Zenless Zone Zero (ZZZ) Snake Duel ultimate guide: All enemies, items, tips & tricks

Knowledge is power, and there is a lot to know about Snake Duel that Zenless Zone Zero (ZZZ) doesn't tell you. As you rack up points, you'll encounter various enemies and items. Knowing how to make the most of them is the key to setting the highest score possible.

There are 30 Snake Duel-related achievements within ZZZ granting 350 Polychromes. Even more importantly, there's an in-game leaderboard that showswhere you stand amongst your friends. Let this guide be your ticket to dominating the high scores at the Godfinger arcade on Sixth Street!

The in-game tutorial only tells players to use "directional buttons" and "speed up" to play the game. Detailed controls for each platform are as follows:

Note for PC players: If you wish to use a different input device for Snake Duel than you normally use for ZZZ, it's possible to switch without quitting the game. While walking around as one of the protagonists, simply press the Main Menu button on the device you want to switch to. For example, if you play ZZZ with a controller but want to switch to the keyboard & mouse for Snake Duel, press Escape on your keyboard.

In addition to the controls, there are a few basic mechanics that every player needs to understand in order to succeed in ZZZ's Snake Duel.

Increasingly challenging enemies appear as your score climbs higher and higher. The highest ZZZ in-game achievement related to Snake Duel requires reaching a score of 30 million. However, that has not stopped players from striving for greater heights. Proxy AndyRue's YouTube video shows them achieving a jaw-dropping 61 million points, and others online claim to have scored even higher.

As the community continues to push the boundaries of this deceptively simple minigame, new threats may be uncovered. But for the time being, these are all the currently known enemies in ZZZ's Snake Duel:

Purple: 3 units long. Slow and dumb, these move somewhat unpredictably and have no interest in the player, only Beans. If left alone, they may sometimes take out other enemies. However, if moving alongside them, they may suddenly turn into and end your run for no reason whatsoever.

Pink: 12 units long. Approximately the same speed as the player's default. They primarily focus on Beans but also half-heartedly target the player, making them easy to Trap or Duel.

Red: 26 units long. Quick—just slightly slower than the player using Boost. These will actively try to take you out and are more dangerous than Pink due to their faster speed. Thankfully, their predictable aggression still makes them fairly easy to Trap or Duel.

Yellow: 2 units long. Similar speed to Red and is an absolute nuisance. These want nothing more than to ruin your day and are Snake Duel's version of annoying flies buzzing around your head. They constantly try to block you and are extremely elusive and difficult to take out regardless of the method. However, if you can get them to consume even a single Bean, they suddenly become much easier to Trap, Duel, or Surround.

Black: 35 units long. Similar speed to Red, but doesn't seem to have any particular goal. They move very similarly to how a player might, balancing targeting the player with collecting resources. Their length and speed make them an immediate threat, but they aren't terribly difficult to Trap or Duel.

White: Infinite units long. Even slower than Purple and just as dumb, but with one big caveat: they grow forever. These need to be Surrounded or Trapped immediately or they will end your game. Do not try to Duel them; it's a battle you're going to lose.

Blue: 5 units long. Lightning-fast agent of chaos. Targeting both the player and other enemies, their only goal is to be the last one standing. Thankfully, they only appear before the best of the best, well past any number of points that would grant an in-game achievement.

Just like the game's enemies, additional items and obstacles also appear as one's score increases. All items can only be picked up by the player, while obstacles are equal threats to every snake on the grid. These are all the items and obstacles that have been discovered in ZZZ's Snake Duel so far:

Bean: Adds 1 unit to the length of your tail. Grants 1,000 points plus 100 for each additional unit of length on your tail.

Gem: Adds 2 units to the length of your tail. Grants points just like a Bean, but multiplied by 10. These will sometimes move back and forth horizontally or vertically, but not both.

Speed Up: A single square unit. Increases player speed for approximately 10 seconds. Can be used in combination with Boost.

Speed Down: A single square unit. Decreases player speed for approximately 10 seconds. Can be counteracted by using Boost.

Bomb: 2x2 square units. Clears every single thing off the screen, including items.

Star Power: 2x2 square units. Slightly increases player speed and grants invincibility for approximately 10 seconds. While in use, the player can take out any enemies, Mines, Walls, or even their own tail with no consequences.

Mine: 2x2 square units. Instant death. There is no Second Chance invincibility window when touching these. As you progress, they begin to move in any direction.

Wall: A single square unit. Just another barrier to avoid.

There are only so many ways to take out enemies when confined to Snake Duel's grid of squares. The majority of eliminations will come as a variation of one of three strategies: Surround, Trap, and Duel. Each one has its own specific use cases and benefits that apply to both single-player and multiplayer.

Surround: Consists of using the length of your tail to completely envelop enemies. This strategy works best on smaller enemies such as Purple and White when it has just spawned. It also helps if the player has a decently long tail.

Trap: Consists of luring enemies into traveling between you and the wall—or another enemy—and then blocking off their path. This strategy works best on enemies that actively target the player, such as Pink, Red, and Black.

Duel: Consists of running into enemies head-on. Gives massive amounts of points, but removes one unit from each snake's tail until one is fully eliminated. The easiest way to execute this is to follow the same steps as Trap, but turn in to face the enemy instead of simply blocking them off. Just like Trap, this strategy works best on enemies that actively target the player, such as Pink, Red, and Black.

Finally, you'll want to manage the length of your tail as the game goes on. As your tail gets longer, collecting items and taking out enemies will grant more points, but it also gets much trickier to navigate around the grid. Dueling enemies is the best way to curb the growth while also gaining points in the process. If necessary, you can also cut down on size by running into yourself while using Star Power.

This intense minigame is one of the only parts of ZZZ that allows co-op multiplayer. The game mode, called Snake Duel - Clash, allows you to queue up alone or with a friend. You can then take on others in your friend group or one of Zenless Zone Zero's 50 million Proxies.

The mechanical skills acquired in single-player carry over to Snake Duel - Clash's multiplayer mode, but there are a few key differences in gameplay. For starters, there are no enemies besides your two opponents; the only items that appear are Beans, Gems, and Speed Ups. Additionally, eliminated players will respawn after five seconds. Once the two-minute timer is up, the team with the longest combined tail length wins.

Now that you have all the knowledge available, it's time to show the other arcade-goers who's boss. This month's "Don't Get Greedy" has plenty of rewards for Snake Duel players to claim if they are skilled enough to earn them.

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