Optimizing characters’ stats and equipment is par for the course in HoYoverse titles and the core gear system in Zenless Zone Zero is called the Drive Discs. They are essentially components you equip into empty slots to grant your Agents various stats and effects.
Think of them as the equivalent of Artifacts in Genshin Impact or Relics in Honkai: Star Rail, if you played those titles. Yes, that means endless grinding in hopes of getting the sub-stats you desire only to fall in the state of maximum disappointment seeing a Flat DEF stats popping out.
To start, you can equip up to a maximum of 6 Drive Discs per Agent. Similar to the other HoYoverse titles, each piece of Drive Disc will come with a main stat and can have up to 4 different sub-stats. If a piece of Drive Disc does not come with 4 sub-stats, a random new one will be granted to the piece every 3 levels upgrade. Otherwise, upgrading it will strengthen a random sub-stat already on the piece by a random value. Similarly, they also come with rarity, which then dictates the maximum levels they can reach, thus also affecting the maximum values of the stats.
Main Stats
Here are the possible main stats for each piece:
Slot | Possible Main Stats | |
I | Flat HP | |
II | Flat ATK | |
III | Flat DEF | |
IV | HP% / Flat HP | ATK% / Flat ATK |
DEF% / Flat DEF | Anomaly Proficiency | |
CRIT Rate | CRIT DMG | |
V | HP% / Flat HP | ATK% / Flat ATK |
DEF% / Flat DEF | PEN Ratio | |
Anomaly Mastery | Element DMG Bonus | |
VI | HP% / Flat HP | ATK% / Flat ATK |
DEF% / Flat DEF | Anomaly Mastery | |
Energy Regen | Impact |
*Element DMG is random and can roll any of the 5 elements available in the game – Physical, Fire, Ice, Electric, Ether
Sub Stats
Here are the possible sub-stats you may obtain randomly via upgrading a Drive Discs. Note they cannot be the same as the Drive Disc’s main stat.
Possible Sub-Stats | |
HP% / Flat HP | ATK% / Flat ATK |
DEF% / Flat DEF | PEN |
CRIT Rate | CRIT DMG |
Anomaly Proficiency | Impact |
Sets
Drive Discs are categorized into different sets. Each set comes with a 2-piece bonus or a 4-piece bonus effect – basically, equipping 2 pieces or 4 pieces from the same set will grant special effects that will greatly boost an Agent’s capabilities.
Unlike in Honkai: Star Rail, where slots are fixed to 4 pieces of Relics and 2 pieces of Planar Ornaments – here, you can slot in any 6 Drive Discs you like so long as they belong to the slots, allowing you to essentially grant the 2-piece and 4-piece effects of one set alongside another 2-piece bonus from another set to your Agent, or simply go 2-2-2.
Tier 1 Sets
These sets can appear as either B, A, or S Rank pieces, and are recommended to grind for when it comes to end-game optimizations.
Zenless Zone Zero - S Rank Drive Discs
Drive Disc Set | Set Bonus Effects |
Chaotic Metal |
(2) Increases Ether DMG by 10%. (4) Whenever a squad member inflicts Corruption on an enemy, that enemy takes 18% more damage for 12s. Passive effects of the same name do not stack. Recommended for: |
Fanged Metal |
(2) Increases Physical DMG by 10%. (4) Whenever a squad member inflicts Assault on an enemy, the equipper deals 35% increased damage to the target for 12s. Recommended for: |
Freedom Blues |
(2) Increases Anomaly Proficiency by 30. (4) When an EX Special Attack hits an enemy, reduce the target’s Anomaly Buildup RES to equippers attribute by 35% for 8s. This effect does not stack with others of the same attribute. Recommended for: |
Hormone Punk |
(2) Increases ATK by 10%. (4) Upon entering or switching into combat, the equipper has their ATK increased by 25% for 8s. This effect can be triggered once every 20s. Recommended for: |
Chaotic Metal |
(2) Increases Ether DMG by 10%. (4) Whenever a squad member inflicts Corruption on an enemy, that enemy takes 18% more damage for 12s. Passive effects of the same name do not stack. Recommended for: |
Inferno Metal |
(2) Increases Fire DMG by 10%. (4) Upon hitting a Burning enemy, increase CRIT by 28% for 8s. Recommended for: |
Polar Metal |
(2) Increases Ice DMG by 10%. (4) Basic Attack and Dash Attack DMG increases by 28%. Whenever a squad member Freezes or Shatters an enemy, the buff further increases by 28% for 12s. Recommended for: |
Puffer Electro |
(2) Increases ATK by 10%. (4) Ultimate DMG increases by 20%. Launching an Ultimate increases the equipper’s ATK by 15% for 12s. Recommended for: |
Shockstar Disco |
(2) Increases Impact by 6%. (4) Basic Attacks, Dash Attacks, Dodge Counter, Special Attacks, and EX Special Attacks inflict 15% more Daze upon the main target. Recommended for: |
Soul Rock |
(2) Increases DEF by 16%. (4) Upon receiving an enemy attack and losing HP, the equipper takes 40% less DMG for 2.5s. This effect can trigger once every 15s. Recommended for: |
Swing Jazz |
(2) Energy Regen increases by 20%. (4) Launching a Chain Attack or Ultimate increases all squad members' DMG by 15% for 12s. Passive effects of the same name do not stack. Recommended for: |
Thunder Metal |
(2) Increases Electric DMG by 10%. (4) As long as an enemy in combat is Shocked, the equipper’s ATK is increased by 27%. Recommended for: |
Woodpecker Electro |
(2) Increases CRIT Rate by 8%. (4) Triggering a critical hit with a Basic Attack, Dodge Counter or EX Special Attack increases the equipper’s ATK by 9% for 6s. The buff duration for different skills are calculated separately. Recommended for: |
Tier 2 Sets
These sets can appear as either B or A Rank pieces. While they are not able to reach the strengths of those S Rank Drive Discs, they still serve as decent alternatives in the early game.
Zenless Zone Zero - A Rank Drive Discs
Drive Disc Set | Set Bonus Effects |
Assassin’s Ballad |
(2) Increases ATK by 10%. (4) When the target's HP is greater or equal to 50%, the equipper's DMG increases by 30%. Recommended for: |
Doom Grindcore |
(2) Increases CRIT Rate by 8%. (4) Hitting an enemy with an EX Special Attack increases Basic Attack, Dash Attack, and Dodge Counter DMG by 30% for 8s. Recommended for: |
Ecstatic Punk |
(2) Increases ATK by 10%. (4) Upon entering or after exiting combat, the owner's Energy Regen is increased by 0.5/s for 10s. Recommended for: |
Mammoth Electro |
(2) Increases HP by 10%. (4) Launching an EX Special Attack increases the equipper's Daze by 7% for 12s. Recommended for: |
Monsoon Funk |
(2) Increases PEN Ratio by 8%. (4) Whenever a squad member inflicts an Attribute Anomaly, all squad members' Anomaly Proficiency increases by 30 for 12s. Passive effects of the same name do not stack. Recommended for: |
Noisy Pop |
(2) Energy Regen increases by 10%. (4) When an Assist Attack or Chain Attack is used, the equipper gains 2.5 Energy. This effect can trigger once every 8s. Recommended for: |
Twisted Grindcore |
(2) Increases DEF by 16%. (4) All squad members take 8% less DMG. Passive effects of the same name do not stack. Recommended for: |
Unicorn Electro |
(2) Increases ATK by 10%. (4) Triggering a Perfect Dodge increases equipper's ATK by 10% for 6s. Recommended for: |
Vagabond Folk |
(2) Increases HP by 10%. (4) Upon launching an EX Special Attack or Assist Attack, the attack deals 15% more Daze. Recommended for: |
To acquire more Drive Discs, you can visit the Bardic Needles Music Store to roll for them by spending plating agents. Here, you can also set the Tuning Orientation to increase the drop rate of the set you are aiming for. Note that the plating agents have 3 rarities, which determine the rarity of the Disc Drive you would obtain.
Alternatively, you can dive into combat by repeatedly grinding Driver Validation dungeons to earn random Drive Discs as rewards.
And that is the “quick” overview for Drive Discs in Zenless Zone Zero. Hopefully, this helps you plan your account more efficiently as you engage in more fantastic grind-a-thon, but now with more optimized characters with big damage.
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