We’re just days from Zenless Zone Zero update 1.4, and the arrival of one of the anime gacha game’s most-wanted agents. But a new reveal from developer HoYoverse has everyone double-checking their Master Tape and Polychrome count as a promising upcomer looks set to make their debut in ZZZ 1.5. If you’re among the many planning your pulls for the next patch, you’ll definitely want to take a look at what’s ahead before you make any decisions.
The Zenless Zone Zero 1.4 release date is almost upon us, and there’s a lot of reasons to jump back into 2024’s best gacha game. ZZZ 1.4 finally brings the long-awaited arrival of Hoshimi Miyabi as a playable agent, one of the most-anticipated characters ever since her appearance right in the early hours of the story. We’re also going to get new ZZZ agent Harumasa for free, rounding out the HAND squad alongside recent arrival Yanagi and everyone’s favorite snack-loving demon Soukaku.
While many players – myself included – have been saving our Polychrome studiously for Miyabi’s arrival, those plans might have just been thrown into chaos. We had a good idea that the next group joining Zenless Zone Zero would be a squadron of stylish music idols, and it seemed reasonable to assume that at least one of them would employ the so-far underused Ether element, that’s now been confirmed with the official reveal of Astra Yao.
We got the briefest glimpse of Astra Yao at The Game Awards, but now we have some concrete details. She’s not only an Ether character, but also a support. That makes her only the third agent to use the Ether element alongside Nicole and Zhu Yuan, and while the support role might overlap with the former I could absolutely see a dual-support Zhu Yuan team making the rounds until more options come along.
“This next song is dedicated to the world,” Astra says in a new HoYoverse social post. “It’s too late! You’re now officially invited to join me on my one-day escape plan. I’m gonna ditch work, run away, and make my way to Reverb Arena. Every era needs an iconic artist, someone who bears the people’s aspirations of that era and brings them hope. Good evening, New Eridu! Are you ready? I’m about to hit you with some incredible magic.”
From the post, we can also see that her group looks to be known as the Stars of Lyra. I’m hopeful that more Ether-utilizing options are on the way. Eagle-eyed players will have already noticed plenty of teases for the new faction, as they pop up frequently on the in-game advertising boards found in places such as Lumina Square.
I’m already considering my options once again – I’ve had my eyes on Miyabi for a long while, and I don’t think I want to back down from those plans. Ice and Ether are easily the two elements I have the least coverage for, as I missed out on Ellen Joe and decided to prioritize Qingyi over Zhu Yuan in the early Zenless Zone Zero banners. But perhaps I’ll try to be frugal with how I use my ZZZ Polychrome over the holiday period in an attempt to start building out my Ether squad.
If you picked up Zhu Yuan early on, Astra Yao is likely to be high on the priority list. However, by the time she releases, we’ll likely also know who else is arriving alongside her, so you’ll have more information to make your decision. It might well affect people’s plans for 1.4, of course – “Why right after Miyabi, I can’t choose,” exclaims one of many exasperated commenters on the game’s Reddit page. But given ZZZ’s previous rollouts, there’s also a good chance Miyabi and Astra Yao will end up as a surprisingly synergistic pairing themselves.
The other question is what this means for Nicole – after all, fellow early starter Anby has largely taken a back seat to Qingyi in the Electric stun specialist role, although she does still remain a powerful budget option. With that said, Nicole’s ability to suck groups of enemies together and hold them in place while you shred them down will likely mean the pink-haired gunner still finds a specialist role for many types of content.
As for when we’ll see Astra Yao make her actual in-game appearance, it seems likely we won’t be waiting too long. A social media page for the star shared by HoYoverse reads, “The concert is in preparation, stay tuned (See you on January 22).” That would line up nicely with the current update cadence, suggesting that we’ll see ZZZ 1.5 arrive on Wednesday January 22 to introduce us to Stars of Lyra.
While we wait, check the latest Zenless Zone Zero tier list to help you earn as much currency as possible over the holiday season, and bolster that further by plugging in all active ZZZ codes to redeem additional free items and Denny.
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