The gameplay ofZenless Zone Zeroheavily revolves around the combat, as there’s not much exploration and puzzles. The story can also be skipped easily, unlike otherHoYoverse titles that are heavy on the lore, such asGenshin ImpactandHonkai: Star Rail. Therefore, practicing battle and knowing the available Agents is crucial to fully enjoyZZZ.
Whencomposing a squad inZenless Zone Zero, players generally want a DPS and Support, with a flexible third slot. One unique part ofZZZDPS is that players can either go raw with Critical stat, or play around something called Anomaly, which deals damage after the Agent buildup enough hits of their respective Attributes. Whether it’s Attack or Anomaly characters, here are thebest DPS inZenless Zone Zero.
8Piper Wheel
The Wheel On Piper Goes Round And Round
Piper Wheel is a Physical-Anomaly character that can easily trigger Physical Anomaly, Assault. On top of the large Assault damage, Physical Anomaly also applies a debuff calledFlinch, which causes the target to take increased Daze, making them easier to Stun.
Piper is great not only for how fast she triggers Assault but also for having a lot of suitable teammates. Players can useother Sons of Calydon Agents like Lucyand Caesar, a Support like Seth, or even make Piper a sub-DPS to enable Nekomata’s Additional Ability.
7Nekomata
Cunning Cat
In terms of personal damage, Nekomata doesn’t fall far behind other DPS, but she has one issue: she has no perfect teammates. This places her down on the list as she can’t truly shine without the proper support.
Nekomata needs either another Physical character or an Agent from the Cunning Hares faction to trigger her Additional Ability. Sadly, the onlyviable teammate from Cunning Hares is Nicole, yet she’s not fully suitable for the neko. A viable workaround is something like Caesar + Piper, Lucy + Piper, or Jane Doe + Nicole.
6Soldier 11
Practice Your Tap
Soldier 11 is a Fire-Attack Agent that can carry you in the early game. On release, she was the only character from her Faction, but she’s not lacking suitable teammates like Nekomata. Players can pair the mysterious fighter with Agents like Lucy + Koleda, Koleda + Ben, Lucy + Piper, or even Koleda + Grace.
Soldier 11 deals Fire DMG instead of Physical when she triggers Fire Suppression. There are many ways to unlock this move, such as using Chain Attack, Ultimate and EX Special Attack. But players can also trigger it without the aforementioned methods if they press Soldier 11’s Basic Attack at the right time. If Proxies manage to learn the correct rhythm for endless Fire Suppression, Soldier 11’s performance will rise significantly.
5Grace
Shockingly Good
Anomaly is not as straightforward as Attack characters, which may cause them to be overlooked in the early game. It’s fine when Proxies are new, but it’s a grave mistake to ignore them forever. Knowing how Anomaly works and truly utilizing it will make a massive difference in completing harder end-game content.
Grace’sElectric Anomaly applies Shock to enemies, triggering Electric DoT while Shock is applied, and interrupting the enemy’s movement. Typically, machine-type foes are incapacitated while Shocked. Some can even lose their shield instantly.
4Burnice
Adds Fuel To Fire
AlthoughBurnice excels as a damage dealer, her playstyle is more of a sub-DPS than main DPS. Players would want to wait until she has enough Energy to use her EX Special Attack, then unleash hell fire on the enemies. After her Energy is depleted, switch her out and enjoy the Burning chaos she did.
Burnice works best with another Anomaly character and can trigger her Additional Ability by having someone from the Sons of Calydon. Proxies can combine something like Caesar + Lucy, Lucy + Grace, or even Caesar + Jane Doe.
3Zhu Yuan
Shotshells For The Win
Zhu Yuan, Jane Doe, and Ellen are arguably equal in terms of personal strength. The game-changer would be which other Agents players have on their roster. For instance, if Proxies have MC6 Nicole and Qingyi, then Zhu Yuan is a top-tier DPS inZZZ, but if players instead have MC6 Lycaon + Soukaku, then Ellen is the best damage dealer. Of course, if you’re a whale or incredibly lucky to have everyone, the best DPS would depend on the Agent’s W-Engine and Drive Discs.
Zhu Yuan is an Attack-Ether Agentwhose hits get stronger when she has Shotshells stacks. There are many ways to get this stack, so Proxies must learn how to fully utilize it to get the most out of the Criminal Investigation Special Response Team officer.
2Jane Doe
Raw Anomaly Or Even Disorder
Jane Doe was the first limited Anomaly character inZZZ, with Burnice and Yanagi debuting after her. You can say that she’s the 5-star version of Piper as both spins to trigger Assault. One major difference is the fact that Jane Doe’s Assault DMG is cranked up insanely via her Core Passive, allowing Jane to Crit her Assault.
On top of that, Jane’s Additional Ability is also less demanding, where players can either pair her withsomeone from the same Factionor an Anomaly Agent. Placing another Anomaly unit in Jane’s team is a great idea since the two can work together to trigger Disorder. However, focusing solely on Physical Assault with combinations such as Caesar + Seth or Qingyi + Seth is highly viable too.
1Ellen
The Shark Thiren
Ellen is an Attack Agent who relies on Critical stat to unleash her potential. She gains Crit DMG from her Core Passive, and Ice DMG Bonus from her Additional Ability.
Unlike Zhu Yuan and Jane Doe, Ellen’s best teammates are easier to get for F2P players.Lycaon is available from the Standard Banner, while Soukaku is given for free in the early game. Having a mono-Ice team also allows the team to focus on triggering the Ice Anomaly, Freeze. Frozen enemy gains a debuff called Frostbite, which causes them to take extra Crit DMG from allied characters.
