I still remember the moment I saw the Version 2.7 patch notes drop on a rainy Tuesday in March 2026. There it was, plain as day: two brand‑new Drive Disc sets, fresh out of the Routine Cleanup mine. I had been hoping for something that would finally let my Defense agents shine without forcing them into shield‑specific gimmicks, and at first glance, both sets looked like solid additions. But as any veteran of HoYoverse games knows, what glitters in the patch notes doesn’t always translate into must‑farm gear. The real story always hides in the numbers — and in the awkward question of who actually wants to wear the stuff.

I dove headfirst into the new Routine Cleanup stage, burning a week’s worth of battery charge and dragging along my trusty Caesar, Zhao, and a half‑built Pan Yinhu. What I found was a tale of two very different discs: one that felt like an instant best friend to a handful of agents, and another that seemed to be talking to nobody at all — at least not yet.

Bunny in Wonderland — Finally, a Real Home for Defense Agents

The moment I read the four‑piece description, I knew this was a turning point. For the first time in Zenless Zone Zero, we got a set that was designed for Defense agents as a category, not just for Caesar and her shield bot playstyle. Before 2.7, most Defense units were stuck running support hand‑me‑downs like Astral Voice or Swing Jazz, or niche options like Proto Punk that only worked if you actually had a shield to throw around. Outside of Caesar and Seth, the other Defense characters — think Ben Bigger or the newer Zhao — couldn’t even trigger the full Proto Punk effect because they didn’t generate shields at all.

Bunny in Wonderland changes that completely. Its two‑piece bonus gives a straightforward HP +10%, which already screams “tank.” But the four‑piece is where the magic happens: whenever the equipped Defense agent uses an EX Special Attack or performs a defensive/evasive assist, the whole team gets a damage buff that stacks up to 18%. No shield requirement, no convoluted trigger — just good, clean, team‑wide damage amplification that rewards you for doing what you already do as a Defense character. This is exactly the kind of flexible, universal option the role had been missing.

I immediately slapped a half‑levelled set onto my Zhao and took her into a Shiyu Defense run. And oh boy, did it deliver.

Zhao — The Star Pupil

The set is literally called Bunny in Wonderland, and if that isn’t a blinking neon sign screaming “this is Zhao’s best‑in‑slot,” I don’t know what is. Every line of text lines up with her kit like they were written in the same room. Zhao scales with HP — check. She spams EX Specials and assists more often than I refill my coffee — check. The result? She stacks the team buff to full almost instantly, and the damage increase is noticeable not just on her personal output, but on my entire team. I ran her with a standard Miyabi‑Lycaon freeze comp, and the clear times shaved off a solid 8–10 seconds compared to my old Astral Voice setup. For a mid‑investment Zhao, that’s massive.

Pan Yinhu — The Consistent Powerhouse

My Pan Yinhu had always been a bit awkward to build. He struggled to maintain Astral Voice stacks because his rotation didn’t line up neatly with the buff windows. When I switched him to Bunny in Wonderland, it felt like someone finally turned on the lights. His EX Special‑heavy playstyle now translates directly into a reliable 18% team damage buff that stays up almost permanently. It’s not just a theoretical upgrade — it’s a practical, brain‑dead easy improvement that makes him a much more attractive support for any team. If you’ve been on the fence about building him, this set is the nudge you needed.

Seth & Caesar — Nice, but Not a Revolution

Now for the veterans. Seth Lowel and Caesar King both have perfectly functional Proto Punk builds that have carried me through countless endgame cycles. Bunny in Wonderland does offer them an alternative: more team damage at the cost of some personal bulk or shield strength. For Seth, swapping out his ATK% scaling for the HP piece means his shields become thinner, so you trade survivability for offense. It’s a sidegrade that makes sense if you’re running a hyper‑offensive team where the shield is just a failsafe, but if you rely on his shields to face‑tank hits, Proto Punk remains the safer bet. Caesar is in a similar boat — her Proto Punk shield buff is so ingrained in her identity that rebuilding her from scratch feels more like a luxury project than a necessity. I tried it on both, and while the team damage numbers crept up, the loss of that thick shield comfort wasn’t always worth the stress of perfect dodging.

Ben Bigger — A Little Better, but Still Ben

I have a soft spot for Ben. The big guy is fun, but his kit has always been a bit clunky. Bunny in Wonderland technically works on him, and the team buff is a genuine damage upgrade. But it doesn’t fix his core issues — slow animations and a lack of innate utility — so don’t expect him to suddenly become meta. It’s a nice‑to‑have if you already love playing him, but it won’t turn him into Caesar.

The bottom line for this set: If you have Zhao or are planning to invest in future Defense agents (and leaks suggest there are some spicy ones on the horizon), Bunny in Wonderland is your new go‑to farming target. For Pan Yinhu mains, it’s a straight upgrade that you’ll feel immediately. For everyone else, it’s a “farm later when you’re bored” kind of deal — not an emergency.

Notes from the Chained — An Answer Searching for a Question

While Bunny in Wonderland had me excitedly theorycrafting team comps, the second new set, Notes from the Chained, left me scratching my head. On paper, it’s clearly an Ice Anomaly set: two‑piece gives Ice DMG +10%, and the four‑piece is packed with Anomaly goodness — +48 Anomaly Proficiency when you trigger Abloom, and an extra +16% Anomaly DMG & Disorder DMG when you trigger Freeze. It’s the kind of beautifully specific set that makes you want to build around it. The problem? There’s no one to build.

Right now, the only Ice agent who even cares about Anomaly stats is Hoshimi Miyabi, but her entire kit screams CRIT. She scales so heavily with CRIT Rate and CRIT DMG that trying to force her into a pure Anomaly Proficiency build would be like asking a race car to win an off‑road rally — technically possible, but you’re ignoring everything that makes her special. I ran the numbers using a simulation tool a dataminer friend shared (don’t ask), and a full 4‑piece Notes from the Chained setup on Miyabi performed about 15–18% worse than her standard Woodpecker Electro/Branch & Blade combination. That’s not a small gap — it’s a gap you don’t close without a complete rework of her scalings.

So what gives? HoYoverse rarely designs gear that has no user at launch, which leaves two plausible explanations. The first is that Miyabi might get future balance changes to enable an Anomaly‑focused build path — something I’d welcome, but I’m not holding my breath. The second, and far more likely scenario, is that a new Ice Anomaly agent is on the way. The community is buzzing with one name: Promeia. Leaked blurry images and whispers from reliable sources suggest she’s an Ice element character with heavy Anomaly focus, possibly launching in Version 2.8. If that’s true, this set is her pre‑release BiS, designed to be farmed now so she hits the ground running. HoYoverse has pulled this move before, and it’s a classic tactic to keep players grinding.

The Smart Farmer’s Dilemma (and Advice)

Here’s the kicker: both of these sets drop from the exact same Routine Cleanup stage. That means if you go all‑in farming for Bunny in Wonderland, you’re going to end up with a pile of Notes from the Chained pieces whether you like it or not. At first, I was annoyed — yet another layer of RNG to clutter my inventory. But then I realized this is actually a clever long‑term investment. Instead of trashing every Chained piece that doesn’t fit my current roster, I’ve started locking any that roll with double Anomaly Proficiency or Anomaly DMG substats. A solid CRIT Rate body? Lock it. An Ice DMG bonus sphere with good sub‑stats? Lock it. I’m essentially pre‑farming for a character who doesn’t exist yet, and that’s a strangely satisfying feeling.

For my friends still on the fence, here’s what I’ve been telling them:

Agent	Bunny in Wonderland verdict	Recommended?
Zhao	Perfect synergy. Stacks buff effortlessly.	Absolutely farm now
Pan Yinhu	Reliable upgrade over clunky Astral Voice setups.	Strong yes
Seth Lowell	Sidegrade — more team DMG, weaker shields.	Only if you’re min‑maxing offense
Caesar King	Alternative playstyle. Not worth rebuilding a good Proto Punk set.	Low priority
Ben Bigger	Works, but doesn’t fix his underlying issues.	Only for dedicated Ben mains

For Notes from the Chained, my advice is simpler: keep every decent piece you find, but don’t level them yet. If Promeia turns out to be real, you’ll be months ahead of the curve. If not, you’ve only lost some inventory space — and let’s be honest, we’re all hoarders anyway.

As I sit here on a Saturday afternoon, sorting through my latest batch of disc drops and eyeing the XP materials slowly draining from my bag, I can’t help but feel a familiar mixture of hope and mild frustration. This is the Zenless Zone Zero loop in a nutshell: you grind, you guess, and occasionally you’re rewarded with a set that finally makes your favorite character feel complete. Bunny in Wonderland does that for Zhao and Pan Yinhu right now. Notes from the Chained? That one’s a promise written in ones and zeros, waiting for an agent to claim it. Until then, I’ll keep farming, keep locking, and keep dreaming about an icy Promeia who’ll one day make all this preparation feel like genius foresight.