Chaos Zero Nightmare: The Half-Anniversary Guide

Chaos Zero Nightmare has officially hit its six-month milestone, and to mark the occasion, developer Super Creative and publisher Smilegate have delivered one of the most substantial updates since launch. The half-anniversary showcase revealed a packed roadmap: a brand-new roguelite mode called Sortie, the arrival of Season 3 "A Song Rippling Through the Stars," an array of free rewards, and a host of quality-of-life improvements aimed squarely at reducing the grind that long-time players have been vocal about .

Here is everything you need to know about the half-anniversary update, dropping on April 29.

Half-Anniversary Rewards

The half-anniversary event is generous, especially for a game only six months old. Here is the rewards checklist broken down cleanly.

Free 5-Star Selectors

A 10-day attendance event starting April 29 will grant players a 5-Star Combatant Selector Ticket and a 5-Star Partner Selector Ticket. These are available simply for logging in over the event period.

Important note: The selector pool is limited to combatants and partners that were available at the game's launch. Characters added in later patches—such as Mine, Teferah, or Rita—are not included. This makes it an excellent opportunity for veteran players to fill lingering gaps in their original roster, while newcomers can secure a strong starter without relying on luck.

70 Free Pulls on the Standard Banner

In addition to the selectors, players receive 70 free pulls on the standard banner. A new 200-pull selector mechanic is also being added to the standard banner, with the pool including all non-limited standard characters up to Diana's release (Sereniel excluded) [user-provided second article]. If you are a returning player, it is advisable to hold these pulls until the new selector system is active to maximize value.

Selective Summon

The update introduces a Selective Summon feature, a system originally seen in Epic Seven. Players can perform 20 ten-pulls on a special banner and choose their preferred result from among all 20 multis. The five-star rate is boosted during this banner, and it serves as a powerful one-time tool for new accounts to secure a desired starting character or for veterans to hunt a specific missing unit [user-provided first article].

Coupon Code and Extra Crystals

The limited-time coupon

CZN0418ARISE

grants 1,000 Crystals and is redeemable until June 30, 2026 [user-provided second and third articles]. Combined with fixed half-anniversary events, total available Crystals exceed 6,000 during the celebration period.

Season 3: A Song Rippling Through the Stars

Story and Setting

The third chapter of the Galactic Disaster storyline places the SS Nightmare crew in an unexpected setting: a massive idol concert. Their mission is to provide security for a major Stella Stage performance, but things quickly spiral as the hidden schemes of the Chaos Order and their god turn the event into the trigger for a much larger and more dangerous conflict [user-provided third article].

The new base of operations is SS Edenity, which serves as the hub for Season 3 missions and narrative arcs. The new Chaos dungeon this season is the Theater of Illusions, a location that doubles as both a stage for critical story events and a battleground where the crew confronts the Chaos Order directly [user-provided third article].

New Combatants

Heidemarie (5-Star Passion Ranger)is the half-anniversary limited combatant and the face of Season 3. Her core mechanic revolves around two keywords:"Link"and"Repose".

• Link: When you play one linked card, all other cards in that link are discarded to the Discard Pile. This is a trade-off—you only get to use one of the bunch, but it accelerates your discard engine significantly.
• Repose: Discarded cards automatically trigger an attack effect and cannot return to your hand that turn, turning what would normally be a loss into bonus damage.

Her gameplay loop centers on playing Sword cards to trigger discards, chaining into additional attacks. Her finishing move, Liberation Aurora, scales its damage based on the total number of Sword cards discarded during the battle. This makes her a high-ceiling character best suited for players who enjoy intricate deck cycling rather than straightforward burst rotations.

Heidemarie also synergizes well with Diene, whose cards feature the Quietest keyword. This connection is likely why Diene's banner was extended—her cards can grab Heidemarie's and activate them for free [user-provided first article].

Heidemarie is a limited seasonal character, meaning she will not be added to the permanent pool after her pickup period ends. Her partner, Sylvia, was also revealed during the showcase, though details of her role and their shared backstory remain a mystery to be unraveled through the story [user-provided third article].

Adelheid, the child who first appeared alongside Yuki and Amir in Season 1, returns as the second banner character of Season 3. She is a central figure in the season's narrative arc .

Tenebria, a character familiar to Epic Seven players, arrives as the final Season 3 combatant. She also brings a rhythm mini-game to this season, adding variety to the content mix [user-provided first article].

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Sortie: A True Roguelite Experience

What Makes Sortie Different

Sortie represents the most significant gameplay shift since launch. Super Creative designed it as a direct response to player feedback about repetitive save-data grinding and the narrowing of build diversity over time .

The key structural differences are:

• No save data: Sortie runs do not carry over progression. Each operation is self-contained, and rewards are granted purely based on how far you explore in a single run .
• Start with one combatant: You begin with a single combatant of your choice. The team expands to two in the Outer zone, three in the Central zone, and up to four in the Deep zone .
• Random recruitment: At specific points, you can rescue and add combatants to your party, including those you do not own. You choose from one of three options each time .
• Modified decks for late joiners: The third combatant comes with a pre-modified deck (basic cards removed or duplicated), while the fourth cannot equip gear or use Ego Skills and is limited to two core cards—functioning more as a support role .

The Sortie Chaos Structure

The Sortie Chaos is divided into three zones: Outer (9 areas), Central (11 areas), and Deep (13 areas). Unlike Chaos Manifestation, waypoints cannot be used, making pathing decisions matter significantly .

Fate System Rework

Faiths—the bonuses normally chosen at the start of a Chaos run—have been completely overhauled for Sortie and are far more impactful. Boss fights no longer grant guaranteed card duplication; instead, card duplication chances are now tied to specific Fates, and additional ones can be acquired by tackling elite enemies. Certain Fate cards can also be obtained through Sortie-exclusive Unidentified Zones at the start of each act .

Some Fates in Sortie go beyond simple stat bonuses and may alter core rules or enhance specific combatant mechanics, making each run feel meaningfully distinct in build direction .

Difficulty Options

Sortie launches with five difficulty tiers, with the highest being Difficulty 5, named Hell. From Hell difficulty onward, players can stack additional penalty modifiers for increased rewards, similar to the Nebula Distortion system .

A Hardcore Mode is also available. In this mode, reaching zero HP results in immediate incapacitation, completely bypassing the Link Crash mechanic. For players accustomed to Great Rift or Nebula Distortion, this does not drastically increase difficulty, but it does eliminate the safety net that Link Crash provided and makes combat more tense overall .

Sortie Rewards: Black Matter

Clearing Sortie grants a new currency called Black Matter, which can be exchanged for items in the Supply Store. These tools allow players to duplicate, remove, change, or upgrade cards to Divine Epiphanies within their save data . This system is designed to make crafting optimized decks for end-game content significantly easier without requiring dozens of repeated Chaos runs.

Quality of Life Changes

Chaos Battle Skip

Perhaps the most directly impactful change for daily players is the Battle Skip feature. Available once per day for free, the system pre-analyzes the floor layout of a Chaos dungeon, automatically chooses the most efficient route, and resolves all combat encounters automatically .

The outcomes are calculated based on your party composition, stats, and chosen settings, so there is a tangible risk of failure if the party is experimental or the configuration is unreasonable—this is not a simple sweep function. However, for well-established setups, it dramatically cuts down the time required for daily farming. Animations between screens are also trimmed, further speeding up the process [user-provided first article].

Great Rift Season Restrictions Lifted

Starting with Season 3, seasonal save data restrictions for the Great Rift have been removed. Previously, only the current season's save data could be used. Now, data from past seasons is usable indefinitely, meaning a favorite deck crafted in Season 1 or Season 2 can be brought into Season 3's Great Rift without any loss in viability . This makes it significantly easier for players who prefer a particular deck or who cannot invest time in re-farming every season.

Spiral Tower of Screams – Full Release

The Spiral Tower of Screams transitions from its beta phase to its full official version alongside the April 29 update. This 150-floor tower gauntlet is an end-game mode where players challenge increasingly difficult waves of enemies. From floors 101 to 150, players must clear with the same three combatants, making well-rounded team compositions that account for synergies and sustain essential [user-provided third article].

Notable mechanics include universal attribute weakness on all enemies—meaning any combatant can deal effective damage—and the removal of turn limits, which opens the door for defensive and counter-attack strategies that were previously less viable in time-pressured modes . Players who clear Floor 150 with their favorite character will earn an exclusive cosmetic sticker to show off the achievement.

Offline Events and Community Engagement

Smilegate is complementing the in-game festivities with a series of offline events across multiple regions.

The Nightmare Garden Tea Party collaboration cafe opens at Golden Crema in Hongdae, Korea, from April 25 to May 5, featuring cosplayer events, themed dessert sets, and exclusive merchandise including acrylic stands, key holders, desk mats, and pin badges .

In Asia, additional collaboration cafes are running in Taiwan (Kaiyen Cafe, various branches from April 22 through June 7) and Japan (Reiji Cafe in Ikebukuro and Animate stores in Akihabara, Kyoto, Sendai, and Osaka Nipponbashi between April 22 and May 22) .

For North American players, Smilegate has confirmed plans to participate in Anime Expo in Los Angeles in July, providing an opportunity to meet other players and score exclusive merchandise .

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Final Thoughts

Chaos Zero Nightmare has taken clear and concrete steps in its first six months. The half-anniversary update signals that Super Creative and Smilegate are listening—Sortie exists because players asked for less grind and more build diversity, and the quality-of-life changes directly target the fatigue that can set in with any gacha-adjacent game.

Whether you are here for the dark painterly art style, the strategic deck-building, or simply because you followed the team's work on Epic Seven, this is an excellent window to engage with the game. The rewards are generous, the new mode is meaningful, and the trajectory looks promising.