If you want to survive the toughest endgame content while boosting your squad's damage to the moon, Zhao is your answer. This Ice Defense agent from the Krampus Compliance Authority is far more than just a simple shielder. She acts as an incredibly powerful off-field buffer and secondary damage dealer. By stacking HP, this defender transforms into a durable support who improves your main DPS's damage.
Below is everything you need to know to build, play, and dominate with this character.
Who is Zhao and What is Their Playstyle?
Zhao is an S-Rank Ice Defense character who completely redefines the tank role. Instead of just soaking up hits, she functions as a massive squad buffer and burst sub-DPS. Her playstyle revolves around gathering Frostbite Points while off-field. Once maxed out, you swap her in to trigger a massive team-wide steroid called Ether Veil: Wellspring.
Her support build prioritizes HP, but a large health pool does not make her immune to damage. The higher her health, the more damage she deals and the bigger buffs she provides to your hyper-carry. Your primary goal is to hit a specific HP threshold, manage her points, and execute quick swap-in attacks during a burst window.
How Do Zhao's Skills Work?
Her kit might look complicated on paper, but it flows incredibly well in actual combat. Here is a breakdown of her core mechanics:
- Frostbite Points & Ether Veil: She passively gains points when her teammates hit enemies. At 100 points, swapping this defender onto the field instantly activates Ether Veil: Wellspring. Wellspring provides 5% Max HP for 40 seconds. The separate ATK buff lasts 50 seconds and reaches 1,000 at maximum Core Passive level.
- HP-Scaling Buffs: Crystallization requires another Attack, Anomaly or Support agent in the squad and an active Ether Veil. Its 10% starting DMG bonus gains 1 percentage point per 400 initial Max HP above 15,000, capped at 40% at 27,000 initial Max HP. This is a DMG Bonus stat, not a guaranteed 40% increase in final damage.
- Charged Basic Attacks: Her hold-basic, Final Verdict, lets her charge up an icy slash. For every second charged, she deals extra damage equal to 24% of her Max HP. During this, she takes 40% less damage and has high interrupt resistance.
- EX Special Attack: Frostflow Tundra deals Ice damage and grants 20 Frostbite Points; it does not fill an empty gauge. It consumes 5% of her current HP but grants the entire team HP regeneration over time.
Best Combat Rotation:
- Start combat and let your main DPS/Stunner attack to build her Frostbite Points.
- Once the gauge is full (100 points), swap her in via Defensive Assist or manual swap to trigger her Entry Skill.
- This automatically activates Ether Veil: Wellspring, giving your team the huge ATK and DMG buffs.
- The game will prompt a Quick Assist. Use it to instantly swap your main DPS back in.
- She will automatically stay on the field to unleash a fully charged Final Verdict attack while you are already controlling your carry!
What is the Best Weapon for Zhao?
Equipping the right W-Engine is critical for hitting her massive health requirements and ensuring smooth energy regeneration.
- Best-in-Slot (BiS): Half-Sugar Bunny
This S-Rank signature weapon is tailor-made for her. Its HP secondary stat helps reach the initial Max HP target, but the signature W-Engine is optional; it is not a requirement for capping Crystallization. More importantly, it grants passive Energy Regen and boosts the whole squad's ATK. When she triggers her Ether Veil, it also gives the team a staggering 30% CRIT DMG for 60 seconds. - Premium Alternative: Tusks of Fury
If you happen to have this S-Rank engine, it works well. It provides raw Impact and buffs squad damage and daze when triggering Perfect Dodges. Note: This is a premium gacha weapon, not a free reward. - Best F2P / Budget Option: Original Transmorpher
This A-Rank W-Engine is incredibly accessible and highly recommended for budget players. Its HP secondary stat provides a budget route toward the same target. Level the engine and check its refinement rank before comparing stats. Use Zhao's initial Max HP for the buff calculation; do not assume every conditional or in-combat HP bonus contributes.
Which Gear and Stats Maximize Zhao's Damage?
To get the most out of your main support, you must ignore traditional offensive stats like ATK and completely focus on her health pool and energy economy.
Recommended Drive Disc Sets:
- 4-Piece Bunny in Wonderland: This is her absolute best set. The 2-piece gives 10% HP. The 4-piece can stack a 6% squad DMG buff from an EX Special Attack or Perfect Assist; not every type of Assist qualifies.
- 2-Piece Swing Jazz: Provides a clean 20% Energy Regen bonus, helping you spam her EX Special to keep the team healthy and her Frostbite points full.
Main Stat Priorities:
- Slot 4: HP%
- Slot 5: HP%
- Slot 6: HP% (Use Energy Regen here if you are struggling to get her EX Special Attack up, but only if you can still hit her HP goal).
Sub-Stat Priorities:
- HP% & Flat HP: Roll these until your stat sheet reads 27,000 HP.
- CRIT Rate / CRIT DMG: Once your health goal is met, any extra critical stats will boost her personal burst damage.
How Much Buff Do You Lose Below 27,000 HP?
The 27,000 target is a cap, not an all-or-nothing requirement. Starting from 15,000 HP, the extra 30 percentage points need 30 × 400 = 12,000 HP. Therefore 15,000 + 12,000 = 27,000. Use initial Max HP, before temporary combat HP boosts.
| Initial Max HP | Crystallization DMG Bonus when active |
|---|---|
| 15,000 | 10% |
| 23,000 | 30% |
| 25,000 | 35% |
| 26,600 | 39% |
| 27,000 or more | 40% (cap) |
Compare your own builds: equip each W-Engine with the same discs and record initial Max HP. A budget build at 25,000 supplies 35%, only 5 percentage points below the cap. A 26,600 build is only 1 point below it. These are calculated examples, not tested equipment loadouts. Do not buy a signature solely because you assume a budget engine cannot reach the target.
For either weapon, start with HP% on slots 4 and 5. Compare HP% and Energy Regen on slot 6 using both the resulting HP and your ability to maintain the buff. If changing to Energy Regen produces better uptime, a slightly lower bonus can be a reasonable trade-off. Reaching 27,000 while missing the buff window is not the goal.
Mechanics reference: Prydwen's Zhao skill data and independent build analysis, checked October 8, 2026. This is a community analysis source, not an official publisher endorsement or an in-game test of your account.
What Are the Best Team Comps for Zhao?
This agent thrives in teams built around a singular, greedy hyper-carry who desperately wants massive ATK and DMG multipliers.
The Krampus Hyper-Carry Team:
- Main DPS: Ye Shunguang
- Stunner: Dialyn
- Defender/Buffer: Zhao
How it works: Dialyn is an elite Physical Stun character. You keep Dialyn on the field to build up enemy daze and apply her Malicious Complaint debuff, which extends stun windows and shreds resistance. While Dialyn is attacking, your Ice defender is safely off-field, stacking up Frostbite Points.
Once the enemy is stunned, swap to your defender to pop Ether Veil. This grants the squad 1,000 ATK, a 40% DMG boost, and (if you have her signature W-Engine) 30% CRIT DMG. Finally, Quick Assist into Ye Shunguang, your physical powerhouse. Ye Shunguang uses her Enlightened Mind state to dump all of her sword charges into the vulnerable, fully debuffed enemy for millions of damage.
What Materials Are Needed to Upgrade Zhao?
To max out this character and her skills to Level 60, you will need to farm the following materials in the Hollows:
Character Ascension & Skill Materials:
- Currency: 4,505,000 Denny
- Seals: Basic, Advanced, and Defender Certification Seals (x4 / x32 / x30)
- Chips: Basic, Advanced, and Specialized Freeze Chips (x25 / x75 / x250)
- Boss Drops: Higher Dimensional Data: Spiked Corruption Core (x60)
- Weekly Mats: Clouded Crystalline Substance (x9)
- Rare Mats: Hamster Cage Pass (x5)
W-Engine Materials (For her Signature):
- Currency: 400,000 Denny
- Components: Defense Component (x4), Reinforced (x32), Specialized (x30)
- Power: W-Engine Battery (x5), Power Supply (x4), Energy Module (x199)
Which Constellations (Awakenings) Are Worth Getting?
If you are pulling for duplicates (Cinemas), this character has some incredible early stopping points that heavily improve her supportive capabilities.
| Level | Effect Name | Effect Description | Value / Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| C1 | Righteous Verdict | When she switches off-field, the squad ignores 15% of the enemy's All-Attribute RES for 50s. | High Value. An amazing resistance shred that perfectly fits her quick-swap playstyle. The best stopping point for low-spenders. |
| C2 | Krampus Senior | When she heals, her ATK increases by 20%, and the squad's ATK increases by 15% for 50s. | Medium Value. A nice extra ATK steroid, but usually overkill since she already gives a flat 1,000 ATK. |
| C3 | Frostveil Edge | Increases Skill Levels by +2. | Low Value. Just standard stat padding. |
| C4 | Featherlight Footsteps | Activating Ether Veil grants 250 Decibels and boosts her own CRIT DMG by 40%. | Medium Value. Great for getting Ultimates faster and boosting her personal burst. |
| C5 | Fuzzy Listener | Increases Skill Levels by +2. | Low Value. Standard stat padding. |
| C6 | No Value Has Its Own Value | Boosts her passive CRIT Rate by 1.25x. Charged basic attacks deal 1.4x more DMG and no longer consume charge time. | Whale Territory. Turns her from a supportive tank into an absolute on-field monster who spams lethal charged slashes. |
Is Zhao Worth Investing In?
Build Zhao if your team can activate her Additional Ability and benefit from her ATK and DMG bonuses. Decide on further investment after testing the team you actually play.
Strengths: HP-focused support build, brief field appearances and team buffs. Her signature adds utility, but a budget W-Engine remains a practical option.
Trade-offs: HP and Energy Regen compete for disc space. The 27,000 initial Max HP cap is an optimization target, not a condition for the character to work. Prioritize reliable rotations before chasing a final substat roll.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Is this character squishy since she consumes her own health to cast abilities?
Absolutely not. Because her entire build requires you to stack HP percentage main stats, her health pool is massive. Furthermore, she gains 40% damage reduction and interrupt resistance while charging her heavy attacks. Even if her EX Special consumes 5% of her HP, it instantly triggers a squad-wide healing effect to top everyone back off.
I am having energy issues with her. How do I fix this?
If you find that this defender rarely has her EX Special Attack ready, you should swap your Slot 6 Drive Disc from HP% to Energy Regen%. Record the resulting initial Max HP and compare it with the bonus table above. Keep the setup that gives your team more reliable buff coverage; you do not need exactly 27,000 for the build to function.
Do I have to keep her on the field to do damage?
No! Her best mechanic is her automatic follow-up. When you trigger her Ether Veil and use a Quick Assist, you can immediately start attacking with your main DPS. The captain will stay behind as an AI for a few seconds to unleash her fully charged ice slash, giving you completely free off-field burst damage.
