Zenless Zone Zero: Zhu Yuan Character Overview

Zhu Yuan is an S-Rank Ether Attack agent in Zenless Zone Zero, known for her precision and overwhelming firepower. As leader of the Criminal Investigation Special Response Team, she unleashes Enhanced Shotshells, lasers, and missiles to deal massive Ether DMG—especially against stunned enemies. This guide explores Zhu Yuan’s best builds, her signature W-Engine and Drive Disc setups, skill rotation strategy, and essential Zhu Yuan materials to help her thrive.

Zhu Yuan ZZZ

Zhu Yuan is a no-nonsense law enforcer with elite training and impeccable form. Her calm demeanor masks a relentless combat machine built for piercing, suppressing, and executing threats with overwhelming Ether damage output. Her kit revolves around managing Enhanced Shotshells, activating Suppressive Mode, and burning through resources to deal high DPS, especially against enemies that are stunned or debuffed.

Zhu Yuan	Attribute	Specialty	Role	Faction
	Ether	Pierce	Attack (DPS)	Criminal Investigation Special Response Team

Her ranged Basic Attacks, EX Special Attack, and powerful Ultimate make her easy to pick up, but her true damage ceiling comes from knowing when to go all-in. She thrives with strong Stun and Support agents and rewards players who time their burst combos during enemy vulnerability windows.

Background and Lore

Zhu Yuan is the stoic and commanding leader of the Criminal Investigation Special Response Team in Zenless Zone Zero. Known across New Eridu for her razor-sharp discipline and near-perfect track record, she’s earned a reputation as a model Public Security officer unyielding in her pursuit of order.

ZZZ Zhu Yuan Materials & Stats

Zhu Yuan’s base stats reflect her role as a mid-range Ether DPS with strong scaling potential. Her kit is built around Enhanced Shotshells, which fuel her piercing attacks and allow her to dish out massive Ether DMG, especially against stunned enemies.

Base Stats (Level 60)

Zhu Yuan is a powerful Ether DPS who excels at dealing massive damage from mid-range. Her stats favor offensive output, and her Enhanced Shotshell mechanic allows her to rapidly ramp up Ether DMG—especially when enemies are stunned.

Zhu Yuan Promotion Materials (Level 1 → 60)

These materials are vital to bring Zhu Yuan to her peak combat performance. If you want to avoid the resource grind, Zenless Zone Zero Leveling Service is a solid way to quickly power up Zhu Yuan and get straight to the action.

ZZZ Zhu Yuan Skills

Zhu Yuan's skill set in Zenless Zone Zero revolves around tactical versatility, high CRIT synergy, and dealing massive Ether DMG through Enhanced Shotshells. Her playstyle switches between Assault Mode for rapid combos and Suppressive Mode for precise burst shots. Most of her damage comes from Enhanced Basic Attacks that scale dramatically against Stunned enemies.

Skill	Type	Effect Summary
Special Ops Ammunition	Core Passive	+20% DMG with Enhanced Shotshells in Suppressive Mode, +20% more vs. Stunned. Gain 6 shots on entry.
Tactical Coordination	Additional Ability	+30% CRIT Rate for 10s after EX/Chain/Ultimate if team has Support or same Faction.
Don't Move!	Basic Attack	5-hit combo (Physical + Ether DMG). 4th/5th hit grants 1 Enhanced Shotshell.
Please Do Not Resist	Basic Attack	Up to 3 piercing shots. Consumes 1 Enhanced Shotshell per shot for massive Ether DMG.
Tactical Detour	Dodge	Quick invulnerable dash.
Firepower Offensive	Dash Attack	[Assault Mode] Pistol attack after dodge (Physical DMG).
Overwhelming Firepower	Dash Attack	[Suppressive Mode] Piercing shot. With Enhanced Shotshells: massive Ether DMG.
Fire Blast	Dodge Counter	Shoots Ether Buckshot. +1 Enhanced Shotshell. Invulnerable during.
Covering Shot	Quick Assist	Fires Ether Buckshot. +1 Enhanced Shotshell. Invulnerable.
Guarded Backup	Evasive Assist	Dodge incoming attack. Triggers Vital View. Invulnerable.
Defensive Counter	Assist Follow-Up	Martial arts + shotshell combo. Physical + Ether DMG. +3 Enhanced Shotshells. Invulnerable.
Buckshot Blast	Special Attack	Fires Ether Buckshots 3x. Anti-Interrupt during use.
Full Barrage	EX Special Attack	Fires exploding Ether Buckshots. +3 Enhanced Shotshells. Invulnerable.
Eradication Mode	Chain Attack	Fires lasers + missiles for massive Ether DMG. +3 Enhanced Shotshells. Invulnerable.
Max Eradication Mode	Ultimate	Same as Chain Attack but stronger. Massive Ether DMG. +3 Enhanced Shotshells. Invulnerable.

Substats Priority:
CRIT RATE ≈ CRIT DMG > ATK% > PEN Ratio%

ZZZ Zhu Yuan Build

Zhu Yuan excels as a ranged Ether DPS, with most of her damage coming from Enhanced Shotshells fired in Suppressive Mode. Her build should focus on maximizing CRIT Rate, CRIT DMG, and Ether DMG, allowing her to punish stunned enemies with devastating burst combos. Here's her best W-Engine, Drive Disc setup, stat priorities, and skill upgrade path:

Best W-Engines for Zhu Yuan

Zhu Yuan benefits the most from CRIT-based engines that enhance her Basic Attack and Ether DMG output during burst windows. Below are her top W-Engine choices:

W-Engine	Effect	Why It’s Best
Riot Suppressor Mark VI	Increases CRIT Rate by 15%. Using an EX Special Attack grants 8 Charge stacks. Each Basic Attack that deals Ether DMG consumes 1 stack to increase its DMG by 35%.	Zhu Yuan’s signature weapon. Boosts both her CRIT and Ether DMG. Perfect synergy with her Enhanced Shotshell mechanics and burst rotation.
The Brimstone	Hitting enemies with Basic, Dash, or Dodge Counter attacks increases ATK by 3.5% (up to 8 stacks, lasts 8s).	Excellent for rotations with frequent Basic Attacks. Strong once ramped, but needs consistent uptime to shine.
Zanshin Herb Case	+10–16% CRIT Rate and +40–64% Dash Attack Electric DMG. Triggers extra CRIT Rate for 15s when team applies Attribute Anomaly or Stun.	Strong passive CRIT bonuses. Great in teams with frequent Attribute triggers or Stuns. Also benefits from Zhu Yuan’s mobility tools.
Cannon Rotor (Battle Pass)	+7.5% CRIT Rate. Critical hits trigger a non-CRIT Physical DMG hit equal to 200% of ATK (every 8s).	Stats are decent, but the extra Physical hit doesn’t scale with Ether, making it a less optimal option for Zhu Yuan’s damage type.
Marcato Desire	Boosts CRIT-based output. Adds extra damage if Anomaly is applied to enemies.	Decent if you run Zhu Yuan in an Ether-focused team with reliable Corruption uptime. Best used with frequent Anomaly procs.

Best Drive Disc Sets for Zhu Yuan ZZZ

Drive Discs are a critical part of Zhu Yuan’s build, directly enhancing her Ether DMG, CRIT output, and combat ATK multipliers.

Drive Disc Set	Effect	Why It's Good for Zhu Yuan
Chaotic Metal (4-PC)	+10% Ether DMG, +20% CRIT DMG. Grants stacking CRIT DMG bonus when Corruption is triggered.	Scales perfectly with Zhu Yuan's burst-oriented kit and CRIT synergy.
Chaotic Metal (2-PC) + Woodpecker Electro (2-PC)	+10% Ether DMG and +8% CRIT Rate.	A balanced high-damage combo offering reliable scaling and flexibility.
Woodpecker Electro (4-PC)	Grants CRIT Rate and stacks Combat ATK% when you CRIT with different skills.	Strong pick with high uptime and synergizes with CRIT-based EX loops.
Puffer Electro (4-PC)	Boosts Ultimate DMG and gives ATK% after Ult.	Good option for Ultimate-focused burst rotations, but less reliable for sustained DPS.

Skill Priority for Zhu Yuan

Zhu Yuan’s damage is built around generating and consuming Enhanced Shotshells. To maximize her damage, focus on skills that improve her ability to maintain these charges and use them efficiently.

• Core Skill – Special Ops Ammunition
  Effect: Increases damage when using Enhanced Shotshells. Buff is doubled against stunned enemies. Also grants 6 shotshells on entry.
  Priority: Top priority. Boosts all of Zhu Yuan’s enhanced attacks and is vital for her burst damage.
• Basic Attack – Don’t Move! / Please Do Not Resist
  Effect: Generates and consumes Enhanced Shotshells depending on the mode. Primary damage tool.
  Priority: Upgrade early. Core to her DPS loop, especially in Suppressive Mode.
• Dodge – Tactical Detour / Dash Attacks
  Effect: Enables repositioning and unlocks Firepower Offensive. Vital for charge flow and flexible play.
  Priority: Mid-priority. Useful for mobility and offensive transitions.
• Special Attack – Buckshot Blast / Full Barrage
  Effect: Deals Ether DMG and generates charges. EX version is part of her burst rotation.
  Priority: Upgrade after Core and Basic Attack. Important for EX burst and energy dump windows.
• Chain Attack – Eradication Mode / Max Eradication Mode
  Effect: High-damage laser and missile combo. Used during decibel windows.
  Priority: Moderate to high. Upgrade to increase team DPS during burst combos.
• Assist – Covering Shot / Guarded Backup
  Effect: Defensive options and backup charge generation.
  Priority: Lowest priority unless your team frequently relies on assists and swap-ins.

Best Team Compositions for Zhu Yuan

Zhu Yuan’s role as an Ether-based Attack agent means her best teams should amplify her Enhanced Shotshells uptime, improve Stun synergy, and maximize her Ether DMG against stunned enemies.

Because of this, she thrives alongside Stun characters who can lock enemies down and Support units that match her Faction or Attribute, activating her Core Skill Tactical Coordination for a +30% CRIT Rate bonus.

ZZZ Zhu Yuan Meta Team

This is Zhu Yuan’s top-tier composition for high-difficulty Hollow battles and late-game content. Qingyi ensures consistent stuns, and Nicole boosts CRIT and Ether output while improving team survivability and uptime. CRIT Rate bonuses align perfectly with Zhu Yuan’s burst combos.

Zhu Yuan F2P Team

Ideal for players without access to premium units. Anby and Pulchra offer sufficient stun uptime for Zhu Yuan’s combos to activate fully. Nicole remains a budget-friendly support that unlocks Tactical Coordination’s CRIT Rate buff. With good timing, Zhu Yuan still deals devastating Ether DMG in this setup.

Conclusion

Zhu Yuan agent S-Rank in Zenless Zone Zero - she’s a one-woman suppression unit. Her entire kit is built around overwhelming firepower: combining martial precision, tactical mobility, and relentless Ether DMG with surgical efficiency. But what truly sets her apart isn’t just her damage numbers, it’s how she transforms pressure into control. Ready to dive deeper into high-end play? Our Zenless Zone Zero Boosts give you the edge in tough missions, resource farming, or unlocking meta-defining builds.

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Change Log

• 05.04.2025 - Zenless Zone Zero: Zhu Yuan Character overview published.