The new DEF class in Zenless Zone Zero 3.2, explained

By DayOneFix Editorial · August 12, 2026

For the first time since launch, Zenless Zone Zero is adding a new agent specialty — and the evidence chain is worth laying out properly, because half of it is official and half is not.

What is officially real

The Claret Flint character teaser (7 August) carries a specialty icon that has never appeared on any agent — that much is fact, visible in official material. A brand-new archetype is coming with 3.2 on 9 September, and Claret is its first member.

Official Claret character art from the New Eridu Archives agent record, captioned Roscaelifer Flint Workshop — Claret, the first agent of the new specialty — official Agent Record art · © HoYoverse

What the test-server reporting says

The circulating kit direction — treat as unconfirmed until the livestream:

Damage scales on Defense, not Attack — a first for the game
A dual-crit mechanic layered on top
A debuff-centred playstyle rather than pure burst

Chinese analysis adds a structural observation that makes the reports credible: this is a standalone archetype, not an extension of the existing Defense specialty — the DEF stat becomes an offensive scaling stat for this class specifically.

The groundwork HoYoverse already shipped

Two pieces landed before the class was announced, which is the strongest tell:

A DEF-focused Drive Disc set shipped in 3.1 — with no existing agent that wants DEF-primary stats. Sets don’t ship without users; users arrive in 3.2.
Lina’s buff rework gave her defense and attack team buffs plus an Electro damage bonus — reading, per CN analysis, like a support prepared in advance for an Electric DEF-scaler.

How to prepare (community consensus)

Farm the 3.1 DEF disc set now, during current events — if the reports hold, it is Claret’s set, and farming is cheaper before the 3.2 rush.
Keep Lina invested if you have her.
Nothing else until the livestream (~28 August) turns reports into numbers.

We update this page against the livestream the day it airs.

Sources

The specialty icon is from the official 7 August teaser; kit mechanics are test-server reporting via multiple independent Chinese roundups, labelled as such. Version timing on the 3.2 countdown page.