Zenless Zone Zero Agents

S-rank agents have higher base stats, stronger passive abilities, and generally more complex kits. But the gap is not a wall:

• An M6 A-rank (maxed duplicates) is roughly equivalent to an M0 S-rank (no duplicates) in raw performance. Nicole at M6 is better than Rina at M0 in many teams because her DEF shred scales harder.
• S-rank agents require more resources to max — more ascension materials, more Dennies, more skill chips. A-ranks are cheaper to build and faster to get online.
• The real differentiator is the kit, not the rarity badge. Some A-ranks (Nicole, Lucy, Soukaku) have irreplaceable utility that no S-rank duplicates.

Build the agents whose kits fit your team. Rarity is a rough power indicator, not a build order.

Elements determine which enemies your agent is strong or weak against. Matching element to enemy weakness is a core part of team building:

• Fire 🔥 — Strong vs enemies with the Burn anomaly. Fire agents tend to have high burst damage.
• Electric ⚡ — Strong vs mechanical enemies. Shock anomaly deals chip damage over time.
• Ice ❄️ — Strong vs agile enemies. Freeze locks enemies in place, enabling free damage windows.
• Physical 💪 — Strong vs humanoid enemies. Assault anomaly deals massive single-hit damage.
• Ether ✨ — Strong vs ethereal/corrupted enemies. Corruption anomaly reduces enemy resistances.

Do you need one of each? For Shiyu Defense (endgame rotation), yes — different stages have different elemental weaknesses. Having at least one carry per element ensures you are never walled by a bad matchup. But you do not need them all at once — build one team first, then expand elemental coverage over time.

An agent's Specialty defines their combat role. Understanding these is critical for team building:

• Attack ⚔️ — Primary damage dealer. Stays on-field most of the time. Scales with ATK, CRIT Rate, and CRIT DMG. Examples: Ye Shunguang, Ellen Joe.
• Stun 💥 — Builds Daze to stun enemies. The team's enabler — without a stunner, your DPS cannot access Chain Attack windows. Examples: Nangong Yu, Lighter.
• Anomaly 🌀 — Applies elemental anomalies (Burn, Shock, Freeze, Corruption, Assault). Deals damage through anomaly procs rather than raw ATK. Often pairs with another Anomaly for Disorder chains. Examples: Miyabi, Burnice.
• Support 💚 — Buffs allies and/or debuffs enemies. The backbone of any team. Supports age the best because their utility is rarely powercrept. Examples: Sunna, Astra Yao.
• Defense 🛡️ — Tank with shields and damage reduction. Less common than other roles. Caesar King is the standout — she provides a team-wide shield and ATK buff. Examples: Caesar King, Ben Bigger.
• Rupture 🔓 — New in 2.0+. Specializes in breaking specific enemy defense mechanics. Niche but powerful in the right content. Examples: Yixuan.

You get several agents for free through story and events. Here is which ones have long-term value:

• Pyrois (S-rank, Fire Attack) — Free S-rank from story. Legitimately strong. Worth maxing as your primary Fire DPS. He competes with limited S-ranks and holds up in endgame.
• Nicole (A-rank, Ether Support) — Free from story. One of the best DEF shredders in the game. Still used in top-tier teams at M6. Her black hole groups enemies, her debuff stacks multiplicatively. Build her.
• Anby Demara (A-rank, Electric Stun) — Free starter. Fine early, but falls off compared to limited stunners. Use her until you pull Qingyi, Lighter, or another S-rank stunner, then bench.
• Billy Kid (A-rank, Physical Attack) — Free starter. Fun ranged playstyle, but damage ceiling is low at endgame. Viable for story and early Hollow Zero. Replace when you get a better Physical carry.
• Lucy (A-rank, Fire Support) — Available from events and standard banner. Excellent ATK buffer for Fire teams. Pairs perfectly with Soldier 11 or Pyrois.
• Soukaku (A-rank, Ice Support) — Available from standard. Strong Ice-specific buffer. If you run an Ice DPS, Soukaku is a free upgrade over most alternatives.

A common mistake is spreading resources too thin. Here is the optimal progression:

• Phase 1 (IK Lv.1-40): Build exactly 3 agents — one team. 1 DPS + 1 Stun + 1 Support. Get all three to Lv.50 with leveled W-Engines and +12 purple discs. Do not touch a 4th agent until these 3 are done.
• Phase 2 (IK Lv.40-50): Add a second team of 3 agents. By now you should have enough standard/master tapes to have pulled a few more S-ranks. Your second DPS should cover a different element than your first.
• Phase 3 (IK Lv.50+): Start building situational agents — a 2nd support of a different element, a Defense agent for survival-heavy content, or a 2nd Anomaly for Disorder teams. At this point you are optimizing for Shiyu Defense rotations, not progression.

Resources are the real bottleneck, not agent availability. One maxed team clears more content than six half-built agents.

Agents come from four sources:

• Limited Banners — The primary source of S-rank agents. Use Encrypted Master Tapes (converted from Polychrome). The featured agent has a 50% chance on each S-rank pull. See our Gacha Guide for the full pity system breakdown.
• Standard (Stable) Banner — Uses regular Master Tapes. Contains a fixed pool of S-rank agents: Nekomata, Soldier 11, Koleda, Grace, Rina, Von Lycaon. You will naturally accumulate standard tapes through gameplay — do not spend Polychrome here.
• Story & Events — Pyrois is a free S-rank from story progression. Events and login campaigns occasionally give free A-rank agents or agent selectors.
• 300-Pull Selector — After 300 pulls on the standard banner, you can choose any standard S-rank agent. This is a long-term goal (6-12 months F2P). Most players pick Rina (for support flexibility) or a DPS they are missing.

Don't just look at the rarity badge. Evaluate each agent on four dimensions:

• Element coverage: Do you already have a carry of this element? If yes, this agent competes for the same role. If no, they fill a gap. Filling gaps > overlapping coverage.
• Team synergy: Does this agent enable your existing roster? Norma makes Pyrois teams dramatically better. Sunna buffs any Physical DPS. Pulling agents that buff your best carry is more valuable than pulling a standalone DPS.
• Investment cost: A-ranks are cheaper to build (fewer materials per ascension). If your resources are stretched, an A-rank you can max now outperforms an S-rank stuck at Lv.40.
• Playstyle comfort: This matters more than any tier list. If you hate the agent's rotation, you won't play them optimally. An agent you enjoy piloting will always perform better in your hands than a meta agent you find clunky.

Click any agent card above to see their full stats, then open the Build Planner to test different W-Engine and Drive Disc combinations before committing resources.