Understanding ZZZ's gacha currency system
Polychrome buys the tape. The tape is the search.
Currency | How you get it | What it does |
|---|
Monochrome | Real-money packs, some shop items | Converts 1:1 into Polychrome. Keep it as Monochrome until you need searches. Some outfits charge Monochrome directly. |
Polychrome | Gameplay, events, converted Monochrome | Buys Master Tapes, Encrypted Master Tapes, or Battery Charge |
Master Tape | Polychrome (160), events, shops | Stable Channel (Star-Studded Cast) |
Encrypted Master Tape | Polychrome (160), events, shops | Exclusive Channel, Exclusive Rescreening, W-Engine Channel, W-Engine Reverberation |
Boopon | Gameplay only | Bangboo Channel. You cannot buy Boopons with Monochrome |
W-Engine searches take Encrypted Master Tapes. Master Tapes stay on Stable Channel.
Polychrome: the search currency
160 Polychrome = 1 search on every Polychrome channel. A 10-search is 1,600. A regular 10-search has no bulk discount.
Hard pity on Exclusive Channel is 14,400 Polychrome (90 searches). Featured-agent worst case is 28,800 (180).
Master Tapes vs Encrypted Master Tapes
Master Tapes run Star-Studded Cast, the permanent Stable Channel. The S-Rank agent pool is still Grace, Rina, Koleda, Lycaon, Soldier 11, and Nekomata. After your first S-Rank, later S-Ranks on this channel can be an agent or a W-Engine.
Stable Channel has three one-time bonuses:
New Player Guarantee: your first S-Rank is an agent, and it arrives within 50 searches. After that, Stable Channel uses the 90-search S-Rank floor.
New Player Discount: the first five 10-searches cost 8 Master Tapes each. Single searches stay at full price.
Additional Recruitment: after 300 total Stable Channel searches, you pick one of those six S-Rank agents. The selector does not reset pity.
Encrypted Master Tapes run every limited agent and W-Engine board. They do not work on Stable Channel. Master Tapes do not work on Exclusive or W-Engine boards.
Conversion rates
90 searches = 14,400 Polychrome
180 searches = 28,800 Polychrome (Exclusive featured, lose 50/50)
80 searches = 12,800 Polychrome (W-Engine hard pity)
160 searches = 25,600 Polychrome (W-Engine featured, lose 75/25)
1 Monochrome = 1 Polychrome
Complete pity system breakdown
Open Signal Search → Details on the board you are rolling. Official copy for the current Phase II boards is on the Version 3.1 limited-time channels notice.
Channel | Ticket | S-Rank hard pity | Featured rule | Shares pity with |
|---|
Exclusive Channel (new limited agent) | Encrypted Master Tape | 90 | 50/50, then guarantee | Other Exclusive Channels |
Exclusive Rescreening (selectable rerun) | Encrypted Master Tape | 90 | First S-Rank this period is the agent you selected | Other Rescreening tabs this period. Not Exclusive Channel |
W-Engine Channel | Encrypted Master Tape | 80 | 75% featured, then guarantee | Other W-Engine Channels |
W-Engine Reverberation (selectable rerun) | Encrypted Master Tape | 80 | First S-Rank this period is the engine you selected | Other Reverberation tabs this period. Not W-Engine Channel |
Stable Channel | Master Tape | 90 after the one-time 50 | Permanent pool | Itself only |
Bangboo Channel | Boopon | 80 | Bangboo pool | Itself only |
A-Rank or higher is guaranteed every 10 searches on the agent and W-Engine boards.
Any S-Rank resets that board's S-Rank counter.
Hard pity
Exclusive Channel: search 90 is an S-Rank if you have not hit one yet. Cost cap: 14,400 Polychrome.
W-Engine Channel: search 80. Cost cap: 12,800 Polychrome.
Soft pity window
Exclusive Channel base S-Rank rate is 0.6%. The rate climbs from search 75. Most S-Ranks land in the mid-70s to mid-80s. Soft pity raises the odds. It does not force an S-Rank before 90.
W-Engine Channel uses a higher base rate (1%) and an earlier climb, with hard pity at 80. Budget 80.
The 50/50 and Custom Search
On a regular Exclusive Channel, the first S-Rank is 50% the featured agent.
Version 3.1 added S-Rank Signal Customization. You pick 6 S-Rank agents. If the S-Rank is the off-featured result, it comes from those 6. Each of the 6 shares that lose slot. You can change the list at any time. W-Engine Channel has the same tool for 6 engines, plus an A-Rank Rate Up pick of 2 agents or 2 engines.
Custom Search controls the lose pool. The 50/50 stays.
Lose the 50/50 and the next S-Rank on any Exclusive Channel is the featured agent. That guarantee carries across Exclusive Channel banners and versions until it pays out.
Worst case on a regular Exclusive Channel: 180 searches (90 + 90) = 28,800 Polychrome.
Exclusive Rescreening and W-Engine Reverberation
These are the selectable rerun boards. In 3.1 Phase II (2026/08/19–2026/09/08 server time) Rescreening lists Dialyn, Ukinami Yuzuha, and Asaba Harumasa. Reverberation lists Yesterday Calls, Metanukimorphosis, and Zanshin Herb Case.
Rules that matter for your wallet:
The first S-Rank on that board this period is the agent or engine you have selected (Special Guarantee).
The first 10-search this period costs 8 Encrypted Master Tapes (20% off). Later 10-searches return to 10. Switching tabs does not refresh the discount.
Special Guarantee and the 8-tape discount each fire once per period. Unused ones die when the period ends.
Search count on Rescreening does not share with Exclusive Channel. Reverberation does not share with regular W-Engine Channel.
After Special Guarantee pays out, later S-Ranks on that board follow the standard 50/50 or 75/25 rules.
A rerun first copy is a 90-search (agent) or 80-search (W-Engine) problem, not a 180/160 problem.
Carryover pity
60 Exclusive Channel searches on Remielle stay at 60 when Sigrid's Exclusive Channel opens. Exclusive Channel guarantee status carries the same way.
Pity does not jump the fences: Exclusive, Exclusive Rescreening, W-Engine, W-Engine Reverberation, Stable, and Bangboo each keep their own counters.
Worst-case math: one limited agent
Winning the 50/50
90 searches = 14,400 Polychrome. About half of the S-Ranks that reach hard pity are the featured agent.
Losing the 50/50
180 searches = 28,800 Polychrome or 180 Encrypted Master Tapes. That is the ceiling on a regular Exclusive Channel with zero pity and no guarantee.
If the banner is Exclusive Rescreening and you still have Special Guarantee, the ceiling is 90 searches (14,400, or 14,080 if the first 10-search is the discounted one).
Need the last chunk before the board closes? Buy the gap on BitTopup's Zenless Zone Zero page.
Adjusting for existing pity
Formula:
remaining searches=hard pity−current pity
Then multiply by 160, or by 2× hard pity if you are off-guarantee on a regular Exclusive Channel.
Example: 45 Exclusive pity, guarantee already on. You need at most 45 more searches (7,200 Polychrome), not 90 and not 180.
Signature W-Engine Channel: separate pity
80 hard pity
W-Engine Channel hard pity is 80 (12,800 Polychrome). Any S-Rank W-Engine resets that counter. Agent pity does not move.
75/25 then guarantee
75% chance the S-Rank is the featured engine. 25% it is an off-banner S-Rank from your Custom Search list of 6. A loss turns on guarantee for the next S-Rank on any regular W-Engine Channel.
Worst-case W-Engine cost
160 searches = 25,600 Polychrome on a regular W-Engine Channel.
W-Engine Reverberation first copy: 80 searches, 12,800 Polychrome (12,480 with the 8-tape opener).
Why weapons sit behind agents
A signature W-Engine is a damage bump on one kit. A new agent opens a team you did not have. If Polychrome is tight, lock the agent first.
Combined cost: agent + signature W-Engine
Regular channels, zero pity, full bad luck
180 Exclusive + 160 W-Engine = 340 Encrypted Master Tapes = 54,400 Polychrome.
Both boards eat Encrypted Master Tapes. You do not split Master Tapes onto the weapon board.
Rescreening + Reverberation, first copies
90 + 80 = 170 Encrypted Master Tapes = 27,200 Polychrome, before the two 8-tape openers. That path only applies when those selectable boards are up and Special Guarantee is still unused.
Realistic vs worst-case
Soft pity plus the 50/50 and 75/25 cuts the typical spend. A featured agent often lands around 110–130 searches. A featured W-Engine often lands around 90–100. Combined, that is roughly 35,000–40,000 Polychrome. Treat 54,400 as the save target for a debut agent plus debut engine when you refuse to miss.
When to hold the full 54,400
Must-have debut pair, no pity, no guarantee: save 54,400.
Fine with variance: plan around 40,000 and accept a shortfall.
Must-have rerun on Rescreening only: save 14,400 Encrypted-tape equivalent.
Monthly currency income
A Version window is 42 days. Version 3.1 ends 2026/09/09 06:00 (UTC+8). Event and anniversary mail swing the total. Use the rows below as a planning floor, then add whatever the current patch is handing out.
Daily commissions
60 Polychrome a day = 2,520 over 42 days (~15–16 searches). The daily loop is short.
Endgame
Shiyu Defense Critical Node pays about 780 Polychrome per full S+ cycle and resets on a two-week clock. Three cycles in a 42-day patch is about 2,340.
Deadly Assault adds another repeating Polychrome packet (on the order of ~900 across a patch if you clear it).
Hollow Zero and weekly errands add more Polychrome plus Encrypted Master Tapes and Boopons.
Older articles listed "800 Polychrome per Shiyu reset, 2,400 per patch" and lumped "weekly activities" at 2,400–3,600. The Shiyu number is close. Deadly Assault and Hollow Zero are separate lines now.
Event rewards
A normal patch stacks a few events in the 1,200–1,800 Polychrome range, plus some Encrypted Master Tapes in the mail and in event shops. Version 3.1 is a 2nd anniversary window, so login tapes and one-time selectors sit above a regular patch. Do not bake anniversary extras into every future forecast.
Inter-Knot Membership (~$4.99)
This is the monthly pass. You get 300 Monochrome on purchase and 90 Polychrome each login day for 30 days. A clean 30-day cycle is 3,000 Polychrome-equivalent (300 + 2,700), about 18 searches. Miss a login and that day's 90 is gone.
A 42-day patch covers one full cycle plus 12 extra days if you renew. Two stacked memberships cover the patch: 90 × 42 = 3,780 from daily claims, plus 300 Monochrome each time you buy.
New Eridu City Fund (battle pass) is a separate Encrypted Master Tape source. It does not replace Inter-Knot.
F2P per patch (planning range)
Source | Typical 42-day patch |
|---|
Daily commissions | 2,520 Polychrome |
Shiyu Defense | ~2,340 Polychrome |
Deadly Assault + Hollow Zero + weeklies | ~2,000–3,000 Polychrome, plus tapes |
Events | 3,000–6,000 Polychrome, plus Encrypted Master Tapes |
Signal shops (Fading Signal and similar) | Encrypted Master Tapes and Master Tapes on a monthly reset |
Raw Polychrome band | ~12,000–17,000 |
Limited searches after tapes | ~80–110 on a regular patch |
Version 3.1 sits at the high end because of anniversary mail and extra Encrypted Master Tapes. A regular patch does not match that.
F2P timeline for a 28,800 Exclusive guarantee, starting from zero: about 2 patches if you clear endgame and events. One lucky 50/50 can land inside a single patch. Agent plus regular W-Engine (54,400) is closer to 3–4 regular patches.
Pull planning strategies
Banner schedule
Version 3.1 runs Remielle's Exclusive Channel across the whole 42-day window. Sigrid's Exclusive Channel and Exclusive Rescreening share Phase II (2026/08/19–2026/09/08). Official livestreams land a few days before a version. The Version 3.2 "Their Secret Histories" special program is set for 2026/08/28 19:30 (UTC+8).
Track four numbers against the calendar: Exclusive pity, Exclusive guarantee, Rescreening Special Guarantee, Encrypted Master Tape + Polychrome total.
Agent vs weapon
Secure the limited agent you actually play.
Roll the signature only after that agent is in the box.
Skip the engine if the roster still has holes.
Skip strategy
Pick the must-pull. For a debut Exclusive Channel with no guarantee, hold 28,800 Polychrome-equivalent in Encrypted Master Tapes plus convertibles. Walk past the filler boards.
If the target is on Exclusive Rescreening and Special Guarantee is up, the hold number drops to 14,400.
Emergency top-up calculation
gap = target − (Polychrome + Monochrome + Encrypted Master Tapes × 160)
Targets:
Regular Exclusive featured agent: 28,800 (or 14,400 if guarantee is on)
Exclusive Rescreening first copy: 14,400
Regular agent + signature: 54,400
Subtract current Exclusive or W-Engine pity × 160
Master Tapes do not shrink an Exclusive or W-Engine gap. Boopons do not either.
Buy the pack that covers the gap on BitTopup Zenless Zone Zero top up. Skip a larger pack "for later" if the banner ends today.
Common mistakes
Pity carries from agent to W-Engine
It does not. 80 Exclusive Channel searches do nothing for W-Engine Channel. Exclusive Rescreening is a third counter.
Budgeting 90 searches with no guarantee
On a regular Exclusive Channel, 90 searches only locks an S-Rank. Half of those S-Ranks are not the featured agent. Budget 180 unless guarantee is already on, or unless you are on Rescreening with Special Guarantee still unused.
Soft pity as a second hard pity
The rate rises after search 75. Search 89 can still miss. Save for 90 / 80.
Pulling the weapon first
A signature W-Engine without its agent is a paperweight. Take the agent (28,800 ceiling on Exclusive, 14,400 on Rescreening Special Guarantee), then decide on the engine.
Treating Inter-Knot as 9,000 Polychrome a month
The pass is 90 Polychrome a day plus 300 Monochrome on purchase. That is 3,000 per 30 login days.
Spending Encrypted Master Tapes on Stable Channel
You cannot. Stable Channel wants Master Tapes. W-Engine Channel wants Encrypted Master Tapes.
Optimizing currency through BitTopup
Best value packs
Official Monochrome tiers: 60, 300+30, 980+110, 1,980+260, 3,280+600, 6,480+1,600. Larger tiers cut the Monochrome-per-dollar price. First purchase of each tier pays the extra bonus once.
First-time bonus
Clear every tier once before you repeat a pack. The bonus is extra Monochrome, which you then convert 1:1.
Patch-week discounts
BitTopup runs sale pricing on the ZZZ catalog during version launches. Delivery is UID + server. No password.
Emergency calculator
Write the target (14,400 / 28,800 / 54,400, minus pity).
Add Polychrome + Monochrome + Encrypted Master Tapes × 160.
Buy the smallest pack that covers the remainder.
FAQ
How much Polychrome guarantees a limited agent? 28,800 Polychrome (180 Encrypted Master Tapes) on a regular Exclusive Channel if you lose the 50/50 and hit both hard pities. 14,400 if guarantee is already on, or if Exclusive Rescreening Special Guarantee is still available.
Worst-case for agent + weapon? 54,400 Polychrome (340 Encrypted Master Tapes) on regular Exclusive + W-Engine Channels from zero pity. Both boards use Encrypted Master Tapes.
Does pity carry between banner types? Exclusive Channel pity carries to the next Exclusive Channel. It does not move to Exclusive Rescreening, W-Engine, W-Engine Reverberation, Stable, or Bangboo.
How long does F2P take to save a guaranteed agent? About two regular 42-day patches at 12,000–17,000 Polychrome plus event tapes, starting from zero. A won 50/50 can land in one patch.
How does 50/50 work after Custom Search? First S-Rank on Exclusive Channel: 50% featured, 50% one of the 6 agents you listed. A loss guarantees the next Exclusive Channel S-Rank is featured.
Agent or weapon first? Agent first. The engine waits until that agent is in the account.
Do Encrypted Master Tapes work on W-Engine Channel? Yes. Exclusive, Rescreening, W-Engine, and Reverberation all spend Encrypted Master Tapes. Master Tapes stay on Stable Channel.
If the current board closes before your next Shiyu reset, cover the gap with a Zenless Zone Zero top up and convert Monochrome only when you are ready to search.
