Lucia is set to upend the ZZZ meta, but the unique build and specific team compositions she requires make her somewhat unintuitive.
Expectations are high for any limited-time support in a HoYoverse game and Zenless Zone Zero is no different. Astra Yao was the first S-rank support in the game, and she has arguably been the single best agent ever since. Yuzuha followed in version 2.1 and while she’s not quite as versatile, she sits at the top of the ZZZ tier list for good reason.
Lucia is the next S-rank support and she’s set to bring certain characters to the next level. That said, that list of characters is relatively short and requires players to take a different approach to building her.
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How to play Lucia in Zenless Zone Zero
Lucia is an ether support agent who scales on HP and delivers sheer force and crit damage buffs to her team.
In terms of her gameplay loop, Lucia is relatively straightforward. Players can use basic attacks and EX special attacks to fill up her unique resource bar and once it’s full, she enters the “Dream State.”
Attacks used in the Dream State have a damage bonus based on Lucia’s maximum HP. More importantly, these attacks give a 20% damage boost to all allies. Alongside this, Dream State attacks and EX special attacks also deliver a sheer force of up to 900 damage, and a crit damage boost of up to 30%. The cherry on top is that it also gives agents 5% more HP.
This combination of buffs is very specifically focused on rupture agents. While Astra Yao is useful across almost any team composition, attackers and anomaly agents might actually find Lucia wanting relative to some A-rank alternatives.
Best ZZZ Drive Disc builds for Lucia
Four-piece Moonlight Lullaby and two-piece Yunkui Tales is the definitive best Drive Disc build combination for Lucia.
While Moonlight Lullaby is generally the best Drive Disc set for support characters, it’s worth remembering that it was specifically made for Lucia. That makes it the clear choice for her four-piece Drive Disc set, and the ZZZ developers made it very easy to choose her two-piece.
Lucia’s max HP needs to be 24,000 to get the biggest possible buff. To even get close to reaching that mark, players need the +10% HP buff from two-piece Yunkui Tales. With that in mind, the best main stats for each of her Drive Disc slots is quite straightforward:
- HP
- Attack
- Defense
- HP%
- HP%
- HP%
As for sub-stats, HP and HP% are the best to have, wherever possible. Because Lucia’s damage is quite low regardless of build, adding some extra PEN is the best option next to those.
Best Lucia W-Engines
Dreamlit Hearth is the best-in-slot W-Engine for Lucia, but there are workable builds without it.
As ever, the Zenless Zone Zero developers have a limited S-rank character that scales on an off-role stat and have a limited W-Engine tailored to fit those needs. Still, there are many good support W-Engines in the game, so Lucia does have some good alternatives.
Dreamlit Hearth
A support scaling on HP is generally counterintuitive and HoYoverse knows it. The expensive solution to this problem is Dreamlit Hearth, Lucia’s signature W-Engine which offers a +30% HP boost when it’s fully ascended. The W-Engine also boosts energy regen and enhances her buffs further. Dreamlit Hearth is an extremely powerful W-Engine for Lucia, but it’s a poor option for literally any other support in Zenless Zone Zero.
The Vault
The best A-rank alternative to the Dreamlit Hearth is likely Nicole’s signature W-Engine, The Vault. This doesn’t offer an HP boost, but it does give energy regen and a defense shred effect each time Lucia deals damage. This only lasts for two seconds, which doesn’t work as well with Lucia as it does for Nicole, but the debuff has decent uptime regardless.
Unfettered Game Ball
The battle pass-exclusive Unfettered Game Ball is extremely powerful. Sometimes.
Its effect delivers a team-wide +12% crit rate boost when the user hits an enemy’s attribute weakness. That means Lucia can deliver another enormous buff against enemies that are weak to ether damage. The good news is that this works well in the short term as Lucia’s best team compositions will have Yidhari or Yixuan in them, so she’ll work brilliantly against endgame bosses like the Miasma Priest, Dead End Butcher, and others.
But when she’s not going against enemies that are weak to ether damage, this is just a stat stick.
[Reverb] Mark III
That’s right, a B-rank W-Engine actually stands among the best options for a character. [Reverb] Mark III is the only support W-Engine other than Dreamlit Hearth that offers players an HP% advanced stat. Its effect also offers an attack boost upon using a chain attack or ultimate, but the key value here is its HP% boost.
Best Lucia team compositions in Zenless Zone Zero
Lucia’s kit and builds are specifically meant to work alongside rupture agents. The early outlook is that she’s a significant upgrade over the current go-to support for rupture agents, Pan Yinhu. Because her kit is specifically meant to aid rupture agents, the list of strong team compositions for her is quite short but it will grow with time.
The best Lucia team – Lucia, Ju Fufu, Yixuan (Devilboo)
Yixuan will be the only S-rank rupture agent when Yixuan launches but she’s likely to be a top-tier ZZZ agent for the foreseeable future. Lucia is her best-in-slot support and Ju Fufu remains a great partner for the head of Yunkui Summit. This Yixuan hypercarry team composition ultimately stands as one of the best possible lineups in the game, and might finally make Yixuan feel Miyabi-level.
Spook Shack +1 – Lucia, Yidhari, Lycaon (Miss Esme)
HoYoverse’s plan when it comes to Zenless Zone Zero banners is to release characters in pairs. In this case, Lucia is specifically designed to work well with Yidhari so the question is which character fills out this team composition best? Lycaon is likely the best bet, offering both daze and ice resistance shred.
Best Lucia F2P team – Lucia, Manato, Pulchra (Miss Esme)
The featured agents on the Zenless Zone Zero 2.3 banners are specifically made to set players up with a strong rupture team. That includes Lucia being run alongside the long-awaited Komano Manato. Right after, Pulchra will be a featured A-rank beneath Yidhari. This trio brings a good combination of damage potential and solid usability, especially if players can get Manato’s signature W-engine.
