Spotlight Showdown Event Guide for Zenless Zone Zero
The Spotlight Showdown Event is another HIA training event in Zenless Zone Zero. Find out how to participate, how to make it through each stage, and get the amazing rewards!
Spotlight Showdown Event
This event will take place during version 2.2 of the game from September 13, 2025 until September 29, 2025.
Spotlight Showdown Event Calendar for Zenless Zone Zero
What is the Spotlight Showdown Event About?
During this event you will have to participate in the HIA's newest event: Spotlight Showdown! You can experience different themed battles every day, with different mechanics, bosses, and difficulties.
How do you Participate in Spotlight Showdown?
In order to participate, you need to reach Inter-Knot Level 22 and unlock Expert Challenge in Chapter 2 of the Main Story to participate.
During the event, you can meet 
Cryboo Rowen on Sixth Street
and then head to the HIA Club to find Lyla. From there, you will gain access to
the new VR Challenge stages.
The VR Challenge consists of five Alliance stages, five Frontline stages, and three Special Offensive stages. A new themed stage will unlock each day. When you complete a themed Alliance stage, the corresponding Frontline stage will be unlocked. Meanwhile, the Special Offensive stages will gradually open over time.
Each stage introduces its own Tactical Buff mechanic, and those provide unique combat bonuses.
In Alliance and Frontline stages, you can choose from the trial Agents and Bangboo provided specifically for that stage, making sure you always have the right tools to approach the challenge. However, Special Offensive stages come with stricter rules: only Seed, Soldier 0 - Anby, and Astra Yao are available for these challenges. Do not worry if you do not own them, since trial versions of the required Agents will be provided for each stage.
Using the recommended trial Agents typically allows you to complete the stage rather smoothly, so we do recommend you take those, especially if you do not have those specific Agents. This also allows you to try out the new characters, such as Seed.
All the stage work mostly around Aftershock damage mechanics, so Seed, Soldier 0 - Anby, Astra Yao is really a good team. You can also use other Aftershock agents such as Trigger or Pulchra.
What are the Spotlight Showdown Rewards?
During the event, you can earn the following rewards:
- 350 Polychrome
- 20 Official Investigator Log
- 6 Senior Investigator Log
- 10 W-Engine Power Supply
- 16 Advanced Shock Chip
- 12 Bangboo System Widget
- 120 000 Denny
Changelog
- 13 Sep. 2025: Event guide updated.
- 23 Aug. 2025: Guide added.
Darrus Myles is a Narrative Designer and games writer specializing in RPGs, live-service games, and gameplay systems. A longtime HoYoverse fan, he spends most of his time in Zenless Zone Zero while keeping up with Honkai: Star Rail, though he'll never pass up an excuse to revisit Elden Ring or Baldur's Gate 3.
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