Fishing minigames are becoming a ubiquitous addition to almost every genre. NowZenless Zone Zerohas one with the Elpis Ultimate Angler Championship, one of the more rewarding mid-update events the game’s yet seen. Here’s how to complete every part of the event.
How to Start the Elpis Ultimate Angler Championship
If you’re a newer player toZenless Zone Zero, it will take you at least a few days to unlock access to the Elpis Ultimate Angler Championship. To access the event, you need to be at Inter-Knot level 23 and have completed Chapter 2 – Intermission. Getting at least that far will see you introduced to Qingyi of Public Security.
Reaching Inter-Knot level 23 requires you to get through several level gates at earlier Inter-Knot levels, a process that’s liable to take at least a couple of real-world days. That’s not counting the length of the story missions themselves, which add at least a dozen hours or so of content to experience.
Once you’ve met the prerequisites, starting the Elpis Ultimate Angler Championship is easy. Head to the noodle shop on Sixth Street and meet with Qingyi nearby. She’ll kindly “request” the Phaethon twins’ presence at the fishing competition, and you’re able to head there immediately or whenever is convenient for you.
Qingyi will be near the docks once the time comes. She’ll introduce you to the staff running the competition and her ulterior motive for coming: catching art thieves moving stolen goods by sea.
Of course, you’re there to help and enjoy some fun fishing times while you’re at it.
How to Fish in the Elpis Ultimate Angler Championship
The fishing mechanics inZenless Zone Zeroare pretty straightforward. The process works as follows:
Mash or hold enough to deplete the fish’s Stamina gauge at the top of the screen. The more blue than orange is on the gauge, the closer you are to catching the fish. Should you not press the button correctly, the fish will gain some more gauge back, but once the bar is completely blue, you’ll catch the fish.
Additional mechanics become available as you progress through the main story. They include:
As you gain Angler Points by completing the story and side content in the Elpis Ultimate Angler Championship, you’ll get additional buffs to your fishing ability, between the amount of ATK power you can field against the fish to increasing your stamina so you can reel in longer.
How to Complete the Ridu Fishing Festival Commission
The main story quest of the Elpis Ultimate Angler Championship is spread across three commissions: Ridu Fishing Festival, Trush Beneath the Water, and Elpis Ultimate Angler. While fishing is central to completing it, Hollow exploration and combat are just as important. After speaking to Qingyi at Port Elpis, you’ll receive a brief tutorial on fishing; then, you need to participate in an introductory match to officially enter the competition.
Specifically, you need to place in the top three competitors to advance. In my run, I needed to catch two fish within the time limit to top the leaderboard. I would still have placed second or third with just one fish, though. You’re automatically placed at the top of your current score bracket whenever you get a point during the competition. If the top competitor has one point and then you score a point, you’ll be placed ahead of them, and so on.
After competing in the pre-tournament match, you’ll need to delve into a Hollow for some combat challenges. You can bring whatever team works best for you, and if you don’t already have her, Qingyi is also available as a trial character. The order of operations in the Hollow is as follows:
After all that is done, you may head back to Port Elpis and begin the Elpis Ultimate Angler Championship in earnest. Then, you can start doing the side stories called Port Anecdotes.
How to Complete the Truth Beneath the Water
Once you complete the first part of the Elpis Ultimate Angler Championship story quest, wait an in-game day and return to Port Elpis, where you’ll chat with Qingyi again. The official tournament qualifiers are here, and they’re a two-round, two-person team affair. You and Qingyi will work together, and you need to be in the top two teams to advance.
In my experience, Qingyi only nets one or two fish for either 90-second round, so you’ll still be doing the bulk of the work. Winning the Elpis Ultimate Angler Championship qualifiers is more of the same as the show match at the beginning of the story quest. Follow these tips, and you should be golden:
There is a brief narrative intermission between the first and second rounds, with some drama about a fish disruptor in the water. As far as how many fish youneedto catch, my toughest opponents in both matches only caught no more than three fish, so the minimum you should shoot for is three of your own.
After the qualifiers, you’ll be headed back into a Hollow for more investigation. The steps to complete the delve are as follows:
How to Complete the Signal Lights Challenge
The signal lights puzzle is very straightforward. You’ll see a small traffic signal with three colored lights near a console with colored squares that alternate between those three colors.
Your job is to interact with the console when it flashes on the proper color. This first challenge asks for green, then blue, then blue again. The second challenge, a bit later in the mission, asks for green, then blue, then yellow.
Once you solve the first signal light challenge, a yellow cargo container containing an objective crate and another Mini Cargo Truck will roll in. Interact with both, and then head through the spatial fissure behind you. In the new area:
With the final box collected, you’ll head back to Port Elpis. Speak to all the characters, and last with Qingyi to prepare for the next and final chapter.
How to Complete Elpis Ultimate Angler
The time has come for the last two rounds of the Elpis Ultimate Angler Championship and the final Hollow investigation. Speak to Qingyi when you’re ready for the semifinals.
Winning the Elpis Ultimate Angler Championship semifinals follows the same formula as the previous stages. The competition is slightly fiercer, and you must take first place to advance. In my winning run of the tournament, my opponent’s highest score was two fish to my five. As before, you win in case of a tie, so if your closest competition only has two fish, you only need two to win. You should still try for at least one more than second place just to be safe.
After winning the semifinals, you’ll be going after the art thieves in the Hollow. Here’s the full step list:
Back at Port Elpis, speak to McDunn, then President Qi to leave for the reef island, where you’ll need to fish a submarine out of the water. There’s no special mechanics here. Mechanically, it’s just a regular fish.
Catching the sub ends the narrative portion of the Elpis Ultimate Angler Championship and queues up the finals. Like the semis before them, the finals are functionally identical to the other rounds of the tournament, with a few exceptions.
Once you’ve won, speak to Qingyi and McDunn one last time to finish the event’s main story quest. If you haven’t already caught all the fish or done all the Port Anecdote side activities, now’s the time.
How to Complete All Port Anecdotes in the Elpis Ultimate Angler Championship
There are 15 Port Anecdotes to complete during the Elpis Ultimate Angler Championship, five per phase. Most of them only take two or three minutes to complete, and you’ll want to for a couple of reasons. First, they award Angler Points, which increase your Fishing Permit, earning you additional rewards and buffs to your fishing prowess. Second, you’ll need to complete nine of them to get all the limited-time Polychrome rewards for the Elpis Ultimate Angler Championship event.
Phase One Port Anecdotes
The Phase One Port Anecdotes are mostly relatively quick, save the first one, Aristocratic Delicacy, which sees you delving into a Hollow to dispose of some questionable cooking.
How to Complete Aristocratic Delicacy
The longest of the five phase one Port Anecdotes, this one sees you doing a favor for Victoria Housekeeping’s Rina and Lycaon. The steps are:
After speaking with Soukaku, Lycaon, and Rina, you’ll complete the Anecdote.
How to Complete The Master’s Concerns (I)
You’ll unlock your next two Anecdotes once you complete Aristocratic Delicacy. The Master’s Concerns part one sees you helping the Eous and Amillion Bangboo with their photography skills. You only need to take one picture after talking to President Qi near the bench by the fry stand.
Snap a pic of the yellow fishing festival flags to the right of the event billboard. Return to Qi with the picture to complete the Anecdote.
How to Complete One Denny Friendship
Meet with One-Dennyboo and Soldier 11 to the left of the fry stand. The little Bangboo is having a party and needs you to catch one fish to complete the meal. Once caught, speak to the pair again, then head to Sixth Street. Go behind the concrete pipes near the 24-hour store to join the party: One-Dennyboo and his feline friends.
Once the party’s over, the Anecdote is too.
How to Complete Aquatic Delicacy
Unlocked after completing three Port Anecdotes, Aquatic Delicacy is another fishing mission. First, head to the far side of the docks to meet Coach Explorey and his student Rocketz. Speak to them a moment, then head down the longer dock and catch a single fish to complete the Anecdote.
How to Complete Intense Competition
For this Anecdote, visit Eddite on the dock near the purple-clothed fisher. He asks you to visit Ben, who’s hanging around nearby, and they will request a friendly fishing competition. Place first or second to advance, which took a minimum of two fish in my run. Once the match is over, speak to Eddie and Ben again to complete the Anecdote.
Phase Two Port Anecdotes
The second set of Port Anecdotes take about the same amount of time to complete as the first phase’s, and the structure is much the same, as well. The first one, Blessing or Curse is longer, with a short dialog cutscene and a small Hollow investigation. The remaining four are quicker, mostly involving fishing, with the occasional back and forth between locations.
How to complete Blessing or Curse
You’ll find Nekomata on the central dock, and after explaining that she’s there looking to provide for the Cunning Hares, she’ll ask you to fish for her. Said fishing yields a…Sharkboo? Its name is Bling, and it’s somehow able to treat the Hares to some expensive meal vouchers. Nekomata will text you after meeting Bling, Nicole and co. at Lumina Square, wondering how a Bangboo could afford something so extravagant. The answer, of course, lies in a Hollow. The steps here are simple:
You’ll complete this Anecdote when Bling agrees to hang out with the Cunning Hares for a while for taking care of it.
How to complete The Master’s Concerns (II)
Snap returns with more photography commissions. This time, you won’t need to go far. Meet with Phee to the right of the fry stand and take a picture of the mustard and ketchup dispensers. Shortly after, you’ll speak with her again about taking actual pictures of fries, which concludes the anecdote.
How to complete Don’t Lose Heart
Find Lighter and a man named Matthew near Officer Mew Mew on the dock. Matthew is having finance troubles and needs to bring home some fish for his family. Catch one fish for him, and both he and Lighter will be in your debt. The Anecdote will also be completed.
How to complete Gift of the Sea God
Feng and Lanza are on the dock near Officer Mew Mew. Feng teamed up with someone named Granpa Gu in the fishing tournament, and now things are look down for all of them. Help them catch a fish with some tips from Grandpa, just don’t expect an actual fish. You get an Ugly Doll instead as a reward (and the completion of the Anecdote, as well).
How to complete Spirit of Fishing
For this Anecdote, head across from Officer Mew Mew to meet Rien and Kein who are having some trouble catching fish. Follow them to meet a boy named Lucky who gives some questionable advice, then asks you to catch two fish. Sadly, all you’ll manage are a pair of aluminum cans, but thankfully that’s all you need to catch to finish the Anecdote.
Phase Three Port Anecdotes
The final set of five Port Anecdotes is, as you’d expect, quite similar to the previous two. The first of them, where you help Piper and Grace with some tech investigation in a Hollow, is logner. The remainder are quicker, mostly fishing-related activities.
How to complete A Life of Hustling
Chat with Piper to the left of Officer Mew Mew, and you’ll both hear a strange buzzing, which you may quickly trace to Grace and a new experiment of hers. It takes place in a Hollow, of course. The investigation is very short: simply defeat two waves of standard Ethereals and a Dullhan mini-boss. Once that’s done and you’ve returned to Port Elpis, speak to Piper near the road, then Piper and Grace on the dock, then just Piper again near your parked car to complete the Anecdote.
How to complete The Master’s Concerns (III)
Snap is nowhere to be found this time, so you’ll text Evelyn to find out what’s going on. Travel to Ballet Twins Road and chat with her, then return to Snap and pass along Astra’s words of encouragement to her favorite Bangboo. That’s it. That’s the Anecdote.
How to complete Subject
Ellen and her school friends are hanging about the port, as Ellen needs help passing an art class. First, you’ll need to catch two fish for her to draw, then head over to the lighthouse and travel to its upper deck. While you both enjoy the seabreeze, Ellen will ask you to take a photo with her, and once you show it to her, you can descend back to the main level and compelte the Anecdote.
How to complete Tastebud Disaster
Milly and Samuel are standing by the wall at the head of the dock, and after speaking to them, you’ll head out to the dock’s end to have a friendly competition with Samuel. It’s not much of a challenge, as he catches exactly zero fish. You should catch some on the off chance you get a rare subspecies or somehting you haven’t caught yet. The Anecdote is over once the match ends.
How to complete Everything is Training
Hoshimi Miyabi is never not training, and this time she’s trying to learn how to fish in her ownuniqueway. Head out to the Coastal Reef fishing spot and let her watch you fish. Your first two catches will be aluminum cans. The third wil be a waterlogged Ether battery. Despite lacking any actual fish, Miyabi and her ears will still be impressed by your prowess enough to finish the Anecdote.
Those are all the Anecdotes in Elpis Ultimate Angler Championship. By the end, you should be at least Fishing Permit 13, or so.
How to Catch All Fish in the Elpis Ultimate Angler Championship
There are 17 regular fish and nine Bonus Discoveries to find by fishing in the Elpis Ultimate Angler Championship. The regular fish come in four varieties, ranging from one to four stars. The star ranking is based on weight, and at the time of writing, the weight of the fish is random for each one you catch. The fourth star is also unique to the Rare Subspecies, so you need to catch a golden version of that fish to get it.
In short, be prepared to grind if you want all 68 possible stars.
All Aquarium Fish and How to Get Them
We’ve found 13 of the 17 available fish, but we’ll update the article as we find more!
All Bonus Discoveries and how to get them
Bonus Discoveries are special “fish” you’ll catch either by chance or as part of a story mission or Port Anecdote. There are nine to find in all, and they are:
Those are all the Bonus Discoveries we’ve found so far, but we’ll update the article when we’ve found the rest.
How to Get All Elpis Ultimate Angler Championship Rewards in Zenless Zone Zero
There are two reward sources during the Elpis Ultimate Angler Championship.
Exclusive, Time-Limited Rewards
All therewards in the Ridu Fishing Festivalsection of the event:
All therewards in the Truth Beneath the Watersection of the event:
Allrewards in the Elpis Ultimate Anglersection of the event:
Allrewards in the Ultimate Angler Missionsection of the event:
Successfully completing the Elpis Ultimate Angler Challenge, you’ll also get one Tuning Calibrator that guarantees you the main stat you want on a single Drive Disc at the Music Store.
With that, you know how to complete the Elpis Ultimate Angler Championship event inZenless Zone Zero, are 1,200 Polychromes richer, and have done more fishing than you ever thought possible in a gacha game.
