In Zenless Zone Zero, understanding combat mechanics is essential to mastering the game, especially when it comes to Attributes, Anomaly effects, Disorder reactions, and the new Vortex system. Each mechanic plays a major role in how Agents deal damage, apply pressure, and interact with enemies during battle. From triggering elemental effects to combining different Attributes for stronger reactions, these systems add depth and strategy to every fight. In this guide, we break down how Attributes work and explain the basics of Anomaly, Disorder, and Vortex, helping both new and experienced players better understand and optimize their gameplay.
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Zenless Zone Zero Attributes
In Zenless Zone Zero, all Agents are categorised into 9 Attributes, including Regular Attributes and Special Attributes.
Regular Attributes
Regular Attributes are possessed by most Agents in the game. There are 6 Regular Attributes: Physical, Fire, Ice, Electric, Fire and Wind—the upcoming Attribute with the first character to have it releasing in Version 3.0. Make sure you pay attention as we'll be covering this new Attribute later on in the blog.
| Regular Attributes | |||||
Physical | Fire | Ice | Electric | Ether | Wind NEW! |
Special Attributes
Special Attributes are subtypes of the regular Attributes reserved for Void Hunter Agents and equivalents (characters in the Storyline who are considered to be on the same level as Void Hunters but haven't accepted the title). They function identical to their regular counterparts but possess addtional properities. Special Attributes also have a separate Anomaly Buildup gauge, which means they can trigger Disorders even with their corresponding Regular Attribute. There are currently 3 Special Attributes: Frost (Miyabi), Auric Ink (Yixuan), and Honed Edge (Ye Shunguang).
| Special Attributes | Base Attributes | Additional Properties |
Frost | Ice | Frostbite lasts 20 seconds instead of Ice's 10 seconds |
Auric Ink | Ether | None |
Honed Edge | Physical | Miasma purification rate +50% |
Anomaly Effects
In Zenless Zone Zero, when an Agent deals Attribute DMG, they fill up the Anomaly Buildup gauge of the corresponding Attribute, this gauge is displayed to the right of enemies' health bar. Once the gauge is full, the enemy will be afflicted with an Attribute Anomaly debuff when the on-field Agent deals one more instance of buildup, dealing heavy DMG and applying effects unique to each Attribute.
The Anomaly mechanic relies on 2 stats—Anomaly Proficiency (AP), and Anomaly Mastery (AM). AP increases the DMG of Attribute Anomaly effects, while AM increases the amount of Anomaly Buildup with Attribute DMG.
Below are the specific effects of each Attribute (Special Attributes possess the same effects as Regular Attributes so they won't be mentioned separately, e.g., both Auric Ink and Ether trigger Corruption)
Physical
When enough Physical Attribute Anomaly is accumulated, Assault and Flinch will simultaneously be inflicted upon the target. Assault interrupts the target and deal massive Physical DMG, while Flinch increases the Daze taken by the target for a short duration.
Ice
When enough Ice Attribute Anomaly is accumulated, Freeze and Frostbite will simultaneously be inflicted upon the target. Freeze prevents the target from performing any action for a few seconds and trigger Shatter at the end of the effect or when the target is struck with a heavy attack, dealing massive Ice DMG. Frostbite increases the Crit DMG taken by the target for a short duration.
Fire
When enough Fire Attribute Anomaly is accumulated, the Burn effect is inflicted upon the target, dealing continuous Fire DMG for the duration of the effect.
Electric
When enough Electric Attribute Anomaly is accumulated, the Shock effect is inflicted upon the target, causing it to receive additional Electric DMG when attacked during the duration of the effect.
Ether
When enough Ether Attribute Anomaly is accumulated, the Corruption effect is inflicted upon the target, causing it to receive additional Ether DMG when attacked during the duration of the effect.
Wind NEW!
When enough Wind Attribute Anomaly is accumulated, the target enters the Windswept state. Upon entering the Windswept state, the target is interrupted and receives massive Wind DMG. While targets are in the Windswept state, direct Wind DMG they take is increased based on the Wind Anomaly trigger's Tempest Coefficient. Not only that, the first time the target takes Fire DMG, Ice DMG, Electric DMG, Physical DMG, or Ether DMG, the corresponding Contamination effect is triggered.
While the target is under Contamination, both direct Wind DMG and direct DMG from the triggering Contamination attribute are increased based on the Wind Anomaly trigger's Tempest Coefficient. During a single Windswept instance, Contamination can only be triggered this way once. After triggering Vortex, it is converted into the Vortex's corresponding Contamination state.
Disorder Reactions
Vortex NEW!
Vortex can be considered a special type of Disorder as they function identically minus a few special properties unique to Vortex. Vortex is first introduced in Version 2.8 as a combat mechanic tied to the new boss, despite the Wind element not having a playable character at the time.
As for how Vortex works, we will be breaking it down now: When applying a different type of Attribute Anomaly effect to an enemy already afflicted with an Attribute Anomaly, if one of the Anomaly effects is Windswept (Wind Attribute Anomaly), the Disorder effect will not be triggered. Instead, the Vortex effect will be triggered: Upon triggering, the Attribute Anomaly other than Erosion will be finalized (applies to Attribute Anomalies with a DMG-over-time mechanic), dealing AoE Anomaly DMG of the corresponding attribute. Keep in mind that for a period of time after triggering Vortex, Vortex cannot be triggered again.
Disorder
The base Disorder effect in the game. It serves not just as a powerful tool to deal DMG for Anomaly characters, but also as an amazing mechanic that adds depth and strategic planning to an already exciting combat system.
This is how the Disorder mechanic work: Upon applying another type of Attribute Anomaly to an enemy that has already been afflicted with one, if neither is Windswept, the newly applied Attribute Anomaly overrides the original, and causes the Disorder effect, dealing massive DMG and Daze. The Disorder effect's DMG is calculated based on the original Anomaly.
Disorder can also be triggered by a combination of Special Attributes and their respective base Attributes. For instance, Miyabi's Frost can trigger Disorder against an enemy afflicted with an Ice Attribute Anomaly and vice versa. This opens up a lot more interactions, as even though this reaction mainly only benefits Anomaly characters, characters of other classes can still receive the general benefits that come from Disorders (extra DMG and Daze, as well as more Decibel generation).
Polarity Disorder
There isn't much to explain about Polarity Disorder, it is a special Disorder effect that, when triggered, deals heavy damage based on the original theoretical Disorder damage to the target. It functions differently from regular Disorder, however, as it does not clear the target's active Attribute Anomaly when triggered. Unlike regular Disorder, which can be triggered universally, Polarity Disorder is unique to only a few characters whose kit allows them to trigger it directly. Currently, Polarity Disorder can only be triggered by the Agents Tsukishiro Yanagi and Nangong Yu.
Multipliers
This is advanced knowledge that shouldn't concern most players, though you should still learn it if you wish to maximise your DMG. (Wind hasn't been fully implemented at the time of this blog so it won't be mentioned below).
Anomaly base DMG
Anomaly base DMG = Anomaly Multiplier x ATK
| Attribute Anomaly | Anomaly Multiplier |
| Burn | 50% (x20) |
| Shock | 125% (x10) |
| Corruption | 62.5% (x20) |
| Shatter | 500% |
| Assault | 713% |
Disorder DMG
| Previous Anomaly | Anomaly Multiplier (Disorder) |
| Burn | 450% + floor((10 - Time Passed) x 2) x 50% |
| Shock | 450% + floor((10 - Time Passed) x 125% |
| Corruption | 450% + floor((10 - Time Passed) x 2) x 62.5% |
| Frozen | 450% + floor((10 - Time Passed) x 7.5% |
| Flinch | 450% + floor((10 - Time Passed) x 7.5% |
Conclusion
Overall, Zenless Zone Zero has a really fun and unique combat system. While complicated at times, the combat mechanics prove to be very intriguing, allowing experienced players to have fun even when they dive deeper. As for beginners, the surface-level mechanics are easy to understand and implement in combat, preparing them mentally before they learn about new advanced mechanics. This mix of simple and advanced mechanics is what makes the system so compelling.
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Be sure to bookmark this page, as we’ll keep updating it with the latest combat mechanics. Staying informed is the best way to get better in Zenless Zone Zero.
