Debutting alongside Ye Shunguang in Zenless Zone Zero version 2.5 update, Zhao promises to be one of the game’s most powerful and universal support options for players to play around with. In this guide, we will go over the best W-Engines, Discs and Team options for players to be able to max Zhao’s support potential in Zenless Zone Zero.
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Zhao Skill Kit & Playstyle Analysis
General Introduction
Zhao is a S Rank Ice Element Agent of the Defense Specialty in Zenless Zone Zero. She specializes in providing the team with various powerful damage boosting effects when Ether Veil is active in addition to healing the team and dealing damage to enemies.
Skill Analysis & Leveling Priority
 | Basic Attack: Deal Physical and Ice Damage to enemies. Enhanced Basic Attack: Charges up before dealing Ice Damage to enemies proportional to Zhao’s max attack. If Frostbite Points is maxed, consume all Frostbite Points to activate Ether Veil: Wellspring and trigger a quick assist. If an ally switches in using a quick assist, Zhao follows ups with this attack and begins charging. |
| Leveling Priority: High | |
| Basic Attack | |
| Reason: | |
 | Special Attack: Deal Ice Damage to enemies. Consumes own HP to grant the team a HP regeneration buff. EX Special Attack: Deal Ice Damage to enemies. Consumes own HP to grant the team a HP regeneration buff. Then, recovers 20 Frostbite Points. If Frostbite Points is maxed out, consumes all to activate Ether Veil: Wellspring. If Zhao is in an Ether Veil when activating this skill, trigger a quick assist. If an ally switches in using a quick assist, Zhao follows up with an enhanced basic attack and begins charging. |
| Leveling Priority: High | |
| Special Attack | |
| Reason: | |
 | Chain Attack: Deal Ice Damage to enemies and gain 5 Frostbite Points. If Frostbite Points is maxed out, consumes all to activate Ether Veil: Wellspring. If Zhao is in an Ether Veil when activating this skill, trigger a quick assist. If an ally switches in using a quick assist, Zhao follows up with an enhanced basic attack and begins charging. Ultimate: Deal Ice Damage to enemies and gain 20 Frostbite Points. If Frostbite Points is maxed out, consumes all to activate Ether Veil: Wellspring. If Zhao is in an Ether Veil when activating this skill, trigger a quick assist. If an ally switches in using a quick assist, Zhao follows up with an enhanced basic attack and begins charging. |
| Leveling Priority: High | |
| Chain Attack & Ultimate | |
| Reason: | |
 | Dodge: Dodge the enemies’ attacks Dodge Counter: Dodge the enemies attacks then deal Ice Damage to them. |
| Leveling Priority: Low | |
| Dodge | |
| Reason: | |
 | Entry Skill: When Zhao has maximum Frostbite Points and is the active character, use Assist to activate. Deal Ice Damage to enemies. If Frostbite Points is maxed out, consumes all to activate Ether Veil: Wellspring. If Zhao is in an Ether Veil when activating this skill, trigger a quick assist. If an ally switches in using a quick assist, Zhao follows up with an enhanced basic attack and begins charging. Defensive Assist: Parries the enemies’ attacks. Assist Follow Up: Deal Ice Damage to enemies. If Frostbite Points is maxed out, consumes all to activate Ether Veil: Wellspring. If Zhao is in an Ether Veil when activating this skill, trigger a quick assist. If an ally switches in using a quick assist, Zhao follows up with an enhanced basic attack and begins charging. |
| Leveling Priority: Medium | |
| Entry Skill & Assist | |
| Reason: | |
 | Core Skill: Zhao gains Critical Rate based on her initial Max HP. Upon entering the battlefield, Zhao gains 100 Frostbite Points. When the active character attacks enemies, Zhao gains 6 Frostbite Points. When Frostbite Points is maxed, switching Zhao onto the field will activate her Entry Skill and all Frostbite Points will be consumed to activate Ether Veil: Wellspring. While Ether Veil: Wellspring is active, all allies gain 5% Max HP increase. When Zhao activates Ether Veil: Wellspring, all allies gain an attack boost. Additional Ability: When another character in your squad is an Attack, Anomaly, or Support character: When Zhao is within any Ether Veil, the whole squad’s DMG increases by 10%. If Zhao’s initial Max HP exceeds 15,000, every additional 400 initial Max HP increases this DMG bonus by an additional 1%, up to a total maximum increase of 40%. This bonus reaches its maximum when Zhao’s initial Max HP reaches 27,000. |
| Unlock Priority: Highest | |
| Core Skill & Additional Ability | |
| Reason: | |
Playstyle Guide & Rotation
Zhao is a very strong support character who ironically is not of the support specialty despite her amazing skill kit. Zhao provides the team with a lot of important effects, including a massive damage up buff, an attack increase, party wide healing and the ability to deal decent to strong damage as well.
Zhao’s skill kit is quite easy to understand and use, revolving around her Frostbite Points gimmick. When attacking with Zhao, she will accumulate Frostbite Points through various means. Once Zhao’s Frostbite points is maxed out, using any of her abilities will allow her to consume all of her Frostbite Points to set up the Ether Veil: Wellspring effect and allow for a Quick Assist to help switches in the main DPS onto the field. While the DPS is on the field, Zhao will help supplement the team’s damage by charging up and dealing damage with her enhanced basic attack.
After setting up Ether Veil: Wellspring, Zhao will provide the entire team with a massive attack and damage increase in addition to a max HP increase, helping the team deal massive amounts of damage. Additionally, Zhao can provide the team with some healing using her Special Skill, which consumes a portion of her HP to provide a continuous healing buff for allies. Her skill is extremely potent and versatile, suitable for any team but especially teams that take advantage of Ether Veil.
Zhao Best In Slot W-Engines
Zhao, as a defense Specialty Agent that serves as a supportive role in the team, wants W-Engines that boost her Max HP and allows her to grant beneficial effects to the team to maximize her support effects.
Zhao Best W-Engines Choices
Some of Zhao’s Best W-Engine Choices are:
 |  |  |
| Half-Sugar Bunny | Original Transmorpher | Reel Projector |
| Limited 5* W-Engine | Gacha 4* W-Engine | Free 4* W-Engine |
| Main Stat: 713 Attack |
| Sub Stat: 30% HP | |
| Half-Sugar Bunny | W-Engine Rating: Best Premium W-Engine |
| Effect: The equipper’s Energy Regen increases by 0.46/s. All squad members gain 10% ATK and 10% 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% CRIT DMG for 60s. Repeated triggers reset the duration. | |
| Explanation: Zhao’s signature W-Engine and her best in slot W-Engine that provides the entire team with a massive attack, max HP and critical damage boost while also boosting her own Energy Regen and HP to help max out her Additional Ability. | |
| Main Stat: 594 Attack |
| Sub Stat: 25% HP | |
| Original Transmorpher | W-Engine Rating: Best F2P Alternative |
| Effect: Increases Max HP by 8%. When attacked, the equipper’s Impact is increased by 10% for 12s. | |
| Explanation: Zhao’s best alternative W-Engine that provides her with a hefty Max HP increase. | |
| Main Stat: 594 Attack |
| Sub Stat: 15% Impact | |
| Reel Projector | W-Engine Rating: Decent Supportive Alternative |
| Effect: When a squad member’s HP is greater than or equal to 50%, they take 7.5% less DMG, and 10% less Miasma Contamination. Only one instance of this effect can exist in the same squad. | |
| Explanation: A decent alternative W-Engine for Zhao that helps to mitigate the damage taken by allies when Zhao is present in the team. | |
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Zhao Best Drive Discs Builds & Stats
Zhao Best Drive Discs Set
The best drive disc set for Zhao is the 4pcs Astral Voice set, which allows her to buff the team’s damage when an ally enters the field using her Quick Assist. For the 2pcs set, players should use the Yunkui Tales set, which boosts her HP stat.
 | Astral Voice |
| 2-pc: ATK +10% | |
| 4-pc: Whenever any squad member enters the field using a Quick Assist, all squad members gain 1 stack of Astral, up to a maximum of 3 stacks, and lasting 15s. Repeated triggers reset the duration. Each stack of Astral increases the DMG dealt by the character entering the field using a Quick Assist by 8%. Passive effects of the same name do not stack. | |
 | Yunkui Tales |
| 2-pc: HP +10% | |
| 4-pc: When using EX Special Attack, Chain Attack, or Ultimate, CRIT Rate increases by 4%, stacking up to 3 times and lasting 15s. Repeated triggers reset the duration. When having 3 stacks of this effect, Sheer DMG increases by 10%. | |
Zhao Best Main Stats & Sub Stats
As a Defense specialty character that wants as much HP as possible with powerful support effects, players should invest in Zhao’s HP and Energy Regen as much as possible.
Her preferred stats are as followed:
| Drive Disc | Main Stats |
| #4 | HP% |
| #5 | HP% |
| #6 | HP% or Energy Regen% |
| Priority | Sub Stats |
| 1st | HP% |
| 2nd | Critical Damage% |
| 3rd | Attack% |
Important Stat Threshold:
– To maximize her Additional Ability Effect and her Core Ability, players should aim for 27000 HP for Zhao.
– Players should also invest somewhat into Zhao’s Energy Regen so that she can use her Special Attack more often to accumulate Frostbite Points better.
Zhao Best Teams
With such an amazing skill kit that she can enable herself, Zhao can serve as any team’s support option thanks to how universal her attack and damage increase buff effects are. Ideally, players can use her as the support option for any team, however, she works best in teams that take full advantage of her Ether Veil effect.
Ye Shunguang Hypercarry Team
 |  |  |
| Ye Shunguang | Dialyn | Zhao |
| Main DPS | Stunner/ Support | Support |
| Essential | Essential | Flexible |
Main DPS: Ye Shunguang serves as the team’s main DPS, with her ability to deal massive amounts of damage while she is on the team and taking full advantage of Dialyn’s free ultimate and Zhao’s powerful damage boost when Ether Veil is active.
Stunner/Support: Dialyn is the team’s stunner and support, with her ability to quickly increase the enemies’ Daze gauge and put them to stun to help Zhao gain the maximum Ether Veil damage conversion effect from her Ultimate. Additionally, her ability to grant Zhao a free Ultimate helps to optimize Zhao’s damage output to the max.
Support/ Sustain: Zhao is the team’s main support character as she helps to amplify the team’s overall damage output when the Ether Veil effect is active. Additionally, she can help heal the team and deal decent damage whenever she is on the field.
Conclusion
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