This Zenless Zone Zero best teams breakdown covers how to split three squads for the October 2 rotation: how room scoring works, wave handling, where to hold burst skills, and what to claim before 3.2 ends on October 21. The roster picks follow the usual Zenless Zone Zero team comps tiers, and all numbers defer to official notes and the in-game interface.
Applicable version: 3.2 "Her Hidden Past" (live 2026-09-09, ends 2026-10-21 06:00)
Zenless Zone Zero 3.2 Shiyu Defense rules: reward gate and scoring
Three rooms, one total
The final stage scores each of three rooms separately at up to 25,000 points each, for a 100,000 maximum, and the faster you kill a room's boss the higher the score . The Polychrome gate is an S rank in all three rooms, meaning 25,000 apiece .
Why chasing the total is a trap
Chasing the total means compressing clear times in all three rooms at once, so difficulty multiplies. Once all three hit S, extra score only affects the leaderboard and pays no additional Polychrome . Low-investment accounts should push three rooms over the S line instead of maxing one, because a single blown room costs you the whole reward tier while a slightly slow clear in an easy room costs nothing.
Zenless Zone Zero Shiyu Defense squad split: who goes where
The three-squad constraint
Three rooms mean three squads, and the binding constraint is not stacking your best unit into one team. A full offense, stun and support package cannot be split three ways, so keep one complete main squad for the hardest room and run half-built comps in the other two (reasoning: each room scores independently and squads are not shared).
| Room | Squad role | Setup notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hardest room | Full main squad | Complete offense, stun and support, chasing 25,000 |
| Middle room | Half-built comp | Just clear the S line, do not swap members to farm score |
| Easiest room | Bench squad | Low-investment units are fine, saves main squad durability |
Do not build a stunner as a DPS
The most common mistake is treating a stun unit as damage. If the shield never breaks, stacked attack spins idle, and this rotation scores clear time, so stun efficiency sets your ceiling (reasoning: stun mechanics and scoring rules). Story and event content in this patch often rewards the same stun timing, so the habit carries across modes.
Zenless Zone Zero Shiyu Defense execution: waves and interrupts
Skill order across waves
In multi-wave rooms, clear early waves with normal damage and hold bursts for the final boss wave . Because scoring measures total time, banking skills for the decisive wave cuts the overall clock.
Interrupts and positioning
Boss charge-ups are where runs bleed time, and one interrupt can cost a full damage rotation. Do not stand your ground against high-poise enemies; reposition and re-enter (reasoning: this rotation's attack windups are long). Buff details and room composition change each rotation, so treat the official notice as the source of truth.
Zenless Zone Zero 3.2 wrap-up: what to claim before October 21
Two compensation payouts
Version 3.2 went live on 2026-09-09 06:00 with 300 Polychrome as downtime compensation, plus another 300 Polychrome for a bug fix, both for players at Inter-Knot level 4 or above before the update; the bug-fix payout had a claim deadline of 2026-10-09 23:59 while the downtime payout runs to the end of 3.2 .
Keep the end date in view
Version 3.2 runs 42 days and ends at 2026-10-21 06:00. Version switches take unclaimed event rewards with them, so clearing current event rewards before October 19 is the safer order.
Zenless Zone Zero 3.3 preview: new version and Steam
The 3.3 date
HoYoverse announced that version 3.3 arrives on 2026-10-21 and that the Steam version launches alongside it . 3.2 ends and 3.3 begins on the same day, so the handover is seamless.
Should you save now
Holding Polychrome and materials before 3.3 is the steady play, since a new version usually opens a new character banner and event shop at once. Rotation content like Shiyu Defense does not expire with the patch, but event rewards do, so clear events first and Shiyu second (reasoning: version switch rules).
Zenless Zone Zero October resource priorities
| Priority | Action | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Claim both Polychrome payouts | One had a 2026-10-09 23:59 deadline |
| 2 | Empty current event rewards | Version switches take them away |
| 3 | Three rooms to S in Shiyu Defense | The Polychrome gate, no need to chase score |
| 4 | Save Polychrome for 3.3 | New banner and event shop open together |
On stamina, farm materials for whatever your squads actually lack and avoid hoarding low-tier materials late in the version, because a new character in 3.3 can shift demand structurally (reasoning: version turnover patterns).More guides at gghubs.com.
Zenless Zone Zero FAQ
Do I need 100,000 points in Shiyu Defense?
A: No. Three rooms at 25,000 each is an S, and three S ranks pay the full Polychrome .
Can one main squad cover all three rooms?
A: No. The three rooms score independently and do not share squads, so you need three teams.
When does 3.2 end?
A: 2026-10-21 06:00, after a 42-day version cycle .
What if I have not claimed the Polychrome yet?
A: The 300-Polychrome bug-fix payout closed at 2026-10-09 23:59 and cannot be back-claimed.
Will 3.3 launch on Steam at the same time?
A: gamebiz and 4Gamer report a 2026-10-21 launch with a simultaneous Steam release, so defer to official announcements.
Zenless Zone Zero October action list
- Check whether both Polychrome payouts landed, especially the October 9 one.
- Split squads into a full main, a half-built comp and a bench team.
- Push Shiyu Defense to three S ranks and stop there.
- Empty current event rewards before October 19.
- After October 21, look at 3.3 banners before spending Polychrome.
Game Guides
- Palworld v1.0.5 Tower Boss Order Guide: Elements, Counters and Squad Choices
Palworld's v1.0.5 patch (2026-09-15) only fixed texture loading, so what actually shapes tower runs is the 1.0 release itself: the boss count expanded from 7 towers in early access to 9, the level curve runs from 10 all the way to 80, and the new Sunreach sky islands and World Tree finale sit at the end of it . Clearing towers is less about raw investment than about picking Pals that exploit each boss's element.
- Reverse: 1999 Version 4.0.0 Second Half Guide: Drake, the October 15 Banner Swap and Free Rewards
Reverse: 1999 has moved into the second half of version 4.0.0, and the banners swap on October 15: Drake arrives as a new standard six-star Beast character, while a pick-your-own rate-up runs with Quniang, Liangyue, Nana, Lucy and Nodica selectable . The first half's limited SP Crossbow banner closes at the same point, so October 15 is a clean dividing line.
- Love and Deepspace Xavier Birthday Guide: Wish Upon This Moment Banner Window
Love and Deepspace's Xavier birthday event is live, and the birthday five-star Memory is obtainable from 2026-10-11 at 05:00 to 2026-10-18 at 04:59 (source: official birthday calendar and birthday Memory announcement, 2026-10-08). The window is only seven days and it is a single-character banner rather than a pooled one, so the budget is easier to plan, provided you count your tickets and diamonds before you start pulling. The single target is the main advantage: there is no risk of boosting the wrong Memory and no need to compare three candidates.
- Honkai: Star Rail 4.6 Planar Fissure Guide: Double Relic Drops and Immersifier Spending
Honkai: Star Rail's 4.6 Planar Fissure event is live, and Planar Ornaments drop double rewards for the duration . The doubled runs are limited and do not reset during the event, so the goal is not farming more but spending the limited runs on the two worlds your roster actually needs.
- Genshin Impact 7.1 Imaginarium Theater Guide: Ice, Hydro and Anemo Stacking
The October 2026 Imaginarium Theater rotation locks the playable elements to Ice, Hydro and Anemo, and its core mechanic grants one stack of Frost Benediction whenever your party triggers Swirl, with each stack adding 80% Swirl damage and 12% crit damage up to 3 stacks . So the rotation is not about raw damage but about Swirl frequency, getting the blessing to full stacks as fast as possible.
- Wuthering Waves 3.7 Tower of Adversity Lineup Guide: Mid Tower Splits and Side Tower Stamina
The Wuthering Waves 3.7 Tower of Adversity refreshed on October 13, and this rotation cuts Havoc resistance on the left tower's fourth floor, which clears the way for Havoc teams. The mid tower remains the hardest part of the cycle, with Sunmoon, Cartethyia and Phrolova squads still carrying it, Zhanfei usable, and Galbrena needing Qiuyuan to reach full shape. If you only need the rewards, the side towers auto-clear and your stamina belongs to the mid tower.
- Arknights October 9 Update Guide: New Modules, Paradox Simulations and Voucher Timing
Arknights ran a forced maintenance on 2026-10-09 that shipped four free progression tracks at once: 4 operator records, 4 Paradox Simulations, 4 exclusive modules including the second modules for Shou and Ulpianus, plus 5 Originite Prime in compensation . The dates worth writing into a calendar are 10-15 04:00 for the mid-tier headhunting refresh and voucher store update, and 10-16 04:00 for the Security Service reward refresh .
- Palworld 1.0.5 Breeding and Base Guide: Passives, Ranch and Work Splits
Palworld 1.0.5 guide covering the breeding power rules and special combos, how to filter mutated passive skills, which Pals belong on the ranch, how to reshuffle base Work Suitability after Ancient Bark dropped to level one, and the v1.0.4 Pal Critic exchange changes and build cap.