Zhu Yuan Guide and Best Builds for Zenless Zone Zero (ZZZ)

Zhu Yuan is an S-Rank Ether Attack Agent in Zenless Zone Zero. She specializes in dealing Pierce damage that switches between two different attack modes, Assault Mode and Suppressive Mode, while generating and consuming Enhanced Shotshells to greatly increase the damage of her attacks.

Zhu Yuan leads the Criminal Investigation Special Response Team faction, alongside Qingyi, Seth Lowell and Jane Doe.

"Leader of Public Security's Criminal Investigation team, Zhu Yuan, standing by. You can come to me if you need any help."
"Sorry, but have you given prior notification of and obtained approval for this interview?"
"Yes, here are the documents signed by PR."
"Right. Well, we have five minutes, then~"

Zhu Yuan was available as a rate-up character on the second Exclusive Channel in Patch 1.0. She can not be pulled from the Stable Channel or the Bangboo Channel, and is currently unavailable to be pulled.

Strengths

• Exceptional burst damage during Stun windows.
• Any Support Agent triggers her Additional Ability.
• DPS ceiling will go even higher once S-Rank Ether Stun and Supports become available.

Weaknesses

• Only one other Ether Agent currently exists, and it is an A-Rank.
• Heavily requires Stun windows to deal damage, making her much weaker outside of it.
• More difficult to play than most other Main DPS.

To get the most value out of Zhu Yuan, you will need to optimize your generation and usage of the Enhanced Shotshells, which you generate through a variety of different ways in Assault Mode, while spending them during Suppressive Mode.

Every fifth hit of your basic attack combo will generate one Enhanced Shotshell, and your Chain Attack, Special Attacks, Quick Assists and Ultimate Attack will all generate Enhanced Shotshells. Whenever you have multiple stacks, you will want to swap into Suppressive Mode by holding , and then unload your enhanced Ether attacks for massive damage. You will want to avoid overcapping charges, but try to make use of her damage multiplier against stunned enemies for massive burst, especially as a follow-up to a Support character than can further boost her damage output.

While Zhu Yuan is using a gun for a weapon, you'll want to stay in medium range to your enemies in order to benefit from Perfect Counters, and her regular Basic Attack includes a series of melee attacks as well. Many of her abilities will naturally move you away from enemies, leading to a very fluid gameplay that weaves between close-range and distant attacks.

Zhu Yuan has multiple good choices for her W-Engine, with her signature Riot Suppressor Mark VI and Soldier 11's The Brimstone being two very strong S-Rank options. Starlight Engine at S5 also works very well, and is easily available by crafting copies of it.

With her already getting a large amount of CRIT from her passive, you will want to focus on CRIT Damage and Ether Damage sources for your Drive Discs. Chaotic Metal is an easy choice here, providing both. Supplement it with a 2-piece Woodpecker Electro for a bit of additional CRIT Rate, and you should be able to reach a solid CRIT Ratio. Aim for a 1:2 ratio, and make sure to account for the 30% bonus from her Core Passive.

Almost all her damage is locked behind Enhanced Shockshells, which you will be spending with your Basic Attack, so level it up first. Her other main source of damage is her Ultimate and Chain Attack, so focus on those alongside her Basic Attack to get the most out of Zhu Yuan without having to spend too many resources.

Zhu Yuan's best Bangboo is Resonaboo. Resonaboo increases Ether Anomaly Buildup and deals Ether damage with its skills.

Devilboo is a great A-Rank alternative, as its Chain Attack continuously deals damage in tandem with Zhu Yuan. Booressure can also work well as it grants extra Energy for the team.

In order to optimize Zhu Yuan's damage, she will need enemies to be stunned or disabled so she can fully leverage her Core passive. You also want to pair her with Nicole Demara in order to gain extra Quick Assists, which help generate additional Enhanced Shotshells every time Nicole user her Special.

Soukaku is an alternative Support that is simply too powerful to ignore, and can be run together with Von Lycaon. Soukaku helps boost Zhu Yuan's ATK by triggering her Blade Banner effect. This buff applies to Soukaku, but can be passed along to another character through Chain Attacks or Quick Assists. Make sure that your multi-Chain attacks end on Soukaku and then switch to Zhu Yuan with the Quick Assist from Soukaku's Blade Banner usage to unload high burst into the still stunned enemies.