Zhao Guide and Best Builds

Zhao Guide & Best Builds

Welcome to our Zhao build guide for Zenless Zone Zero. Zhao is an S-Rank Ice Defense Agent who provides universal HP, ATK, and Damage buffs to the whole squad. In our guide, we will cover everything you need to know to get the most out of your Zhao, from building the best Drive Discs and W-Engines to important stat priorities and combos.

Zhao's Best W-Engines

Listed below are Zhao's best W-Engines. While W-Engines are listed in a priority order, what is best to build on your Zhao can vary slightly depending on your team composition.

Half-Sugar Bunny

Fragile Sweetness
The equipper's Energy Regen increases by 0.46/0.53/0.6/0.67/0.74/s. All squad members gain 10/11.5/13/14.5/16% ATK and 10/11.5/13/14.5/16% Max HP. Only one instance of this effect can exist in the same squad. When the equipper activates or extends an Ether Veil, the whole squad gains 30/34.5/39/43.5/48% CRIT DMG for 60s. Repeated triggers reset the duration.

Original Transmorpher

Starlight Knight Flying Kick
Increases Max HP by 8/9/10/11/12.5%. When attacked, the equipper's Impact is increased by 10/11.5/13/14.5/16% for 12s.

Spring Embrace

Hot Spring Soup
Reduces DMG taken by 7.5/8.5/9.5/10.5/12%. When attacked, the equipper's Energy Generation Rate increases by 10/11.5/13/14.5/16% for 12s. When the equipper switches off-field, this buff will be transferred to the new on-field character with its duration refreshed. Passive effects of the same name do not stack.

Bunny Band

Pet the Bunny
Increases Max HP by 8/9.2/10.4/11.6/12.8%. Increases the equipper's ATK by 10/11.5/13/14.5/16% when they are shielded.

Best Drive Discs for Zhao

Swing Jazz

2-Piece Set: Energy Regen +20%
4-Piece Set: Launching a Chain Attack or Ultimate increases all squad members' DMG by 15% for 12s. Passive effects of the same name do not stack.

Zhao's Stat Priority

When building Zhao, HP is the most important stat to focus on. You will have to reach 27 000 HP in total if you want to max out her buffs. After that you can focus on Energy Regen.

Zhao's Skill Priority

Zhao's most important skills to level are her Core Skill, Basic Attack, and Chain Attack/Ultimate.

How to Play Zhao

Zhao is a defensive support buffer who mostly plays off-field, but regularly jumps in to refresh powerful team buffs and unleash a big charged slash before immediately swapping back out.

Her entire kit revolves around three things:

• Frostbite Points (her resource)
• Ether Veil: Wellspring (her team buff state)
• Basic Attack: Final Verdict

Zhao naturally gains Frostbite Points while off-field whenever teammates deal damage. Once she reaches 100 Frostbite Points, swapping her in will automatically trigger her Entry Skill, consuming those points to activate Ether Veil: Wellspring.

While Ether Veil is active:

• The whole team gains Max HP and a large flat ATK buff
• Zhao unlocks extra follow-ups through Quick Assists
• Her charged Basic Attack: Final Verdict becomes the main thing you want to fire off

Because of this, Zhao is best played as a buff refresher and burst support, not a main on-field DPS. She comes in, does her thing, then leaves.

Off-field phase (most of the time)

• Zhao sits off-field generating Frostbite Points
• Your active character does normal rotations
• Once Frostbite Points hit 100, Zhao is ready

Entry & buff phase

• Swap Zhao in → Entry Skill triggers automatically
• Frostbite Points are consumed
• Ether Veil: Wellspring activates:
• +5% Max HP to the team
• +1000 ATK to the team
• A Quick Assist window opens

Burst & exit

• During or after the Quick Assist, Zhao:
• Automatically uses Basic Attack: Final Verdict
• Begins charging it
• Release the charged slash for big Ice damage
• Swap her back out and repeat the cycle

Zhao's field time is short, but very impactful.

Zhao's Rotation

Basic Rotation (Most Common)

• Play normally with your main DPS
• Let Zhao build 100 Frostbite Points off-field
• Swap Zhao in
• Entry Skill triggers automatically
• Ether Veil buffs activate
• Quick Assist → Zhao follow-up
• Hold Basic Attack to charge Final Verdict
• Release the slash
• Swap Zhao back out

This keeps buffs up with minimal downtime and fits cleanly into most team rotations.

Rotation with EX / Ultimate (Stronger Refresh)

When available, Zhao can refresh Ether Veil using her stronger skills instead of just the Entry Skill:

• Swap Zhao in at 100 Frostbite Points
• Use EX Special Attack or Ultimate
• Consumes Frostbite Points
• Activates Ether Veil
• Triggers Quick Assist
• Zhao automatically follows up with Final Verdict
• Charge → release
• Swap out

This version gives you better burst damage, easier buff refresh timing, cleaner Quick Assists.

Keep in mind that Zhao is not meant to stay on the field for long. Her real value comes from keeping her team buffs active and landing a single, powerful Final Verdict, rather than chaining extended combos. Most of her kit exists to set up that charged slash, so timing it properly is far more important than squeezing out extra hits. Maintaining Ether Veil uptime should always be your priority, even if it means refreshing the buff at the cost of Zhao's personal damage. Her scaling also heavily rewards building Max HP, as it directly boosts her CRIT Rate and increases the teamwide damage bonus from her Additional Ability.

Zhao's Best Mindscapes

Zhao's Mindscapes are pretty good and pretty simple. If you have to pick between her W-Engine and her M1, we do recommend you go for the W-Engine in priority. However her M1 does allow Squad members to ignore targets' Attribute RES. If you plan on going higher than her M1, her M4 and M6 are both very good Mindscapes that provide additional buffs to herself, but they are not required.

Zhao's Best Teams

To learn all about Zhao's synergies and best team compositions, check our dedicated Zhao team page below:

Changelog