HoYoverse has done it again. Zenless Zone Zero (ZZZ) has completely dominated the gacha market with its lightning-fast combat, stunning urban aesthetic, and deep roster of quirky Agents. However, because upgrading characters requires a massive amount of in-game resources (Dennys and EXP materials), investing in the wrong Agent can permanently cripple your account.
If you are struggling to clear the higher floors of the Hollow Zero or the Shiyu Defense, your team composition is likely flawed. To ensure you are spending your Polychromes optimally, we have compiled the ultimate zenless zone zero tier list for the September 2026 meta. Here is exactly who you should be pulling for, and who you should leave benched.
- Table of Contents:
- S-Tier (Meta Defining)
- A-Tier (Highly Reliable)
- B-Tier (Niche/Powercrept)
- 💡 Expert Tip: Stun Synergy
1. S-Tier (Meta Defining)
These Agents are fundamentally broken. If you pull them, drop all of your resources into their W-Engines immediately.
- Ellen Joe (Ice / Attack): The undisputed queen of DPS. Ellen’s ability to stack ‘Flash Freeze’ charges through her dash attacks allows her to output massive, uninterrupted Ice damage. When paired with a stunner like Lycaon, she can delete Shiyu Defense bosses in a single stun window.
- Zhu Yuan (Ether / Attack): The definitive burst DPS. Zhu Yuan excels in short, explosive windows. Her mechanic revolves around accumulating ‘Suppressive Shells’ and rapidly dumping them into staggered enemies for massive Ether damage spikes.
- Von Lycaon (Ice / Stun): The best Stun Agent in the game by a massive margin. His charged basic attacks deal tremendous ‘Daze’ to bosses, instantly breaking their stagger meters and triggering devastating Chain Attacks for the rest of your team.
2. A-Tier (Highly Reliable)
Excellent Agents that can clear all end-game content with proper team building and slight mechanical skill.
- Grace Howard (Electric / Anomaly): Grace is a master of triggering the ‘Shock’ anomaly. If you build her entirely with Anomaly Mastery stats, she rapidly chips away at elite enemy health bars without needing to be on-field constantly.
- Rina (Electric / Support): The ultimate utility support. Rina provides massive PEN Ratio (Armor Penetration) buffs to the entire team while safely attacking from a distance with her Bangboo puppets.
- Nekomata (Physical / Attack): Incredibly fast and agile, Nekomata excels at clearing waves of smaller enemies. Her ‘Backstab’ mechanic deals massive damage, but she struggles slightly against large, shielded bosses compared to Ellen.
3. B-Tier (Niche / Powercrept)
These Agents are usable for early-game content but fall off incredibly hard in the endgame.
- Corin (Physical / Attack): While her chainsaw buzz attacks are incredibly satisfying, she requires you to stand perfectly still for several seconds to deal damage, making her an easy target for aggressive Hollow bosses.
- Ben Bigger (Fire / Defense): The only dedicated shielder in the game. Unfortunately, ZZZ’s endgame heavily favors dodging and raw DPS output over tanking damage, making Ben’s slow, defensive playstyle obsolete in timed combat trials.
🛡️ EXPERT TIP: THE STUN SYNERGY TRAP
Are you running three Attack Agents?
The biggest mistake new players make in ZZZ is putting three high-damage S-Tier Attack Agents on the same team (e.g., Ellen, Zhu Yuan, and Soldier 11). This is mathematically terrible. ZZZ combat relies heavily on the ‘Daze’ mechanic. Attack Agents deal extremely low Daze, meaning you will almost never trigger Chain Attacks or stagger bosses. You must always run exactly one ‘Stun’ Agent (like Lycaon, Koleda, or Anby) and one ‘Support/Anomaly’ Agent to buff your primary attacker. Proper synergy will always out-damage raw base stats!
