Zenless Zone Zero’s Version 3.2 pinball event turns Kahkiboo’s workshop project into a full minigame, and Day 1 opens with four Woodlands stages, one boss fight, and a Challenge Mode run. Clearing that opening block takes roughly fifteen minutes and pays out the first chunk of the event’s 800 Polychromes, plus progress toward a free Angels of Delusion outfit.
Quick answer: Head to Chic Bootique on Gear Street, talk to Kahkiboo, then clear Woodlands (I) through (IV) and Boss: Trial of the Forbidden Woods in Mission Mode. Finish with Challenge: Trial of the Forbidden Woods to bank 350 Polychromes and the “Whispered Star” Proxy accessory.
Unlock requirements and event window
The event is gated behind early story progress rather than combat power, so most active accounts can jump in immediately. The pinball machine itself does not use your Agents in combat, which means underleveled rosters are not a barrier.
| Detail | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Event window | 2026/09/10 10:00 – 2026/10/19 03:59 (server time) |
| Account level | Inter-Knot Lv. 20 or higher |
| Story progress | Main Story Chapter 1 – Intermission completed |
| Recommended | Season 3 Chapter 2, “The Long Goodbye” |
| Starting point | Chic Bootique, Gear Street (speak to Kahkiboo) |
Note: The Chapter 3 Season 2 recommendation is only about story spoilers and context. It does not lock any stage or reward.
How the pinball table works
Every stage is a tower-defense spin on pinball. Enemies advance down the table toward your base, and the only way to kill them is to hit them with the ball. You launch by dragging backward and releasing, then the flippers keep the ball alive as it bounces between bumpers and enemy ranks.
Each pinball builds skill energy as it collides with things. Once the meter fills, you can fire that ball’s active skill manually. Collecting stars or letting energy build also triggers Rush Time, which speeds the ball up and generates energy faster, so it is the window where most of your damage lands.
Stage mechanisms change the math from stage to stage. Woodlands (II) introduces Detonation Units that chain damage across clustered enemies, while Woodlands (IV) adds Charge Lasers that fire along fixed lanes. Aiming the ball into those hazards clears waves far faster than raw collisions.
Day 1 walkthrough: Woodlands stages and the Forbidden Woods boss
Aesthetic Force and Starlight Mini skills
Both Day 1 pinballs unlock on September 10, and both gain a talent after their first clears. The difference is simple. One spreads damage across the field, the other deletes a single priority target.
| Pinball | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Aesthetic Force (AoE DMG) | Active skill rains meteors on every surviving enemy, dealing field-wide damage and stunning for 3s. Passive: after each flipper launch, the first enemy collision deals one instance of AoE damage. Talent: every enemy collision deals AoE damage. |
| Starlight Mini (Burst) | Active skill summons Crimson Star Lightning to strike the highest-HP enemy four times; leftover strikes transfer if the target dies early. Passive: after each flipper launch, the first collision adds lightning damage. Talent: every collision adds lightning damage. |
Day 1 rewards and Polychrome totals
Day 1’s Mission Mode block is filed under “First Steps Into the Wild,” and Challenge Mode pays separately. Together they account for 350 of the event’s Polychromes.
| Source | Rewards |
|---|---|
| First Steps Into the Wild (Day 1) | 150 Polychrome, 6 Senior Investigator Log, 3 W-Engine Energy Module, 20 Original Chip, 50,000 Denny |
| Challenge Mode | 200 Polychrome, 8 W-Engine Energy Module, 40,000 Denny |
| Full event total | 800 Polychrome, 240,000 Denny, 24 Senior Investigator Log, 20 W-Engine Energy Module, 80 Original Chip, 1 Hamster Cage Pass |
| Battle Pass | 1,600 City Fund EXP for completing all event stages |
Day 1 also drops the “Whispered Star” Proxy accessory. Additional accessories, including “Meow Top Hat,” “Tartan Fairytale,” “Silvermoon Ornament,” “Pale Night Messenger,” and “Adventure Journal,” come from later commissions and stages. The Hamster Cage Pass specifically requires finishing every Mission Mode stage, not just Day 1’s.
How to claim the free Angels of Delusion skin
Completing Challenge Mode in the event unlocks a free Angels of Delusion outfit of your choice. You pick one of three, and the choice is yours to make once the requirement clears.
- Nangong Yu — Heartfelt Support
- Aria — Cuteness Loading
- Sunna — Delusions in Business
You will know it worked when the selection prompt appears and the outfit lands in the Agent’s wardrobe, where it can be equipped like any other skin. A second outfit from the same set is available through the separate Surprise Screening Plan check-in event, so it is possible to end 3.2 with two of the three for free.
If Day 1 stages won’t start
There are only a few reasons the event refuses to open. Check them in this order before assuming something is broken.
- Your account is below Inter-Knot Lv. 20.
- Main Story Chapter 1 – Intermission is unfinished.
- You are trying to enter before 10:00 server time on the start date.
- No pinball is slotted in the Stage Mechanisms panel.
- You are looking for a Challenge Mode stage whose Mission Mode counterpart has not been cleared yet — each one unlocks only after its matching mission.
The remaining three themed areas open on a daily schedule after Woodlands: Deepwaters with Hidden Abyssal Realm on September 11, Wild Dunes with Wild Wastelands on September 12, and Fort Draco with Dragon of Purgatory on September 13. Each day also adds two more pinballs, starting with Crimson Blade Phantom and Piercing Cold, so the Woodlands run doubles as practice for a table that keeps getting more crowded.
