Zenless Zone Zero’s patch 3.2, “Their Secret Histories,” went live on September 9, 2026, and it did something most patches don’t: it split the two most-cited agent trackers on where two S-tier agents actually belong. Game8’s tier list, refreshed September 22 with two full weeks of live play data, ranks Miyabi and Tsukishiro Yanagi noticeably higher than Icy Veins’ list, last touched on September 8 — the day before the patch dropped. That gap is the real story of this tier list. Below is the full S-through-D breakdown, why the two trackers split, and why Claret’s new Armorer kit is worth building around before Roxy even lands.
Zenless Zone Zero Tier List: Full Rankings (Patch 3.2)
This composite ranking is built primarily from Game8’s September 22, 2026 update — the most recent full re-rank after two weeks of live 3.2 data — cross-checked against Icy Veins’ own tracker. Where the two disagree meaningfully, it’s flagged below the table rather than silently averaged away.
The two trackers don’t even weigh the same things first. Game8 ranks strictly by overall damage output, then team flexibility, then ease of use — a damage-first model. Icy Veins leans harder on endgame match-ups (how an agent performs specifically in Shiyu Defense and Deadly Assault), synergy with other top agents, and how much of an agent’s power is locked behind their signature W-Engine. That difference in criteria, not just timing, is part of why a kit-flexible support can land higher on one list than the other even when both trackers agree it’s strong.
| Tier | Agents | Best For | Avoid If |
|---|---|---|---|
| S | Ye Shunguang, Remielle, Velina, Sunna, Lucia, Dialyn, Norma, Nangong Yu, Astra Yao, Yuzuha, Trigger, Yixuan, Miyabi* | Building a team around one clear best-in-slot carry or support with no real ceiling | You’re missing the support/anomaly pieces these agents actually need — a lone S-tier DPS with no backline is still slow |
| A | Claret, Promeia, Zhao, Evelyn, Vivian, Sigrid, Seed, Aria, Alice, Yidhari, Soldier 0 – Anby, Starlight – Billy, Jane, Banyue, Pyrois, Cissia, Orphie & Magus, Ju Fufu, Lighter, Hugo | Readers who already own an S-tier anchor and want a strong second or third team member | You’re trying to build your very first team — start with an S-tier anchor first |
| B | Yanagi*, Burnice, Ellen, Qingyi, Manato, Koleda, Rina, Nicole, Harumasa, Lycaon, Nekomata, Pulchra, Soukaku, Pan Yinhu | Filling out a third/fourth team for a second Deadly Assault squad, or a specific boss match-up | You only have resin/investment for one team — put it into S or A tier first |
| C | Zhu Yuan, Caesar, Lucy, Soldier 11, Grace, Piper, Seth, Anby | Free-to-play players using whatever the early game handed out, no investment regret | You’re deciding who to build with limited resources — there are stronger options above |
| D | Anton, Corin, Ben, Billy | Story-mode clears only, or a specific niche gimmick team | Almost any endgame content — Shiyu Defense and Deadly Assault will punish these picks |
*Miyabi and Yanagi carry an asterisk because the two trackers this list draws from don’t agree on them — see the section below before treating their placement as settled.
Who Should You Actually Build? (Player-Type Priority)
A tier list is not a shopping list. What you build depends on how much of the game you’re actually playing.
| Player Type | Priority |
|---|---|
| New player | Pull for whichever S-tier agent is on the current standard or beginner banner and finish the story with it. Don’t chase a specific S-tier name before you’ve cleared the early game — you’ll have replaced your first team by then anyway. New to the game entirely? Our Zenless Zone Zero beginner’s guide covers combat basics and pity first. |
| Casual player | Pick one S-tier anchor and one A-tier support, then stop. Spreading Mindscape and W-Engine materials across three half-built teams is slower than fully building one. |
| Hardcore / optimizer | Chase the exact synergy pieces an S-tier carry needs, not just the carry itself — Claret’s Gash-into-Maim engine, for example, is worth far less without a support that can extend her Sharpness uptime. Check W-Engine dependency before committing to a signature pull. |
| Completionist | Track Mindscape progress separately from the base tier list. Multi-CRIT agents like Claret scale unusually well with early Mindscapes (M1–M2), so a dupe-light S-tier agent can underperform a dupe-heavy A-tier one in practice. |
Why Claret Is the Real Story of Patch 3.2
Claret is worth building around even at A-tier, because she’s the first playable agent in the brand-new Armorer specialty — and Armorer changes how S-rank agents scale. Her skill damage counts as Sharp DMG and scales off her DEF stat rather than ATK, and her attacks build stacks of Gash on enemies. Once Gash is fully stacked, a Special Attack triggers Maim for bonus damage and pushes Claret into Bloodaxe Form, unlocking a stronger attack combo for a limited window[1].
The mechanism that actually matters for team-building: Armorer kits use a multi-CRIT system that lets CRIT Rate climb above the usual 100% cap[1]. In practice, that means Claret keeps converting CRIT Rate investment into damage past the point where most other DPS agents are already stat-capped — a DEF-scaling, overflow-CRIT kit is a genuinely new build pattern for the game, not a reskin of an existing archetype. That’s why she’s ranked ahead of several older S-tier names on raw ceiling, even while still sitting at A-tier until more live data settles her exact team compositions.
Where the Trackers Actually Disagree
Game8 and Icy Veins split hardest on two agents: Miyabi and Tsukishiro Yanagi. Game8’s September 22 refresh — two weeks into live 3.2 — keeps Miyabi in its top SS tier and moves Yanagi up into its S tier[2]. Icy Veins’ list, last updated September 8, the day before 3.2 launched, has Miyabi one tier lower and Yanagi two tiers lower[3].
The date gap explains the split better than any kit disagreement does. Icy Veins’ snapshot was locked in before Claret’s Armorer kit, and the new team compositions it enables, existed in live play at all — it couldn’t have factored in how Miyabi and Yanagi’s anomaly-focused kits pair with Claret’s Gash-and-Maim engine, because nobody had played that pairing yet. Game8’s later update did. This list follows Game8’s placement for both agents specifically because it reflects tested live synergy rather than pre-launch projection — but if you’re deciding whether to build Yanagi today, treat her as a genuine toss-up between B and S tier rather than a settled call.
Roxy Isn’t Ranked Yet — Here’s Why
Roxy, the second new agent this patch, doesn’t appear on this list at all, and that’s deliberate rather than an oversight. She’s a Wind-attribute Stun specialist releasing September 30, 2026, in 3.2’s second phase — not live yet as of this article[4]. (Some pre-launch previews mislabeled her as a second Armorer agent; her confirmed in-game specialty is Stun, not Armorer[4].) Any tier placement for an agent with zero live playtime is a guess dressed up as data — wait for a post-launch tracker update before deciding whether to save for her.
Sigrid is worth a separate correction while we’re here: several aggregator summaries this patch cycle have attributed her to 3.2 alongside Claret. She’s actually a 3.1 agent — her banner ran August 19 through September 8, 2026, the phase immediately before this patch[5]. If you’re planning pulls around “new 3.2 agents,” Claret and Roxy are the only two that actually qualify.
F2P Priority: Which 3 Agents to Pull First
If you’re starting fresh or rebuilding after a break, prioritize breadth of role over chasing every S-tier name on the table above.
| Priority | Agent | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ye Shunguang | The highest-agreement S-tier carry on both trackers this patch — no disagreement, safe first pull for raw damage. |
| 2 | Astra Yao | S-tier on both trackers and one of the few agents built to support almost any team regardless of specialty — she buffs Attack, Anomaly, or Stun agents differently depending on who she swaps in for, and needs very little field time herself. |
| 3 | Dialyn | Consistently S-tier across both sources and covers the Stun role neither of the first two picks fills — gives your first full team three distinct jobs instead of two agents doing the same one. |
FAQ
Is Miyabi still worth pulling in patch 3.2?
Yes — both trackers keep her in their top two tiers even at their most disagreeing, and the more recent, live-tested ranking keeps her at the very top. The disagreement is about how far ahead she is of the field, not whether she’s still strong.
Should I save for Roxy instead of building Claret now?
Build Claret. She’s live, tested, and already sitting at A-tier with room to climb as more supports are tried with her Gash-Maim engine. Roxy is an unknown quantity until September 30 — skipping a proven agent to save for an unreleased one is a bet, not a strategy.
Do I need every S-tier agent on this list to clear endgame content?
No, and trying to is the most common mistake this list sees. Shiyu Defense and Deadly Assault reward one or two fully-built teams far more than four half-built S-tier rosters. Pick a lane from the player-type table above and commit to it.
Why do Game8 and Icy Veins disagree on Yanagi specifically?
Mostly timing, partly criteria. Icy Veins’ list predates 3.2’s launch by a day, before Yanagi’s kit had been tested against Claret’s new team compositions; Game8’s update came two weeks after live play started and weighs raw damage more heavily than W-Engine dependency. Treat any tier list dated before September 9, 2026 as pre-patch data for this reason.
How much does W-Engine (weapon) choice change these rankings?
More than most tier lists admit. A signature W-Engine is one of the few things that can move an agent up or down a full tier — Icy Veins explicitly ranks agents with a smaller gap between their free and signature W-Engine higher, precisely because those agents stay strong for F2P players. If you’re not planning to pull signature weapons, weight the tier table above toward agents known for low W-Engine dependency rather than the single highest-ceiling name.
Version Note
Verified against Version 3.2, “Their Secret Histories,” live since September 9, 2026, with Phase 2 (Roxy) launching September 30, 2026. Tier placements follow Game8’s September 22, 2026 update, cross-checked against Icy Veins’ September 8, 2026 snapshot. Rankings will shift again once Phase 2 goes live and community data on Roxy accumulates — check back after September 30 before finalizing a pull plan around her.
Looking for tier lists on other current-meta multiplayer games? See our Tekken 8 tier list for another case where competing rankings disagreed, our Marvel Rivals tier list, or our roundup of the best gacha games on PC if you’re deciding whether to pick up Zenless Zone Zero at all.
Sources
- Lopez, Azario. Zenless Zone Zero Version 3.2 Launches September 9 With Claret, Roxy, And New Armorer Specialty. Noisy Pixel.
- Game8. 3.2 Tier List and Best Characters as of September 2026. Game8.
- Icy Veins. Zenless Zone Zero Tier List and Best Agents. Icy Veins.
- Game8. Roxy Release Date, Best Builds, and Teams. Game8.
- Game8. Sigrid Banner Release Date and Schedule. Game8.
I've been playing video games for over 20 years, spanning everything from early PC titles to modern open-world games. I started Switchblade Gaming to publish the kind of accurate, well-researched guides I always wanted to find — built on primary sources, tested in-game, and kept up to date after patches. I currently focus on Minecraft and Pokémon GO.