Zenless Zone Zero: Impaired Mechanics Guide

Have you ever had that moment in battle when the boss is just a sliver of health away from defeat, but its daze bar mercilessly resets? You wish a star would fall from the sky to finish it off, yet can only watch the countdown timer slowly pass the time limit.

If you had destroyed its other leg earlier, I believe you would have cleared it in time. This article is here to help you fully understand "Impaired mechanics". Trust me, if you read through this guide, you will gain valuable knowledge.

Before we begin, let me ask a question: Do you think "Impaired" is triggered by the number of hits a body part takes, or by the total damage it receives?

Let's design a controlled experiment:

If Ellen with her Exclusive W-Engine equipped triggers "Impaired" faster than Ellen without it when attacking simultaneously, then it's related to hit counts. Otherwise, it's damage-based.

After multiple trials, we observed that Ellen with Exclusive W-Engine consistently triggered "Impaired" first every single time. This proves the mechanic is triggered by reaching a fixed damage threshold.

1. What is "Impaired" in Zenless Zone Zero?

What is "Impaired"? The official description provides three key points:

1. Trigger condition - Inflict sustained damage to specific body parts;
2. Applicable enemies - Machine-type bosses with Impaired mechanics;
3. Core purpose - A designer-implemented reward mechanism for targeted attacks to expedite combat resolution.

However, these definitions neither quantitatively specify the damage threshold required to trigger Impaired, nor fully qualify which enemies possess this mechanism. This guide will systematically dissect Impaired mechanics through an effects-trigger framework across various enemy types.

2. Which enemies in Zenless Zone Zero have Impaired mechanics?

Enemies with Impaired mechanics fall into two categories:

Bosses where triggering Impaired reduces HP and accumulates Daze buildups, including:

Armored Ethereals/Soldiers whose Part Break does not directly reduce HP but provides combat rewards (e.g. removing enemy damage reduction), such as:

3. What visual/audio effects occur when triggering Impaired?

The first type of "Impaired" triggers crack propagation VFX with electrical arcing, accompanied by full-body convulsions of the enemy.

The second type (seen in Farbauti/Armored Hati) has subtler effects: crystalline shedding effects (like "Ether Crystals debris") during attack interruption.

Both types grant "+20 Decibels Value" with clear "Impaired" UI prompts below the Decibels. This demonstrates Impaired's prominent feedback loop. The following sections will detail Impaired mechanics by enemy category.

3.1 Quadruped Machine-type Enemies - Friday, Hans, etc.

When engaging these enemies, you must continuously attack their first leg until accumulated damage reaches 10% of their total HP to trigger the first Impaired. Successfully breaking a part directly deducts 5% HP and applies ~8% Daze value. This effectively amplifies all damage dealt to the first leg by 1.5x, matching the damage multiplier of baseline Daze states without additional vulnerability bonuses.

However, breaking the second leg requires 15% total HP worth of damage, increasing to 20% for the third break. Most enemies die before reaching a fourth break. Crucially, each break permanently deducts 5% HP regardless of sequence. Legs that have been broken display visual distortion effects and become immune to further Impaired triggers.

Players often ask:

a. "Does Daze multiplier affect Impaired?"

b. "Does entering Daze state reset accumulated Impaired HP?"

c. "Can Anomaly damage trigger Impaired?"

The answer lies in combat targeting logic: When attacking bosses, we prioritize legs to accumulate Impaired HP, but during Daze state the lock-on shifts to the enemy's main body. This reveals a critical mechanic: Attacking legs during Daze cannot accumulate Impaired HP (no break triggers).

Furthermore:

a. Daze state does not reset pre-accumulated Impaired HP.

b. Anomaly damage bypasses localized damage calculation, thus cannot contribute to Impaired.

3.2 Impaired Mechanics of Unknown Corruption Complex

The Unknown Corruption Complex has six legs with homogeneous mechanics, but three critical features require attention:

1. Impaired deducts 4% HP per trigger (vs standard 5%).

2. During Daze state, a destructible core emerges. Dealing 6% max HP damage triggers Impaired, dealing 8% HP burst damage. This damage ignores Daze vulnerability multipliers (e.g. Qingyi's Agent buffs) and the core can be destroyed during each Daze state.

3. The enemy has two phases, each phase containing six breakable legs.

3.3 Impaired Mechanics of Rampant Brute

While previous mechanical bosses favor Direct Damage dealers, Rampant Brute is designed for Anomaly Agents. This enemy grants itself Enhanced State (50% Damage Reduction & Daze Resistance) alongside Shock status.

Applying Anomaly effects to trigger Disorder removes both Shock and Enhanced State. Triggering Disorder twice inflicts 8% max HP Part Break damage, which ignores Daze multipliers.

3.4 Impaired Mechanics of Armored Hati

Next is the second enemy type: Armored Hati. Its armor provides 50% Damage Reduction and 50% Daze Resistance. The armor only breaks when its HP drops below 70% - dealing direct damage is equivalent to attacking 0.3 Hati units' worth of HP.

However, there's an alternative break method: Assist. Accumulating three Assists will destroy the armor. Notably, these two armor-breaking mechanics interact dynamically. Combat testing shows that every 10% HP lost reduces the required Assists by 1.

This design significantly benefits players, as waiting for enemy attacks would drastically slow combat pacing. It reflects Zenless Zone Zero's core philosophy: prioritizing fast-paced, exhilarating combat.

3.5 Impaired Mechanics of Farbauti

Farbauti's destructible parts are both arms. Testing shows that when a single arm takes 15% of its max HP in damage, the arm is destroyed. There are no distinct visual changes before/after destruction, and each arm can only be destroyed once.

So what combat benefits does this Impaired provide? Unfortunately, destroying Farbauti's arms only grants 20 Decibels and inflicts a brief stagger.

We've covered most key points, but testing revealed an issue: For Nicole, Zhu Yuan, and Billy, triggering Impaired is significantly harder compared to Ellen and Qingyi. After thorough analysis, we discovered the cause: These characters use Piercing-type attacks - when striking a leg, their damage registration points often land on the monster's body or the opposite leg. This makes Slash-type characters more effective against multi-registration-point enemies.

Through this analysis, we hope you've gained deeper insight into Impaired Mechanics. The current Deadly Assault event features Unknown Corruption Complex, where these strategies will help you achieve higher scores. Stay tuned for more Zenless Zone Zero updates and new official merchandises!