The final character coming in ZZZ season one is Hugo and he’s a deceptively strong character to pull for, when he has a proper build and team composition.
Zenless Zone Zero is set to wrap up its first season, and the final limited S-rank character available in the patch is Hugo Vlad. Initially the main antagonist of the patch 1.6 story content, he made a face turn in version 1.7. Making amends with Lycaon seemingly absolved him of all the other wrongdoing in his backstory, albeit with no satisfying explanation for why he killed his sister.
Regardless, he’s a truly unique DPS option for players to consider. Not only that but in this age of Deadly Assault, it gives players a bit of extra leeway in terms of team compositions. Even with Yixuan set to come out before long, Hugo is worth considering.
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Best Hugo Drive Disc build
Hugo’s best Drive Disc build is four-piece Hormone Punk or Woodpecker Electro, but ZZZ players can use a few different two-piece options, based on his W-Engine and team composition.
While some agents have extremely specific Drive Disc needs, that’s not the case with Hugo. He can basically work with any given combination of discs that boost his damage in any way. Here are a few different options:
- Four-piece Hormone Punk, two-piece Woodpecker Electro
- Four-piece Hormone Punk, two-piece Polar Metal
- Four-piece Hormone Punk, two-piece Astral Voice
- Four-piece Woodpecker Electro, two-piece Hormone Punk
- Four-piece Woodpecker Electro, two-piece Branch and Blade Song
- Four-piece Woodpecker Electro, two-piece Astral Voice
- Four-piece Woodpecker Electro, two-piece Hormone Punk
Hormone Punk is the best and most intuitive four-piece option for players who are going all-in on Hugo and can give him his best W-Engines and team compositions.
Hugo has a playstyle similar to Zhu Yuan or Soldier 11 in the early versions of Zenless Zone Zero, where he sits back and lets his teammates stun the enemy before coming in to drop a nuke on them.
Hormone Punk gels with that by offering a huge attack boost for 10 seconds after hitting the field. After those 10 seconds, he should jump out and wait for the next stun. This approach works well with Hormone Punk and W-Engines like Street Superstar, Cannon Rotor, and Hugo’s signature W-Engine.
If players need Hugo to have more field time, four-piece Woodpecker Electro may be preferable. Regardless, players can use either for the two-piece set or opt for Branch and Blade Song, Astral Voice, or Polar Metal.
Hugo best Drive Disc stats
Regardless of Hugo’s Drive Disc build, players should prioritize these stats for each slot:
- HP
- Attack
- Defense
- Crit rate
- Ice Damage
- Attack
In terms of sub-stats, players should prioritize crit damage, crit rate, and attack %. Pen ratio is also workable, but the key here is to increase his damage to the maximum.
Best Hugo W-Engine in ZZZ
Myriad Eclipse is Hugo’s best W-Engine, but it’s not particularly integral to his build. While characters like Trigger really need to have their signature W-Engine and others like Miyabi get an enormous boost from theirs, Hugo is fine with basically any attacker W-Engine.
Here’s the full list of viable W-Engines for Hugo:
- Myriad Eclipse
- Deep Sea Visitor
- Steel Cushion
- Cannon Rotor
- Marcato Desire
- Gilded Blossom
- Street Superstar
The now-former head of Mockingbird doesn’t have awkward stat requirements like Trigger, a stunner that scales on crit rate. Instead, Hugo is much easier for ZZZ players to build thanks to his straightforward stat preferences.
The only W-Engines to avoid are the Starlight Engine and The Brimstone. Starlight Engine’s effect doesn’t gel with that of the Hormone Punk four-piece bonus. Meanwhile, The Brimstone builds up damage as Hugo stays on the field. This is sub-optimal for his play style, as he wants to hit the field in front of a stunned enemy, use an EX special attack or ultimate, then get off the field.
Best Hugo team compositions
Hugo wants to be alongside a stunner and other agents who can build stun quickly. Here are the best options, and how they work.
No Girls Allowed – Hugo, Lycaon, Lighter (Sharkboo)
Zenless Zone Zero’s three S-rank male characters make for a deadly combination. Hugo needs enemies to be stunned as frequently as possible. Lycaon and Lighter both do that, while reducing enemies’ defense against ice damage. The duo can stun enemies, then have Hugo land a massive burst of damage with his Totalize ability.
Some Girls Allowed – Hugo, Koleda/Caesar, Qingyi (Robin)
If players don’t have Lycaon or Lighter, slotting in Koleda and Qingyi works fine. Both have a lot to offer as on-field stunners, even if they don’t have ice resistance shreds to boost Hugo’s damage. Caesar isn’t technically a stunner, but has comparatively high impactThe big thing is to just put in two S-rank stunners alongside Hugo, if at all possible.
Best free-to-play Hugo team composition – Hugo, Anby, Pulchra/Nicole (Robin/Amillion)
For those who don’t have any S-rank stunners, or haven’t yet hit the guaranteed option at 300 pulls on the static banner, Pulchra and Anby are the only A-rank stunners available. Pulchra is a workable option after getting six mindscapes. For those who don’t have a fully built Pulchra, swapping Nicole in for Pulchra and Amillion in over Robin makes for a decent free option.
