Chaos Zero Nightmare Tier List - Best CZN Characters 2026

Chaos Zero Nightmare (CZN) is a highly popular strategy RPG. Since its release, it has reached over 2 million pre-registrations, topped the App Store free charts, and won the Taiwan Bahamut Gold Award.

Riding on this success, the February 25 update brings Galactic Disaster Season 2: Seed of Karmic Fire Chapter 2. This exciting new chapter advances the main story and offers fresh challenges to players.

To tackle these challenges, the new combatant Tiphera and partner Tiana have arrived. Their Rate Up Rescue event runs from February 25 to March 18, after which they will both join the normal rescue pool.

How do these powerful new additions change the current meta? Let us find out by jumping straight into the latest CZN character tier list!

Want to get game resources more easily? Click the image below to grab super cheap CZN top-ups right now!

2026 All Chaos Zero Nightmare Characters Tier List

This list ranks all Chaos Zero Nightmare (CZN) characters, covering their overall performance in current high-difficulty dungeons and core gameplay modes. We evaluated their tactical value in the current meta based on burst damage, team buffs, survivability, and team composition flexibility.

Tier	Best Chaos Zero Nightmare Characters
T0	Mei Lin	Sereniel	Veronica
T1	Tiphera	Nine	Orlea	Narja	Beryl
T2	Haru	Chizuru	Hugo	Luke	Mika	Rei
T2	Rin	Khalipe	Cassius	Nia	Renoa
T3	Yuki	Selena	Magna	Kayron
T4	Amir	Lucas	Tressa	Maribell	Owen

🔔 Galactic Disaster Season 2 Meta Quick Hints:

T0 Core Meta: Mei Lin, Sereniel, and Veronica are the top-performing characters. Prioritize acquiring and building them to drastically improve your efficiency in high-difficulty stages.
Strong New Arrival: The newly introduced Tiphera shows incredible potential, directly topping the T1 tier. Alongside strong units like Nine, Orlea, and Narja, she is a high-value asset worth investing in.
Meta Shifts: Former mainstays like Haru, Chizuru, and Hugo are now in T2. While viable for regular combat, they struggle slightly against the massive HP pools of top-tier enemies compared to T0 units.

Mastering one meta is just the beginning. Explore more rankings in our zenless zone zero tier list, NIKKE Tier List, or find the strongest heroes in our Honor of Kings Tier List to stay competitive in every world you explore.

Latest CZN Characters

The recent Galactic Disaster Season 2 update brings Tiphera, a brand-new 5-Star Order Controller. If you are wondering how she fits into the current meta, here is a quick breakdown of her kit and best team synergies.

Tiphera Tier 1	Basic Info	Rarity: 5-Star Faction: Wanderer Class: Order Controller
	Overview	A top-tier support. She provides AP and buffs to her team, making her a great fit for almost any setup.
	Pros & Cons	+ High AP generation. + Fast card draw. - Card effects are random (relies on luck).
	Best Team	Tiphera + Nine + Narja

Is Tiphera Worth Pulling?

Absolutely. While her random card effects rely slightly on luck, her massive AP generation and team buffs make her extremely valuable. She is a top-tier investment for anyone looking to clear high-difficulty content with ease.

CZN Tier List Criteria

Core Rating Criteria

Damage Output: Evaluates the character's peak damage potential without over-relying on teammates.
Utility & Support: Focuses on the ability to provide team buffs, enemy debuffs, and survivability. Characters like Veronica rank highly for exceptional card draw support and sub-DPS capabilities.
Ease of Use: Assesses the difficulty of skill and card setups. Sereniel and Mei Lin are highly favored for their ability to play attack cards frequently at low costs.
Versatility: Evaluates adaptability across different team comps and overall performance in the early game, simulation battles, and story missions.

Tier Explanations

Tier 0: The absolute core of the current meta. They fit perfectly into almost any lineup and are the optimal choice for high-difficulty content.
Tier 1: Highly effective and reliable mainstays. They excel in most team compositions and are incredibly powerful with minimal setup.
Tier 2: Strong specialists and sub-core units. They perform exceptionally well in specific team comps but require more effort to build and synergize.
Tier 3 : Situational options. They have lower general versatility but remain highly effective within dedicated, niche strategies.
Tier 4 : Niche or F2P alternatives. While they lack the raw power or utility of higher tiers, they serve as functional fill-ins for limited rosters.

🔔 Note: Even characters with lower initial rankings can unleash immense power with the right team composition and Card Epiphanies!

Chaos Zero Nightmare Characters Analysis

Character	Role	Combat Analysis & Mechanics
Tier 0 - Core Meta Defining
Mei Lin	Passion DPS	The ultimate single-target DPS for Passion teams. She reliably applies Passion weakness, deals Tenacity damage for AP generation, and utilizes "Unity of Attack and Defense" to reduce card costs for massive single-turn burst.
Sereniel	AP-Efficient DPS	Fights by inflicting Ravage. She retrieves 0-cost Homing Lasers from the graveyard, allowing her to unleash multiple laser hits with extreme AP efficiency. Fits perfectly into almost any team composition.
Veronica	Sub-DPS / Draw	Specializes in summoning Ballistas that deal high, free extra damage at the end of turns. She also provides immense utility by drawing other characters' cards, acting as a bridge for team combos.
Tier 1 - Highly Effective & Reliable
Tiphera	AP Gen Support	Provides insane AP generation and buffs next-hit damage. Juggles Creation Cards between hand and deck. Extremely powerful, though slightly held back by RNG elements.
Nine	Scaling Vanguard	A heavy hitter relying on Exhaust and the Ignition mechanic. Her rotating cards reach higher damage thresholds per use. Being a Vanguard, she also provides excellent defensive capabilities (Shields).
Orlea	Versatile Support	Provides consistent damage and HP sustain via excellent Creation Cards activated by the Retain mechanic. Costs 0 AP to operate, but requires careful hand management in long fights.
Narja	Buffer / Healer	A rare 5-star support that heals, provides damage buffs, and reduces card costs. She requires a well-built deck to shine and heavily aids in save data building.
Beryl	Burst DPS	Focuses heavily on Burst damage. She retains her best attack cards to amplify their damage, activate upgrade effects, or reduce their AP cost to zero.
Tier 2 - Strong Sub-Core & Specialists
Haru	Burst DPS	Relies on her Anchor Shot for massive Burst Damage. Requires dedicated card draw supports to maximize her high-cost output.
Chizuru	Combo DPS	Uses Inhibit to drastically reduce team card costs at the expense of AP gain. Excellent for basic card spam or one-shot setups. Obtains Will-O'-Wisp for Shadow of the Moon cards.
Hugo	Follow-Up DPS	Excels at executing single-target follow-up attacks ("Commence the Hunt") alongside teammates. Synergy falls off with AoE characters.
Luke	Bullet DPS	Single-target DPS using the Bullet playstyle. Very AP efficient but heavily reliant on high Critical Chance to bypass RNG elements.
Mika	Pure Support	A phenomenal F2P healer. Focuses entirely on sustaining the team with abundant heal cards and generating AP via 0-cost recovery mechanics.
Rei	Damage Buffer	F2P support that thins out the deck and cycles cards. Provides massive Morale buffs ideal for multi-hit DPS units, though she lacks durability.
Rin	Solo DPS	A selfish, AP-neutral single-target DPS. Deals incredible consecutive damage, but loses tempo drastically if other allies play attack cards.
Khalipe	AoE / Defender	Balances high AoE damage with strong defensive capabilities (Vulture Ejection). Excellent at breaking Tenacity to gain extra AP.
Cassius	Utility Support	The master of card draw. Allows hand shuffling and targeted card search while providing heals and buffs/debuffs via his quest mechanic.
Nia	Utility Support	Good alternative support for high DPS characters needing card manipulation (discard/search). Provides stable healing and can setup follow-up attacks.
Renoa	Scaling Attacker	Single-target bullet playstyle focusing on huge Extra Damage follow-ups. Requires teammates who can discard/draw for her, as she easily crowds the deck.
Tier 3 - Situational & Flexible
Yuki	Flexible DPS	Dishes out constant AoE damage via Inspiration. Relies heavily on card draw to boost her cards but is fairly AP efficient if played right.
Selena	Flexible DPS	A flexible DPS that applies Mark and deals piercing damage to break Tenacity. Excellent in Passion-focused teams for applying weaknesses.
Magna	Counter Tank	An offensive tank that focuses on counterattacking with damage scaled by her defenses. Constantly applies shields, fitting almost any team for survivability.
Kayron	Scaling Attacker	Extremely flexible main or sub-DPS. Deals high AoE damage and utilizes the Exhaust mechanic to grow stronger the longer the fight lasts.
Tier 4 - Niche F2P
Amir	F2P Tank	F2P tank scaling off defense. Unfortunately, has the lowest defense among tanks, and her Metallization mechanic currently deals lackluster damage. Difficult to pair effectively.
Lucas	AoE Bullet DPS	Uses a Bullet playstyle to deal AoE damage. Can apply Mark for Passion weakness, making him compatible with Passion teams, but requires high AP consumption.
Tressa	DoT DPS	F2P DPS focusing on applying Agony DoT effects for continuous battlefield damage. Great for follow-up teams due to 0-cost Shadow Dagger spam.
Maribell	Counter Tank	Specializes in counterattacks via her "Wolves' Dome". Gains shields based on damage dealt and deals damage based on her current shield amount.
Owen	F2P Fill-in	A well-balanced F2P character good for filling roster gaps. Lacks raw damage but can function as a sub-DPS by granting multi-hits to other character cards via epiphanies.

Chaos Zero Nightmare Final Thoughts

Selecting the right Combatant and Partner is the crucial step in perfecting your CZN team. Whether you prioritize top-tier universal supporters like Veronica or specialized attackers, strategic investment is key to mastering Chaos Manifestations and the latest Chapter 2 challenges.

We will continuously update this guide as the meta shifts.

For players looking to secure rescue resources or materials quickly, check out the GamsGo top-up service to stay ahead of the competition and keep your roster at peak strength.

Chaos Zero Nightmare FAQ

Can I change my Chaos Zero Nightmare Rate Up Rescue target?

Yes. Your rescue guarantee progress is retained during Rate Up events. Even if you do not get Tiphera or Tiana this time, your pity count carries over, offering full flexibility for your team building.

Are lower-tier CZN Combatants worth leveling up?

Definitely. With the right party composition and Card Epiphanies, many lower-tier characters can excel in specific roles, making them great budget-friendly alternatives for free-to-play players.

Who are the best Chaos Zero Nightmare Combatants for beginners?

Sereniel and Mei Lin are currently the most versatile choices. They can use many Attack Cards at a low cost, making their activation conditions extremely easy to meet for almost any beginner team composition.

How do I get more CZN rescue resources?

You can get them primarily through daily missions, monthly login rewards, and clearing Simulations. You can also acquire them during limited-time seasonal events like Galactic Disaster.