What Are Combatants in Chaos Zero Nightmare? — Roles, Functions & Basics
In Chaos Zero Nightmare (CZN), Combatants are your frontline heroes — explorers who dive into the abyss to face the spreading threat known as the Chaos. Each Combatant wields unique powers and fighting styles, represented through ability cards that define how you command them in battle. Mastering these cards is the first step to becoming a true Captain of the Ark.
Type of Cards
Combatants fight using cards that determine their actions in battle. These cards fall under three main categories:
- Attack cards — Deal damage to one or multiple enemies. Great for clearing mobs or focusing bosses.
- Skill cards — Provide healing, shielding, buffs for allies, or debuffs for enemies.
- Upgrade cards — Temporarily boost allies for the rest of the battle, enhancing stats or effects.
Pro tip: Smart captains chain card types to maximize synergy — an upgrade before an attack can turn a regular hit into a devastating blow.
Classes of Combatants
Every Combatant belongs to a class that defines their battlefield role and stats. Knowing their strengths helps you form effective team compositions.
- Striker — Balanced offense and defense; reliable all-rounders.
- Vanguard — High durability; absorbs damage and protects allies.
- Ranger — Ranged specialists; lethal precision and burst potential.
- Hunter — Agile attackers that apply constant pressure.
- Psionic — Masters of enhancement; amplify allies or weaken foes.
- Controller — Manipulate action points (AP) and deck, dictating the pace of battle.
Each class has unique stat growth and can be paired with Partners of the same class for bonus synergy.
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Starting Cards
When you rescue a new Combatant, they come equipped with a starter deck — their base abilities before upgrades or discoveries:
- 3 basic cards — Simple attacks, heals, or shields without advanced effects.
- 1 signature card — A unique ability that defines the Combatant’s playstyle.
These serve as the foundation of every Combatant’s combat identity.
Combatant-Specific Cards
These are the signature skills that give each Combatant their flavor and mechanical depth.
They introduce special effects and interactions — like multi-turn buffs, weaken/ amplification, or combo attacks.
You can unlock and enhance these cards through Epiphany, a core progression feature of the Chaos that deepens your Combatant’s prowess through the means of save data.
Read more about Chaos Manifestation here:~ chaos guide TBA ~
Ego Skills
Ego Skills are a combatant’s signature ultimate attack — a powerful move that can completely shift the tides of battle. Each Ego Skill consumes Ego Points (EP), a special energy that fuels these high-impact abilities.
How to Gain EP?
Your EP gauge builds up through battle actions such as:
- Playing cards — every move fuels your resolve.
- Defeating monsters — triumph feeds your ego.
- Recovering from Mental Breakdown — rise stronger than before.
Mental Breakdown — Happens when a combatant’s stress maxes out — all cards cost 0 EP, but their effects turn unpredictable or harmful. Play those unstable cards to recover and regain control before chaos consumes your team. Recovery resets Ego skill and reduces its cost for the turn.
The maximum EP cap is 7, and each combatant or partner can unleash their Ego Skill once per battle.
Pro tip: Don’t just spam your Ego Skill — timing is everything. Use it to turn the tide, break enemy tenacity, or clutch a win when the odds are stacked against you.
Attribute
Every Combatant and enemy has an Attribute, a type-based system that affects damage output:
- Passion — Red flame symbol
- Justice — Blue scale symbol
- Order — Green crosshair symbol
- Instinct — Yellow eye symbol
- Void — Purple spiral symbol
Target enemies weak to your Combatant’s attribute to deal increased damage and break enemy Tenacity Bars faster — a key mechanic in high-level fights.
Potential
Each Combatant has a Potential Tree — their personal skill tree that enhances their cards and stats.
Use Growth Stones, obtained through Simulations, to unlock nodes and strengthen their overall power.
Investing in the right nodes can dramatically shift a Combatant’s role or efficiency in your lineup.
Manifesting Ego
Pulling duplicate Combatants grants Memory Stones, fragments of their will.
These stones unlock Battle Passives, further boosting their combat performance.
Each Combatant can manifest their Ego up to six times, turning duplicates into valuable progression rather than wasted pulls.
Memory Fragments
Memory Fragments are equip-able artifacts that enhance your Combatant’s stats and unlock set bonuses.
Each Combatant has six fragment slots (from leftmost to rightmost):
- Shock
- Suppression
- Denial
- Ideal
- Desire
- Imagination
Equipping multiple fragments from the same series activates set effects for extra power.
Fragments are primarily obtained through Simulations, so farming them is key to mid- and late-game optimization.
Final Tip from Tiertactix
Your Combatants aren’t just units — they’re the core of your strategy in Chaos Zero Nightmare.
Experiment with card synergies, attributes, and fragment builds to discover powerful combinations that fit your playstyle.
A skilled Captain knows it’s not about having every 5★ — it’s about mastering the ones you command.