Nangong Yu debuts in Zenless Zone Zero Version 2.7 as an S-Rank Ether agent and the dedicated composer of the underground group Angels of Delusion. Fully building her — promotion, skills, core skills, and signature W-Engine — demands a wide spread of materials, multiple boss clears, and over 3.7 million Dennies. If you want her combat-ready on day one, knowing exactly what to farm and where to find it matters.
Quick answer: Nangong Yu's full build requires 4 Basic / 32 Advanced / 30 Buster (Arbiter) Stun Certification Seals, 25 Basic / 75 Advanced / 250 Specialized Ether Chips, 9 Marrow-Draining Thorns, 60 Higher Dimensional Data: Spiked Corruption Cores, 5 Hamster Cage Passes, and 3,705,000 Dennies across promotion and all skill upgrades.
Nangong Yu Total Material Requirements
The table below covers every resource needed to take Nangong Yu from Level 1 to Level 60 and max all of her skills (Basic Attack, Dodge, Special Attack, Chain Attack, Assist, and Core Skill).
| Material | Total Needed |
|---|---|
| Basic Stun Certification Seal | 4 |
| Advanced Stun Certification Seal | 32 |
| Buster Certification Seal | 30 |
| Basic Ether Chip | 25 |
| Advanced Ether Chip | 75 |
| Specialized Ether Chip | 250 |
| Higher Dimensional Data: Spiked Corruption Core | 60 |
| Marrow-Draining Thorn | 9 |
| Hamster Cage Pass | 5 |
| Dennies | 3,705,000 |
Nangong Yu Promotion Materials Per Level
Promotion (ascension) raises Nangong Yu's level cap. Each breakthrough uses Stun Certification Seals that match her agent type. The total Denny cost for promotion alone is 800,000. Promoting to Level 30 and Level 50 also rewards a Master Tape each.
| Promotion Level | Materials | Dennies |
|---|---|---|
| 10 → 20 | Basic Stun Certification Seal ×4 | 24,000 |
| 20 → 30 | Advanced Stun Certification Seal ×12 | 56,000 |
| 30 → 40 | Advanced Stun Certification Seal ×20 | 120,000 |
| 40 → 50 | Buster Certification Seal ×10 | 200,000 |
| 50 → 60 | Buster Certification Seal ×20 | 400,000 |
Nangong Yu Skill Upgrade Materials (Per Skill)
Each of Nangong Yu's five standard skills — Basic Attack, Dodge, Special Attack, Chain Attack, and Assist — follows the same material curve from Level 1 to Level 12. The final level requires a Hamster Cage Pass on top of Specialized Ether Chips. Since she has five skills that share this table, multiply accordingly when planning total Ether Chip needs.
| Skill Level | Materials | Dennies |
|---|---|---|
| 1 → 2 | Basic Ether Chip ×2 | 2,000 |
| 2 → 3 | Basic Ether Chip ×3 | 3,000 |
| 3 → 4 | Advanced Ether Chip ×2 | 6,000 |
| 4 → 5 | Advanced Ether Chip ×3 | 9,000 |
| 5 → 6 | Advanced Ether Chip ×4 | 12,000 |
| 6 → 7 | Advanced Ether Chip ×6 | 18,000 |
| 7 → 8 | Specialized Ether Chip ×5 | 45,000 |
| 8 → 9 | Specialized Ether Chip ×8 | 67,500 |
| 9 → 10 | Specialized Ether Chip ×10 | 90,000 |
| 10 → 11 | Specialized Ether Chip ×12 | 112,500 |
| 11 → 12 | Specialized Ether Chip ×15, Hamster Cage Pass ×1 | 135,000 |
Nangong Yu Core Skill Materials
Core Skills use a separate upgrade path that relies on boss drops rather than Ether Chips. Higher Dimensional Data: Spiked Corruption Core is the regular boss material, while Marrow-Draining Thorn is the weekly boss material. The total Denny cost for the full Core Skill tree (A through F) is 405,000.
| Core Skill Rank | Materials | Dennies |
|---|---|---|
| A | None | 5,000 |
| B | Higher Dimensional Data: Spiked Corruption Core ×2 | 12,000 |
| C | Higher Dimensional Data: Spiked Corruption Core ×4 | 28,000 |
| D | Marrow-Draining Thorn ×2, Spiked Corruption Core ×9 | 60,000 |
| E | Marrow-Draining Thorn ×3, Spiked Corruption Core ×15 | 100,000 |
| F | Marrow-Draining Thorn ×4, Spiked Corruption Core ×30 | 200,000 |
Signature W-Engine Materials
Nangong Yu's signature W-Engine uses Stun Components instead of Certification Seals. The leveling structure mirrors other S-Rank W-Engines, costing 400,000 Dennies in total to reach Level 60.
| W-Engine Level | Materials | Dennies |
|---|---|---|
| 10 → 20 | Stun Component ×4 | 12,000 |
| 20 → 30 | Reinforced Stun Component ×12 | 28,000 |
| 30 → 40 | Reinforced Stun Component ×20 | 60,000 |
| 40 → 50 | Specialized Stun Component ×10 | 100,000 |
| 50 → 60 | Specialized Stun Component ×20 | 200,000 |
Where to Farm Each Material
Stun Certification Seals (Basic, Advanced, Buster)
All three rarities of Stun Certification Seals drop from the Stun Drill combat challenge. You access it through the VR device console located at the HIA Club. Higher-difficulty tiers yield the rarer Buster-grade seals, so push difficulty as high as your roster allows.
Ether Chips (Basic, Advanced, Specialized)
Ether Chips come from the Resonance Test, accessed through the same VR console at the HIA Club. Spend Battery to run the challenge and clear enemy waves. Specialized Ether Chips only drop at higher difficulty levels, and you need 250 of them across all five skills — expect this to be the biggest Battery sink in the entire build.
Higher Dimensional Data: Spiked Corruption Core
This regular boss material drops from the Miasma Walker – Scorpse in Expert Challenge. You can farm it daily with Battery, so stockpile early if you plan to max her Core Skill on release.
Marrow-Draining Thorn
Nangong Yu's weekly boss material drops from the Sanguine Sweeper in Notorious Hunt. Because Notorious Hunt resets weekly, you can only collect a limited number of Thorns per week. Nine are needed in total, so start clearing this boss as soon as it becomes available to avoid a multi-week bottleneck.
Hamster Cage Pass
The Hamster Cage Pass is the hardest material to stockpile because it cannot be farmed with Battery. The primary source is reaching Level 30 on the New Eridu City Fund (the battle pass), which grants one from the Basic Plan and an additional one from the Growth Plan. Limited-time events occasionally award extras. Five passes are needed to max all five standard skills to Level 12, so reserve them carefully.
Pre-Farm Priority Order
If you want to minimize wasted time, work through materials in this order:
Step 1: Secure Hamster Cage Passes first. Progress the battle pass and complete any active limited-time events that reward them. These are the only materials you genuinely cannot speed up.
Step 2: Start clearing the Sanguine Sweeper in Notorious Hunt each week for Marrow-Draining Thorns. With a weekly lockout and nine needed, you want at least nine weeks of clears banked before her banner arrives.
Step 3: Farm Stun Certification Seals through Stun Drill. You need these for both her promotion and her signature W-Engine, so the combined demand is significant.
Step 4: Run Expert Challenge against the Miasma Walker – Scorpse to collect 60 Spiked Corruption Cores. This is farmable daily, but the volume is high enough that starting early helps.
Step 5: Dump remaining Battery into Resonance Test for Ether Chips, focusing on Specialized Ether Chips. At 250 total needed, this is the largest single-material grind in her kit, but it is consistently farmable and makes a good default Battery sink once everything else is on track.
Between the weekly-gated Marrow-Draining Thorns, the battle-pass-locked Hamster Cage Passes, and the sheer volume of Specialized Ether Chips, building Nangong Yu is a long-term investment. Starting your farming runs well before Version 2.7 goes live is the difference between maxing her on day one and waiting weeks after pulling her.