Checklists
Hollow Zero Guide
Ready to explore the Hollow Zero challenge in Zenless Zone Zero? The Hollow Zero challenge is quite similar to a normal Hollow, but with a few extra gameplay mechanics. It typically takes more effort to clear a Hollow Zero compared to a normal one.
This Hollow Zero guide will tell you everything you need to know.
How to Unlock Hollow Zero
First things first; how to unlock the Hollow Zero challenge? It’s rather simple: just follow the game’s main storyline until you visit Scott outpost for the first time. This will happen once you’ve completed the Earlybird Ticket to Safety quest.
At Scott Outpost, you’ll be introduced to the Hollow Zero, accessible from the computer inside the tent.
Hollow Zero Explained
Like story commissions, the Hollow Zero challenges include monitor (TV) screens and combat sections. There's less story involved though; the Hollow Zero is all about clearing the challenge as fast as possible or with as little corruption as possible. To view the Hollow Zero's objectives, go back to your menu and click on 'commission details'.
As you clear previous Hollow Zero challenges and progress through Zenless Zone Zero's main story, you will unlock new stages. Each stage comes with several difficulty levels, which can also be unlocked by completing the previous ones.
Before you start a challenge, you can check the enemy weaknesses on the left side of the screen. In the example above, the weaknesses are Ice and Ether, so be sure to use teammates with those attributes. You can check the challenge rewards in the lower left.
Hollow Zero Gameplay
As mentioned before, the Hollow Zero is in many ways similar to ordinary Hollows. It’s therefore best to get familiar with the Hollows first, mainly through story commissions, before trying a Hollow Zero. Once you’re ready, here’s an overview of special gameplay features found in the Hollow Zero:
Team-building
In the Hollow Zero, you typically start with only one character, and unlock more characters by stepping on the 'phone' tiles. The order in which you select characters for a challenge therefore matters! Make sure you’ve got a decent all-rounder as your first character, so they can handle combat on their own. Later on, you’ll be able to swap characters (replacing the first character with the fourth character you selected, for example).
Pressure and Corruption
Hollow Zero’s usually suffer from high ‘Ether activity’, which increases your Pressure as you move to new tiles on the monitor screen. See the blue bar at the bottom of the screen? This is your Pressure meter: when it reaches 100 points (turned fully yellow), you will gain one Corruption, a.k.a. one debuff. This debuff is randomized, and may, for example, reduce the team’s energy generation or decrease the team’s attack power. If you gain five Corruption, your team will slowly lose HP, which can easily result in a failed Hollow Zero mission.
In other words, it’s important to keep your Pressure meter as low as possible while you’re in a Hollow Zero. While it’s sometimes unavoidable to build Pressure, you can reduce it by stepping on safe zone tiles - blue tiles with a bunny wearing a yellow helmet, as shown in the picture below.
Another way to avoid Pressure build-up is to step on ‘stable’ tiles as much as possible - these grey, ordinary-looking tiles won’t increase your pressure meter. ‘Unknown’ tiles, on the other hand, are critical zones where you risk building Pressure every time you step on them. Avoid these tiles as much as you can.
Resonia
The Hollow Zero challenges are centered around the card-based buffs called Resonia. These passive buffs are obtained by clearing combat stages or by stepping on tiles with pictures of gacha ball machines, as shown in the picture below. You can pick one of three randomized cards, so try to find the ones that fit your team! If your team is focused on stunning their enemies, for example, you may want a Resonium card that boosts their stun abilities. Click on the menu on the left side of the screen or press the ‘C’ key to view your current Resonia.
If possible, it’s best to get four or eight Resonia of the same type, as this triggers a ‘Resonium Reaction’ resulting in one additional Advanced Resonium card of the same type. The Resonium type is displayed in front of the card’s name, such as ‘[Duel] Baseball Bat’ (with Duel being its type). Resonia also come with a rarity ranging from B-tier to S-tier; the S-tier cards are always the strongest!
Bangboo Plug-Ins
While exploring the Hollows, you may stumble upon a Bangboo Plug-In. This is a special item that can be used to buff or heal the team. For example, you may use the Bangboo Plug-In to reduce Pressure, thus preventing Corruption. Beware that some Bangboo Plug-Ins have unlimited charges, while others display a charge amount. In the example below, the Bangboo Plug-Ins only have one use!
Click on the menu on the left side of the screen or use the ‘R’ button to view your current plug-ins. You can click on a Bangboo-Plugin to see its effects, and press and hold it to use it. You can also hold the R key to use a Bangboo Plug-In.
Hollow Raiders
If you step on a tile marked with armed people, you’ll trigger a Hollow Raider event; you’re usually given the choice to obtain items, run, or fight, each with different chances of success. It’s best to go for the most useful items, such as Resonia cards, but only if you can handle the potential consequences. For example, if your current Pressure is high but the team’s HP is full, and one event option comes with the risk of increasing Pressure while the other comes with the risk of losing some HP, it’s best to risk the HP loss.
Events
Besides Hollow Raider tiles, the Hollow Zero is full of random events that typically present a choice: for example, you may be given the chance to pay some Gear Coins for a special item, obtain some HP restoration, or receive a Bangboo Plug-In. Always read the full description before making your choice though - some of the best items come with the highest risks, such as a chance to greatly increase your current Pressure count.
Hollow Zero Shop
Another important tile is the Hollow Zero shop tile, which displays a golden Bangboo. At the shop, you can spend Gear Coins to obtain Resonium cards (this is also an opportunity to collect four or eight Resonia of the same type) or spend Gear Coins to ‘catalyze’ (upgrade) a Resonium card in your possession. Three cards of the rarity you paid for will be selected at random, and you can decide which of those three cards should receive the upgrade.
Hollow Zero License Level and Investigation Points
Clearing a Hollow Zero will award you with Investigation Points, and these Investigation Points will increase your License Level. Every time you increase your License Level, you will obtain rewards in the form of Polychrome, Boopons, Dennies, and other resources.
There’s a weekly cap on the amount of Investigation Points you can earn, so if you keep doing Hollow Zero challenges after you’ve reached that cap, the Investigation Points won’t count towards your License Level (but you still get the individual Hollow Zero rewards). To see the current amount of Investigation Points and collect License Level rewards, open the Hollow Zero menu and click on the button in the lower left of the screen.
Hollow Zero Bounty Commission
Bounty Commissions are Hollow Zero commissions which you may complete for additional rewards. They include challenges such as “reduce a total of 300 Pressure” or “clear an operation on Edge or higher difficulty”. Bounty Commissions refresh every week, but you can also refresh the challenges up to two times yourself. To view the Bounty Commissions, click the button in the lower left of the Hollow Zero menu (same as License Level) and click on the ‘Bounty Commission’ tab at the top of the screen.
Hollow Zero Combat Configuration
Completing Hollow Zero challenges also yields Withered Crystals. This resource may be spent in the Combat Configuration menu to improve the team’s stats and abilities - but beware that these improvements, such as ‘increase ATK by 20’ or ‘increase Ice DMG by 4%’, are only active while you’re inside a Hollow Zero. Try to unlock all nodes eventually, but prioritize the nodes that match your team setup the best (choose a Fire DMG boost over an Ice DMG boost if you typically use Fire characters).