Welcome to our Tier List where we cover the best characters/agents in Zenless Zone Zero. If you want to reroll, be sure to check out our ZZZ Reroll Guide for more catered information.
With Zenless Zone Zero just about to release, many players are curious to learn about the strongest characters. This is especially important for those who want to reroll to get that perfect start.
Let’s jump right into the tier list. You can find more information on the agents and a few disclaimers below.
ZZZ CBT3 Tier List
Note: Tiers are not ordered
| S | Ellen, Grace, Nicole |
| A | Lycaon, Nekomata, Rina, Ben, Soukaku |
| B | Soldier 11, Koleda, Anby, Anton |
| C | Billy, Corin |
Disclaimers
This tier list attempts to cover every character and their potential value, but be sure to take this article with a grain of salt.
This tier list is based on the CBT (Closed Beta Test), and things may change upon official release. Some characters may receive slight buffs or nerfs, while others might have major changes. In general, we expect the meta to not change too much from CBT, but it’s still important to keep in mind.
Secondly, we also try to take into consideration how flexible a character is. If a character only has one strong team, it can be quite difficult to obtain all the pieces. Agents that fit into a variety of teams will generally be higher up on the tier list.
Lastly, these tiers look to evaluate characters in a “meta” sense. You may enjoy a character if they’re easier to play, more difficult to play, or simply for their aesthetic.
This tier list is simply a reference to help guide you in your decisions. Let’s jump into the Agent breakdowns.
S-Tier: Ellen
 S Rank |  Victoria |  Ice |  Attack |
Ellen will be the first featured Limited Agent, and she has quite a lot going for her. In the early game, having a character to carry the team through damage is very valuable. She can help you breeze through more content stages, or even tackle harder stages.
It also helps that she has a full Mono Ice team with herself, Lycaon, and Soukaku. Lycaon is a Standard S-Rank, while Soukaku is a featured A-Rank on Ellen’s banner. While Lycaon may be hard to get, if you do happen to get him from the Standard Banner, you should really consider pulling for Ellen.
It’s true that DPS characters tend to get powercrept the fastest (just look at Genshin/HSR). However, for the first 3-6 months of the game, Ellen should be a top tier option.
S-Tier: Grace
S Rank |  Belobog |  Electric |  Anomaly |
Grace is our next S-Tier Agent, and only other S-Rank Agent. This is because as of right now, Grace is the only Anomaly Agent in the game. (This will change soon with the release of Piper)
Anomaly provides a different playstyle, dealing damage through the Attribute Anomaly mechanic as opposed to things like ATK/Crit scaling. If Anomaly is anything like Elemental Mastery/Break from Genshin/HSR, we can expect Anomaly to be very efficient.
This means that while Anomaly might not have the highest damage ceiling compared to Crit, it provides strong value for the resources required.
Grace also empowers Mono Electric teams to their highest potential. Lastly, there is potential for Disorder Teams as well. These are teams that use multiple Attributes to apply different types of Attribute Anomaly, triggering Disorder.
These Disorder teams can potentially deal very strong damage without needing the same investment level of other Agents that want Crit/ATK stats.
S-Tier: Nicole
 A Rank |  Cunning Hares |  Ether |  Support |
Nicole is one of the free Agents you receive upon starting the game. Of these Agents, we think Nicole is one of the best Agents to invest resources into. The Ether Attribute is unique in that the Drive Disc set (Chaotic Metal 4) provides a teamwide buff rather than just personal damage.
This allows Nicole to be a flexible support for almost any team. While she may not always be your best option, she can easily fit into any team, giving her great flexibility.
She also doesn’t take up too much time on field and has grouping in her kit (pulling enemies together). This can be extremely valuable in certain content, further increasing her value.
A-Tier: Lycaon
S Rank | Victoria | Ice |  Stun |
Next up, we have Lycaon, another S-Rank Standard Agent. Lycaon stands out as an S-Rank Stun Agent that can synergize with both the Ice Attribute and Victoria Housekeeping Factions.
As of right now, the only Attack Agent for Ice/Victoria is Ellen, and these two pair very naturally. Lycaon is quite a noticeable step up from Anby, who won’t synergize with Ellen through Attribute/Faction.
As more Ice/Victoria Agents release, Lycaon will still be a strong option unless a better Stun Agent releases. Because of this, he’s quite a safe investment at release, but he’s quite dependent on if you have Ellen or not.
A-Tier: Nekomata
S Rank | Cunning Hares |  Physical | Attack |
Nekomata is another Standard S-Rank with the Attack Fighting Style. Since she’s a Standard S-Rank, it’s highly likely that Ellen will out damage her as a Limited S-Rank. However, Nekomata is an easier Agent to build around, since we already get a Cunning Hares team for free. Anby (Stun) and Nicole (Support) will combine to make a very accessible team.
Furthermore, Hoyoverse teased a new Agent, Piper, who is an A-Rank Physical Anomaly. This opens up more teambuilding options for Nekomata, increasing her flexibility in the future.
While every Agent will have more team options in the future, Nekomata can give you instant results with a Cunning Hares team, with Piper soon to come.
A-Tier: Rina
S Rank | Victoria | Electric | Support |
Moving on, we have Rina, a Support Agent from Victoria Housekeeping. Rina excels at supporting Electric teams, which there are quite a few Agents for.
We have Anton, Grace, and Anby in Version 1.0. When it comes to accessible teams, Anton and Anby work, but won’t necessarily impress. Rina will really shine if you have Grace on the same team, but that requires two specific S-Rank Agents.
As such, Rina’s tier greatly depends on your own account. If you have one copy of Anton, the Mono Electric team might not impress. Conversely, if you have Grace with Rina, you can have a very powerful team.
Rina’s value will also increase in the future if a Limited S-Rank Electric/Attack Agent comes out.
A-Tier: Ben
A Rank | Belobog |  Fire |  Defense |
Next up, we have Ben, the only Defense Agent in the game currently. As it sounds, Defense Agents focus on things that provide defensive utility compared to offensive.
When you’re just starting out, avoiding damage is quite powerful as you can push through content without worrying about dying. There are also no healers currently in the game, which makes Ben even more valuable.
Many players in the CBT used Ben to challenge the harder stages in the game without worry. However, if you’re the type that only cares about damage and dodging, Ben won’t be as valuable to you.
Even still, having a defensive character lets you have a comfier time, similar to a character like Zhongli from Genshin.
A-Tier: Soukaku
A Rank |  Section 6 | Ice | Support |
Up next, we have Soukaku, who is a Support Agent for the Ice Attribute. She is also part of Section 6, but she is the only Agent currently available from the Faction.
Soukaku will be on the Ellen banner, so chances are that you get at least one copy of Soukaku when going for Ellen. With Ellen + Soukaku, you have 2/3rds of a very strong team. As previously mentioned, Lycaon will be a great final team member, but that depends if you obtain him or not.
Right now, a big part of Soukaku’s value comes from her pairing with Ellen. In the future, stronger Support characters may come out, leading to Soukaku moving down the tier list. But as it stands, she’s a solid unit assuming you have Ellen.
B-Tier: Soldier 11
S Rank |  OBOLS | Fire | Attack |
Starting out the B-tier, we have Soldier 11. While Soldier 11 is not a bad Attack Agent, she is one of the more difficult Agents to play. Her kit requires good timing to make the most out of it. For some players, this challenge is enticing and rewarding, but for many, this simply leads to subpar performance.
It also doesn’t help that her synergies are quite inflexible right now. There are no other OBOLS Agents yet, and for Version 1.0, there are only two other Fire Agents.
As more Agents come out, Soldier 11 can definitely move up the list, but for Version 1.0, her options are quite limited and she is difficult to play, leading to her B-tier rating.
Hoyoverse recently teased Lucy, a new Fire Support Agent. Her release may change Soldier 11’s rating, but time will tell.
B-Tier: Koleda
S Rank | Belobog | Fire | Stun |
Up next, we have Koleda, a Fire Stun Agent from Belobog. Similar to Soldier 11, Koleda suffers from inflexibility with the Fire Attribute. If you have all three Fire Agents (Soldier 11, Koleda, Ben), you can definitely put together a strong team, but the price to performance ratio seems to be worse than other teams. (Ice: Ellen, Lycaon, Soukaku) (Electric: Grace, Rina, Anton)
Koleda and Ben are also unique in that they launch Coordinated Attacks when they are on the same time. While this makes for a strong combination, it also makes team building less flexible.
From the reveals, Lucy looks to be an extremely powerful Fire Agent. If you run Koleda, Ben, and Lucy, you miss out on a strong Attack Agent. If you run Soldier 11, Koleda, Lucy, you miss out on the Coordinated Attacks from Koleda + Ben.
At the current moment, we feel that Koleda is a bit under the other S-Rank Agents, but things can definitely change upon release.
B-Tier: Anby
A Rank | Cunning Hares | Electric | Stun |
Up next, we have Anby, another free Agent you get from Cunning Hares. As a Stun Agent, she somewhat has flexibility, but to make the most of her, you want to use her in Electric/Cunning Hares teams.
While not a bad unit, we think that Anby will be one of the quicker units to be powercrept in the game. As more Stun/Support/Anomaly units come out, it will be hard for Anby to compete with new releases.
However, we don’t think you should just ignore her. There are plenty of applications where raising up Anby will be good for your account. If you pull Nekomata/Anton, you can easily build a Cunning Hares/Electric team with Anby.
Raising up free Agents early can also let you save some currency to pull for Agents you really want in the future. Just expect to replace her sooner rather than later.
B-Tier: Anton
A Rank | Belobog | Electric | Attack |
Moving on, we have Anton, an A Rank Electric Attack Agent from Belobog Heavy Industries. As an A Rank Attack Agent, he won’t compete with S Rank Agents, but he can be a valuable addition to your roster.
Anton will be featured on the Ellen banner, meaning you can get a copy or two while pulling for Ellen. While he doesn’t synergize with Ellen, he opens up options for a second team since you already get Anby for free.
This gives you 2/3 team members for a budget Electric team. If you have Grace/Rina, Anton can slot in as a third Agent, but you can also run him alongside Anby/Nicole for a F2P team.
Overall, he’s not a bad character by any means, and he does have application even for strong teams if you have Grace and/or Rina. We just expect his value to not last too long as stronger Agents release.
C-Tier: Billy
A Rank | Cunning Hares | Physical | Attack |
Lastly, we have two Agents in C-tier, and they’re here for mostly the same reason. First up, we have Billy, the last free Agent you receive from Cunning Hares.
As an A-Rank Attack Agent, he’s already at a disadvantage when trying to compete with other Attack Agents. His ranged playstyle can be an advantage, but that will depend on your personal preference.
The main issue is that Nekomata already exists. She has the exact same breakdown of Cunning Hares/Physical/Attack, except she’s S-Rank. In the CBT, some players used Billy alongside Nekomata to make an Assault team (Physical Attribute Anomaly).
However, with Piper on the horizon, Billy loses his value as another Physical Agent. Nekomata + Piper will almost assuredly outperform Nekomata + Billy, which is unfortunate.
At the end of the day, Billy can be useful to raise if you don’t own Nekomata. You can definitely use the free Cunning Hares team. However, Nicole and Anby both have applications in other stronger teams. As such, Billy will likely get left behind sooner rather than later.
If you pull for Piper in the future but don’t own Nekomata, Billy does have value as part of your Physical Team, he just won’t be ideal.
C-Tier: Corin
A Rank | Victoria | Physical | Attack |
Corin is another Agent you receive for free as part of the pre-registration rewards. Like Billy, she already has fierce competition being a Physical Attack Agent.
With so many options, it really begs the question of why build up Corin at all. The Victoria Housekeeping Faction doesn’t synergize well with Corin, and there are better Physical options in the game already.
If you want to build your account around the Physical Attribute, you can start out using Billy/Corin and replace one with Piper down the line.
Either way, we don’t have high expectations for Corin as Nekomata is a clear upgrade and Piper will also take up a team slot on Physical teams.
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