Zenless Zone Zero New and Upcoming Characters: 3.0 Leaks

Managing your Polychrome economy requires knowing exactly which Zenless Zone Zero new and upcoming characters are worth your hard-earned pulls.

The current meta heavily favors specialized team compositions, and making the wrong pull decision sets back your Hollow Zero progression by weeks.

As of April 2026, we are in the middle of Version 2.7, with the 2.8 Special Program actively rolling out to reveal the next phase of the game.

This analysis evaluates the actual gameplay utility of the recent additions and what you need to know about the upcoming roster to plan your account progression efficiently.

Zenless Zone Zero New Characters Release Schedule (2026)

Quick reference for every new agent confirmed or projected for 2026. Some dates are projected but not locked until official livestreams confirm them.

Agent	Version	Release Date	Status
Sunna	2.6	Feb 6, 2026	Live
Aria	2.6	Feb 6, 2026	Live
Nangong Yu	2.7	Mar 24, 2026	Live
Cissia	2.7	Apr 15, 2026	Live
Promeia	2.8	May 6, 2026	Announced
Starlight Billy	2.8	May 6, 2026	Announced
Severian	TBD	TBD	Unconfirmed
Verina / Norma	3.0	~Anniversary 2026	Leaked

ZZZ Version 2.6: New Characters, Already Released

Version 2.6 “Angels of Delusion” (launched February 6, 2026) marked the first time HoYoverse dropped three S-Rank agents from a single faction in one patch.

The Angels of Delusion idol group hit the game all at once, and the community felt it hard across both story and meta.

Angels of Delusion | Sunna

• Rarity: S-Rank
• Attribute: Physical
• Specialty: Support

The standout support of the trio. Sunna brings teamwide ATK buffs, an Ether Veil defensive layer, and the Cat’s Gaze debuff for sustained Anomaly damage setups.

If you’re running any Anomaly-heavy team, she’s worth the pulls. Non-fighter lore, but her kit is all business.

Angels of Delusion | Aria

• Rarity: S-Rank
• Attribute: Ether
• Specialty: Anomaly

The Ether Anomaly member of the AoD group. She fits naturally into the Anomaly archetype that’s been growing since the Hollow Special Ops characters, and her idol-group storytelling is one of the stronger narrative threads in Season 2.

Meta Context:

Sunna is the one you actually want for Anomaly teams; she effectively acts as a dedicated support buffer that most Anomaly cores didn’t have before.

Aria plays well alongside her and contributes consistent Ether Anomaly buildup. Both were story-introduced as non-combatants, which makes Sunna’s competitive kit more impressive.

See Also: Zenless Zone Zero Banners 2026: What Is HoYoverse Hiding Next?

ZZZ Version 2.7: New Characters, Currently Live

Version 2.7, “Champions Never Fall to the Past,” launched March 24, 2026, and is still live at the time of writing.

This patch wraps up the Angels of Delusion arc with Nangong Yu and introduces Cissia, one of the most talked-about design reveals in recent patches.

Angels of Delusion | Nangong Yu

• Rarity: S-Rank
• Attribute: Ether
• Specialty: Stun

The third and final AoD member. Her Stun kit comes with a passive that boosts Anomaly Buildup Rate for Anomaly agents on the same team, which is a big deal if you’re already running Sunna and Aria. She completes the trio and buffs the whole comp by existing.

Metropolitan Order Division | Cissia

• Rarity: S-Rank
• Attribute: Electric
• Specialty: Attack

From the Metropolitan Order Division (PubSec-adjacent), employed by Severian. Her design divided the community at first glance, then won most of them back once her personality and backstory came through.

Electric Attack with strong synergy alongside Seed for dual-Electric comps. Her official teaser leans hard into her charming, unpredictable persona.

Who Actually Uses the 2.7 Agents?

For the current meta, the Angels of Delusion trio is most valuable as a complete unit. Running Nangong Yu (Stun) + Sunna (Support) + Aria (Anomaly) gives you a self-contained team with internal synergy. Nangong’s Anomaly Buildup boost becomes more relevant the more Anomaly agents you stack.

Cissia slots into existing Electric teams, particularly with Seed, who launched in 2.2. Seed and Cissia are a genuine competitive pairing right now, with both bringing Electric Attack and serious on-field damage. If you pulled Seed during 2.2, Cissia’s Phase 2 banner is worth your Polychrome.

F2P Note:

The Version 2.7 Special Program livestream for 2.8 is scheduled for April 24, 2026, the day after this article was written.

That stream will confirm the exact banner order for 2.8 and may include free Polychrome codes. Tune in or catch code compilations on Reddit/Game8 within hours of it airing.

Zenless Zone Zero Upcoming Characters in Version 2.8

Official drip marketing dropped on March 28, 2026; both Promeia and Starlight Billy were announced on the same day through ZZZ’s official social media.

These two are the Zenless Zone Zero upcoming characters generating the most hype right now, and the 2.8 story arc is titled “New: Eridan Sunset.”

Krampus Compliance Authority | Promeia

• Rarity: S-Rank
• Attribute: Ice
• Specialty: Anomaly
• Status: Confirmed 2.8

Zhao’s colleague from Krampus. Formerly an Outer Ring “sweeper,” now a Krampus Judge, and her past is deliberately kept vague.

She appeared during the Season 2 Interlude and has the general vibe of someone who’s done things she won’t talk about. The first Ice Anomaly agent was officially announced.

Early community reactions are split on her design, but her kit potential as Ice Anomaly is genuinely interesting for teams that currently lack that element in the Anomaly archetype.

Cunning Hares | Starlight Billy

• Rarity: S-Rank
• Attribute: Physical
• Specialty: Rupture
• Status: Confirmed 2.8

People have been waiting for this one since they saw what happened to Soldier 0 Anby. Billy Kid, the A-Rank starter and Cunning Hares member, gets his S-Rank upgrade, and he’s coming in as the game’s first Physical Rupture agent.

Physical Rupture is an untapped niche, and the “glow-up” narrative around Billy’s character arc has the community genuinely invested. Per leak patterns, he’s likely Phase 2 of 2.8.

Should You Pull in 2.8?

Starlight Billy is the clear headline. Physical Rupture has zero competition in the current roster because there’s no established meta team for it yet, which means he either carves out something entirely new or ends up waiting for future support characters.

If you’re a Billy fan, this is the banner. If you’re purely meta-driven, it might be worth waiting to see early beta feedback on whether his Rupture scaling is competitive with current top-tier Anomaly options.

Promeia fills a different gap. Ice Anomaly doesn’t have a dedicated agent yet, and if her kit pairs well with the existing Krampus/PubSec story characters, she could slot into some interesting niche team comps. Zhao players specifically will want to look at her kit breakdown once beta data drops.

Oh, based on leaks, the 2.8 Special Program livestream will officially confirm banner phases and exact skill kits.

Everything about Phase 1 vs. Phase 2 ordering is currently based on leak patterns, not official confirmation. Check after the stream.

See Also: ZZZ 2.8 Banners: Promeia & Billy SP Take Over! Pull or Skip?

ZZZ Version 3.0+ Leaked & Upcoming Characters

These come from datamines (including closed beta sources), PV teases, Reddit, and Twitter/X insiders, which has a strong track record.

None of these are officially confirmed, and some earlier predictions (Seth’s brother in 2.7, for example) have already been pushed back. Take all of this as high-confidence speculation until HoYoverse drops official drip marketing.

Public Security | Severian Lowell

• Version: TBD Version
• Status: Story-Confirmed
• Likelihood: 5/10

Seth Lowell’s older brother and PubSec Commissioner. He’s a Thiren with white hair and ears clearly meant to echo Seth’s design.

He’s been labeled as an NPC in data, which has cooled expectations significantly, but community consensus is that someone with this much narrative weight rarely stays unplayable forever. Was expected in 2.7; got delayed. No confirmed version yet.

Unknown / Investigator | Verina

• Version: Leaked 3.0
• Status: S-Rank (projected)
• Likelihood: 9/10

Tall, platinum-haired investigator figure teased in PVs. The community has been comparing her to Yi Xuan in terms of commanding presence and potential “badass title” framing.

Lore nerds are running theories that connect her and Norma to the Sunbringer storyline. Season 3 / 3.0 anniversary window is the most cited projection.

Unknown / Investigator | Norma

• Version: Leaked 3.0
• Status: S-Rank (projected)
• Likelihood: 9/10

Verina’s sidekick, described as a drum major type with strong bangboo affinity. Almost always shown paired with Verina in leaks, suggesting they release together or in the same patch.

The Holmes/Watson jokes on community forums basically write themselves. Whatever faction these two belong to, they’re clearly tied to a new story thread.

Roscaelifer / Sunbringer | Lady Sunbringer

• Version: Rumored 3.0
• Status: S-Rank (projected)
• Likelihood: 6/10

The ruler of Roscaelifer and a long-running background figure in the game’s lore. There’s growing reason to believe she’s alive and combat-ready in some form.

Theorized as a hybrid-element hybrid powerhouse if she releases, but the question of how HoYoverse would handle her narratively (ruler-as-playable) keeps the likelihood lower than Verina/Norma.

Unknown | Remielle

• Version: Rumored
• Status: Details Sparse
• Likelihood: Low

Described by insiders as a “black wings / pink hair” character. Very early in the leak cycle, design details are about all we have right now.

Could tie into the Outer Ring or Void Hunter arc, but treat this as a name to watch rather than an imminent banner.

Story Characters With Playability Potential in ZZZ

The 2.6 patch in particular introduced more new character designs than almost any previous update.

The community has been analyzing each one for playability signals: faction placement, combat demonstrations in cutscenes, and whether they’re given NPC tags in data. Here’s a quick breakdown of the names being discussed.

• Cecilia (The AoD’s Teacher): The retired singer and mentor figure behind the Angels of Delusion. Her connection to the idol storyline is central to 2.6’s narrative, and she’s confirmed as a water-based Thiren. She runs a store in-game, which historically signals non-playable status, but Sunna proved that being a non-combatant in the story doesn’t block someone from having a fight-capable kit. Community playability estimate: moderate, not a priority pull target.
• Vesper (The Intelligent Construct): A beetle-inspired Intelligent Construct introduced as a singing IC in 2.6. She had real narrative impact, and there’s a conceptual basis for how she could fight, but the NPC tag issue applies here. The “Pulchra exception,” where Pulchra appeared to be an NPC before becoming playable, keeps people hopeful, but it’s not a reliable indicator. Watch and wait.
• Cecillia (Outer Ring, PubSec-Adjacent): Separate from the AoD teacher Cecilia above. This character (sometimes written as Cersea in early notes) is from the Outer Ring background and has ties to both PubSec and the Intelligent Construct storyline. Her connection to Cissia’s arc makes her somewhat more likely to show up again in a gameplay context.

Quick Tips for Pulls & Resource Management

There are a lot of characters leaving in 2.7, 2.8, and the season 3 window, so Polychrome management is a real problem right now. This is what you should think about.

1. Complete the AoD Trio First: If you have Sunna and Aria but not Nangong Yu, she’s still available in 2.7 Phase 1. Running all three together is meaningfully better than partial; Nangong’s Anomaly Buildup passive only matters when your other slots are Anomaly agents.
2. Cissia and Seed are a Real Team: If you have Seed from 2.2, Cissia is one of the most natural complements available in 2.7 Phase 2. Dual Electric Attack stacks are strong right now. This is less “theoretical synergy” and more a team that functions out of the box.
3. Don’t Panic Pull for Promeia: Ice Anomaly is currently an open niche, which cuts both ways; her teams don’t exist yet, so you’d be investing in a character while waiting for support to catch up. Unless you love the design, beta data after the 2.8 livestream is worth waiting for.
4. Starlight Billy Is Higher Priority Than He Looks: Physical Rupture is genuinely untested. But the Billy character arc payoff and the fact that this is the first Physical Rupture agent in the game make this banner highly interesting for both meta players and narrative fans. If you’ve been holding Polychrome since Anby SP, this is the equivalent moment for Billy.
5. Save Hard for Season 3 / 3.0: The anniversary window, likely summer/fall 2026, is almost always when HoYoverse drops the strongest banner lineup. With Verina, Norma, and potentially Lady Sunbringer all rumored for that window, 3.0 has high potential to be a heavy-pull patch. Start saving now if Promeia doesn’t move you.
6. Watch the 2.8 Livestream: Version 2.8 Special Program aired April 24, 2026. That stream locks in official banner order, confirms Phase 1 vs. Phase 2, and typically includes Polychrome coupon codes. Check Game8 or r/ZenlessZoneZero for code compilations within an hour of airing.

ZZZ Season 2 Active Factions Overview

A quick faction-by-faction look at which groups have new characters in Season 2’s run and where the gaps still are.

• Angels of Delusion: Complete as of 2.7. Sunna, Aria, and Nangong Yu give this faction a full three-agent team with genuine internal synergy. This is the most “build around the faction” experience ZZZ has offered in Season 2.
• Krampus Compliance Authority: Zhao (2.5) and Banyue (2.4) are the established Krampus players. Promeia in 2.8 adds an Ice Anomaly option and is Zhao’s direct story colleague. If HoYoverse builds more Krampus support in 3.0, this faction has strong team comp potential.
• Metropolitan Order Division (PubSec): Cissia is the first agent from this specific PubSec subdivision. She’s tied to Severian, who is still TBD as a playable agent. This faction could expand further if Severian eventually gets a banner, but that’s currently unconfirmed.
• Cunning Hares: The OG faction. Billy gets his S-Rank upgrade in 2.8 as Starlight Billy, following the same upgrade arc as Soldier 0 Anby. This is clearly a deliberate design decision by HoYoverse to give starter characters endgame-relevant forms.
• Yunkui Summit & Spook Shack: Both factions got heavy investment in 2.0–2.5 with multiple S-ranks each. No new agents confirmed for these in 2.8 so far, though Season 3 could revisit them depending on story direction.

See Also: Best ZZZ Tier List v2.7: Meta Agents in 2026

Staying competitive in the Hollows means constantly planning. Keep an eye on your Polychrome stash, farm your ascension mats early, and always factor in how the Zenless Zone Zero new and upcoming characters will actually fit into your established teams before you hit that pull button.

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