Game Mechanic Guide

What is Anomaly in Zenless Zone Zero? Full Guide

Zenless Zone Zero uses five combat attributes — Ice, Fire, Electric, Ether, and Physical — instead of elemental reactions. Building an attribute's anomaly meter to full triggers an Assault (a powerful status like Freeze or Burn), and triggering a different anomaly on an already-afflicted enemy causes Disorder, detonating the damage.

The Five Attributes

Ice, Fire, Electric, Ether, and Physical are the five combat attributes. Each agent wields one. Unlike elemental reactions in other games, ZZZ attributes build a single anomaly meter per enemy; once full, the attribute's signature Assault fires.

How Anomaly Build-Up Works

Every attribute hit adds to the enemy's anomaly meter. When it fills, the Assault triggers: Ice Freezes, Fire Burns, Electric Shocks, Ether triggers a Corruption-style burst, Physical causes a stagger. The meter then resets and must be rebuilt.

Assault and Disorder

Assault is the payoff when an attribute meter completes. Disorder happens when you trigger a different anomaly on a target that already has an active affliction — it immediately detonates the first anomaly's damage for a burst. This is why mixing attributes on a team (e.g. Anby's Electric into an Ice-Frozen enemy) is a damage tool.

Attributes vs Teams

Most teams are built around a single attribute for focus, or pair a Stun agent with an Attack agent of any attribute. Ether (Zhu Yuan, Nicole) and Ice (Ellen, Lycaon) are the two most developed launch attributes, but Physical and Fire Attack agents are strong in their own weak-content niches.