A ZZZ carry does not deal its damage alone. It deals damage inside a stun window, wearing buffs a support handed it, in the half-second after a stunner cracked the enemy's Daze bar. Which is why a "best DPS" list in Zenless Zone Zero is a slightly different question than in most games: you are not just ranking who hits hardest, you are ranking who most deserves the two teammates that make hitting hard possible. Give the wrong Agent that window and you waste it. Give the right one and a four-second opening turns into a health bar.
So this is a damage-only ranking, Attack, Anomaly, and Rupture Agents sorted purely on what they contribute when the window opens, and it deliberately ignores the utility that lifts stunners and supports on the overall ZZZ tier list. Placements track the Version 3.1 meta. Under each tier is the team shape that carry actually wants, because a DPS ranking you cannot build around is just trivia.
How a ZZZ damage team is shaped
Almost every top team is the same trio wearing different faces:
- A DPS (the Agent from this list) to spend the window.
- A Stunner to crack Daze and open the window: Qingyi, Trigger, Nangong Yu, and the like.
- A Support to buff and enable: Astra Yao, Caesar, Nicole, or a faction-matching bangboo.
The exceptions are the Anomaly and Disorder cores, which sometimes run two damage dealers and lean on the anomaly buildup itself instead of a classic stun. Keep that split in mind as you read: a Stun-reliant Attack carry and a self-sufficient Anomaly carry want very different second and third slots.
S tier: the ceiling of the mode
The four Agents that set the number everyone else is measured against. If you own one, it anchors your account.
- Remielle Dan posts off-field Lumiflux damage that costs you zero field time and improves whatever it is bolted onto. She is the rare carry that also plays like a support, which makes her the most flexible S-tier pull in the game.
- Ye Shunguang carries the highest reliable ceiling in the game for a single field slot. When you can feed her the window, nothing hits harder per second.
- Yixuan is self-sufficient Rupture damage that supplies the Daze her own burst wants, which loosens the usual stunner requirement and frees a team slot.
- Hoshimi Miyabi still detonates Frost Anomaly bursts that set the benchmark a year after release, the reason the Ice-anomaly archetype has stayed relevant through three versions.
Team shell: Remielle and Yixuan bend the rules (off-field and self-Daze respectively), so they slot into almost anything. Ye Shunguang and Miyabi want the classic Stunner-plus-Support sandwich and pay it back with interest.
A tier: excellent, and often the smarter value
A long, deep tier, because 3.1's mid-meta is genuinely strong. These clear every stage of Shiyu Defense and Deadly Assault; several out-value the S-tier for what they cost.
- Evelyn Chevalier, best-in-class single-target burst when you can hand her a full stun window.
- Vivian Banshee, corruption stacking that finally makes Ether Disorder teams viable.
- Sigrid de L'Azur, a modern Ice burst carry, forgiving to build and demanding to pilot well.
- Tsukishiro Yanagi, the Electric half of the Disorder pairing that defined a year of the meta.
- Velina Airgid, Windswept into Vortex with an Anomaly Buildup RES cut riding on top.
- Jane Doe, ramps into a frenzy state few sustained carries can match.
- Burnice White, off-field Fire application that never competes for field time, the connective tissue of countless Disorder teams.
Alongside them sit the newer names your account may already carry: Promeia (repeated Abloom procs plus a squad-wide Abloom buff), Aria (enormous Ether and Abloom damage from a genuinely simple rotation), Seed (heavy basic-attack damage that also hands an ally Attack and CRIT DMG), Alice Thymefield, Yidhari, Soldier 0 Anby, and Hugo Vlad. Any of them is a real carry.
Team shell: the Anomaly names (Yanagi, Burnice, Vivian, Velina, Promeia, Aria) prefer a second anomaly applier for Disorder over a pure stunner, so build the duo first and slot a support third. The Attack names (Evelyn, Sigrid, Seed) want the standard Stunner-plus-Support and live or die on the quality of the window.
B tier: strong, still clears everything
Not the ceiling anymore, but a built B-tier carry still 3-stars current endgame. This is where a lot of veteran accounts quietly sit and win.
- Ellen Joe, a clean charged-attack loop that clears everything the game asks, just without the newer carries' headroom.
- Zhu Yuan, shotshell burst that is devastating inside a stun and idle outside one, the definition of a window-dependent carry.
- Asaba Harumasa, homing arrows and a fast, mobile loop that asks little of the pilot.
Team shell: all three are stun-reliant Attack carries. Do not skimp on the stunner here; a B-tier carry in a great window out-damages an A-tier one in a bad one.
C, D, and F: the archive
Honest placements for the launch-era roster, because "where does my old carry rank now" deserves an answer.
- C (situational): Nekomiya Mana, quick combo bursts outscaled by every limited carry since; Soldier 11, reliable, unremarkable ignition; Grace Howard, off-field Shock that a dozen units now do better; and Piper for budget Disorder.
- D (outclassed): Anton and Corin, high-commitment loops the modern game no longer rewards.
- F (bench): Billy Kid, ranged Physical that stopped scaling around Version 1.2. Fun, fond, finished.
None of these are unplayable in the early game; they simply stop being the reason you clear once the roster opens up.
Building around your carry, in one paragraph
Pick your highest carry from the list, then answer two questions. Does it self-stun or self-anomaly? If yes (Yixuan, most Anomaly duos), you can drop the pure stunner and run a second applier or a second support. If no (Ye Shunguang, Evelyn, Zhu Yuan, Ellen), a strong stunner is not optional, it is half your damage. Does it work off field? If yes (Remielle, Burnice), it stacks with an on-field carry instead of competing for time. Nail those two and the third slot is just the best faction-matching support you own. For the deeper role breakdown, the specialties and team roles guide explains why each seat exists, and the stun tier list and anomaly tier list rank the two other seats this list assumes you are filling.
For pull decisions, the ZZZ banner schedule carries a verdict on every current and upcoming Agent (Claret, Roxy, and the 3.2 reruns are on the horizon), the full agent tier list ranks the whole 58-Agent roster with separate DPS, Stun, and Support boards, and the redeem codes page is free Polychrome toward whichever carry you are chasing. Build the window first. The damage follows.
