How to get free Polychromes in Zenless Zone Zero & fastest ways to farm them

Polychrome is the banner currency in Zenless Zone Zero that you need to pull for characters. Here is how you can earn Polychrome easily in the game.

Like Primogems in Genshin Impact and Stellar Jades in Honkai Star Rail, Polychrome is what you’ll be hunting for most of your hours in Zenless Zone Zero.

You’ll need 160 Polychrome to get either a Master Tape or Encrypted Master Tape for a single Signal Search in either the permanent banner or limited character banner, respectively.

There are some really easy ways to earn Polychrome, and you’ll be able to save up in no time. We have you covered if you’re wondering about the sources to earn them.

How to get free Polychrome

Here is how you can earn Polychrome for free in Zenless Zone Zero:

• Play the story: The story is divided into small sections and completing each of them will reward you with a set number of Polychrome. You can track your story progression from the main menu to check if you have something pending.
• Redeem codes: You’ll occasionally come across codes either during Zenless Zone Zero livestreams or events. While not all, livestream codes and certain others reward Polychrome. Make sure to grab them whenever possible as they tend to expire very quickly.
• Events: Similar to other HoYoverse titles, Zenless Zone Zero will also have events to participate in. Completing the tasks in the events will reward Polychrome.
• Errands: These are the daily missions in this game that you can complete for a fixed number of Polychrome. They are quite easy and reset daily, so make sure you get them done.
• Achievements: As you progress through the game, you’ll complete achievements. Depending on the difficulty of the achievement, you’ll be rewarded with Polychrome. You can earn 5, 10, or 20 Polychrome depending on the achievement. Make sure to claim them from the main menu.
• Chests: Zenless Zone Zero also features chests in the open world called Missing Mini Cargo Trucks. Opening them will reward you with Polychrome and other goodies. This is part of the exploration and is fairly easy.
• Hollow Zero: If you’re a fan of Elysian Realm in Honkai Impact 3rd or Simulated Universe in Honkai Star Rail, Hollow Zero is the mode for you. Complete challenges here and come out victorious to earn Polychrome.
• Shiyu Defense: This is an end-game mode in Zenless Zone Zero where you’ll receive Primogems upon clearing certain levels.
• S-rank Character Auditions: Every S-rank character in the game, whether permanent or limited, features trials called Character Auditions. In short, you can try out the characters before pulling for them. The permanent trials will stay forever, while limited trials keep changing depending on the banner. Each Character Audition rewards you with 20 Polychrome.
• Officer Mewmew: Once you complete the first part of the main story, you’ll come across Officer Mewmew, the police mascot. You can collect medals for the officer and receive Polychrome as rewards in return.
• Completing Trials: While you’re playing through the story in Zenless Zone Zero, you’ll come across various Trials. These are one-off tasks and completing them will reward Polychrome.
• Inter-Knot City level: This is basically your Adventure Rank in Zenless Zone Zero and you’ll receive Polychrome as you level up.

Fastest way to get Polychrome in Zenless Zone Zero

While the methods listed above are ways through which you can earn Polychrome free, some of them will take time. For instance, raising Inter-Knot City level or completing Shiyu Defense is not something you can do right away.

Here are some of the fastest ways you can earn Polychrome:

• Errands: Completing daily Errands takes very little time and this will be one of the fastest sources of Polychrome for you on a daily basis.
• Chests: Finding chests isn’t that hard, especially with New Eridu being closely packed. Simply roam around the city for a while and you’ll come across chests to open for Polychrome.
• Character Auditions: Character Auditions also take a few minutes to complete and they reward you 20 Polychrome on your first clear.
• Inter-Knot Membership: This is similar to Welkin Moon Blessing from Genshin Impact and you can purchase it for $5. This will reward you with 300 Monochrome right away and 90 Polychrome for 30 days.
• Monochrome Market: Finally, the fastest way to earn Polychrome is through the Monochrome Market. You can purchase Monochrome and convert it into Polychrome for banner pulls. There are a variety of packs available with the largest one being $100.

How to use Polychrome in Zenless Zone Zero

Polychrome can be used for the following purposes in the game:

• Convert to Encrypted Master Tape for limited banner pulls
• Convert to Master Tape for permanent banner pulls
• Purchase New Eridu City Fund levels (battle pass)
• Replenish Battery Charge

Among these, converting to Encrypted Master Tape is the most valuable, and that is the only thing you should be using Polychrome for. Limited banner pulls are rare, and you should always target them ahead of permanent characters.

You’ll earn Master Tape quite often from various sources, which means using Polychrome for those is a waste. In case you’re unaware, you’ll need 160 Polychrome for one Encrypted Master Tape or Master Tape. If you want to guarantee a 5-star unit, you’ll need 14,440 Polychrome, equivalent to 90 pulls.

The New Eridu City Fund levels are also not worth it, as you can upgrade it by simply playing the game. The most accessible sources of the battle pass levels are daily and weekly challenges. As long as you’re an active player, New Eridu City Fund levels will keep following naturally.

Finally, replenishing the Battery Charge is not worth it either, as it refreshes daily. There’s no need to waste your Polychrome unless you’re really trying to get materials or grind levels ASAP, but it’s usually better to put the game down and come back later.

If you’re looking to play Zenless Zone Zero, check out our guide on system requirements. For more on the game, check our guides for Zenless Zero codes, controller support, and pre-registration rewards.