Zenless Zone Zero Advanced Combat Techniques: Chain Attacks and Stun Mastery
Mastering Chain Attacks and Stun (Daze) is what turns Zenless Zone Zero combat from button-mashing into controlled burst windows where enemies evaporate. The core loop is simple: build Daze, stun the target, then detonate with perfectly timed heavy hits and Chain sequences.
Understanding Daze, Stun, and Heavy Hits
Every enemy has a Daze (stun) bar below their HP that fills as you hit them; once full, they enter a Stunned state, take extra damage, and become vulnerable to Chain Attacks. Any damaging hit contributes, but attacks and stats that boost Daze or Impact fill the bar far faster, which is why dedicated Stun agents are so valuable.
Heavy attacks are the key to converting a stun into a Chain window. In ZZZ, these include the final hit of your basic combo, Dodge Counters, Quick Assists and Assist Follow-ups, Special Attacks, and EX Specials. Landing any of these on a Stunned enemy triggers the Chain prompt, with normal enemies granting 1 Chain, elites 2, and bosses up to 3 chained attacks.
Chain Attack Fundamentals and Manual Control
A Chain Attack is a QTE-style multi-agent finisher triggered after you stun an enemy and connect a heavy hit; you then select which agents (and sometimes Bangboo) join the sequence. Properly executed Chains deal damage on par with ultimates and let you weave multiple characters’ big hits into a single, extended burst window.
By default, Chain Attacks can auto-trigger as soon as the conditions are met, but you can enable Manual Chain Attack mode to gain tighter control. In manual mode, holding the Basic or Special/EX button after a stun prevents the Chain prompt from popping, letting you keep the target Stunned longer, extend combos, or set up ult timing before you finally trigger the Chain.
Stun Mastery: Building and Exploiting Daze Windows
High-level play is about creating frequent, high-value stun windows rather than just filling the bar whenever it happens.
- Team-building: always bring at least one Stun/Daze specialist whose skills have high Daze multipliers or Impact scaling to accelerate the bar.
- Rotation planning: open with your Stun agent to build Daze, use Assists and Dodge Counters (which deal big Daze damage) to push the bar over the line, then swap to your primary DPS to spend the stun window.
- Optimization: combining Defensive Assists, Evasive Assists into Follow-ups, and Perfect Dodge Counters during build-up massively increases Daze gain while keeping you safe.
Once an enemy is Stunned, damage taken increases and Chain Attacks become available, so you want your biggest buffs, debuffs, and EX skills ready. Advanced players time ultimates to hit just as the stun begins or weave them into Chain sequences so every major cooldown benefits from the amplified damage window.
Advanced Chain Attack Tech and Team Synergy
The strongest ZZZ players treat Chains as scripted burst plays rather than random QTEs.
- Pre-buffering: some characters can start a charged basic or EX on a stunned enemy and then cancel into a Chain or ultimate just before the final hit lands, effectively stacking multiple big modifiers in one window.
- Swap-cancels: swap during long animations so the outgoing agent finishes their attack while the new one enters, maintaining buffs and Daze pressure between Chains.
- Bangboo integration: when a full Chain allows Bangboo participation, prioritizing Bangboo’s Chain entry can add extra anomaly buildup or debuffs that further multiply your DPS burst.
To summarize a high-level loop: build Daze with your Stun agent and Assists, manually delay Chain if needed to line up buffs and ults, then trigger a heavy hit to start a multi-agent Chain that dumps every major cooldown into the stun window. Repeating that pattern consistently is what turns difficult bosses into reliable, controlled kill cycles.
