New areas like Waifei Peninsula, new factions, and enhanced gameplay mechanics in 2.0 are set to reshape Zenless Zone Zero ahead of its anniversary.
Zenless Zone Zero has almost reached the end of its first year and already, its developer HoYoverse is teasing several major updates coming to the game. All of these changes were discussed by developer Y in a dev blog released on YouTube on Tuesday (8 April):
New Areas: Waifei Peninsula, Failume Heights, Aerospace City
Large new exploreable areas are coming to the the game, including the Waifei Peninsula Heights, and the ruins of Aerospace city.
Waifei Peninsula
The story of Version 2.0 will revolve around a new area within Eridu named Waifei Peninsula, which was said to be a district within the Throne Quarter near the Lemnian Hollow, which is one of the original Hollows of the game.
Initially founded as a monitoring zone due to its proximity to the unstable Hollow, Waifei Peninsula derives its name from Cantonese characters meaning “protect” and “anomaly.”
After an outpost was established in the district, it became the city area called Failume Heights.
Failume Heights
Failum Heights is a cliffside city with scenic views and a high concentration of Porcelume—a valuable material resistant to Ether Corruption. The mining of Porcelume forms the backbone of the region’s economy, but hidden behind this industry lies a complex web of factions and secrets.
This is the setting where dangling plot threads from previous stories will be connected, including Sarah’s true plans behind the Sacrifice and Bringer incidents, some conspiracies behind the Exaltists and the biggest mystery of all—the truth behind the fall of the old capital and the secrets of the Phaeton siblings, which haven’t been revealed in the past year.
Lemnian Hollow and Aerospace City
The Lemnian Hollow has only ever been mentioned once in the game as a description from the HDD system—it’s located in “a considerable distance” from New Eridu, but is one of the most active of the six original Hollows—often giving trouble to the “residents nearby” through its Companion Hollows.
Based on the dev blog’s description then, Waifei Peninsula could be the residential area the HDD was referring to.
2.0 will allow exploration of this hollow, but specifically around the ruins of Aerospace City. Aerospace city is now a partially stable space in the Lemnian Hollow and the area is largely used for Porcelume production.
New Agents, characters, and factions
Yixuan
One of the central figures in Season 2 is Yixuan, the current head of Yunkui Summit, recognisable by her striking yellow cape. She takes on a prominent role as both a key character and a mentor. The main cast will learn about her backstory and eventually become disciples of Yunkui Summit, with Yixuan personally guiding them through Hollow expeditions.
Through Yixuan, the Proxy will “become a new disciple of the Yunkui Summit,” where she will guide the Proxy to “her craft” (which remains mysterious for now) and become their mentor.
Factions
Several major factions will either return or make their debut in Season 2, including:
- Obol Squad from the Defense Force
- Angels of Delusion, an idol group teased earlier
A new teaser trailer will also be revealed on 13 April.
Map enhancements & gameplay system adjustments
The map structure has been overhauled, integrating residential and combat areas for a more unified experience. Failume Heights in particular was designed to be larger so it’s more like a functional city—and large enough that it can still make room for potential expansions in the future.
A new dailies system aligned with the local culture of Failume Heights will be released, and there will also be a management simulation mini-game (or component?) which involves the Suibian Temple, where Proxies take on tasks to visually improve the area.
Travel and UI updates
The travel system now adopts a larger map format instead of the older slide and select method. Alongside this change are interface enhancements including:
- A mini-map
- Navigation tools
- Improved clarity of New Eridu’s geography
- Faster destination selection
Story Structure adjustments
The current separation between Special Episodes and Phaethon’s Story led to fragmentation in narrative pacing. These will now be merged to better connect Agent storylines with the main arc. Proxies will be more involved, and story updates will be provided in each version without sacrificing quality.
Combat and Agent improvements
Combat in Version 2.0 aims to address the dominance of DPS roles. Adjustments include:
- Enabling off-field contributions from Agents who are not the active character
- Providing visual indicators of combat participation from all squad members
- Introducing new enemy mechanics that require coordinated counter-strategies
- Enhancing overall character synergy in both mechanics and visuals
These changes aim to restore the tactical aspect of three-member squads and reduce reliance on single-character combat loops.
Improvements won’t end at combat level, as the devs hinted at working on “making more meaningful relationships” between the proxies and the Agents, and even “taking their bond to the next level.” Slice-of-life events such as dining at hotpot restaurants or visiting the cinema with Agents will also be made available in this version.
While the update sounds a bit like Stardew Valley with the opportunity to romance multiple Agents, how this might play out hasn’t been revealed by the devs.
Event design and new modes
Future updates will bring refined and expanded events, which will improve existing modes such as Grand Marcel Adventure and Bangboo vs Ethereal. Planned additions include:
- Casual Bangboo duels
- Controlling a giant Bangboo in battle
These updates seem pretty major for Zenless Zone Zero’s 2.0 release, and may even change the way the game is played. And while plenty of the things discussed here seem quite vague for now, more details will definitely drop closer to Zenless Zone Zero’s anniversary.