Super Creative released a showcase video today (the 18th) ahead of the half-anniversary of its collectible deck-building RPG, 'Chaos Zero Nightmare.' The video features Live Director Choi Seung-hyun and Mr. Navi, who introduce the content and improvements for Season 3, which launches alongside the half-anniversary, as well as various online and offline events, including a collaboration cafe.

New Core Content Focused on Roguelike Gameplay: 'Sortie'

First, the update introduces 'Sortie,' a new mode that captures the essence of the roguelike genre. In 'Sortie,' the Captain and combatants venture directly into the Chaos, rather than just running simulations outside of the main story. Rewards are granted based on how far players explore in a single operation without save data.

The Sortie Chaos is divided into three zones: Outer, Central, and Deep, consisting of 9, 11, and 13 areas respectively. Unlike previous Chaos modes, waypoints cannot be used in Sortie, and players start with only one team member. The team size expands to two in the Outer zone, three in the Central zone, and up to four in the Deep zone. Players can rescue combatants they do not own within the Chaos and add them to their party; when doing so, they can choose one of three options to join the operation. Combatants not owned by the player receive stat adjustments based on the difficulty level.

At the start of a Sortie, the initially selected combatant and the first combatant encountered inside begin the run with four starting cards and a random 'Flash' card. The third combatant joins with a deck modified in various ways, such as having all basic cards removed or some cards duplicated. The fourth combatant cannot equip gear or use Ego Skills. Additionally, upon joining, players cannot acquire any unique cards for these characters beyond their two core cards.

The Sortie content is divided into five difficulty levels, up to 'Hell.' From Hell difficulty onwards, players can add extra penalties, which in turn increase the amount of rewards earned. A 'Hardcore' mode is also available for those seeking a greater challenge. In Hardcore mode, players must be careful, as reaching zero HP results in immediate incapacitation, skipping the 'Link Crash' mechanic.

Furthermore, Sortie operates under different rules than existing Chaos modes. For instance, the card duplication opportunity previously provided upon clearing a boss has been removed and is now available in certain 'Fate' and 'Unknown' areas. Fate cards can be acquired randomly after defeating elite monsters, and players can obtain powerful rare Fate cards through Sortie-exclusive 'Unidentified Areas' at the start of each act.

Sortie rewards include a new currency called 'Black Matter,' which can be exchanged for items to duplicate or remove cards within save data, or to edit 'Flash' items.

Reducing Fatigue with Chaos Battle Skips and Relaxed Great Rift Season Restrictions ↓

The developers also addressed the burden related to Chaos and save data management, which has been a frequent topic of discussion among players.

First, a feature to skip battles within Chaos using the new currency will be added. Instead of exploring step-by-step, the skip function analyzes possible choices and quickly follows the most efficient route, bypassing the need to manually open every Unidentified Area. Battles are also resolved automatically, allowing players to check results and rewards in a short time. This process is intended to reduce the fatigue associated with farming save data. However, since results are calculated based on the current party and settings, there is a risk of failure if the party composition is experimental or poorly optimized. The battle skip mode is available once per day.

Additionally, starting with the Season 3 Great Rift, save data restrictions will be relaxed. Previously, only the current season's save data could be used, but from Season 3, data from past seasons will also be usable. The 'Tower of Screams' will also transition from beta to its official version, requiring more stable team compositions that combine multiple factions rather than relying on a single faction's waves as before.

Turn limits will also be removed, allowing for the use of decks that were previously difficult to utilize, such as counter-attack decks. Especially from Area 101 onwards, players will challenge up to Area 150 with a single team, making well-rounded compositions that consider synergy and long-term endurance crucial.

Theme: Galaxy's Greatest Idol Concert and the Chaos Cult, Season 3 'Songs Resonating in the Galaxy'

The presentation continued with the concept of Season 3, 'Songs Resonating in the Galaxy,' and new combatants. The main plot of Season 3 revolves around the struggle to stop the Chaos Cult's conspiracy during the galaxy's greatest idol concert held on the Edenity, the hometown of Haru and Ray.

The new combatant is 'Heidemarie,' the honorary mayor of the Edenity. She is a 5-star Passion-attribute Ranger whose core mechanic is the new 'Link' card. 'Link' is a keyword where using one of the linked cards from the hand to move it to the graveyard also moves the linked card to the graveyard; when used with a 'discard' deck, it allows for aggressive attacks with minimal cost. She also possesses the 'Rest' keyword, which triggers follow-up attacks when cards are discarded, making her specialized in discard-based damage dealing. Furthermore, her key card 'Aurora Condensation' strengthens as the battle progresses, eventually evolving into 'Aurora Liberation' to deal massive damage. As a seasonal character, Heidemarie will not be added to the permanent recruitment pool after her pickup period.

'Adelheid,' who appeared in Season 1, will also return as a new combatant in the mid-season. The story follows various factions, including the Nightmare, visiting the 'Theater of Illusions'—a Chaos that bloomed near the Edenity's pioneer base—to investigate the Chaos Cult. As part of this, the 'Special Case Investigation Department' of the Justitia, the organization Adelheid belongs to and which investigated the Season 1 incident, will join the fray. Finally, the galactic idol 'Tenebria' will appear as a pickup character in the late stages of Season 3.

The Season 3 Chaos, 'Theater of Illusions,' is a new Chaos featuring the Chaos Cult as the main faction, involving a new god that has not appeared before. Along with new cards and mechanics, new Unidentified Areas have been added that provide the imprint effects of 'Persona' cards, which were revealed during the pre-season, further increasing card power.

5-Star Combatant and Partner Selection Tickets, Half-Year Anniversary Rewards, and Offline Events

Finally, events offering various rewards for the half-year anniversary of Chaos Zero Nightmare were introduced. A 10-day attendance event starting April 29 will grant Crystals, Prism Lenses, Rescue Anchors, and a 5-star combatant selection ticket and a partner selection ticket. Additionally, 10 free standard rescues will be provided daily for 7 days starting on the 29th. To ease the burden of rerolling for new users, a 'Selective Rescue' system will be available, allowing players to perform 10-pulls 20 times and choose the desired result. The character lineup for the Selective Rescue and selection tickets is limited to combatants available at the time of launch.

As teased in the previous pre-season broadcast, the collaboration cafe 'Nightmare Garden Tea Party' will open at Golden Crema in Hongdae from April 25 to May 5. Reservations will be handled via Naver, and the cafe will feature cosplayer events, special merchandise, and exclusive menu items.

Offline events will also be held globally. A collaboration with Kaiyen Cafe in Taiwan begins on April 22, with cafes opening at the Yongkang branch (April 22–May 24) and the Zhongxiao branch (May 6–June 7). In Japan, a collaboration with Reiji Cafe in Ikebukuro will run from April 22 to May 15, and a collaboration cafe with Animate will run for one month from April 22 to May 22. Participating Animate stores include Akihabara ANNEX, Kyoto Avanti, Sendai, and Osaka Nipponbashi, where merchandise such as pin badges, acrylic stands, and keyrings, as well as collaboration drinks and cookies, will be sold.

In addition to the collaboration cafes, a pop-up store will open at the AmiAmi Figure Tower in Akihabara from April 22 to May 5. The pop-up store will sell six types of merchandise, including acrylic diorama stands, character acrylic stands, acrylic blocks, pin badge sets, desk mats, and postcards. These items will be available for global online purchase later. The team also plans to participate in Anime Expo in Los Angeles this July to meet with North American users.

Meanwhile, the story overhaul is scheduled for July 8. Regarding this, Director Choi Seung-hyun explained, "Voice recording is currently in full swing, and we plan to bring it to you as soon as the recording is finished."

Other future development roadmap items include a text-based roguelike mode that allows for batch-processing Chaos runs, as well as a multiplayer mode. Further details on these will be shared via future developer notes.

The Season 3 and half-year anniversary update for Chaos Zero Nightmare will take place on April 29. Ahead of the update, a live broadcast on the 28th will showcase actual gameplay of the Sortie content and introduce Heidemarie's cards.