Zenless Zone Zero

Polychromes are the core premium currency in Zenless Zone Zero (ZZZ), HoYoverse's urban action RPG set in a futuristic city threatened by chaotic interdimensional zones known as Hollows. As the primary currency used for Signal Searches, Polychromes determine how players obtain new Agents and W-Engines, making them essential for long-term progression and team building.

Unlike standard in-game resources, Polychromes are carefully distributed across multiple gameplay systems. The design encourages consistent engagement rather than repetitive farming, ensuring that both free-to-play and paying players can steadily progress through regular gameplay participation.

Players who want faster progression can also choose to buy Zenless Zone Zero Monochrome from Z2U, which allows immediate access to more Signal Searches compared to free-to-play accumulation methods.

Daily Activities as a Stable Foundation

One of the most consistent ways to earn Polychromes comes from Daily Errands. These tasks are designed as short, repeatable objectives that refresh every day, encouraging players to log in regularly even if they only have a limited amount of time to play.

While the reward per task is relatively small, the value lies in consistency. Over time, these daily rewards accumulate into a meaningful amount of currency. This system ensures that active players always have a baseline source of Polychromes without relying on story progression or limited-time events.

Daily engagement forms the backbone of Polychrome income in Zenless Zone Zero, rewarding routine participation rather than intensive grinding.

Story Progression and One-Time Rewards

The main story and side missions represent one of the largest early-game sources of Polychromes. As players progress through different chapters, unlock new districts, and complete narrative-driven missions, they are rewarded with significant amounts of currency.

Side commissions and exploration objectives further contribute to this pool. These rewards are tied to first-time completion, meaning they cannot be farmed repeatedly. However, they are extremely valuable for new players, often providing enough resources to perform multiple early Signal Searches.

This structure makes the early game especially rewarding, giving players a strong incentive to explore the world and complete as much content as possible before moving into endgame systems.

Limited-Time Events and Version Updates

Events are widely considered the most important source of Polychromes in Zenless Zone Zero. Each major version update introduces a series of limited-time activities, including story events, combat challenges, mini-games, and login campaigns.

These events often provide substantial rewards compared to standard gameplay systems. In many cases, a single version cycle can yield enough Polychromes for multiple character pulls, depending on player participation.

HoYoverse typically structures these events to be accessible to a wide range of players, meaning even casual participation can still result in meaningful rewards. However, missing events can significantly reduce overall income, making consistent engagement during updates highly important.

Challenge Modes and Endgame Content

For more advanced players, challenge-based gameplay modes offer recurring Polychrome rewards. These include:

• Shiyu Defense (a rotating combat challenge mode)

• Hollow Zero (roguelike dungeon-style content)

• Deadly Assault (high-difficulty combat encounters)

These systems are designed to test player skill and team composition while offering periodic rewards. Unlike story missions, these modes refresh or rotate, allowing players to earn rewards multiple times over the course of a version cycle.

Achievements and Exploration Rewards

Polychromes are also distributed through the achievement system, which tracks a wide variety of player actions. These range from combat milestones and enemy defeats to exploration progress and hidden objective completion.

Although each individual achievement provides a small reward, the cumulative total across the entire system becomes significant over time. Players naturally unlock many of these achievements simply by playing the game normally, without needing to actively farm them.

Exploration-based rewards also fall into this category, encouraging players to interact with environmental mechanics and discover hidden content throughout the world.

Redeem Codes and Promotional Rewards

Occasionally, HoYoverse releases redeem codes during livestreams, promotional campaigns, or special events. These codes typically provide a small bundle of in-game resources, which may include Polychromes alongside materials and currency.

However, these codes are highly time-sensitive and often expire within a short window. This makes them more of a bonus rather than a reliable income source. Players who actively follow official announcements or community channels tend to benefit the most from these opportunities.

HoYoLAB and External Login Rewards

Outside the game itself, HoYoLAB provides additional opportunities for passive rewards. Through daily check-ins and community-based events, players can occasionally receive Polychromes or related resources.

This system encourages engagement beyond the game client, rewarding players who stay connected to the broader HoYoverse ecosystem. While not a major source of currency, it provides consistent supplemental income over time.

Paid Systems and Optional Acceleration

For players willing to spend money, Polychrome acquisition can be significantly accelerated through premium systems. Some players choose to top up ZZZ Monochrome in order to convert premium currency directly into Polychromes, while others rely on monthly passes or battle pass systems.

These systems are designed to accelerate progression rather than gate core gameplay, meaning free-to-play users can still access all content, albeit at a slower pace.

Final Thoughts

Earning Polychromes in Zenless Zone Zero is not based on a single farming method but instead built around a layered reward ecosystem. Daily tasks provide stability, story progression offers early-game bursts, events deliver large periodic rewards, and challenge modes support long-term engagement.

When combined, these systems ensure that both casual and dedicated players can steadily accumulate resources over time. Free-to-play users can reliably earn enough Polychromes for regular character pulls by maintaining consistent participation across daily content, events, and challenge systems.

Ultimately, the design encourages sustained engagement rather than short-term grinding, reinforcing HoYoverse's broader philosophy of long-term live-service progression.