Zenless Zone Zero (ZZZ)Zhu YuanBuild and Guide

Introduction

Best guide and build for Zhu Yuan from ZZZ (Zenless Zone Zero). Zhu Yuan is an
rank character with the Ether attribute who belongs to the
Attack Specialty and who is part of the
N.E.P.S. faction.

Leader of Public Security's Criminal Investigation team, Zhu Yuan, standing by. You can come to me if you need any help.

To learn more about Zhu Yuan check the sections below. Use the tabs to quickly switch to the kind of information you're looking for.

Update tracker

Last review/pros & cons update

Patch 1.5

Last build/calcs update

Patch 2.4

Last teams/synergies update

Patch 2.4

Last profile update*

November 25th, 2025

*Profile update means smaller edits to disk drives, stats or other things that don't require new calculations.

To learn more about Zhu Yuan check the sections below. Use the tabs to quickly switch to the kind of information you're looking for.

Profile

Review

Build

SD/DA Analytics

Teams & Synergy

Calculations

Core skills

Core Passive Special Ops Ammunition

Lv. 1

When Zhu Yuan is under Suppressive Mode, using Enhanced Shotshells increases her DMG by 20%. When attacking Stunned enemies, this DMG buff is increased by an additional 20%. When Zhu Yuan enters the battlefield, she immediately gains 6 Enhanced Shotshells.

CRIT DMG 0

BASE ATK: 0

Additional Ability Tactical Coordination

When another character in your squad is a Support character or shares the same faction:

Zhu Yuan's CRIT Rate is increased by 30% for 10s after using an EX Special Attack, Chain Attack, or Ultimate.

Skills

Basic

Dodge

Assist

Special

Chain

Basic Attack: Don't Move!

[Assault Mode] Press to activate: Unleash a flurry of martial arts, bullets, and Ether Buckshots in a series of up to 5 attacks, dealing Physical DMG and Ether DMG. When the 4th or 5th hits strike an enemy, obtain 1 Enhanced Shotshell. A max of 1 can be obtained per skill use. While using this skill, drag the stick/joystick and press to activate Dash Attack: Firepower Offensive and readjust to face the selected direction. While under Assault Mode, hold to switch to Suppressive Mode.

Lv. 1

1st-Hit DMG Multiplier

43.10%

1st-Hit Daze Multiplier

21.60%

2nd-Hit DMG Multiplier

126.40%

2nd-Hit Daze Multiplier

97.30%

3rd-Hit DMG Multiplier

137.30%

3rd-Hit Daze Multiplier

94.70%

4th-Hit DMG Multiplier

151.00%

4th-Hit Daze Multiplier

124.30%

5th-Hit DMG Multiplier

162.20%

5th-Hit Daze Multiplier

139.20%

Basic Attack: Please Do Not Resist

[Suppressive Mode] Hold to activate. Unleash up to 3 Shotshell piercing attacks, dealing Physical DMG. If Zhu Yuan has Enhanced Shotshells upon firing, 1 Enhanced Shotshell will be consumed, dealing massive Ether DMG. While using this skill, drag the stick/joystick to activate her Dash Attack: Overwhelming Firepower and readjust to face the selected direction. While in Suppressive Mode, release to return to Assault Mode.

Lv. 1

1st-Hit (Physical) DMG Multiplier

53.70%

1st-Hit (Physical) Daze Multiplier

59.60%

2nd-Hit (Physical) DMG Multiplier

53.70%

2nd-Hit (Physical) Daze Multiplier

59.60%

3rd-Hit (Physical) DMG Multiplier

160.90%

3rd-Hit (Physical) Daze Multiplier

178.80%

1st-Hit (Ether) DMG Multiplier

135.90%

1st-Hit (Ether) Daze Multiplier

59.60%

2nd-Hit (Ether) DMG Multiplier

135.90%

2nd-Hit (Ether) Daze Multiplier

59.60%

3rd-Hit (Ether) DMG Multiplier

407.70%

3rd-Hit (Ether) Daze Multiplier

178.70%

Dodge: Tactical Detour

Press to activate:. A rapid dodge. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.

Dash Attack: Firepower Offensive

[Assault Mode] Press during a dodge to activate: Uses handgun to attack, dealing Physical DMG.

Lv. 1

DMG Multiplier

55.10%

Daze Multiplier

27.60%

Dash Attack: Overwhelming Firepower

Suppressive Mode Drag the joystick/joystickduring Basic Attack: Please Do Not Resist to activate: Unleashes a Shotshell piercing attack, dealing Physical DMG. If Zhu Yuan has Enhanced Shotshells when firing, 1 Enhanced Shotshell will be consumed, dealing massive Ether DMG.

Lv. 1

Physical DMG Multiplier

53.70%

Physical Daze Multiplier

59.60%

Ether DMG Multiplier

135.90%

Ether Daze Multiplier

59.60%

Dodge Counter: Fire Blast

Press during a Perfect Dodge to activate. Shoots enemies in front with an Ether Buckshot, dealing Ether DMG. Gain 1 Enhanced Shotshell on skill use. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.

Lv. 1

DMG Multiplier

176.80%

Daze Multiplier

161.40%

Special Attack: Buckshot Blast

Press to activate: Shoots Ether Buckshots that deal Ether DMG. This can be repeated 3 times by repeatedly pressing . Anti-Interrupt level is increased while using this skill.

Lv. 1

DMG Multiplier

18.40%

Daze Multiplier

18.40%

EX Special Attack: Full Barrage

With enough energy, press to activate: Shoots a series of Ether Buckshots, that explode and deal massive Ether DMG. Upon activation, gain 3 Enhanced Shotshells. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.

Lv. 1

DMG Multiplier

587.40%

Daze Multiplier

480.00%

Energy Cost

Chain Attack: Eradication Mode

When a Chain Attack is triggered, select the character to activate: Uses Modified Master Firearm to execute a saturated attack, firing lasers and seeking missiles to deal massive Ether DMG. Upon activation, gain 3 Enhanced Shotshells. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.

Lv. 1

DMG Multiplier

587.50%

Daze Multiplier

148.60%

Ultimate: Max Eradication Mode

When Decibel Rating is at Maximum, press to activate. Uses Modified Master Firearm to execute a saturated attack, firing lasers and seeking missiles to deal massive Ether DMG. Upon activation, gain 3 Enhanced Shotshells. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.

Lv. 1

DMG Multiplier

1977.60%

Daze Multiplier

125.10%

Quick Assist: Covering Shot

When the on-field character is launched, press to activate. Shoots enemies in front with an Ether Buckshot, dealing Ether DMG. Gain 1 Enhanced Shotshell on skill use. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.

Lv. 1

DMG Multiplier

51.40%

Daze Multiplier

51.40%

Evasive Assist: Guarded Backup

When the character on field is about to be attacked, press to activate. Dodges the enemy's attack and activates the Vital View. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.

Assist Follow-Up: Defensive Counter

Press after an Evasive Assist to activate. Attack with a combination of martial arts and shotshells, dealing Physical DMG and Ether DMG. Upon activation, gain 3 Enhanced Shotshells. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.

Lv. 1

DMG Multiplier

355.80%

Daze Multiplier

308.60%

Mindscapes

Quick Reload

Mindscape 1

When Zhu Yuan activates Chain Attacks/Ultimates, gain the Quick Reload effect. When Zhu Yuan has the Quick Reload effect and uses up all Enhanced Shotshells, the Quick Reload effect will be consumed to instantly gain 6/9 Enhanced Shotshells.

Ether Ember

Mindscape 2

In Suppressive Mode, Zhu Yuan’s Anti-Interrupt level is increased and DMG taken reduced by 10%. When Zhu Yuan hits an enemy with Enhanced Shotshells, the target takes 10% more Ether DMG from Basic Attack: Please Do Not Resist and Dash Attack: Overwhelming Firepower DMG, stacking up to 5 times and lasting for 5s. Each shot adds one stack of this effect, and repeated triggers reset the duration.

Public Security Special Training

Mindscape 3

Basic Attack, Assist, Dodge, Special Attack, and Chain Attack Lv. +2

Ether Perforation

Mindscape 4

When Zhu Yuan hits an enemy with Enhanced Shotshells, her Basic Attack: Please Do Not Resist and Dash Attack: Overwhelming Firepower ignore 25% of the target’s Ether RES.

Special Ops Experience

Mindscape 5

Basic Attack, Assist, Dodge, Special Attack, and Chain Attack Lv. +2

Expanded Energy Pack III

Mindscape 6

When Zhu Yuan consumes a total of 12 Enhanced Shotshells, she receives the Ether Afterglow effect, and the Energy cost of the next EX Special Attack is reduced by 30. Launching an EX Special Attack will consume Ether Afterglow and shoot an additional 4-bullet Ether Buckshot. Each extra bullet deals DMG equal to 220% of Zhu Yuan's ATK.

Stats (Level 60)

Zhu Yuan Stats at level 60 (including Core passive bonuses).

7482

DEF

600

ATK

919

CRIT Rate

CRIT DMG

78.8%

PEN Ratio

Impact

Anomaly Mastery

Anomaly Proficiency

Energy Regen

1.2

Voice Actors

ENG

JPN

Inoue Marina (井上麻里奈)

Mace (陆敏悦)

Gallery

Zhu Yuan images aren't available yet. They will be added soon!

Ratings

This tier list assesses Agents (characters) based on their combat potential in Zenless Zone Zero’s most demanding contents - Deadly Assault (DA) and Shiyu Defense (SD). Please keep in mind Zenless Zone Zero is a skill-based game and each character has a different playstyle, difficulty level and even special tricks and combos. Zenless Zone Zero is also a team based game and it's only by combining both these factors to the highest level a character can reach optimal performance.

DPS

Endgame Modes

Pros & Cons

Pros

One of the more F2P-friendly characters with strong generalist team options and highly accessible W-Engines;
Core playstyle is easy to understand and has high mobility, but still leaves lots of room for optimization;
Belongs in teams with Double Support and Stun + Support units with fairly equal performance, only reinforcing her accessibility.

Cons

Zhu Yuan is a combo-based character who can take lots of practice to pick up and play perfectly, presenting a major learning curve;
Nowadays, significantly outclassed in the Ether DMG department at higher investments by characters like Yixuan.

Review

Zhu Yuan is a Ranged/Melee hybrid S-Rank Ether Combat Agent specializing in delivering massive Ether Burst damage to stunned enemies with her unique ammunition system. With her high mobility, Zhu Yuan integrates multiple Dash attacks into her optimal damage combos, allowing her to reposition mid-attack and implement Invulnerability frames while dealing optimal damage.

Zhu Yuan’s kit revolves around her Shotgun Shell gauge, which can hold up to 9 Enhanced Shells. These shells empower her Basic and Dash Attacks. She switches between two modes of attack: Assault Mode and Suppressive Mode.

Assault Mode: This mode includes most of her Default Attack sequences. It deals low damage but focuses on generating Enhanced Shotgun Shells.
Suppressive Mode: This mode features high-damage Charged Attacks. It can be accessed by holding down the basic attack, causing Zhu Yuan to perform a backflip before entering Suppressive Mode. In this mode, while holding, Zhu Yuan continuously consumes 1-3 Enhanced Shotgun Shells to deal massive damage with her attacks.

Zhu Yuan has some of the most varied combos available in the game, with each offering unique benefits in different situations. Learning and mastering them all is quite a challenge. Fortunately, it’s possible to focus on the most commonly used, highest-damage combos, which this guide will cover. Zhu Yuan has access to two completely different basic attack combos, one for each Suppressive and Assault mode.

Zhu Yuan’s Assault Mode Basic Attacks consist of a six-part attack combo (despite the game only listing five of the six parts). Here is the breakdown of the combo:

Assault Mode Basic P1: Physical Melee Kick
Assault Mode Basic P2: Ether Ranged Shotgun Blast
Assault Mode Basic P3: Physical Melee Multi-Kick
Assault Mode Basic P4: Ether Ranged Shotgun Jump Blast (Generates 1 Shell)
Assault Mode Basic P5: Ether Ranged Shotgun Dash Blast (Generates 1 Shell)
Assault Mode Basic P6: Ether Ranged Shotgun Slide

The most valuable attacks in this sequence are Basic P4 and P5, as they deal the best damage and also generate Zhu Yuan's shells. Ideally, we’d like to access these as frequently as possible.

Another unique aspect of Zhu Yuan’s basic attacks is that she can weave in a Dash Attack after any of the combo sequences above by triggering a Basic Attack by holding down the directional key. In this guide, we’ll be talking specifically about her left and right Dash Attacks (they’re the same as each other), as they are the most effective in her kit and the ones you should be using whenever mentioned. Dashing after attacks in this way will alter the sequencing of her next attack depending on which you dashed after. Here is a list of how using a side dash after each part of the Assault Mode basic attack changes things:

Assault Mode Basic P1 -> Dash Attack -> Assault Mode Basic P3 (Optimal)
Assault Mode Basic P2 -> Dash Attack -> Assault Mode Basic P3 (Avoid)
Assault Mode Basic P3 -> Dash Attack -> Loop Back to Assault Mode Basic P3 (Avoid)
Assault Mode Basic P4 -> Dash Attack -> Assault Mode Basic P5 (Avoid)
Assault Mode Basic P5 -> Dash Attack -> Loop to Assault Mode Basic P3 (Optimal)
Assault Mode Basic P6 -> Dash Attack -> Loop Back to Assault Mode Basic P3 (Avoid)

The changes to attack ordering allow Zhu Yuan to execute higher damage, faster combos that generate more shells. Here is an example of a combo in action:

Assault Mode Basic P1
Dash Attack
Assault Mode Basic P3
Assault Mode Basic P4
Assault Mode Basic P5
Dash Attack
Assault Mode Basic P3
Assault Mode Basic P4
Assault Mode Basic P5

By using Dash Attacks, we can speed up Zhu Yuan’s standard rotation and loop/skip to the best parts of it.

Zhu Yuan’s other Basic Attack moves are within Suppressive Mode, which, as mentioned above, needs to be entered by holding down the Basic Attack and waiting for Zhu Yuan to perform a short preparatory flip. The time needed for Zhu Yuan to enter Suppressive Mode is roughly 0.5 seconds, long enough that you don’t want to be constantly moving in and out of Assault and Suppressive unless necessary. The best approach is to enter Suppressive mode only when you have sufficient Enhanced Shells to consume (5 or 9 being optimal). Additionally, several abilities in Zhu Yuan’s kit allow her to immediately enter Suppressive Mode without delay as long as you immediately begin using Suppressive Mode Basics right after they finish. These abilities are:

EX Special Attack
Ultimate Attack
Chain Attack

After entering Suppression mode, continuously holding down the Basic Attack will cause Zhu Yuan to fire an Enhanced Shotgun combo consisting of 3 parts which if available, will each consume a number of Shotgun Shells to deal either tiny Physical (un-enhanced) or massive Ether damage (enhanced). Due to the poor multipliers on Zhu Yuan’s un-enhanced Suppressive Basics it’s never worth using them without Shells available. Here is how many Shells each attack uses:

Suppressive Mode Basic P1 = 1 Shell
Suppressive Mode Basic P2 = 1 Shell
Suppressive Mode Basic P3 = 3 Shells (Deals triple the damage of P1 and P2)

Just like Zhu Yuan’s Assault Mode Basic Attacks, she can also make use of a special Suppressive Mode Dodge Attack to alter and improve her Basic Attack sequences. We’ll again be making use of side Dash Attacks (left and right) as they are the most competitive in most cases. Here is how dashes affect the combo:

Suppressive Mode Basic P1 -> Suppressive Mode Dash Attack -> Suppressive Mode Basic P3
Suppressive Mode Basic P2 -> Suppressive Mode Dash Attack -> Suppressive Mode Basic P3
Suppressive Mode Basic P3 -> Suppressive Mode Dash Attack -> Suppressive Mode Basic P3 (Loop)

The key takeaway here is that we can use a Suppressive Mode Dash Attack following a Suppressive Mode Basic P3 to skip straight back to another P3 incredibly quickly, allowing us to consume our Shells much faster and increase Zhu Yuan’s burst potential. Here is an example combo that dumps all 9 Shells as fast as possible (a full gauge):

Suppressive Mode Basic P1 (1 Shell)
Suppressive Mode Basic P2 (1 Shell)
Suppressive Mode Basic P3 (3 Shells)
Suppressive Mode Dash Attack (1 Shell)
Suppressive Mode Basic P3 (3 Shells)

As mentioned above, Zhu Yuan has a Dash Attack for both Assault Mode and Suppressive Mode. For both modes, she has different Dash attacks for forward, back, left and right, but left and right are primarily used in both modes for her combos. They can be not only used mid-combo for cancels but also in general combat outside of combos.

Zhu Yuan’s Dodge Counter is a quick Shotgun Blast that deals Ether damage and generates 1 Shotgun Shell, making it an optimal way to stack up Shells quickly against fast-attacking enemies. Following this Dodge Counter, Zhu Yuan skips straight to her Assault Mode Basic P3, allowing her to quickly chain attacks together if desired.

Zhu Yuan’s Quick Assist and Assist Follow-Up both launch a Shotgun Blast dealing Ether damage and generating Shotgun Shells. Her Quick Assist generates 1 Shell and her Assist Follow-Up generates 3.

Zhu Yuan’s EX Special Attack, Chain Attack, and Ultimate are all functionally the same but with varying damage multipliers. All of them trigger massive Shotgun Blasts that immediately place Zhu Yuan in Suppressive Mode allowing for immediate usage of Suppressive Mode Basics and generating 3 Shells each.

To round off her kit, Zhu Yuan features an incredible Core Passive as well as an Additional Ability, both of which tremendously boost her damage output. Zhu Yuan’s Core Passive boosts the damage of all her Shell-Enhanced Suppressive Mode Basic Attacks and Dash Attacks by up to 40%, further increasing against Stunned targets by another 40% for a total of 80%. She also gains 6 Shells at the start of each combat. Meanwhile, with her Additional Ability if Zhu Yuan has a Support character or a character sharing either her Faction in the team, she’ll gain 30% Crit Rate for 10 seconds after using an EX Special, Chain, or Ultimate. This buff is all but guaranteed to be permanently active during Zhu Yuan’s main burst window where she unloads all her Shells (usually against Stunned enemies).

Zhu Yuan’s build-and-spend kit plays perfectly into a Burst damage playstyle where she can build up Shells, Energy, and her Ultimate to unleash strong attacks on Stunned enemies in an incredibly short amount of time. At the time of her release, Zhu Yuan delivers the most Burst damage during a Stun window in the game, assuming she has all her kit at her disposal.

How to play

Despite having an incredibly complex kit with many possibilities, Zhu Yuan is very easy to play when you know which combos to execute. She is almost entirely focused on Burst Damage, which should be delivered while the enemy is Stunned to take advantage of her Core Passive and the Stun damage multiplier. Our goal is to build and unload as many Shell Enhanced Suppressive Mode Basic Attacks as possible within the Stun window.

There are many sequences of Suppressive Mode Basics, EXs, and her Ultimate you can execute while the enemy is Stunned, but here is the combo we found to be most optimal, dealing the most damage in the least time. Before executing this combo, we recommend holding at least 2 Shells minimum (M0) in reserve to achieve maximum burst:

Start (2 Shells)
Chain Attack (5 Shells)
Quick Assist: After Nicole (6 Shells)
EX Special Attack (Remove if not enough energy) (9 Shells)
Suppressive Mode Basic Attack P1 (8 Shells)
Suppressive Mode Basic Attack P2 (7 Shells)
Suppressive Mode Basic Attack P3 (4 Shells)
Suppressive Mode Side Dash Attack (3 Shells)
Suppressive Mode Basic Attack P3 (0 Shells)
EX Special Attack (3 Shells)
Ultimate (6 Shells)
Suppressive Mode Basic Attack P1 (5 Shells)
Suppressive Mode Basic Attack P2 (4 Shells)
Suppressive Mode Basic Attack P3 (1 Shells)
Suppressive Mode Side Dash Attack (0 Shells)

As you can see, assuming you start with 2 Shells with Zhu Yuan’s Energy gauge full, and her Ultimate available, you can unload a total of 15 Shells into a Stunned enemy incredibly quickly. In case you don’t have Zhu Yuan’s Ultimate or one of the EX’s available, you can offset this by either building up additional Shells before starting combo (5 instead of 2 to replace 1 EX or Ultimate) before the Stun window or cutting short her burst rotation. Also, when using certain W-Engines, Disc Drives, or Team Compositions, swapping the first EX in above rotation with the Ultimate can lead to increased damage for little downside (this is true if playing Zhu Yuan with Nicole and you don’t intend to quick swap Nicole in to refresh her debuffs).

Outside of Zhu Yuan’s Stun burst rotations her damage is underwhelming unless you choose to expend EX’s and Shells (Only recommended against Non-Boss enemies). For this reason against any tough enemies your goal should be to recharge Energy, Shells and Decibels and get back to bursting as fast as possible. There are two options to choose from when aiming to achieve this.

You can keep Zhu Yuan on field and focus on performing Assault Mode combos (Listed Below) that yield the most Shells, the Defensive Assist of your Stun character and Zhu Yuan’s Dodge Counters where they make sense.

Standard combo:
Assault Mode Basic P1
Side Dash Attack
Assault Mode Basic P3
Assault Mode Basic P4
Assault Mode Basic P5
Side Dash Attack
Assault Mode Basic P3

Best W-Engines

The W-Engines are listed in order of priority. Sometimes the percentages appearing near them won't reflect their performance as pure damage or Stun output isn't the only thing we're looking at - the utility of the W-Engine might be more important than the calculations imply.

The top number shows the relative performance of the W-Engine when looking at Zhu Yuan playing with teammates, while the bottom number in the 'vacuum', so just Zhu Yuan's performance solo. You can find more information about them in the Calculations tab.

For the team calculations, here's the team setup we used for them:

Dialyn + S1 Yesterday Calls
Nicole + S5 The Vault

100.90%

97.81%

Increases CRIT Rate by 15/17/19/21/23%. When the equipper deals DMG with a Basic Attack or EX Special Attack, they gain 1 stack of a buff. Each stack increases the equipper's Electric DMG by 12.5/14.5/16.5/18.5/20%, up to 2 stacks. Each stack lasts 40s. The duration of each stack is calculated separately. Can trigger once per use of a skill. At 2 stacks, the wearer's Basic Attack and Ultimate DMG ignore 20/23/26/29/32% of enemy DEF.

Base ATK (Lv 60): 713

Crit Rate (Lv 60): 24%

Seed’s Signature W-Engine is Zhu Yuan's best choice by a slight margin. Focused on buffing CRIT Rate by massive amounts, as well as providing increased Electric DMG and providing 20% Ignore DEF on Basic Attacks and Ultimates when reaching max Electric DMG buffs, this makes it the best option for Zhu Yuan as even though she ironically can't utilize the Electric DMG buffs, she utilizes the DEF Ignore very well.

Usage: 1.46%

Shiyu Defense: 129s

Deadly Assault: 21562

100%

Upon hitting an enemy with a Basic Attack, Dash Attack, or Dodge Counter, the equipper's ATK increases by 3.5/4.4/5.2/6/7% for 8s, stacking up to 8 times. This effect can trigger once every 0.5s. The duration of each stack is calculated separately.

Base ATK (Lv 60): 684

Attack (Lv 60): 30%

Soldier 11's Signature W-Engine and a good choice for any character with a focus on using a lot of Basic Attacks or even just a few long lasting ones. The catch is each buff stack has its own duration and only 1 buff can be gained every 0.5 seconds, making maintaining max stacks of this buff require constant Basic Attacks.

Usage: 35.31%

Shiyu Defense: 174s

Deadly Assault: 21612

93.88%

96.05%

Increases CRIT Rate by 15%. Launching an EX Special Attack grants the equipper 8 Charge stacks, up to a maximum of 8 stacks. Whenever the equipper's Basic Attack deals Ether DMG, consumes a Charge stack and increases the skill's DMG by 35%.

Base ATK (Lv 60): 713

Crit Damage (Lv 60): 48%

"Zhu Yuan's Signature W-Engine is an engine for Ether DPS characters with a focus on dealing a large amount of their damage through Basic Attack. The bonuses of this Engine are simple but effective and for a character that can take advantage of all of them a massive damage boost making it likely one of their best options. "

Usage: 44.72%

Shiyu Defense: 172s

Deadly Assault: 20515

87.45%

86.46%

When an EX Special Attack or Chain Attack hits an enemy, the equipper's ATK increases by 6/6.9/7.8/8.7/9.6% for 8s. While the target is under an Attribute Anomaly, this effect is increased by an additional 6/6.9/7.8/8.7/9.6%.

Base ATK (Lv 60): 594

Crit Rate (Lv 60): 20%

Reasonable option for CRIT scaling agents playing in teams capable of applying Anomaly semi-consistently to trigger and maintain its secondary bonus effect a decent amount of the time.

Usage: 2.9%

Shiyu Defense: 215s

Deadly Assault: 17347

87.30%

86.59%

Launching a Dodge Counter or Quick Assist increases the equipper's ATK by 12/13.8/15.6/17.4/19.2% for 12s.

Base ATK (Lv 60): 594

Attack (Lv 60): 25%

A solid all-around Free To Play accessible option for all Attack Agents. Grants 25% unconditional Standard Attack and a further 19.2% (At S5) Combat Attack buff after performing a Dodge Counter or Quick Assist lasting 12 seconds. This buff is reasonably easy for all Attack Agents to achieve in both their standard and burst rotations, assuming a Support character is present on the team.

Usage: 7.31%

Shiyu Defense: 202s

Deadly Assault: 16410

Best Disk Drives Sets

(2)

Ether DMG +10%.

(4)

The equipper's CRIT DMG increases by 20%. When any character in the squad triggers Corruption's additional DMG, this effect further increases by 5.5% for 8s, stacking up to 6 times. Repeated triggers reset the duration.

Competitive option for CRIT-based Ether DPS characters, granting 10% permanent Ether DMG% from the 2P and 20% CRIT DMG from the 4P. The 4P Bonus also gives a stacking buff, granting 5.5% CRIT DMG any time Corruption deals damage stacking up to 6 times and lasting 8 seconds - with the duration refreshing every new stack. The total bonus of the 4P comes out at 53% CRIT DMG under ideal circumstances. Requires some planning and another source of Ether application such as Nicole to fully utilize.

Best combined with your choice of 2-PC Set:

Woodpecker Electro (Recommended)
Hormone Punk / Astral Voice
Branch & Blade Song
Dawn's Bloom.

(2)

PEN Ratio +8%.

(4)

Ultimate DMG increases by 20%. Launching an Ultimate increases the equippers ATK by 15% for 12s.

Puffer is a particularly strong set, but one that's reliant on a specific teammate: Dialyn. Its Combat Attack bonuses are comparable to Woodpecker's 2-stack, with the added bonus of providing Ultimate DMG %, but its 12s duration meant it never lasted for a whole stun period, and getting enough Decibels for Ultimates every stun was often unsustainable. If Dialyn is present though, this fixes both problems, as it allows for both double Ultimate rotations (so full uptime for burst) and Ultimates in every stun, leading to it outperforming Woodpecker - and at times even Chaotic Metal - when it otherwise would fall short.

Best combined with your choice of 2-PC Set:

Woodpecker Electro (Recommended)
Branch & Blade Song (Recommended)
Hormone Punk / Astral Voice
Chaotic Metal

(2)

CRIT Rate +8%.

(4)

Triggering a critical hit with a Basic Attack, Dodge Counter or EX Special Attack increases the equippers ATK by 9% for 6s. The buff duration for different skills are calculated separately.

Always a great option for CRIT-scaling Main DPS characters who will remain on the field for extended periods of time, this Disc Drive set provides extra CRIT Rate and lots of ATK% which can be triggered using very general conditions, making this set versatile and effective.

Best combined with your choice of 2-PC Set:

Branch & Blade Song (Recommended)
Chaotic Metal
Hormone Punk / Astral Voice
Dawn's Bloom

Best Disk Drives Stats

Disk 4

CRIT DMG%

CRIT Rate%

Disk 5

ATK%

Ether DMG%

PEN Ratio%

Disk 6

ATK%

Substats: CRIT RATE = CRIT DMG = ATK% > PEN > ATK

Best Endgame Stats (Level 60)

ATK: 3000+
HP: 9500+
DEF: 800+
CRIT RATE: 60% - 70% (90% - 100% with Add Ability; Max 55% with Nicole M6)
CRIT DMG: 160% - 180%+ (Without Chaotic Metal Buff)

Skill priority

Basic Attack

Chain Attack

Special Attack

Dodge

Assist

Video guides

Synergy

Below we list only the most important synergies for Zhu Yuan. The character can work with others if you know what to do and how to use them. For more alternatives, refer to the Teams section.

Dialyn - Dialyn is decidedly the best Stunner for Zhu Yuan and far outperforms even double Support teams. Despite it's fast animations, Zhu Yuan's Ultimate is particularly hard hitting, and when paired with the ability to get 2 Ultimates and a Chain Attack in a combo, it leads to incredibly strong stun bursts. Dialyn's high Daze value and the relative ease in which Zhu Yuan can build resources for stuns leads to quick cycles and at times, more stuns in a fight than what could be achieved with other Stunners.
Qingyi
Anby - On-field Stun options are great for Zhu Yuan because they fill in for her downtime so no on-field time is wasted in between her damage windows. Qingyi is the most natural option and the best choice. She shares a faction with Zhu Yuan, she stuns very quickly, and she applies Stun DMG Multiplier debuffs to increase Zhu Yuan's damage against enemies. This means Zhu Yuan greatly benefits from Qingyi being present in her teams, however Anby is an option you can consider if you don't want to run Double Support team compositions and instead want to run a Stun Agent, as she applies a lot of Daze and fills in for Zhu Yuan's downtime, but beyond that point she lacks in extra utility which makes her viable, but worse.
Trigger
Pulchra - Having an opposite playstyle from Qingyi and Anby, Trigger and Pulchra serve as options that take much less of an on-field presence for Zhu Yuan to take up more of the field time instead. This style of team composition is very similar to her Double Support playstyle, which over time has proven to be her best. Trigger and Pulchra trade off an ability to deal higher Daze than their peers with very low field time and - most importantly - provide buffs to Zhu Yuan. While Qingyi still remains a superior choice as she also has buffs and higher Daze potential, both of these options outclass Anby who gives no buffs to Zhu Yuan whatsoever, making for perfectly good alternatives.
Seed - Seed can and wants to be paired alongside other Attack Agents who function as main damage dealers in order for her kit to work well. This is because Seed is able to buff Attack Agents in several ways, giving them Energy, ATK, DMG dealt and CRIT DMG increases. For this reason, she works well as a mix of DPS and Support for almost every Attack Agent in the game, including Zhu Yuan.
Nicole
Yuzuha
Astra Yao - These 3 generalist Support units are capable of servicing as the Support to any team in the game. Astra Yao provides Quick Assists, extra Chain Attacks, healing, super low field time, ATK, DMG and CRIT DMG buffs which makes her the overall best choice in almost all cases. Yuzuha on the other hand is the ultimate Anomaly buffer who's sporting awesome ATK and DMG% buffs applicable to any Agent as well, giving her strong general use potential. Nicole provides the sought-after DEF Shred and CRIT Rate at M6 which makes her competitive. They can work with any team in the game to great effect, whether that's by themselves or together, Nicole being particularly appreciated with Zhu Yuan as she also activates her Additional Ability which increases the whole party's Ether DMG on top of applying a good chunk of Ether Anomaly.

Teams (Shiyu Defense)

This section lists most popular teams featuring Zhu Yuan in the current phase of Shiyu Defense.

Rank 101

App. rate: 0.15%

Avg. time: 2m 30s

Rank 138

App. rate: 0.08%

Avg. time: 2m 43s

Rank 58

App. rate: 0.4%

Avg. time: 2m 48s

Rank 81

App. rate: 0.27%

Avg. time: 2m 49s

Rank 129

App. rate: 0.09%

Avg. time: 2m 51s

Rank 202

App. rate: 0.04%

Avg. time: 2m 59s

Rank 262

App. rate: 0.02%

Avg. time: 3m 7s

Rank 177

App. rate: 0.05%

Avg. time: 3m 10s

Rank 262

App. rate: 0.02%

Avg. time: 3m 12s

Rank 78

App. rate: 0.29%

Avg. time: 3m 14s

Teams (Deadly Assault)

This section lists most popular teams featuring Zhu Yuan in the current phase of Deadly Assault.

Rank 88

App. rate: 0.36%

Avg. score: 24222

Rank 92

App. rate: 0.34%

Avg. score: 22891

Rank 62

App. rate: 0.64%

Avg. score: 22811

Rank 130

App. rate: 0.18%

Avg. score: 22435

Rank 241

App. rate: 0.06%

Avg. score: 21745

Rank 90

App. rate: 0.35%

Avg. score: 19424

Rank 115

App. rate: 0.23%

Avg. score: 18245

Rank 241

App. rate: 0.06%

Avg. score: 18111

Rank 229

App. rate: 0.07%

Avg. score: 17368

Rank 61

App. rate: 0.66%

Avg. score: 16879

Damage output

Don't use the damage output calculations as an indication on who is worth pulling or investing as those are just simulations and in day-to-day gameplay there's a lot variables and also the skill of the player is important. As usual, don't compare the numbers between characters.

New Calculations

ZZZ has changed a lot from 1.0 - many new mechanics, enemies and characters have been introduced and biggest of all the game has a new competitive endgame mode Deadly Assault. Deadly Assault is based around dealing as much damage as possible in 180 seconds, because of this we're changing our calculation style away from a focus on burst to instead focus on extended fights over 3 minutes (180s). Also, many Mindscape, Disc Drive and W-enigne calculations can meaningfully change when factoring in the buffs of an Agents best team, for this reason we're also adding a new feature, allowing you to see damage output with one of the agents best teams buffs factored in. We're starting this overhaul off with Alice but will be updating all other characters on the site soon, for this reason, do not compare her calculations to other characters at this time!

This character uses our new calculation format for this reason, do not compare her calculations to older character. We'll be updating all DPS characters soon.

Mindscape Disclaimers

M1: Zhu Yuan's Mindscape 1 is incredibly unique and does more for her than can be represented in calculations accurately. This mindscape allows Zhuyuan to gain the quick reload effect after using her chain attack or ultimate granting her an immediate refill of shells after she uses her entire stock. The quick reload effect will refill 6 shells when gained through her chain attack and 9 through her ultimate. The impact of this mindscape is threefold, firstly it allows you to completely ignore needing to build any shells prior to any of Zhu Yuan's burst rotations as she gains an additional 6 per chain attack used bringing the total granted per chain to 9. Secondly it allows Zhuyuan to fully reload her shotgun shells after executing any full burst rotation where her ultimate is present granting you 9 shells to use as you see fit while you prepare for the next Stun Window (refer to Mini Burst Rotation to how we recommend using these). Lastly it drastically improves Zhu Yuan's ability to deal with inferior enemies granting her near endless ammo as you can continuously use Zhu Yuan's chain attack on all easily stunnable small fry enemies you come up against. Zhu Yuan can gain both quick reload effects at the same time allowing her to consume them back to back to recover 15 shells total (They stack and do not overwrite each other)
M6: Zhu Yuan's Mindscape 6's value varies depending on the fight and how you play her. The damage gain of this Mindscape represented below only includes the additional damage multiplier Zhu Yuan's EX gains and does not include the energy saving potential of the mindscape as we are unable to accurately represent the value it provides due to it's variable nature. You can expect Zhu Yuan to gain the bonus of this mindscape roughly every 2 or 1.5 EX skills you use significantly reducing her total energy consumption making he more consistant to play. Treat the damage gain below as the bare minimum to expect.

Team setup

For the team calculations (purple chart), here's the team setup we used for them (keep in mind that with different team members, the damage output will look different):

Dialyn + S1 Yesterday Calls
Nicole + S5 The Vault

Zhu Yuan in 1 Target scenario - Team Damage and Solo Damage output.

324 693 DPS205.76%

100 522 DPS213.18%

284 751 DPS180.45%

89 535 DPS189.88%

262 264 DPS166.20%

82 495 DPS174.95%

229 223 DPS145.26%

71 456 DPS151.54%

209 061 DPS132.48%

65 191 DPS138.25%

188 136 DPS119.22%

56 452 DPS119.72%

157 802 DPS100%

47 154 DPS100%

Details about the calculations

And here are the W-Engines and Disk Drives used in the calculations.

Base ATK (Lv 60): 684

Attack (Lv 60): 30%

(2)

Ether DMG +10%.

(4)

Disk 4

CRIT Rate%

Disk 5

ATK%

Disk 6

ATK%

Substats: ATK (42%), CRIT Rate (16.8%), CRIT DMG (67.2%)

Shiyu Defense / Deadly Assault

This section contains information about Zhu Yuan performance in the latest Shiyu Defense and Deadly Assault cycles (2.4.1). The page will be automatically updated every patch once enough data is gathered.

The data has been last updated on 05/12/2025,
28019 players shared their 2.4.1 Shiyu Defense clear data with us (25369 of the sample are self-reported players that filled our form, 2650 are from random UIDs that we scanned).
21245 players shared their 2.4.1 Deadly Assault clear data with us (19528 of the sample are self-reported players that filled our form, 1717 are from random UIDs that we scanned).

If you want to share your clear information with us, you simply need to fill the form below and provide us with your UID and make your Hoyo profile public - we will automatically parse the Shiyu Defense clear information from your profile after that!

Shiyu Defense Stats Form

Usage rate (SD)

Characters are ranked with appearance rate, which is how often a character was used in Shiyu Defense by the players who we have scanned, regardless of whether they own the character or not. Ownership rate currently cannot be obtained.

77.5%

75.94%

68.53%

54.24%

49.05%

44.84%

38.04%

24.58%

22.05%

18%

14%

12.87%

12.12%

10.08%

9.64%

8.22%

7.38%

5.24%

5.13%

4.91%

4.46%

4.21%

3.72%

3.66%

3.4%

2.62%

2.24%

2.2%

1.88%

1.79%

1.62%

1.54%

0.88%

0.76%

0.61%

0.52%

0.19%

0.17%

0.13%

0.12%

0.08%

0.08%

0.03%

Common partners (SD)

This section lists the characters that were most commonly paired with Zhu Yuan in the current phase of Shiyu Defense.

175s

77.38%

171s

45.24%

198s

23.81%

170s

22.86%

159s

15.24%

212s

3.57%

187s

3.1%

201s

2.62%

Common partners (DA)

This section lists the characters that were most commonly paired with Zhu Yuan in the current phase of Deadly Assault.

20184

67.19%

21362

38.09%

22965

31.95%

16967

28.67%

22044

17.69%

18596

3.42%

21501

3.28%

16342

2.43%

Mindscapes

Mindscapes data comes from players who used Zhu Yuan in the current SD cycle (420) or in the current DA cycle (701).

75.41%

179 s.

Mindscape 0

17.1%

149 s.

3.14%

145 s.

1.35%

113 s.

Basic Attack, Assist, Dodge, Special Attack, and Chain Attack Lv. +2

0.63%

138 s.

When Zhu Yuan hits an enemy with Enhanced Shotshells, her Basic Attack: Please Do Not Resist and Dash Attack: Overwhelming Firepower ignore 25% of the target’s Ether RES.

600 s.

Basic Attack, Assist, Dodge, Special Attack, and Chain Attack Lv. +2

2.38%

109 s.

W-Engines

W-Engines usage data comes from players who used Zhu Yuan in the current SD cycle (420) or in the current DA cycle (701).

44.72%

172 s.

Base ATK (Lv 60): 713

Crit Damage (Lv 60): 48%

35.31%

174 s.

Base ATK (Lv 60): 684

Attack (Lv 60): 30%

7.31%

202 s.

Launching a Dodge Counter or Quick Assist increases the equipper's ATK by 12/13.8/15.6/17.4/19.2% for 12s.

Base ATK (Lv 60): 594

Attack (Lv 60): 25%

2.9%

215 s.

Base ATK (Lv 60): 594

Crit Rate (Lv 60): 20%

1.54%

213 s.

Increases ATK by 7.5/8.6/9.7/10.8/12%. Attacks that land a CRIT on an enemy will inflict an additional 200% of ATK as DMG. This effect can only be triggered once every 8/7.5/7/6.5/6s.

Base ATK (Lv 60): 594

Crit Rate (Lv 60): 20%

1.46%

129 s.

Base ATK (Lv 60): 713

Crit Rate (Lv 60): 24%

Disk Drives

Disk Drives usage data comes from players who used Zhu Yuan in the current SD cycle (420) or in the current DA cycle (701).

43.65%

189 s.

(2)

Ether DMG +10%.

(4)

(2)

CRIT Rate +8%.

(4)

Triggering a critical hit with a Basic Attack, Dodge Counter or EX Special Attack increases the equippers ATK by 9% for 6s. The buff duration for different skills are calculated separately.

21.53%

173 s.

(2)

Ether DMG +10%.

(4)

(2)

CRIT DMG +16%.

(4)

When Anomaly Mastery exceeds or equals 115 points, the equipper's CRIT damage increases by 30%. When any squad member applies Freeze or triggers the Shatter effect on an enemy, the equipper's CRIT Rate increases by 12%, lasting 15s.

4.47%

160 s.

(2)

Ether DMG +10%.

(4)

(2)

ATK +10%.

(4)

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%. Only one of this effect can be active at a time in the same squad.

3.45%

168 s.

(2)

Ether DMG +10%.

(4)

(2)

ATK +10%.

(4)

Upon entering combat or switching in, its user's ATK increased by 25% for 10s. This effect can be triggered once every 20s.

3.44%

170 s.

(2)

CRIT Rate +8%.

(4)

Triggering a critical hit with a Basic Attack, Dodge Counter or EX Special Attack increases the equippers ATK by 9% for 6s. The buff duration for different skills are calculated separately.

(2)

CRIT DMG +16%.

(4)

2.16%

204 s.

(2)

CRIT Rate +8%.

(4)

Triggering a critical hit with a Basic Attack, Dodge Counter or EX Special Attack increases the equippers ATK by 9% for 6s. The buff duration for different skills are calculated separately.