Information
This quick guide will cover all the free combatants you can acquire and whether or not it is worth investing in them.
Story progression in Chaos Zero Nightmare doesn’t provide many free combatants, but the ones it does are pretty solid for getting you up and running until you can pull better alternatives. 
Note: There are two tiers of combatants in Chaos Zero Nightmare, 4-Star and 5-Star. All of the free ones are 4-Stars.
Free Combatants
| Character | Key Mechanics | Worth Investing? |
|---|---|---|
| High Multipliers, AoE Damage, adding extra hits to attacks. | Owen has high damage damage and shield multipliers on some of his cards, and his deck is based around adding extra hits to his more expensive, high-impact cards. He can also tutor his card that adds extra hits back to the hand, making him very good at clearing any stage with multiple mobs. However, you may want to replace him for the hardest stages because he lacks damage scaling for dealing with tanky bosses. | |
| AP Generation, Unused AP Saving, Healing | Mika generates 1 AP for the team every time she gets 3 stacks of Wave (or Tide) - her unique resource. She can acquire Wave through her skills and passively stack Wave with her upgrade. One of her starting cards allows her to save unused AP for the following turn, allowing you to set up big burst turns or save up if you draw poorly. She’s a great general support who can find a spot on just about any team. | |
| Basic Attack Buffs, 1-Cost Attack Buffs, Morale | Rei amplifies her team’s damage by increasing Basic Attack damage, 1-cost card damage, and Morale. She can also Exhaust cards to thin your deck. Her Ego Skill and most of her buff cards are attacks, making her a decent Support/DPS hybrid. Her AP-hungriness and specific buffs may make her a less appealing option if you pull more general supports early. | |
| Damage Over Time, Card Generation, Exhaust, Fixed Damage | Tressa’s playstyle revolves around generating Shadow Daggers, free cards that apply a damage over time debuff called Agony, which deals Fixed damage. Fixed damage cannot be modified in any way, making her great against enemies that have high defense (and ones that don’t). This makes her an excellent starting main DPS or eventual Sub-DPS for your team. However, you may want to avoid investing in Tressa if you pull a strong 5-Star DPS early. | |
| Metallicize, Damage Reduction, Shield, Extra Attacks | Amir’s kit revolves around Metallicize, a buff that enables her to perform an Extra Attack on an enemy whenever she gains Shield. She can also apply a decent amount of Damage Reduction stacks to improve Shield durability. If you like super defensive teams or pull multiple Shielders early, Amir is an interesting sub-DPS option—just note that she struggles to generate Shields on her own. |