Image Credit: HoyoVerse

Zenless Zone Zero Version 3.2 introduced Claret Flint, an S Rank Electric Agent and the game’s first Armorer. As a member of the Flint Workshop, Claret brings a completely different combat system to New Eridu, with her damage scaling from DEF instead of ATK and her attacks introducing the new Sharp DMG and Laceration mechanics.

Claret is designed as a primary damage dealer who builds up Gash on enemies before consuming those stacks to trigger Maim, her major source of burst damage. She also enters a special state called Crimson Inscription, which transforms her weapon into a Blood Axe and gives her access to much stronger attacks.

If you pulled Claret and want to know how to build her properly, here is everything you need to know about her best W-Engines, Drive Discs, stats, skills, teams, and gameplay.

Understanding Claret’s Armorer Mechanics

Before building Claret, it is important to understand what makes the Armorer specialty different.

The biggest difference is simple: DEF replaces ATK as Claret’s primary offensive stat. ATK provides essentially no value to her damage, so the usual DPS strategy of stacking ATK should be avoided. Her skills scale from DEF instead.

Claret also deals a special type of damage called Sharp DMG. Unlike conventional damage, Sharp DMG does not benefit from normal CRIT DMG in the same way. Instead, it uses a separate Laceration DMG value.

This is where Claret’s unusual CRIT system comes into play. Her CRIT Rate can exceed 100%, allowing her attacks to trigger additional CRIT checks. Her initial CRIT DMG is also converted into additional initial CRIT Rate at a ratio of 1% CRIT DMG to 0.35% CRIT Rate. Because of this mechanic, Claret wants to push her CRIT Rate dramatically higher than a normal Agent. The effective cap for her multi CRIT system is 200% CRIT Rate.

That means Claret’s build revolves around three major stats:

DEF + CRIT Rate + PEN Ratio

Claret’s Gash and Maim Mechanics

Claret’s combat loop revolves around Gash. Her attacks gradually build Gash on enemies. Once enough Gash has accumulated, the enemy receives a Gash stack, with up to three stacks available at once.

Claret can then consume those stacks with her Crimson Inscription Special Attacks to trigger Maim, a powerful burst of AoE damage. Her tap Special consumes one Gash stack, while her held Special can consume up to three stacks in succession.

This creates a simple goal during combat:

Build Gash → reach three stacks → consume them with Maim → rebuild Gash → repeat.

Claret becomes particularly powerful during enemy Stun windows. Ideally, you want three Gash stacks ready when the enemy becomes Stunned so that you can immediately consume them. During the Stun window, Claret can then use her high Gash buildup attacks to prepare another set of Maim triggers.

Crimson Inscription Is Essential

Claret’s Crimson Inscription state is activated through her EX Special Attack. Once activated, Claret transforms her weapon into a Blood Axe and gains access to her enhanced Basic Attacks and specialized Special Attacks. Her Crimson Inscription state lasts 16 seconds, although certain actions can pause or extend its duration.

This state is extremely important because Claret’s enhanced attacks are responsible for a large portion of her Gash generation.

Her enhanced Basic Attack is especially valuable outside of Stun because its third attack can be extended with repeated inputs. The downward strike can also trigger a Perfect Dodge, allowing Claret to loop back into another enhanced Basic 3.

Because of this, Claret’s gameplay is not simply about pressing her EX Special and watching the damage numbers appear. You need to manage Crimson Inscription’s duration while making sure you have enough resources to reactivate it when necessary.

Best W-Engine for Claret

Claret’s signature W-Engine is Crimson Thirst, and it is her best option. Crimson Thirst provides DEF% while also giving Claret the CRIT Rate she desperately wants. It additionally provides Electric DMG and a unique Sharp DMG multiplier that directly benefits her specialized damage system.

Its effect activates whenever Claret uses her EX Special and lasts for 40 seconds, meaning maintaining the W-Engine’s buffs is relatively straightforward during a normal battle.

If you pulled Claret, Crimson Thirst is the W-Engine to target if you want to maximize her performance.

Best Alternative W-Engines

If you do not have Crimson Thirst, Bloodmarrow Coffer is a strong alternative. It provides CRIT Rate and a general damage increase, making it particularly useful for pushing Claret toward her 200% CRIT Rate ceiling.

For a more accessible option, Catty Luck is the recommended craftable W-Engine. It focuses on DEF, which is useful for Claret, although it lacks the offensive value of her signature weapon.

The important rule is that Claret should generally use Armorer W-Engines. Traditional ATK based W-Engines are poor choices because ATK does not contribute meaningfully to her damage.

Best Drive Disc Set

Claret has a dedicated Drive Disc set that fits her kit extremely well:

4 Piece Thorned Rose

This is her primary Drive Disc set because Claret can comfortably satisfy its DEF requirements and take advantage of its bonuses.

For the two piece bonus, Puffer Electro is generally the strongest option when Claret is running high PEN Ratio and a support such as Rina.

Other usable two piece combinations include:

Woodpecker Electro

Soul Rock

Thunder Metal

The best choice can change depending on your team, PEN Ratio, DEF Shred, and how much CRIT Rate you already have.

Best Drive Disc Main Stats

Claret’s Drive Disc main stats are different from what you might expect from a traditional DPS.

Partition 4

CRIT Rate

This is the clear priority because Claret wants to push toward her 200% CRIT Rate cap to maximize her multi CRIT mechanics.

Partition 5

You have three primary options:

PEN Ratio

DEF%

Electric DMG%

PEN Ratio becomes particularly valuable when you can stack additional PEN through your team and W-Engine setup. If you are already receiving DEF Shred from your supports, DEF% or Electric DMG% can become competitive.

Partition 6

DEF%

There is essentially no debate here. Since Claret scales from DEF, DEF% is the natural choice for her sixth slot.

Claret Substat Priority

When farming your Drive Discs, prioritize:

CRIT Rate > DEF% / CRIT DMG > PEN / Flat DEF

CRIT Rate should be your primary focus until you approach the 200% ceiling. DEF% is particularly valuable because it directly improves Claret’s scaling, while CRIT DMG has a different interaction with her Armorer mechanics than it does with traditional Agents. PEN and Flat PEN also become increasingly valuable when paired with sources of DEF reduction.

Best Claret Team

Claret generally wants a Stunner + Support alongside her.

One of her strongest team structures is:

Claret + Roxy + Rina

Roxy provides Stun utility and valuable Laceration support, while Rina provides DEF and PEN related benefits that directly complement Claret’s scaling.

Rina is particularly useful because she can provide both PEN Ratio and DEF buffs, two stats that are highly relevant to Claret. Her Potential also becomes important for providing the DEF buff that Claret wants.

Claret + Norma + Rina

Another excellent option is:

Claret + Norma + Rina

Norma can rapidly help build Gash through Chain Attacks while also providing useful team utility. Her ability to extend Claret’s Crimson Inscription through Chain Attacks makes her particularly compatible with Claret’s gameplay.

For players who have Norma but not Roxy, this is one of the teams worth considering.

Claret + Koleda + Rina

Koleda + Rina can also support Claret effectively.

Koleda can provide Daze while her Potential can give Claret additional Laceration related value. She does not provide exactly the same combination as Roxy, but she remains a useful Stun option for players who already have a developed Koleda.

Other Stunner Options

Claret has several other possible Stunner teammates.

Trigger can work because both characters are Electric, allowing their Additional Ability interaction to function. Trigger can also contribute Quick Assists that help maintain Drive Disc related effects.

Lycaon is another option, particularly with his Potential unlocked, while Qingyi can contribute valuable Stun related buffs.

The important thing is that Claret wants teammates who provide Stun, DEF reduction, PEN, Laceration support, or other bonuses that actually interact with her DEF based damage system.

Characters Claret Does Not Want

One of the easiest mistakes to make is putting Claret on a team with conventional ATK buffers.

Because Claret does not scale from ATK, characters whose primary contribution is an ATK buff provide considerably less value to her than they would for a traditional DPS.

The same issue applies to certain CRIT DMG buffs. Claret’s Armorer mechanics convert her initial CRIT DMG into CRIT Rate, while combat sourced CRIT DMG does not function the same way for her Sharp DMG.

This makes Claret’s team building unusually restrictive compared with many existing Agents.

Skill Upgrade Priority

For Claret, prioritize:

Core Passive → EX Special → Ultimate → Basic Attack → Assist → Dodge

Her Core Passive is especially important because its upgrades provide CRIT Rate and improve Gash related mechanics.

Her Special is also extremely important because the Maim multiplier scales with the Special level.

After those, her Ultimate and Basic Attack contribute heavily to her overall damage and Gash generation.

If you are short on materials, concentrate on her Core Passive, EX Special, and Special related investment before spending heavily on lower priority abilities.

How to Play Claret

A basic Claret rotation looks something like this:

Set up support buffs → activate Crimson Inscription → build Gash → reach three stacks → use held Special for three Maim triggers → continue building Gash → enter Stun → repeat the Maim cycle.

Outside of Stun, Claret should spend much of her time using her enhanced Basic Attacks to build Gash.

Her Basic 3 is especially important. Keep the attack going with repeated inputs, then use the downward strike and take advantage of its Perfect Dodge property when possible. A successful Perfect Dodge lets Claret loop back into another enhanced Basic 3.

When the enemy is close to becoming Stunned, you want to prepare your Gash stacks rather than immediately consuming everything.

Ideally, enter the Stun window with three Gash stacks already prepared. Claret can then use her held Special to trigger three Maims before using her strongest Gash building attacks to prepare another cycle. This is where her damage really starts to explode.

Claret’s Ideal Stat Goals

A simple endgame goal for Claret is:

CRIT Rate: As close to 200% as practical
DEF: Stack as much as possible after meeting your CRIT needs
PEN Ratio: Prioritize when your team can capitalize on it
Electric DMG: Useful when DEF and PEN are already well covered

Unlike conventional DPS Agents, Claret does not want to stop at the usual 70% to 80% CRIT Rate range. Her multi CRIT mechanics make additional CRIT Rate valuable all the way toward the 200% ceiling.

Final Claret Build

For a quick reference, this is the build to work toward:

Agent: Claret Flint
Rank: S Rank
Attribute: Electric
Specialty: Armorer
Role: Main DPS
Best W-Engine: Crimson Thirst
Alternative: Bloodmarrow Coffer
Craftable: Catty Luck
Drive Discs: 4 Piece Thorned Rose + 2 Piece Puffer Electro
Partition 4: CRIT Rate
Partition 5: PEN Ratio / DEF% / Electric DMG%
Partition 6: DEF%
Substats: CRIT Rate > DEF% / CRIT DMG > PEN / DEF
CRIT Goal: Up to 200%
Best Team Core: Claret + Stunner + Support
Premium Example: Claret + Roxy + Rina
Alternative: Claret + Norma + Rina
Skill Priority: Core Passive → EX Special → Ultimate → Basic Attack → Assist → Dodge

Final Thoughts

Claret is a particularly interesting addition to Zenless Zone Zero because she does not simply introduce another Electric DPS. She introduces an entirely new Armorer playstyle that changes how players approach stats, CRIT, team building, and even damage itself.

The biggest thing to remember is that DEF replaces ATK. Once that is understood, the rest of her build starts to make much more sense. Stack DEF, push CRIT Rate toward 200%, take advantage of PEN and DEF reduction, and use Thorned Rose to strengthen her core gameplay.

Her combat loop is also built around timing. Building Gash and knowing when to consume it with Maim is the key to getting the most out of her, particularly during enemy Stun windows. With the right Stunner and Support, Claret can repeatedly set up those high damage Maim sequences while maintaining Crimson Inscription.

For players who want to experiment with one of the newest mechanics in Zenless Zone Zero, Claret offers a playstyle that is noticeably different from the game’s traditional ATK based Agents.

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