I know, I hear you, there’s already so many things going on during combat in Zenless Zone Zero and you feel overwhelmed.
Yet, there’s still one more thing you should take note of, a very important one at that — orange flashes and red flashes that enemy mobs emit.
These are key visual indicators that come with audio cues that the game developers have put in place for your benefit.
What’s the difference? Each flash triggers different follow-up actions, which is important in action RPG games.
ZZZ is HoYoverse’s first-ever ARPG that introduces never-before-seen mechanics. So to all Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail players, I’m sorry but your combat experience in the open-world RPG and turn-based RPG does not help. It’s time to learn something new.
Orange flash in Zenless Zone Zero
What happens when you dodge and attack after an orange flash
Very early on in the game during the tutorial, you learn about dodging.
| SPRINT AND DODGE BUTTON IN ZENLESS ZONE ZERO | HOW TO USE |
 | Holding directional keys with this button lets you sprint. If you press it in isolation, it causes your character to move backwards for a maximum of two times before it goes into a short cooldown. |
When you see an orange flash from enemies and you click the dodge button to trigger a successful reaction, your entire screen goes grey — time seems to slow down for a second, and your character, well, sparkles. A Perfect Dodge.
In this state, your character is invulnerable for a split second. This gives you the opportunity to then trigger follow up attacks using your Basic Attack or EX Special Attack.
Successfully landing these combos is called a Dodge Counter, which deals high damage and interrupts the target’s action.
If you don’t dodge in time and instead, get hit by the enemy, don’t worry. In your sorry state on the ground, the game will trigger you to call for an Assist. A red blinking circle comes out in the bottom right corner of your screen screaming “ASSIST”.
Shortening your downtime, you’re effectively “cancelling” the time your character is staggered by calling in another to attack.
What happens when you change Agents after an orange flash: explaining Perfect Assist
| SPACE BAR IN ZENLESS ZONE ZERO | HOW TO USE |
 | Each bar around the circle indicates the number of Assist Points you have. As you use them, the bars turn grey. |
When the flashing prompt is gold, press space bar (on PC) to switch to the next Agent. This launches Perfect Assist.
And so, the second way to evade an enemy’s assault is by changing Agents by using Assist Points just as the attack is about to land.
When you use a Basic Attack with your swapped Agent immediately, you trigger Assist Follow-Up.
Now, you don’t have to attack the moment you swap Agents to trigger Assist Follow-Up. You can also flow your way into these two types of Perfect Assists that aren’t confrontational:
- Defensive Assist
- Evasive Assist
Defensive Assist allows you to parry enemy attacks, accumulating a significant amount of Daze and interrupting most attacks.
Evasive Assist enables you to dodge enemy attacks, triggering Vital View, where all enemy actions are significantly slowed.
Red flash in Zenless Zone Zero
The red flash from enemies in ZZZ is only displayed under one circumstance: when you run out Assist Points, as indicated by the greyed out icon.
You can still swap Agents, of course, and this will trigger a Perfect Dodge.
This action goes full circle — back to the first section of the article — where you can then follow up the Perfect Dodge with Basic Attacks or EX Special Attack if it’s charged.
Overall, these varied flow of actions help you maximize your Decibel points, which gives you access to your Ultimate at 3,000 points. At the same time, you’re also building up your opponent’s Daze. Keep on your toes!
READ MORE: All Zenless Zone Zero characters, factions, and their voice actors
