Looking to put your skills to the test? Then it’s time to enter the ring and take on the Zenless Zone Zero Hollow Zero activity. Embarking into the massive Hollow near the Scott Outpost, you’ll face some of the toughest enemies in the game, forcing you to think thoroughly about your strategy to come out on top.
Similar to Shiyu Defense, the other main Zenless Zone Zero endgame activity, having the best ZZZ team comps goes a long way. However, you have to be willing to adapt. Not only might you be missing powerful characters due to the ZZZ banners system, but each stage requires a tailored setup.
Zenless Zone Zero Hollow Zero Explained
Hollow Zero is a combat and exploration-based endgame activity in Zenless Zone Zero. You will have to navigate through various TV sections to acquire upgrades while completing combat encounters.
While Shiyu Defense is entirely combat-focused, Hollow Zero adds additional stages between combat encounters, all accessed through the television sequences that see you moving around a board. If you’ve played HoYoverse’s Honkai Star Rail, then it’s very similar to the Simulated Universe roguelike mode.
There are two Qualification Assessment missions that you must start with, which will introduce you to the mode.
You will begin by selecting an Investigation Area, which is effectively different stages, each with different enemies and difficulty ratings. Take note that each one rewards a different number of Points upon completion, which ties into weekly Investigation Point rewards. You will eventually aim to complete every stage at least once to claim the valuable first-time completion rewards.
Once you’ve picked the stage, you’ll put together a team of three characters. Take a look at our Zenless Zone Zero tier list for an idea of the strongest characters in the game, though you will want a strong team that matches the Recommended Attributes for each stage.
Set up your team and head into the action, which kicks off in the TV navigation section. Though this is mostly linear, you can find optional Gear Coins and encounters that will grant you extra Resonia - powerful buffs. Importantly, you will only begin with your lead character. The other two members of your party need to be acquired as you progress through the TV section.
Your goal is to reach the flag to finish the activity, which involves completing combat encounters and collecting upgrades to progress further into the level.
Resonia
Resonia are upgrades that you can collect throughout a run of Hollow Zero. Like a roguelike, these are only applied to your current run and will refresh each time you play.
Resonia comes in different quality tiers and categories that you can use to create a deck that compliments your team and their play style. For example, some Resonia are focused on Critical Hits, which are ideal for teams with Attack characters that benefit from Crit.
Importantly, collecting four or eight Resonia of the same category will eventually provide a new, more powerful upgrade known as an Advanced Resonium. So, it’s a good idea to choose Resonia from the same category to ‘snowball’ your power as you progress.
Upgrades
Unlike Resonia, you can also get permanent upgrades. Accessed via the activity overview screen, these upgrades require the three types of Withered Crystals you can earn to unlock them. These upgrades are typically simple stat boosts though you can also unlock Mod Features, which are more substantial bonuses, earned by unlocking all of the smaller perks around them on the board.
The available Hollow Zero Mods are:
Mod Feature | Description | Unlock Requirements |
|---|---|---|
Initial Funds | Increases DEF by 15. Obtain 800 Gear Coins on entering a Hollow. | Activate the four nearby nodes. |
Authorization Resonium Converter | Increases ATK by 30. Activating the Resonium Converter allows you to refresh the Resonia three times. | Activate the four nearby nodes. |
Complex Artifices | Increases Max HP by 120. Unlock more Artifice Resonia. Receive a debuff, which can be transformed into a powerful buff upon completing artifice reconfiguration. | Activate the ten nearby nodes. |
Bomb Supply | Crit DMG increases by 5%. Receive a Cross Blast Bangboo Plug-In when entering a Hollow, which can be detonated to clear the surroundings, but all squad members lose a certain percentage of health. | Activate the ten nearby nodes. |
Corrupted Goods | Anomaly Proficiency increases by 10. Activate the Corrupted Goods to exchange Corruptions for Resonia. | Activate the six nearby nodes. |
Seized Funds | Take 2% less DMG. Gear Coins from combat events increase by 20%. | Activate the six nearby nodes. |
Enhanced Med Kit | Increases DMG dealt to normal enemies by 4%. Receive a Concentrated Medicine II Bangboo Plug-In on entering a Hollow, which can be used to restore HP for all squad members. | Activate the six nearby nodes. |
Enhanced Anti-Corruption | Increases DMG dealt to elite enemies by 4%. Receive a Concentrated Sedative II Bangboo Plug-In when entering a Hollow, which can be used to reduce Pressure for all squad members. | Activate the six nearby nodes. |
Internal Discount | Increases DMG dealt to bosses by 4%. Bangboo merchants have a better chance of offering discounted rates. | Activate the four nearby nodes. |
Authorization Resonium Assistance | All DMG increases by 5%. Receive Resonium supply one time upon entering a Hollow. | Activate the four nearby nodes. |
While you’re progressing through the game and leveling up your characters, these permanent unlocks will be crucial in taking on the higher tiers of Hollow Zero.
Pressure
Pressure is a debuff that builds as you progress through Hollow Zero. For every 100 Pressure you suffer, you will receive a negative effect, such as slower cooldowns. You will suffer five Pressure every time you move a space during the TV sections, though special tiles can add even more.
It’s important to plan ahead to take the most efficient route possible to avoid taking on unnecessary pressure. Keep an eye on the Pressure meter found above your party roster at the bottom of the screen.
Investigation Points
You will earn Investigation Points every time you complete a full stage of Hollow Zero. The amount you earn depends on the difficulty of the stage, with harder areas granting greater rewards.
Investigation Points increase your License level, granting additional rewards with each rank, including Boopons for Bangboo, Polychromes, and more.
You can only earn a maximum of 5000 Investigation Points each week, meaning your progression through the License level system is effectively time-gated.
Bounty Commissions
Bounty Commissions are optional objectives that you can complete for bonus rewards each week, including Polychrome and Boopons. Bounty Commissions come in various difficulty tiers, with higher tiers generally being more challenging or time-consuming to complete.
If you’re looking to maximize your rewards from Hollow Zero each week, then be sure to pick these Bounties up and complete them.
How to Unlock Hollow Zero in Zenless Zone Zero
Hollow Zero is unlocked by completing the ‘Earlybird Ticket to Safety’ Commission during Chapter 1 Interlude, meaning it won’t take you long to get access to the mode.
However, as an endgame mode, you won’t be able to complete all of Hollow Zero right away. As you progress further into the mode, the difficulty increases significantly. Naturally, this means you have to level up your characters and gear them, so get to work increasing your Inter-Knot level as well.
Likewise, the bigger your roster, the better. Though it’s certainly possible to complete Hollow Zero using the ZZZ free characters, it’s undeniably harder as you’ll be lacking certain elements and team synergies.
Zenless Zone Zero Hollow Zero Best Teams
Although each Zone has different enemies and recommended elements, Ice and Ether are strong for every stage. As such, these are the best Hollow Zero teams you can use:
- Ice: Ellen, Lycaon, Rina/Soukaku
- Ether: Zhu Yuan, Nicole, Anby
- Electric: Anton, Grace, Anby
Keep in mind that in Version 1.0 there are only two Ether units - Zhu Yuan and Nicole. This results in Ether and mixed-elemental teams with Ether characters very hard.
How to Beat Hollow Zero in Zenless Zone Zero
Currently, there are three standard Zones to complete, plus the additional Nest boss stage to beat Hollow Zero in Zenless Zone Zero.
Each Zone has fewer difficulty stages as you progress and increase in challenge, with higher level enemies but greater rewards in return.
Zone 1 - Old Capital Metro
Stage | Level | Difficulty | Points | Rewards (Regular) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Edge | 25 | Normal | 1000 | Investigation Points x1000, Bangboo Algorithm Module 7-8, Bangboo System Widget 2-3, Withered Crystal: Heaven’s Azure x200, Denny x675 |
Frontline | 30 | Hard | 1250 | Investigation Points x1250, Bangboo Algorithm Module 9-10, Bangboo System Widget 3-4, Withered Crystal: Heaven’s Azure x200, Denny x1200 |
Interior | 35 | High-Risk | 2500 | Investigation Points x2500, Bangboo System Widget 8-11, Withered Crystal: Heaven’s Azure x300, Denny x2000 |
Heartland | 40 | Disaster | 3000 | Investigation Points x3000, Bangboo System Widget 10-13, Withered Crystal: Heaven’s Azure x400, Denny x2815 |
Core | 45 | Disaster | 3500 | Investigation Points x3500, Bangboo System Widget 13-16, Withered Crystal: Heaven’s Azure x500, Denny x3380 |
As an Ice and Ether Zone, Old Capital Metro has several strong potential team comps:
Team | Leader - Character 1 | Character 2 | Character 3 | Bangboo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ice | Ellen | Lycaon | Soukaku/Rina | Pengboo/Sharkboo/Butler |
Ether | Zhu Yuan | Nicole | Anby | Resonaboo/Devilboo |
The Ice team will give you much more flexibility overall, as the current selection of Ether characters is extremely limited.
Zone 2 - Construction Ruins
Stage | Level | Difficulty | Points | Rewards (Regular) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Frontline | 30 | Hard | 1250 | Investigation Points x1250, Bangboo Algorithm Module 9-10, Bangboo System Widget 3-4, Withered Crystal: Ink - Yellow x200, Denny |
Interior | 35 | High-Risk | 2500 | Investigation Points x2500, Bangboo System Widget 8-11, Withered Crystal: Ink - Yellow x300, Denny x2000 |
Heartland | 40 | Disaster | 3000 | Investigation Points x3000, Bangboo System Widget 10-13, Withered Crystal: Ink - Yellow x400, Denny x2815 |
Core | 45 | Disaster | 3500 | Investigation Points x3500, Bangboo System Widget 13-16, Withered Crystal: Ink - Yellow x500, Denny x3380 |
The Construction Ruins are an Electric and Ether Zone, making the following teams strong:
Team | Leader - Character 1 | Character 2 | Character 3 | Bangboo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Electric | Anton | Grace | Rina/Anby | Safety/Plugboo/Magnetboo |
Ether (Ether/Electric) | Zhu Yuan | Nicole | Anby | Resonaboo/Devilboo |
Electric/Ether | Anton | Anby | Nicole | Safety/Plugboo/Magnetboo |
Zone 3 - Abandoned Skyscraper
Stage | Level | Difficulty | Points | Rewards (Regular) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Interior | 35 | High-Risk | 2500 | Investigation Points x2500, Bangboo System Widget 8-11, Withered Crystal: Iron Red x300, Denny x2000 |
Heartland | 40 | Disaster | 3000 | Investigation Points x3000, Bangboo System Widget 10-13, Withered Crystal: Iron Red x400, Denny x2815 |
Core | 45 | Disaster | 3500 | Investigation Points x3500, Bangboo System Widget 13-16, Withered Crystal: Iron Red x500, Denny x3380 |
The Abandoned Skyscraper has Ice, Electric, and Ether weaknesses, which results in the following teams being good choices:
Team | Leader - Character 1 | Character 2 | Character 3 | Bangboo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ice/Electric | Ellen | Lycaon/Anby | Grace/Rina | Butler/Sumoboo |
Ice | Ellen | Lycaon | Soukaku | Pengboo/Sharkboo/Butler |
Electric | Anton | Grace | Rina/Anby | Safety/Plugboo/Magnetboo/Electroboo |
Ether | Zhu Yuan | Nicole | Anby | Resonaboo/Devilboo |
An Ice-Electric team with Ellen, Lycaon, and Rina, or Ellen, Anby, and Grace, are a particularly strong team. This is because you can trigger the Disorder effect by inflicting two different elements on a target, dealing massive damage.
Among other rewards, including Polychrome, you will also receive a Boopon for completing the Abandoned Skyscraper on Interior for the first time.
Nest - Withering Garden
Stage | Level | Difficulty | Points | Rewards (Regular) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Core | 50 | Disaster | 4000 | Investigation Points x4000, Bangboo System Widget 15-18, Withered Crystal: Heaven’s Azure x 200, Withered Crystal: Ink - Yellow x200, Withered Crystal: Iron Red x200, Denny x4500 |
The Nest Withering Garden stage is a challenging boss encounter against Nineveh, the massive alien creature you're introduced to in the Hollow Zero introduction missions.
This stage has Ice, Ether, and Electric weakness, though Ether and Electric should be your focus. As such, you will want to use one of the following teams:
Team | Leader - Character 1 | Character 2 | Character 3 | Bangboo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ether/Electric | Anton | Grace | Nicole | Safety/Plugboo/Magnetboo/Electroboo |
Ice/Electric | Ellen | Lycaon/Anby | Grace | Butler/Sumoboo |
Ice | Ellen | Lycaon | Soukaku | Pengboo/Sharkboo/Butler |
Electric | Anton | Grace | Rina/Anby | Safety/Plugboo/Magnetboo/Electroboo |
Ether | Zhu Yuan | Nicole | Anby | Resonaboo/Devilboo |
Among other rewards, including Polychrome, you will also receive a Boopon for completing the Nest - Withering Garden for the first time.
Zenless Zone Zero Hollow Zero Rewards
The main rewards for completing Hollow Zero include:
- Investigation Points - XP used to level up your License level
- Withered Crystals - Material used to purchase permanent upgrades
- Bangboo Algorithm Module - Small Bangboo XP material
- Bangboo System Widget - Large Bangboo XP material
- Denny - Currency used to purchase and upgrade most items
- Polychrome (first-time completion) - Spent on banners to unlock new characters and W-Engines
- Boopon (first-time completion) - Spent on Bangboo banners to unlock new banners
With all this knowledge, hopefully, you'll be able to beat the Zenless Zone Zero Hollow Zero activity each week for maximum rewards. If you're still having a hard time, check out what ZZZ codes and events are currently available to get more Polychrome to spend on new characters.