Zenless Zone Zero (ZZZ) casual vs challenge mode: Which should you choose?

Zenless Zone Zero is an action-focused game, but that doesn’t mean it has to be hard. There are two difficulty modes available for the main story of ZZZ — casual mode and challenge mode — but the differences between the two aren’t very clear to new players.

You’re given the choice between casual mode and challenge mode at the start of the very first mission in Zenless Zone Zero, so there isn’t much of an opportunity to get a feel for the mechanics and combat system before you have to make a decision. While they may just seem like the standard easy and hard modes that you’ve seen in other video games, it’s not quite that simple.

ZZZ Casual vs Challenge Mode Differences and Rewards

Firstly, there are no differences in rewards between casual mode and challenge mode in Zenless Zone Zero. No matter which difficulty setting you choose, you will still receive the same amount of resources and rewards. Playing on challenge mode will not net you any additional Polychrome, Agent XP, or leveling materials.

The only real difference between casual mode and challenge mode in Zenless Zone Zero is the amount of HP the enemies have. Here are how I see the teo different difficulties:

• Casual mode feels like the intended experience (even if it says the mode is meant for casual players), so don’t feel like you’re choosing the “easy way out” if you pick it.
• Challenge mode makes the enemies feel like bullet sponges, especially if you don’t have your characters built with good stats and gear, so it can make the main storyline feel like a slog.

How to change the difficulty in Zenless Zone Zero

Thankfully, you’re not locked into either mode once you choose it. You can change between casual mode and challenge mode at any time in Zenless Zone Zero by opening the options menu and navigating to the “Other” section. There, you’ll find a drop-down menu that lets you toggle between casual mode and challenge mode.

Remember, you shouldn’t feel bad about choosing casual mode over challenge mode in Zenless Zone Zero. The latter just makes the game frustratingly slow. There is hard content to be found in ZZZ, however, so veteran action game fans have a lot to look forward to once they reach the endgame stages of the game. Those endgame modes provide the most resources and premium currency, anyway.