Zenless Zone Zero Tier List – Version 1.5
Welcome to our Zenless Zone Zero Tier List where we cover the best characters/agents in modes like Shiyu Defense and Deadly Assault.
When it comes to ZZZ, a tier list is not intended to be the end all be all for pulling decisions. The current endgame content can be cleared with just about any Limited Agents or even full A-Rank teams. This list is simply intended to showcase comparative performance.
Overall, you should still pull/build characters you enjoy to play, rather than what is just higher rated.
Tier | Agents |
S | Miyabi, Astra Yao, Caesar, Lighter, Nicole |
A | Burnice, Evelyn, Yanagi, Zhu Yuan, Rina, Qingyi, Lucy |
B | Ellen, Harumasa, Jane, Soldier 11, Piper, Lycaon, Seth, Soukaku |
C | Nekomata, Grace, Anton, Billy, Corin, Koleda, Anby, Ben |
ZZZ Tier List Disclaimers
This tier list attempts to cover every character and strength/value, but be sure to take this article with a grain of salt. Choosing the best characters for your account is a mixture of personal preference and context. For example, If you have Zhu Yuan, then Qingyi will be a great pickup. However, if you have Yanagi, picking up a Disorder teammate like Miyabi/Burnice would be best.
Baseline
For our tier list, we will be considering S-Rank Agents at M0 and A-Rank Agents at M6. Limited Signature Engines will not be considered, but all A-Rank Engines are considered. (both craftable and gacha only)
There is never a perfect baseline to use, but we find this to be a fair starting point that most players can relate to.
Flexibility
Furthermore, we try to balance meta strength and flexibility.
Take the supports for example. Soukaku pairs well with Ellen, and the same goes for Seth/Jane and Nicole/Zhu Yuan. Caesar on the other hand is extremely flexible, but not always the best choice for damage.
For the most part, we focus more on meta strength over flexibility, but both are considerations.
Let’s jump into the Agent breakdowns. We’ll highlight the latest release at the top and cover notable explanations below.
ZZZ New Agents added to Tier List
S-Tier: Astra Yao
[Link to Full Astra Yao Guide]
Astra Yao is the latest character release in ZZZ and the first Limited Support Agent in the game. In terms of offensive utility, Astra Yao provide the strongest buffs in the game and has unique gameplay mechanics with Quick Assist and Chain Attacks. For the most part, almost every team in the game will perform best with Astra.
As more time passed, players have found more strategies and tricks, (such as combining Astra + Nicole), multiple Chain Attack techniques, and more. While not every Agent’s best team includes Astra, she is almost certainly a competitive option, and the best option for many DPS Agents.
In general, Astra Yao is currently the best offensive buffer in the game, and she likely will remain at the top of the tier list for many patches to come.
A-Tier: Evelyn
At the time of writing, Evelyn is the latest release, and her damage is very good. She’s a traditional Attack Agent, meaning you can pair her with a Double Support setup or a Stun + Support setup.
Since Evelyn is also Fire Attribute, she pairs very well with Lighter, a strong buffer/stunner that was lacking in teammate options. With the current Shiyu Defense and Deadly Assault, Evelyn will certainly shine with the buffs catered to her kit.
However, we’re still reluctant to rate her in S-tier. Once the buffs cycle away and new enemies release, Evelyn may continue to impress, or she will fall alongside the other Agents who are good, but not game breaking.
We’ll be sure to watch Evelyn’s performance in SD/DA and monitor where on the tier list she should fall. Our tier list has less ranks than others, making it difficult to truly rate everyone perfectly, but we think this is a fair assessment currently.
ZZZ Tier List Breakdowns
S-Tier DPS
Currently, we have have only Miyabi in the S-tier DPS category. Simply put, Miyabi’s damage and ease of use make her stand out compared to the other A-Tier DPS Agents. As more Agents release, things may change, but we’re content with leaving Miyabi as the lone Agent in this tier.
S-Tier Utility
You could argue that Astra Yao deserves her own tier like Miyabi, which is a valid critique and something we may consider if we up the tier list to 5 tiers. Most people would agree that Caesar deserving of S-Tier due to her QoL shield and strong damage buffs. For this update, we’ve added both Lighter and Nicole to S tier as well.
Lighter
Lighter already had solid team options like Ellen/Miyabi/Soldier 11, but the release of Evelyn gives him a top team to bolster his usage. His utility is very good/powerful, he simply lacked the right team to maximize his kit. Miyabi can be run with Lighter, but Lighter is not necessary for Miyabi. When it comes to Evelyn, Lighter definitely shines more.
Nicole
For Nicole, we’ve seen that combining Astra Yao + Nicole is extremely powerful for just about any DPS Agent in the game. Players were worried at first that Astra might replace Nicole on many teams, but it turns out that combining them is simply better.
With more Discs and Agents releasing, kits are getting more and more things like Crit buffs and DMG% buffs. Since Nicole’s Core Passive shreds enemy DEF, this makes her kit very valuable as a damage multiplier.
Nicole can also be run on an Anomaly build with sets like Freedom Blues to trigger Corruption/Disorder for Miyabi. This, combined with her grouping utility in Shiyu Defense gave us reason to put her as the only A-Rank S-tier Agent.
A-Tier DPS
As we move down the tier list, explanations will get shorter/more concise. Overall, the DPS Agents in A-tier are all still very good. These Agents perform very well, but are just a notch below Miyabi.
- Burnice: Strong Anomaly Agent that also deals off-field damage. Pairs well with any other Anomaly Agent for Disorder teams.
- Evelyn: Strong Attack Agent with good utility synergies from both standard (Koleda/Lucy) and limited Agents (Lighter/Astra).
- Yanagi: Strong Disorder Agent that can be used as Burst DPS (for Miyabi) or as On-Fielder (with Burnice).
- Zhu Yuan: Simple and effective Burst DPS, pairs well with Qingyi/Nicole.
A-Tier Utility
- Rina: Has great teamwide PEN buffs which synergize great with Disorder teams. Can also be used in Hyper Carry setups, making her a solid and flexible Support for many teams, but not often Best in Slot.
- Qingyi: Often used as dedicated Stunner for Zhu Yuan (Still a great team), but also enables other Attack Agents with her Stun capability.
- Lucy: Another flexible Support. Can be used on Hyper Carry, Disorder, and Stun teams. ATK buff is universally good, but is also in overabundance with agents like Caesar/Astra also buffing ATK. Her damage contribution can also shine when paired with teammates with high EX Special Attack rate (ie Burnice or Piper).
B-Tier DPS
- Ellen: Ellen’s Ice DPS is generally overshadowed by Miyabi. She can still clear endgame content, but requires more skill/investment to compared to Miyabi.
- Harumasa: Currently has a similar role as Burst DPS similar to Zhu Yuan. Harumasa’s kit requires a bit more work to maximize, and he doesn’t have an amazing drive disc set at the moment. (Thus the B-tier rating)
- Jane: Anomaly Agent that doesn’t have any natural kit synergy with Disorder. Can be played in Disorder teams or Hypercarry, but is slowly being outclassed by newer Agents.
- Soldier 11: Arguably the best DPS Agent from the Standard Banner. Has good synergy with a variety of other utility Agents.
- Piper: Strong DPS with low investment. Works very well with the many other Anomaly Agents in the game. (except Jane)
B-Tier Utility
- Lycaon: Solid Stunner for Ice DPS Agents, but better options exist.
- Seth: Decent utility for Anomaly Agents, but can be clunky to play and stronger buffs exist in the higher tiers.
- Soukaku: Solid utility AND DPS. Mainly used in Ice teams like Ellen, but can be played as main DPS as well.
C-Tier
- Nekomata
- Grace
- Anton
- Billy
- Corin
- Koleda
- Anby
- Ben
Unfortunately, these C-tier units are simply underpowered. These were all initial Standard characters available in Version 1.0, and their age shows more and more with each version update. You can certainly still clear endgame content with these Agents, they’ll just take more work/investment to do so.
Thanks for reading our ZZZ Tier List. For more resources and character guides, check out our ZZZ Guides Home Page.