each Operation Zone provides a different type of Withered Crystal, while the Nest: Withering Garden operation gives all three types of Withered Crystals.

At any stage, each Operation Zone provides the following Withered Crystals:

The amount of Withered Crystals you can receive per Challenge run depends on the Stage Difficulty completed, with general Core-level stages having a maximum amount of 500 Withered Crystals of one type. In "Withering Garden: Core," players will receive 200 Withered Crystals of each type, which can be very helpful, regardless if you are unlocking your first Combat Configuration module or the last one.

After players have unlocked the Agent Trust system in Zenless Zone Zero, Affinity Resonium will also be obtainable for use within Hollow Zero. Whenever players encounter an Affinity event within a Hollow Zero run, they will receive a Resonium that temporarily unlocks a Mindscape Cinema for the Agent to use. You can only use Affinity Resonium for an Agent you have built sufficient trust with, as well as an Agent who is currently in the squad for the run.

To unlock Affinity Resonium, players need to fulfill the following conditions:

• Obtained the Agent (through Signal Searching or Events)
• Increased the Agent's Trust to Close
• Complete the Promotion Event to Receive Rewards

Players can begin building an Agent's Trust after completing the corresponding Agent's Main Commission or Agent Story. Afterwards, they can either send a Trust Invitation to the Agent and schedule a Trust commission, or interact with the Agent in a Trust Event randomly around New Eridu. The rewards, including Affinity Resonium, can be received through the Knock-Knock DMs menu, or through the Partner Archive at Random Play's Workbench.

While players are exploring the Challenge stages in Hollow Zero, they may encounter Events that are recurring, new, or exclusive to Hollow Zero. To review what each Hollow Event does, players can access the Hollow Codex, which categories each Event into the following types:

• Mark
• Environment
• Device
• Resource
• Threat
• Encounter
• Hollow Visitor
• Hollow Zero

The Hollow Codex will not list Events that the player has not encountered yet. Within Hollow Zero, you may encounter Events from several categories, but only the Hollow Zero Events are exclusive to the game mode.

Players can access the Hollow Codex through the Workbench inside the Staff Room at Random Play.

If players speak with Ray inside the Tent at Scott Outpost, she will present her Research Log, which is a record of the following information found in Hollow Zero:

• Resonium Database
• Corruption Research
• Special Area Log
• Lost Items from the Old Capital
• Outpost Primer

If players encounter a Hollow Zero Event: Weird Detective, they may receive valuable recordings known as Lost Items from the Old Capital. These Lost Items provide additional lore information about Hollow Zero. To learn more about where to find specific Lost Items, players can review the Unlock Condition through this tab within Ray's Research Log.

As players complete more challenges in Hollow Zero, they may help Ray complete her Research Log for additional rewards. These rewards include Polychromes, Dennies, and Bangboo Algorithm Modules. As well, for completing certain amounts of Research primers for Ray, players will receive a Polychrome allowance from the White Star Institute.

While players explore Hollow Zero, they may receive a currency known as Z-Merits. These can also be obtained from completing special commissions. Z-Merits can be used to exchange for valuable items at the Logisitics Shop from Casper at the Scott Outpost. These valuable items include Master Tapes, Boopons, Upgrade Materials, and Dennies. The shop resets its stock on the 1st of every month, so make sure to exchange the items in time. Casper can be found outside the tent near the Hollow Zero system, or at the Logistics Shop location within the Travel shortcut menu.