Chaos Zero Nightmare (CZN) Game Modes

This quick guide will provide a general overview of all of the core game modes in Chaos Zero Nightmare.

Story mode is divided into different chapters, and each chapter is made up of a chain of main story missions and (sometimes optional) side missions.

Story mode missions do not require Aether (stamina/energy) to progress through, but many of them are gated based on your account level, so leveling up is key to continuing through the story. Story mode progression unlocks many different game features, so you should progress through the story as fast and as far as possible.

While there are some battles within the story mode, it is primarily composed of VN-style missions that focus on storytelling and dialogue. Any story mode battle missions will have a crossed-swords battle icon on them.

Completing story mode missions awards Coordinates of Record (account XP), Crystals (premium currency), Advanced Battle Memory (character XP), Advanced Support Data (partner XP), and Units (basic currency). Some specific missions offer other special rewards.

Each story chapter culminates in a mini-Chaos Manifestation mission, which requires navigation through a map of connected nodes, where you will fight battles, encounter events, visit shops and rest stops, and face off against the chapter boss.

Battle missions are combat-based missions that can be completed for rewards. Each mission can be completed at a 1, 2, or 3-Star rating. Missions are divided into chapters, and each chapter can award up to 18 stars in total. The final mission of each chapter is required to rank up your account and allow access to new combatant levels, resource stage tiers, and more.

Simulation Mode is divided into two sections: Tactical Training and Basin of Hyperspace

Tactical Training

This is the resource grind section of Chaos Zero Nightmare. It contains the following options and rewards:

• Growth: Provides combatant and partner EXP materials.
• Combatant: Provides combatant promotion materials.
• Partner: Provides partner promotion materials.
• Potential: Provides materials for unlocking potential nodes for combatants.
• Memory Fragment: This is where you farm different Memory Fragments (artifacts/gear) for combatants.
• Challenge: Features limited weekly boss challenges that provide special potential materials for combatants.

Basin of Hyperspace

This mode and details about it were not available in the closed beta.

Chaos Mode is divided into two sections: Chaos Manifestation and Zero System.

Chaos Manifestation

Chaos Manifestation is a roguelike mode geared towards developing Save Data for combatants that can then be used in other modes. Completing a chaos for the first time at various difficulties offers rewards, and there are also rewards to unlock from encountering different events, enemies, and bosses.

To start a run you’ll first select a chaos that you want to explore. Different chaos planets feature enemies of different elements. You can select a difficulty and then choose a regular run or a Deep Trauma run, which offers more rewards in exchange for more challenges.

Each run requires navigation through a map of connected nodes, where you will fight battles, encounter events, visit shops and rest stops, and face off against tough bosses.

Zero System

This mode and details about it were not available in the closed beta.

Ark City is divided into seven sections: Policy Center, Starshine Diner, Garden Cafe, Epione Center, Research Facility, Nono’s Shop, and Excursions.

Policy Center

At the Policy Center you will select a project to work on. Each project has target goals across four different categories: Happiness, Administrative Index, Economic Activity, and Public Order Index. Each project also has a limited number of days in which you need to meet the target for each category. You make progress by approving policies to influence values in each of the different categories. At the end of the time limit you will receive a grade depending on how well you did in meeting each target. Higher grades result in better rewards.

Starshine Diner

At the Starshine Diner you can spend currency to eat different foods to provide your party with various combat buffs.

Garden Cafe

At the Garden Cafe, you can choose between one of two Ether (stamina/energy) gain options: Use Shop (+80 instant Ether) or Pack (+1 Ether recharge currency).

Aether from Use Shop should be consumed quickly as it counts towards the total Aether available before you hit the cap. This is the most optimal choice to select for progression as it gives +20 more Aether than the recharge option, allowing you to do one additional run of most material farming stages.

The Pack item goes into storage and will restore +60 Aether on use, and you can hold up to four of them at a time. While less optimal than the instant option, this method does allow you to store some Aether until you have more time to play. So if you need to skip a day playing, make sure you at least grab the recharge for when you return.

Note: You can also pet the cats at the Garden Cafe.

Epione Center

The Epione Center is divided into two areas: Psychotherapy and Trauma Code.

Psychotherapy

This is the area where you can conduct Counseling sessions with combatants who have experienced Deep Trauma in the Chaos Manifestation game mode. There are two reasons to do this: to allow that combatant to be playable again in Chaos Manifestation and/or to preserve their Save Data from the run that caused the Deep Trauma.

In Psychotherapy, you are presented with a list of all combatants who currently have trauma and have three options you can choose from:

• Do nothing. If you do nothing, the combatant will remain in trauma and be unavailable to use in Chaos Manifestation.
• Delete Memories. Spend units to do a quick recovery. Quick recovery will clear the trauma from the combatant, but does not preserve the Save Data from their latest run and does not unlock any Counseling Record achievements.
• Counseling. Spend a Communication Pass, a limited currency, to do a slower recovery. Selecting this option will start a VN style dialogue with the combatant, where you can choose different options for how to help them deal with their trauma. Different combinations of answers have different outcomes, and different outcomes unlock achievements. Completing this option will remove the combatant’s trauma and preserve the Save Data of their latest run. Communication Passes are limited to three per day and are also used to go on Excursions with combatants at the Ark.

Trauma Code

This mode and details about it were not available in the closed beta.

Research Facility

At the Research Facility you can spend Research Notes to improve various functions and features around the Ark.

Nono’s Shop

Nono’s Shop allows you to spend Policy Points to purchase various items. You can purchase Policy Reports that give additional policies to use at the Policy Center, additional Research Notes to advance research at the Research Facility, and a wide variety of combatant gift items to increase affinity levels.

The additional policies and research notes are the usual priority purchase items here.

Excursions

Initially, there are four different Excursion areas available, with more unlocking through research. You can find random combatants at the Excursion areas that you can interact with through a VN style event. The event provides some character background and story, and also improves affinity with that combatant. The number of excursions you can do each day is limited by a special currency called a Communication Pass, which is also used at the Epione Center to conduct counseling sessions with combatants suffering deep trauma.