Tier list of the best characters in ZZZ

Zenless Zone Zero undergoes major shakeups with each patch and that applies doubly to its tier list, with a new character taking a firm hold of the top tier as of ZZZ version 1.3.

The ZZZ roster is still small, but has quickly stratified. While many were thinking that the game’s use of three-character parties would be a relief to fans, that’s not really the case. Instead, having the perfect composition is more important than ever.

Anomaly agents have become must-have with the introductions of Yanagi and Burnice. This has radically shifted the meta, undercutting non-anomaly DPS characters and certain stunners, while also impacting numerous supports. Here’s where the game stands right now, and which agents are best.

Full Zenless Zone Zero character tier list

Zenless Zone Zero’s upper echelon is dominated by the three limited S-rank and the best characters to put around them. Relative to previous iterations of the tier list, attacker DPSs and most stunners have slid down. Naturally, the growing roster of limited-time S-rank characters is also making free-to-play characters less tenable. Here’s how the Zenless Zone Zero tier list stands through version 1.3:

S Tier- Yanagi and Burnice usher in anomaly era, Caesar boosted in version 1.3

The releases of Yanagi, Jane Doe, and Burnice in quick succession ushered in the era of disorder-focused teams. This has radically shaken up the ZZZ tier list, pulling up characters who would otherwise have landed lower on this list.

Burnice in particular has strong synergy with a variety of characters. Burnice-Caesar-Jane Doe and Burnice-Lighter-Yanagi are two of the strongest possible team compositions in the game. These two compositions are strong enough that they make up most of the S-tier singlehandedly while boosting up lower-spend alternatives for these compositions like Piper, Seth, and Grace.

Alongside this, Caesar is arguably now the best character in Zenless Zone Zero. Her shields are wildly better than anything offered by any other defense agent for things like the HIA’s Simulated Battle Trial. She was already an excellent agent, but now finds herself being uniquely useful

Finally, Ellen is basically the only straightforward attacker DPS who remains at the top of the tier list, but she might wind up sliding down after Zhu Yuan going forward.

A Tier- Qingyi, Zhu Yuan, and Lycaon are sliding

Qingyi, Zhu Yuan, and Lycaon are some of the big losers with the shift to anomaly-focused DPSs.

Qingyi remains a strong stun unit, but has wound up as a weaker alternative to Caesar in many compositions. Similarly, Zhu Yuan remains one of the deadliest attackers, but has fallen behind in the new disorder-focused meta.

Lycaon remains fairly high up on the ZZZ tier list thanks his strength alongside Ellen. He might wind up climbing even higher though, as he’ll also have elemental synergy with Hoshimi Miyabi, once she arrives in the game.

B Tier- Support, anomaly characters like Nicole and Grace thriving in new ZZZ meta

Yanagi, Ellen, and Jane Doe are definitively the best primary DPS units in Zenless Zone Zero and sit atop the tier list as a result. While they have an ironclad hold on the top spots right now, they are also holding up some of their primary supporting pieces. Jane Doe works well alongside Seth, Ellen works well with Soukaku, and so on.

Similarly, Grace and Piper stand out as solid low-spend or free-to-play alternatives to Yanagi and Jane Doe, respectively. They’re a definitive cut below the two, but they can still nuke enemies in the right composition.

And of course, Nicole’s just a roundly great support. She can be slotted into almost any team and make an impact.

C Tier- Koleda, Lucy, and Soldier 11 trending down despite S-tier fire comps

The additions of Burnice and Lighter feel like they should’ve benefitted the fire characters that came out at launch. Instead, the pivot to anomaly-focused DPS has left them flailing.

While Caesar-Burnice-Soldier 11 might seem like an extremely powerful team on paper, Soldier 11 falls well short of the DPS offered by Jane Doe or Yanagi. Similarly, Lucy has found herself on the outside looking in on most possible team compositions. While she was B-tier after the introduction of Caesar, Lucy slid after the introduction of Burnice.

Koleda and Ben have also found themselves in a free fall down the Zenless Zone Zero tier list. HoYoverse is committed to making Belobog Heavy Industries obsolete. Grace, Anton, and Koleda either have or will have superior limited-time S-rank characters with identical attribute-role combos.

D Tier- Nekomata, Anton, Anby, Ben

Near the bottom of the ZZZ tier list are some of the permanent banner characters who have been functionally replaced by limited-time banners.

With the shift from attackers to anomaly agents for DPS, Nekomata and Anton find themselves hurting for relevance. Nekomata in particular is hurting on this front, as the ideal way to use the Cunning Hares faction is putting Nicole and Anby together with a top-tier DPS.

That doesn’t mean Anby’s in a good spot, though. Outside of that “Cunning Hares plus one” team composition, Anby doesn’t have much use. She’s definitively the worst stunner in the game and has a definitive upgrade in Qingyi.

Finally, the introduction of Lighter hurts both Koleda and Ben. Much of Ben’s usefulness is tied up in the buffs he offers Koleda and he’s not particularly useful without her. Shields are more useful now than ever before, but Ben’s just aren’t a match for those of Caesar, or even Seth.

F Tier- Billy, Corin

Zenless Zone Zero launched with four physical DPS options, and Jane Doe made it five. It would be a crowded field regardless, but the strength of anomaly agents has made the likes of Billy and Corin borderline unusable.

Making matters worse is the fact that neither actually fits within their own faction, with Corin meant to be replaced by Ellen and Billy set up to be swapped out for Nekomata. Even for free-to-play and low-spend players, there isn’t really a legitimate use case for them.