The long-awaited taste of cooperative multiplayer has finally arrived in HoYoverse's action RPG, Zenless Zone Zero. While the game's core mechanics have been meticulously crafted for a single-player experience, the developer is now taking its first major steps into shared gameplay with the introduction of a special event in Version 2.5. This new mode, Joint Investigation: The Divine Maze, serves as a critical trial run, allowing players to experience team-based combat and providing vital feedback for the future development of a more comprehensive co-op system in ZZZ. For now, this event is the sole gateway for Proxies to team up and tackle challenges together, marking a significant milestone for the live-service title.

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How to Access the Co-op Event

To dive into this new multiplayer experience, players must participate in the Joint Investigation: The Divine Maze event. It is not a permanent fixture of the game but a time-limited trial running from January 1, 2026, at 10:00 AM until January 22, 2026, at 03:59 AM (server time). This event is explicitly designed as a testing ground. Therefore, Proxies eager to see co-op flourish in Zenless Zone Zero are encouraged to participate and share their experiences with the developers.

Due to the global nature of the servers, the event's start and end times will vary:

  • Asia Server: First to get access, first to see the event conclude.

  • Europe Server: Follows the Asia server schedule.

  • America Server: The last to receive the event and the last for it to end.

Players should plan their co-op sessions accordingly, keeping their specific server time in mind.

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Team Composition and Core Mechanics Overhaul

The event requires a full team of three players to commence. In a significant shift from solo play, each participant controls a single Agent, chosen from a pool of nine available characters. This 1-player-to-1-Agent design fundamentally changes team dynamics and necessitates mechanical adaptations.

The most notable change is the introduction of the Chain Overdrive system, which replaces the traditional single-player Chain Attack. This new collaborative mechanic allows the entire team to unleash a synchronized assault. Chain Overdrive can be triggered under several conditions, promoting strategic coordination:

✅ Stunning the enemy

✅ Applying an Anomaly effect to the enemy

✅ Initiating the Chain Time state on the enemy

This system forces players to communicate and plan their actions to maximize damage windows, transforming combat from a solo spectacle into a coordinated team effort.

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Teamwork, Survival, and Revival Mechanics

True to its co-op nature, the Divine Maze event emphasizes teamwork beyond just dealing damage. The revival system is a prime example. If a teammate is defeated, other players can approach them to create a "healing link" and bring them back into the fight. The party also shares access to a special revival item that can expedite this process. However, if a teammate is not revived, they enter a spectator mode and must rely entirely on their surviving allies to complete the challenge. This adds a layer of tension and reinforces the importance of supporting one another.

The event is ultimately a test of teamwork, communication, and synchronicity. Success hinges on players paying attention to each other's status, coordinating Chain Overdrive triggers, and ensuring no one is left behind. It's a deliberate move by HoYoverse to gauge how well ZZZ's fast-paced combat can translate into a satisfying multiplayer format.

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The Future of Co-op in Zenless Zone Zero

The Joint Investigation event is clearly positioned as a foundational experiment. Player feedback from this 2.5 trial will be instrumental in shaping a more robust and potentially permanent co-op multiplayer system in future updates. While the current implementation is limited to this specific event, it demonstrates the developer's commitment to evolving the game based on community desires. For Proxies in 2026, this is the first real opportunity to experience New Eridu with friends, offering a thrilling glimpse into what a fully realized ZZZ co-op mode could eventually become. The event's success will likely determine the pace and scope of multiplayer integration in the game's long-term roadmap.