There’s no escaping material gathering in Ground Zero without Zen, which features an upgrade system for Agents, W Engines, Skills, and even Bangboo. Whether you’re a new player or a seasoned veteran, you’ll be using a ton of Battery to gather materials. Here’s how.
How to Farm Upgrade Materials in Zenless Zone Zero: Combat Simulation Guide
As a new player, the first thing you’ll want to do is use up most (if not all) of your Batteries (energy) to allow them to continually regenerate. Farming upgrade materials is the easiest way to use Batteries early in the game, as they will also contribute to your rapid progress.
To unlock material farming, simply play the game until you have… progressed to Chapter One and you have completed the Trial Commission with Nekomata. You will be asked to complete an objective that involves heading to the HIA Club through the company car.
At the HIA Club, talk to Bertha to open the Combat Simulation page, which will allow you to obtain basic materials (level-up materials and Dennies), and materials to upgrade Agents, W Engines, and Skills. Later in the game, you will also be able to obtain Driver Tuning Materials (equivalent to Genshin Impact’s Artifacts).
After being introduced to the HIA Club, you will also receive a Virtual reality device in the random play staff room. It allows you to complete various combat and agent tutorials, which are very useful for understanding the gameplay mechanics of each agent, but the collection of materials is only available at the HIA Club. After unlocking the HIA Club for the first time, you will be able to teleport to its location via the map.
As you farm materials, you can set each battle plan to contain the number of enemies you want to fight. Each slot increases enemy encounters in each battle, while also increasing battery cost and the amount of rewards.
Additionally, you’ll also be able to configure the enemy lineup in some stages, allowing you to customize your combat experience. It’s a great opportunity to fight enemies your team is strong against or to try out various combat situations while still reaping the same rewards.
Does Zenless Zone Zero have auto battles?
Unlike Honkai: Star Rail, Ground Zero without Zen does not have an auto-battle systemso you’ll have to manually gather materials. The plus side is that you can customize the number of waves per battle to make it easier for you to get the exact amount of materials you need. You can also customize the enemy lineup in some cases, so you can choose enemies that your team can defeat quickly to ease the monotonous grind.
For more information on ZZZ, check out our guide on How does the Banner and Pity System work in Zenless Zone Zero? here on MyFullGames.