What are Drive Discs in Zenless Zone Zero?
Drive Discs are the primary stat-boosting equipment system for Agents in Zenless Zone Zero. Think of them as ZZZ's answer to Genshin Impact's Artifacts or Honkai: Star Rail's Cavern Relics. Each Agent has six equipment slots, and you fill those slots with discs pulled from named sets. Every set has a 2-piece bonus and a 4-piece bonus, and because you have six slots total, you can mix and match two different 2-piece effects or go all-in on a 4-piece plus a 2-piece from a second set. Getting the right combination for your Agent is where most of the late-game optimization lives.
How do disc stats work?
Every disc has two categories of stats: Base Stats (the main stat) and Random Stats (sub-stats). The first three slots always carry flat HP, flat ATK, and flat DEF as their base stats. Slots 4, 5, and 6 are where the meaningful choices happen.
Base stat options by slot
Random Stats are the sub-stats that either come pre-rolled on a disc or unlock as you upgrade it. A single disc can carry up to four random stats, chosen from: HP% and flat HP, ATK% and flat ATK, DEF% and flat DEF, CRIT Rate%, CRIT DMG%, and Anomaly Proficiency.
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Slot 5 is where you lock in Elemental DMG or PEN Ratio for most damage dealers. Slot 4 is your CRIT Rate or CRIT DMG slot. Prioritize these main stats before worrying about sub-stats.
How to get Drive Discs
There are two main methods to collect Drive Discs, and understanding both is the difference between efficient farming and spinning your wheels.
Routine Cleanup stages (the main farm)
Routine Cleanup stages inside the VR Device are the direct source for specific disc sets. Each stage drops its own designated sets, so you always know exactly what you're farming. Each run costs 60 Battery, and the stages also have their own elemental buffs and mechanics, so checking which team attributes are favored before you build your squad saves you damage output.
According to the Game8 wiki, Notes from the Chained specifically drops from the Dragon Taming Chariot stage, accessed via Scott Outpost. This is the pattern across all sets: each has a dedicated Routine Cleanup stage tied to it.
Routine Cleanup disc farming
Bardic Needle Music Store (the exchange route)
The second method runs through Bardic Needle, where you exchange Plating Agents (the currency equivalent of Master Copies) for random discs. You can set a Tuning Orientation to increase the drop rate of a specific set, which helps when you need one particular set but keep getting the wrong one from Routine Cleanup.
Plating Agents come in three rarities, and the rarity you put in determines the rarity you get out:
To stock up on Plating Agents, you have four sources: Rally Commissions, Routine Cleanup stages, dismantling unwanted Drive Discs at Bardic Needle, and reaching tier levels in the New Eridu City Fund (ZZZ's Battle Pass). S-Rank Plating Agents come from Rally Commissions, dismantling, and the Battle Pass specifically.
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Your Inter-Knot Level affects what features unlock at Bardic Needle. The shop upgrades as your player level increases, so progression matters for disc access.
How to upgrade Drive Discs
Upgrading uses Plating Agents as the upgrade material. The rarity of the disc sets a hard cap on how far you can push it:
As you level a disc up, it reveals additional random stats at certain breakpoints. This is why an S-Rank disc at +15 is dramatically stronger than the same disc at +0. Focus your S-Rank Plating Agents on S-Rank discs with good main stats first. Leveling a disc with a bad slot 4 stat all the way to +15 is a waste of resources that could go toward a disc that actually fits your Agent.
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Don't level B-Rank or A-Rank discs past the point where they serve a purpose. Early game they fill gaps, but once you're farming S-Rank sets consistently, those lower-rarity discs should be dismantled for Plating Agents rather than upgraded further.
Disc upgrade level caps
Complete list of Drive Disc sets (Version 2.7)
As of Version 2.7, released March 24, 2026, there are 26 active Drive Disc sets in the game. The two newest additions are Bunny in Wonderland and Notes from the Chained.
Damage-focused sets
Anomaly and condition sets
Support and utility sets
Other sets
Who should use Notes from the Chained?
According to the Game8 wiki, Miyabi is the primary recommended Agent for Notes from the Chained. The set is built for Ice Anomaly Agents who regularly trigger Abloom and Freeze. The 4-piece is particularly strong because both conditions, Abloom and Freeze, each have their own 30-second buff window, and repeated triggers reset the duration rather than stacking separately. An Agent who can hit both conditions consistently gets Anomaly Proficiency +48 and 16% increased Attribute Anomaly and Disorder DMG running simultaneously.
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Notes from the Chained is a poor fit for Ice Attack characters who don't build Anomaly Proficiency. The 4-piece only fires on Abloom and Freeze triggers, so if your Ice Agent doesn't inflict these reliably, you're only getting the 2-piece Ice DMG bonus.
Farming efficiency tips
A few things that make a real difference when grinding Routine Cleanup:
- Check stage buffs before building your team. Each Routine Cleanup stage favors specific attributes and damage types. Running a team that aligns with the stage mechanics means faster clears and more runs per Battery.
- Dismantle aggressively. Discs with bad main stats on slots 4-6 should go straight to Bardic Needle for Plating Agents. Holding onto them costs inventory space and delays the discs you actually need.
- Prioritize S-Rank Plating Agents for Advanced Tuning. The New Eridu City Fund Battle Pass rewards S-Rank Plating Agents at certain tiers. These are your most efficient path to S-Rank disc rolls outside of direct stage farming.
- Set your Tuning Orientation before spending. The orientation boost at Bardic Needle increases the rate of your target set. Always set it before exchanging, not after.
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