Zhao
Zhao is a top-tier defensive support who thrives in teams requiring max HP scaling and consistent squad-wide ATK/DMG buffs. Pull if you main Ice DPS units or need a sustain-heavy core that enables Quick Assist rotations.
Zhao functions as a defensive specialist who utilizes a unique Frostbite Point system to trigger powerful 'Ether Veil' status effects. Her kit centers on scaling squad stats based on her own Max HP while providing consistent healing through her Special Attack. She excels at maintaining field presence and facilitating team-wide transitions via triggered Quick Assists.
Overview
Quick Build
W-Engine
Half-Sugar Bunny
S-rank — HP%, best in slot
Disk Set
Bunny in Wonderland
4-PC · Best in slot
Disk 4
HP%
Main stat
Disk 5
HP%
Main stat
Disk 6
Energy Regen
Substats
CRIT Rate >= CRIT DMG = ATK%
Strengths
- Significant team-wide ATK and DMG percent buffs
- Constant HP regeneration for squad sustainability
- Automatic Quick Assist transitions maximize rotation uptime
- Max HP scaling allows for high base survivability
- Ether Veil mechanics provide massive crit damage ceilings
Weaknesses
- Requires high investment in Max HP to hit peak scaling
- Rotation timing is rigid due to Frostbite Point consumption
- Lower personal damage compared to pure Attack specialists
- Cooldown on HP-consuming effects limits frequent burst healing
- Dependent on specific squad compositions to maximize Additional Ability
Skill Priority
Primary damage source.
EX delivers strong damage.
Chain burst.
Passive enhancement.
Negligible.
Stat Priority
Initiate Entry Skill to trigger Ether Veil, then cycle through EX Special to force a Quick Assist into your main DPS.
Ensure you are holding Basic Attack during swaps so that the charge carries over if switched out while the Ether Veil is active.
Review and adjust rotations based on your specific team composition.
W-Engines
S-Rank W-Engines
HP%
The equipper's Energy Regen increases by 0.46/0.53/06/0.67/0.76 per sec. All squad members gain 10/11.5/13./14.5/16% ATK and 10/11.5/13./14.5/16% Max HP. Only one instance of this effect can exist in the same squad. When the equipper activates or extends an Ether Veil, the whole squad gains 30/34.5/39/43.5/48% CRIT DMG for 60s. Repeated triggers reset the duration.
Why it works —Half-Sugar Bunny provides critical Energy Regen and massive squad-wide CRIT DMG and ATK bonuses during Ether Veil, perfectly synerging with Zhao's kit.
Impact
The Shield value provided by the equipper increases by 30/38/46/52/60%. When any squad member triggers Interrupt or Perfect Dodge, all squad members' DMG increases by 18/22.5/27/31.5/36% and Daze dealt increases by 12/15/18/21/24% for 20s. Passive effects of the same name do not stack.
Why it works —Tusks of Fury offers team-wide Daze and DMG bonuses, but sacrifices the HP-scaling support utility necessary for Zhao's specific role.
A-Rank W-Engines
HP%
Increases Max HP by 8/9/10/11/12.5%. When attacked, the equipper's Impact is increased by 10/11.5/13/14.5/16% for 12s.
Why it works —Original Transmorpher is the best F2P option, directly boosting Max HP and providing a crucial Impact increase for daze windows.
Disk Drives
Disk 4
HP%
Disk 5
HP%
Disk 6
Energy Regen
Disk 4
HP%
Disk 5
HP%
Disk 6
Energy Regen
Team Compositions
Zhao
Defensive Support
Ye Shunguang
Attack
Sunna
Support
High-usage endgame shell featuring Zhao, Ye Shunguang, Sunna. Built around Zhao's Defensive Support role with teammates covering stun, buffs, or secondary damage.
Primary Defensive Support — owns the damage / utility identity of this squad.
Attack partner who covers gaps while Zhao handles the main role.
Buffs and enables Zhao with low field time and strong team utility.
Skills & Mindscapes
Skills
Zhao gains bonus CRIT Rate based on her initial Max HP, gaining 0.8% CRIT Rate for every 1,000 initial Max HP. Upon entering the battlefield, Zhao gains 100 Frostbite Points. This effect can trigger once every 180s in Investigation Zone mode. The maximum amount of Frostbite Points is 100. When the currently active character's attacks hit an enemy, Zhao gains 6 Frostbite Points. This can be triggered once every 3s. When Frostbite Points are maxed out, switching Zhao to the field while in combat will activate her Entry Skill. When Zhao activates her Entry Skill, all Frostbite Points are consumed to activate Ether Veil: Wellspring. While Ether Veil: Wellspring is active, all squad members gain 5% Max HP for 40s. Re-activating Ether Veil: Wellspring ends the existing instance before applying a new Ether Veil: Wellspring. When Zhao activates Ether Veil: Wellspring, all squad members' ATK increase by 100 for 50s. Repeated triggers reset the duration.
When another character in your squad is an Attack, Anomaly, or Support character: When Zhao is within any Ether Veil, the whole squad's DMG increases by 10%. If Zhao's initial Max HP exceeds 15,000, every additional 400 initial Max HP increases this DMG bonus by an additional 1%, up to a total maximum increase of 40%. This bonus reaches its maximum when Zhao's initial Max HP reaches 27,000.
Press Basic Attack to activate: Launches up to five slashes forward, the first dealing Physical DMG, and the following four Ice DMG.
Hold Basic Attack to activate: After getting ready, Zhao starts charging up, then launches a forward slash on release, dealing massive Ice DMG. While charging, Zhao accumulates up to 5s of charge time. When the Finishing Move of Basic Attack: Final Verdict, Chain Attack, or Assist Follow-Up hits, the stored charge time is consumed to deal additional DMG. For every 1 second of charge time, Zhao deals some of Max HP as additional DMG. When Zhao is in any Ether Veil, if she gets switched out while charging, the charge can continue. If Frostbite Points are maxed out when the skill activates, all Frostbite Points are consumed to trigger Ether Veil: Wellspring and a Quick Assist. If a squadmate is then switched in via Quick Assist, Zhao automatically follows up with Basic Attack: Final Verdict and begins charging. During skill activation, Anti-Interrupt level increases, and DMG taken is reduced by 40%. While not the currently controlled character, the character is invulnerable while using this skill.
Press Dodge to activate. A quick dash dodge. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.
Press Basic Attack during a dodge to activate: Slashes forward, dealing Physical DMG and Ice DMG.
Press Basic Attack during a Perfect Dodge to activate. Performs a falling slash ahead, dealing Ice DMG. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.
Press Special Attack to activate. Launches a forward slash, dealing Ice DMG. Upon activating this skill, consumes 5% of current HP to grant all squad members HP regeneration equal to 1.1-2% of Zhao's Max HP per second for 5s. The HP-consuming effects of Special Attack: Shatterfrost Surge and EX Special Attack: Frostflow Tundra can trigger at most once every 30s.
With enough energy, press Special Attack to activate. Launches multiple forward slashes, dealing massive Ice DMG. Upon activating this skill, consumes 5% of current HP to grant all squad members HP regeneration equal to 1.1-2% of Zhao's Max HP per second for 5s. The HP-consuming effects of Special Attack: Shatterfrost Surge and EX Special Attack: Frostflow Tundra can trigger at most once every 30s. Upon activating this skill, gain 20 Frostbite Points. If Frostbite Points are maxed out, all Frostbite Points are consumed to activate Ether Veil: Wellspring. Upon activating this skill while in any Ether Veil, a Quick Assist is triggered. If a squadmate is then switched in via Quick Assist, Zhao automatically follows up with Basic Attack: Final Verdict and begins charging. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.
When a Chain Attack is triggered, select the character to activate: Launches multiple slashes in front, dealing massive Ice DMG. After using this skill, gains 5 Frostbite Points. If Frostbite Points are maxed out, all Frostbite Points are consumed to activate Ether Veil: Wellspring. Upon activating this skill while in any Ether Veil, a Quick Assist is triggered. If a squadmate is then switched in via Quick Assist, Zhao automatically follows up with Basic Attack: Final Verdict and begins charging. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.
When Decibel Rating is at Maximum, press Ultimate to activate: Launches consecutive attacks in front, followed by a falling slash, dealing massive Ice DMG. After using this skill, gains 20 Frostbite Points. If Frostbite Points are maxed out, all Frostbite Points are consumed to activate Ether Veil: Wellspring. Upon activating this skill while in any Ether Veil, a Quick Assist is triggered. If a squadmate is then switched in via Quick Assist, Zhao automatically follows up with Basic Attack: Final Verdict and begins charging. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.
Press Basic Attack after a Defensive Assist to activate: Launch multiple slashes in front, dealing massive Ice DMG. Upon activating this skill, if Frostbite Points are maxed out, all Frostbite Points are consumed to activate Ether Veil: Wellspring. Upon activating this skill while in any Ether Veil, a Quick Assist is triggered. If a squadmate is then switched in via Quick Assist, Zhao automatically follows up with Basic Attack: Final Verdict and begins charging. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.
When Zhao has maximum Frostbite Points, and is in combat, press Assist to activate. Launches consecutive attacks forward, followed by a slash, dealing massive Ice DMG. Upon activating this skill, all Frostbite Points are consumed to activate Ether Veil: Wellspring. Upon activating this skill, a Quick Assist is triggered. If a squadmate is then switched in via Quick Assist, Zhao automatically follows up with Basic Attack: Final Verdict and begins charging. Activating this skill is considered as activating a Quick Assist. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.
When the character on field is about to be attacked, press Assist to activate. Parries the enemy's attack, dealing massive Daze. This skill excels at parrying enemy attacks and reduces the consumption of Assist Points when the character is under intense attacks. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.
When the active character is launched, press Assist to activate. Launches a falling slash in front, dealing Ice DMG. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.
Mindscapes
When Zhao switches out of being the active character, all squad members' DMG ignores 15% of the target's All-Attribute RES for 50s.
Is it worth getting?
High - Grants a significant RES ignore debuff for the whole squad.
When Zhao recovers HP, her ATK increases by 20%, and other squad members' ATK increases by 15% for 50s. Repeated triggers reset the duration.
Is it worth getting?
Essential - Massive ATK boost for Zhao and the team upon HP recovery.
Basic Attack, Assist, Dodge, Special Attack, and Chain Attack Lv. +2
Is it worth getting?
Skill-level bump only — fine on the path to higher Mindscapes, not a pull goal by itself.
When Zhao activates an Ether Veil, she gains 250 Decibels. The CRIT DMG of her Ultimate, Chain Attack, and Basic Attack: Final Verdict increase by 40%.
Is it worth getting?
Solid CRIT upgrade — helps hit thresholds and raises personal damage cleanly.
Basic Attack, Assist, Dodge, Special Attack, and Chain Attack Lv. +2
Is it worth getting?
Skill-level bump only — fine on the path to higher Mindscapes, not a pull goal by itself.
The CRIT Rate buff from Core Passive: Ideal Colleague increases to 125% of the original value. The extra DMG gained from charging during Basic Attack: Final Verdict increases to 140% of the original value, and accumulated charge time is no longer consumed when attacking.
Is it worth getting?
Whale tier - Provides extreme CRIT Rate scaling and removes charge time consumption.
Zhao is viable and competitive at M0. First stop: M2. Endgame target: M2.
Alternatives to Zhao
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