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César full body splash art — Zenless Zone Zero Physical Defense agent
Sons of Calydon

Sons of Calydon

César Skills, Mindscapes & Materials

S-Rank
Physical
Defense

The best César build in Zenless Zone Zero (Version 3.3) is Tusks of Fury with Astral Voice 4-piece and Shockstar Disco 2-piece, CRIT Rate% = Anomaly Proficiency / Physical DMG% > ATK% = PEN Ratio% / Impact main stats. Prydwen's Oct 2026 tier list ranks César T2.

By Updated

Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths

  • Only Defense-type Stun agent — provides both shields and Daze generation
  • Signature grants 18% DMG + 12% Daze to the whole squad on interrupt/dodge
  • Extremely versatile — fits into virtually any composition as a defensive anchor

Weaknesses

  • Signature W-engine is near-mandatory to unlock her team buffing potential
  • HP-scaling shields require significant HP investment to match top healers in survivability

Prydwen T2 (Support) — Oct 2026

Skills

Basic Attack

2 skills
Basic Attack skill icon
Basic Attack

Basic Attack: Rampaging Slash

Press the Basic Attack button to activate. Unleashes up to 6 slashes ahead, dealing Physical DMG.

  • Physical
Basic Attack skill icon
Basic AttackAssist Point

Basic Attack: Dead End

When there are sufficient Assist Points, hold the Basic Attack button to activate. Consume 1 Assist Point to toss the shield and attack nearby enemies in all directions, dealing Physical DMG. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.

  • Physical
  • AoE
  • Invulnerable
  • Assist Point Cost

Dodge

3 skills
Dodge skill icon
Dodge

Dodge: Adrift

Press the Dodge button to activate. A quick dash dodge. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.

  • Invulnerable
Dodge skill icon
Dash Attack

Dash Attack: Hog Rush

Press the Basic Attack button during a dodge to activate. Strikes forward with the shield, dealing Physical DMG. During skill activation, DMG taken is reduced by 40%, and when attacked by an enemy, Caesar blocks with the shield and gets knocked back. Following that, press the Special Attack button to trigger Retaliation and activate Special Attack: Roaring Thrust or EX Special Attack: Overpowered Shield Bash.

  • Physical
  • Block
  • Retaliation
  • DMG Reduction
Dodge skill icon
Dodge Counter

Dodge Counter: Eye For an Eye

Press the Basic Attack button during a Perfect Dodge to activate. Stabs at enemies in front, dealing Physical DMG. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.

  • Physical
  • Invulnerable

Assist

3 skills
Assist skill icon
Quick Assist

Quick Assist: Lane Change

When the active character is launched, press the Switch button to activate. Thrust at enemies in front, dealing Physical DMG. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.

  • Physical
  • Invulnerable
Assist skill icon
Defensive Assist

Defensive Assist: Aegis Shield

When the character on field is about to be attacked, press the Switch button to activate. Parries the enemy's attack, dealing massive Daze. This skill excels at parrying enemy attacks and reduces the consumption of Assist Points when the character is under intense attacks. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.

  • Daze
  • Parry
  • Invulnerable
Assist skill icon
Assist Follow-Up

Assist Follow-Up: Aiding Blade

Press the Basic Attack button after a Defensive Assist to activate. Tosses the shield forward, unleashing a powerful spinning attack on enemies in front, followed by a slash that deals Physical DMG. After activating the skill, press the Special Attack button to trigger a Retaliation, activating Special Attack: Roaring Thrust or EX Special Attack: Overpowered Shield Bash. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.

  • Physical
  • AoE
  • Retaliation
  • Invulnerable

Special Attack

4 skills
Special Attack skill icon
Special Attack

Special Attack: Shockwave Shield Bash

Press the Special Attack button to activate. Strike forward with the shield, dealing Physical DMG. If Caesar is hit by an enemy at the beginning of activation, it triggers a Perfect Block, negating the damage once and automatically following up with Special Attack: Roaring Thrust. After using the skill, Caesar enters a guard stance, reducing incoming damage by 40%. When attacked, press the Special Attack button to trigger Retaliation, activating Special Attack: Roaring Thrust or EX Special Attack: Overpowered Shield Bash. Caesar is invulnerable when Retaliation is triggered.

  • Physical
  • Perfect Block
  • Guard Stance
  • Retaliation
  • DMG Reduction
Special Attack skill icon
Special AttackFollow-Up

Special Attack: Roaring Thrust

After activating Special Attack: Shockwave Shield Bash, press the Special Attack button to activate. Thrusts forward, dealing Physical DMG. If Perfect Block or Retaliation is not triggered, the Anti-Interrupt level is increased while using this skill. Character is invulnerable while using this skill when Perfect Block or Retaliation is triggered.

  • Physical
  • Invulnerable
  • Anti-Interrupt
Special Attack skill icon
EX Special Attack

EX Special Attack: Parry Counter

With enough Energy, press the Special Attack button to activate. Strikes forward with the shield, followed by a powerful thrust, dealing massive Physical DMG. If hit by an enemy at the beginning of activation or an Interrupt is triggered with the shield strike, it triggers Perfect Block — negates incoming damage once and counters with a shield attack. After triggering Perfect Block, press the Special Attack button to activate EX Special Attack: Overpowered Shield Bash without consuming Energy. After using the skill, Caesar enters a guard stance, reducing incoming damage by 40%. Character is invulnerable while using this skill. Energy Cost: 40.

  • Physical
  • Perfect Block
  • Guard Stance
  • Retaliation
  • Invulnerable
  • Energy Cost: 40
Special Attack skill icon
EX Special Attack

EX Special Attack: Overpowered Shield Bash

After activating EX Special Attack: Parry Counter, with enough Energy, press the Special Attack button to activate. Strikes forward with the shield, dealing massive Physical DMG. If hit by an enemy at the beginning of activation or an Interrupt is triggered with the shield strike, it triggers Perfect Block — negates incoming damage once and recovers the Energy used to activate the skill. When activated through Perfect Block or Retaliation, it cannot trigger Perfect Block again. Character is invulnerable while using this skill. Energy Cost: 20.

  • Physical
  • Perfect Block
  • Energy Recovery
  • Invulnerable
  • Energy Cost: 20

Chain Attack & Ultimate

2 skills
Chain Attack skill icon
Chain Attack

Chain Attack: Road Rage Slam

When a Chain Attack is triggered, select the character to activate. Unleashes a powerful downward strike at enemies ahead, dealing massive Physical DMG. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.

  • Physical
  • Invulnerable
Ultimate skill icon
Ultimate

Ultimate: Savage Smash

When Decibel Rating is at Maximum, press the Ultimate button to activate. Tosses the shield forward, unleashing a powerful spinning attack on enemies in front, followed by a downward strike, dealing massive Physical DMG. When hitting shielded enemies, Daze dealt is increased by 100%. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.

  • Physical
  • AoE
  • Invulnerable
  • Anti-Shield

Core Passive

1 skill
Core Skill skill icon
Core Passive

Core Passive: Barrier of Resilience

When Caesar activates EX Special Attack: Parry Counter, Chain Attack, Ultimate, or triggers EX Special Attack: Overpowered Shield Bash through Retaliation, she buffs all squad members with a Radiant Aegis shield (equal to 1,400% of her base Impact + 1,400) lasting 60s, equipped by the active character with value shared among all squad members (capped per hit). While Radiant Aegis is active, the shield bearer's Anti-Interrupt level is increased and ATK is increased by 1,000. After Radiant Aegis expires, the ATK buff remains for an additional 5s.

Additional Ability · Battle Spirit

When another character in your squad can activate Defensive Assist or shares the same Faction: when Caesar activates Perfect Block, Retaliation, Defensive Assist, or Basic Attack: Dead End, she applies a Debuff to enemies within a 7m radius, increasing the DMG they take from all squad members by 25% for 30s.

  • Radiant Aegis
  • Shield
  • ATK Buff
  • Anti-Interrupt
  • DMG Debuff

Mindscape Cinema

César Mindscape Cinema artwork
  1. C1

    Spearhead Advance

    When Caesar becomes the active character in combat, she instantly buffs all squad members with a Radiant Aegis shield (once every 300s). While Radiant Aegis is active, enemies within a 5m radius of the shield bearer suffer a 15% All-Attribute RES reduction.

  2. C2

    Legacy of the Far Lands

    While Radiant Aegis from Core Passive: Barrier of Resilience is active, Caesar's Energy Generation Rate increases by 10%, and the shield bearer's ATK boost is increased to 150% of its original value.

  3. C3

    Absolute Trust

    Skill levels

    Basic Attack, Dodge, Assist, Special Attack, and Chain Attack Lv. +2.

  4. C4

    Aries the Battering-Ram

    When Caesar uses a Chain Attack or Ultimate, she gains 3 additional Assist Points. If her Energy is below 20, she can activate EX Special Attack: Overpowered Shield Bash with 1 Assist Point instead (once every 5s).

  5. C5

    Romantic Conquest

    Skill levels

    Basic Attack, Dodge, Assist, Special Attack, and Chain Attack Lv. +2.

  6. C6

    Overlord's Will

    EX Special Attack: Overpowered Shield Bash and Assist Follow-Up: Aiding Blade are guaranteed to trigger a critical hit, with skill DMG increased by 50% and an additional 50% DMG dealt to the primary target. When Caesar uses EX Special Attack: Overpowered Shield Bash or Assist Follow-Up: Aiding Blade, her CRIT Rate is increased by 30% and CRIT DMG by 60% for 15s.

Skill Upgrade Priority

01Core SkillCore SkillPriority
02AssistAssist
03Special AttackSpecial Attack
04Basic AttackBasic Attack
05DodgeDodge
06Chain AttackChain Attack

Advancement Materials

Coming Soon

Material costs & farming routes

Skill Materials

Coming Soon

Material costs & farming routes