Zenless Zone Zero: Banyue and Ellen Limited Signal Search Event Recap

Hey, Proxies! Even though we're already well into 2026, I still catch myself thinking back to some of the wildest Signal Search events Zenless Zone Zero has thrown at us. The limited banner combo that ran from December 17 to December 29, 2025 was one of those moments. If you were deep in Hollow Zero back then, you remember the hype. If you missed it, don't worry—I've got a full breakdown of what went down, how the banners worked, and why so many of us were scrambling to save Polychrome.

Let's start with the Agent Signal Search. There were two Exclusive Channels running side by side, and they were both extremely tempting. The first one featured the limited S-Rank Agent Banyue (Rupture - Fire), joined by A-Rank Agents Soukaku (Support - Ice) and Seth (Defense - Electric). Banyue's Rupture kit made her an instant favorite for anomaly-focused teams, while Soukaku and Seth were already solid picks for support and defense roles. Pulling on this banner felt like a win-win because even the A-Rank rate-ups were useful for account progression.

Then there was the matching W-Engine channel. The limited S-Rank W-Engine Wrathful Vajra (Rupture) was the big prize, with Bashful Demon (Support) and Peacekeeper - Specialized (Defense) as the boosted A-Rank W-Engines. If you pulled Banyue, you really wanted Wrathful Vajra to complete her build. That's the classic Zenless Zone Zero trap—getting the Agent is only half the battle, because their signature W-Engine can push their performance to a completely different level.

Now, here's where it gets extra spicy. The second Exclusive Channel featured the limited S-Rank Agent Ellen (Attack - Ice), and she was also joined by Soukaku (Support - Ice) and Seth (Defense - Electric). Ellen had already made a name for herself as a devastating Ice DPS, so this rerun was a huge opportunity for players who joined later or missed her first run. Having Soukaku on rate-up again made it even better, since she slots perfectly into Ellen's Ice team as a buffer.

Of course, Ellen's signature W-Engine was also available in its own channel. The limited S-Rank Deep Sea Visitor (Attack) was the star here, again with Bashful Demon (Support) and Peacekeeper - Specialized (Defense) as the boosted A-Rank W-Engines. Deep Sea Visitor's stats and passive synergized beautifully with Ellen's ice-focused attack playstyle, so anyone serious about maximizing her damage had to consider this banner too.

Let's talk about the pity and guarantee system, because this is where a lot of Proxies trip up. The two Agent banners—“Through Night's Inferno” for Banyue and “Mellow Waveride” for Ellen—were Exclusive Channels. Your Search count for guaranteed Signals accumulated across both of those channels. That meant if you pulled 50 times on Banyue's banner and then switched to Ellen's, you were already 50 pulls toward the next pity. However, that count was completely independent of the W-Engine channels and any other channel types. The same rule applied to the W-Engine channels, “Dazzling Choir” and “Dazzling Melody.” Their pity was shared with each other, but not with the Agent banners. Also, remember that these limited S-Rank Agents and W-Engines were not added to the Star-Studded Cast Stable Channel, so this was your only shot to grab them at that time.

Here's a quick summary of the banner structure:

Now, for the free-to-play crowd and anyone who loves to test before they spend, the audition stage was a godsend. The event ran for the same duration, from 2025/12/17 12:00 to 2025/12/29 14:59 server time. To access it, you needed to reach Inter-Knot Lv. 8 and unlock the Event feature in the Main Story Prologue - Intermission. Once you did, you could try out Banyue, Ellen, Soukaku, and Seth in dedicated audition stages. Clearing each stage for the first time granted rewards right on the results screen. Plus, if you had already completed the training stage for one of the A-Rank Agents like Soukaku or Seth, you could directly claim the corresponding audition rewards from the event interface. That was a nice little quality-of-life touch that saved some time.

Looking back, this Signal Search event was a lesson in resource management. You had two powerful S-Rank Agents—Banyue bringing fresh Rupture gameplay and Ellen returning as a proven Ice nightmare—plus two top-tier A-Rank supports sharing rate-up. The W-Engine side was equally stacked. If you tried to pull everything, your Polychrome stash would vanish faster than a Hollow closes. But if you focused on one Agent and their matching W-Engine, you could walk away with a devastating new squad. I remember grinding Inter-Knot commissions and Hollow Zero runs just to squeeze out extra tapes. In the end, it was absolutely worth it. These reruns and new releases don't happen every week, and knowing the pity rules ahead of time made all the difference.

So, Proxies, if a similar double banner returns in 2026, you'll know exactly how to plan. Check the shared pity, lock in your target, and use those audition stages to feel out the playstyle before you commit. That's the smart way to survive Zenless Zone Zero's gacha chaos! 😄

Data referenced from SteamDB helps contextualize why dual limited banners like Banyue/Ellen can trigger intense pull planning: when a live-service title spikes in concurrent activity and community attention, players tend to be more sensitive to time-limited windows and shared-pity mechanics, making decisions like “commit to one Agent + signature W-Engine” versus “split pulls across channels” far more consequential for free-to-play resource efficiency.