Zhezhi Guide – Builds, Teams, and How to Play

Overview

Zhezhi’s playstyle revolves around her Forte Circuit and its two unique resources, Afflatus and Phantasmic Imprints. Afflatus is a resource used to gain Phantasmic Imprints, which are generated upon performing a Basic Attack or Intro Skill. Each bar on Zhezhi's Forte Circuit can store up to 30 Afflatus and caps at 90. 

Once a bar has capped on Afflatus, it can be converted into an Imprint by casting a Resonance Skill and Forte: Heavy Atk: Conjuration. Zhezhi gains access to Forte: Resonance Skill Stroke of Genius and Forte: Resonance Skill Creation’s Zenith while any Imprints are active. 

As for Zhezhi’s Resonance Liberation, it summons a field around the current Resonator for 30 seconds and marks 1 enemy that an ally has attacked for 3 seconds. Marked enemies will be attacked by an Inklit Spirit every second for up to 21 coordinated attacks. Once all coordinated attacks have been performed, the field will end regardless of the time remaining. . 

Lastly, Zhezhi also has a few self-buffs tied to her skill set. Most notably, this includes a stacking 6% ATK boost and 18% Basic ATK DMG when a Forte: Resonance Skill is cast.

Rotations

Zhezhi Combo 

A simple rotation with Zhezhi, which involves no quick-swaps and focuses on generating enough energy to have Outro and Resonance Liberation every rotation. Zhezhi will want around 20 to 30% Energy Regen. All 3 Basic Attacks MUST hit an enemy to generate enough Forte Gauge.

Sample Burst Team Rotation (No Quick-Swaps)

For this team rotation, no quick-swaps or major animation cancels were performed, and assumes Zhezhi’s Resonance Liberation was used in the opener.
While this rotation is easier to execute, it loses uptime for other buffs, mainly Bell-Borne Geochelone. However, this rotation specifically allows Jinhsi to perform 2 consecutive burst rotations with a nearly full or even a full Forte Gauge. 

Follow-up/Burst Rotation

Parry Windows

Disclaimer: This is a work-in-progress section and will be updated as we learn more.

Character Synergies

	Jinhsi
	To no one’s surprise, Jinhsi pairs well with Zhezhi. With the majority of Jinhsi’s damage being Resonance Skill DMG, she can take advantage of Zhezhi’s Outro Skill. On top of this, Zhezhi provides easy access to Coordinated Attacks with a great uptime. Depending on your team, its duration can be long enough to fit in 2 Jinhsi burst rotations.
	Buffs
	N/A

	Lingyang
	As of writing, Lingyang is our only real option for a Glacio main-dps that can also take advantage of Zhezhi’s Glacio DMG Deepen. Lingyang also doesn't need to quick-swap and spends a decent amount of time on-field (roughly 13-14 seconds).
	Buffs
	N/A

	Changli
	Similar to Jinhsi, Changli is unable to take advantage of the Glacio DMG bonus but highly appreciates the Resonance Skill DMG. A core difference between the two, however, is that the energy regen Zhezhi provides on her Outro can potentially allow Changli to cast her Resonance Liberation twice in one rotation.
	Buffs
	• 20% Fusion DMG Amplify • 25% Resonance Liberation Amplify

	Sanhua
	If you plan on running a quick-swap/main-dps Zhezhi, Sanhua provides a hefty Basic ATK DMG buff and appreciates the Glacio + Resonance Skill DMG from Zhezhi’s Outro. R6 is an important breakpoint for Sanhua that provides an additional 20% team-wide ATK buff.
	Buffs
	• 38% Basic ATK DMG Amplify • 10% Teamwide ATK Buff stacks up to 2 times (R6) • Moonlit Clouds and Impermanence Heron

	Verina
	Verina synergizes well with all main/sub-dps characters, and Zhezhi is no exception. She provides a team-wide All DMG Deepen and ATK buff. On top of this, Verina’s combos are short and do not take up a lot of field time.  Additionally, Verina has no problems running Rejuvenating Glow and Bell, offering the team a good mix of offensive and defensive utility.
	Buffs
	• 15% Team-wide All DMG Amplify • 20% Team-wide ATK buff • Rejuvenating Glow and Bell-Borne Geochelone

	Baizhi
	Baizhi is usually left as a F2P alternative/backup pick, sharing similar buffs with Verina. Baizhi’s Outro only buffs the character currently on-field. Additionally, the ATK buff she provides is NOT teamwide and requires your main DPS to interact with an item.
	Buffs
	• 15% All DMG Amplify • 15% ATK buff • 12% Glacio DMG Bonus` • Rejuvenating Glow and Bell-Born Geochelone

	Jianxin
	Mostly brought into stages that have enemies you want to gather. While this may sound underwhelming, there are stages in ToA that have multiple enemies in the same wave. She has the option of using Originite: Type IV for easy access to Rejuvenating Glow set effect at the cost of her own damage.
	Buffs
	• Gather • Rejuvenating Glow with Originite: Type IV and Bell-Borne Geochelone

	Jianxin
	Another F2P alternative/backup pick who fills a similar role to Jianxin. Yangyang provides the added benefit of providing Energy Regen for the team but at the cost of significantly worse CC potential than Jianxin. Note that Zhezhi shouldn’t have any problems generating Resonance Energy if you have at least 20 to 30% ER, which can limit the value that Yangyang provides.
	Buffs
	• Gather • Energy Regen

Team Comps

Sub-DPS 

Main-DPS 

Skill Priority

Sub-DPS 

1. Resonance Liberation 
2. Forte Circuit
3. Resonance Skill = Intro Skill = Basic Attack 

Zhezhi will want to use her Resonance Liberation and Forte Circuit every rotation, and levelling these should be prioritized over everything else. While her Resonance Skill, Intro Skill, and Basic Attack are all used in her rotation, they offer less damage and thus should only be considered if you have nothing left to raise.

Weapons

To no one's surprise, Zhezi’s best weapon is her signature weapon Rime-Draped Sprouts, boasting a high base ATK of 500 and an absurd 72% Crit DMG main-stat. While most Resonators will struggle to trigger the secondary effect, Zhezhi’s rotation involves casting her Resonance Skill 3 times. This gives her easy access to the off-field 52% Basic ATK DMG buff. 

If you don’t feel like pulling for Zhezhi’s signature weapon, Stringmaster is a great alternative. It provides 36% Crit Rate, 12% DMG Bonus and a 12% (24% off-field) ATK buff for 5 seconds when dealing Resonance Skill DMG. However, Stringmaster still has its issues. Zhezhi cannot easily reapply its effects and needs to be quick-swapped constantly to do so. This usually becomes a lose-lose situation, where you lose out on either the ATK buff or your main DPS’ Outro Skill.

If you have neither of the premium 5* weapons, Cosmic Ripples is currently the only 5* F2P alternative. It’s an overall solid weapon with high base ATK, ATK%, and Energy Regen but Zhezhi will only have 3 stacks of the Basic ATK DMG buff in most cases unless her rotation is modified. 

As for 4* alternatives, Augment and Jinzhou Keeper are strong options and perform similarly at R0. However, once you get more dupes of Augment, it pulls ahead significantly while Jinzhou Keeper stagnates. 

Weapon Name	Comparison	Notes
Rime-Draped Sprouts	R0: 113.84%	Provides a stupid amount of Basic ATK DMG with a long duration.
Stringmaster	R0: 108.06%	A universally strong weapon that increases all Elemental damage and ATK. The off-field bonus is a great touch as most of her damage is dealt off-field.
Cosmic Ripples	R`0: 100%	Basic ATK DMG% is always a welcome addition, as it is Zhezhi’s main source of damage.
Augment	R0: 79.98%	Provides a hefty ATK buff and has a Crit Rate substat
Jinzhou Keeper	R0: 78.36%	About on par with Augment at R0, but with more dupes, Jinzhou Keeper loses a lot of comparative value.
Rectifier of Night	R5: 71.71%	Budget alternative

Echoes

Moonlit Clouds: Zhezhi’s preferred set if you do not care about her personal damage output. It provides an ATK buff for the next Resonator that swaps in while also letting her run Impermanence Heron. Zhezhi needs around 25 to 30% ER and highly appreciates the ER provided by the 2pc effect. 

Freezing Frost: If you wish to have Zhezhi as your main-dps, Freezing Frost is the only real option. Otherwise, this should not be used under any circumstances as of writing.

Set Effect	Comparison	Notes
Moonlit Clouds 5pc	100%	Your standard sub-DPS set which focuses on buffing the main-DPS.
Freezing Frost 5pc	120.09%	The only real option if you wish to focus on Zhezhi’s personal damage.

Active Echo Recommendation

Moonlit Clouds - Impermanence Heron: Your usual support Echo which should be equipped if Zhezhi is running Moonlit Clouds. This provides extra buffs to your main DPS, allowing them to deal more damage.

Freezing Frost - Lampylumen Myriad: Technically the best choice for a main-DPS Zhezhi. Keep in mind that Lampylumen is a slow Echo that needs ALL 3 ATTACKS TO HIT to gain the full effect and leaves you vulnerable for roughly 3 seconds. Depending on your team and investments, this can actually result in a damage loss when team rotation is taken into consideration. On top of this, most of Zhezhi’s kit is not considered as Resonance Skill DMG, making it a dead stat on her.

Freezing Frost - Glacio Predator:  If you are dead set on running Freezing Frost but have decided that  Lampylumen isn't worth the trouble, Glacio Predator is another alternative. While the damage is mediocre at best, it barely takes up any field time and has a low enough cooldown to be used twice in one rotation.

Freezing Frost - Glacio Prism: Another alternative to Lampylumen but has the benefit of being a summonable Echo. This means it will not slow down your rotation and can be used at any time. But similar to Glacio Predator, the damage dealt by Glacio Prism is Mediocre at best and does not provide any buffs.

Mainstat and Substats: 

Cost	Stat
4	Crit Rate/Crit DMG
3	Glacio Bonus Damage%/ATK/Energy Regen
3	Glacio Bonus Damage%/ATK/Energy Regen
1	ATK%
1	ATK%

Depending on your weapon of choice, your 4-cost Echo main-stat will vary. Weapons with Crit Rate will prefer a Crit DMG Echo and vice-versa. For any other secondary stat, Crit Rate is preferred. 

Note that you should never aim for an Energy Regen main stat, as this is a significant damage loss and can easily be covered by sub-stats. Both Glacio DMG% and ATK% are viable options, with ATK% being slightly worse. We recommend choosing the Echo with better sub-stats.

Sub Stat Priority

Energy Regeneration > Crit Rate = Crit DMG > ATK% > Basic ATK DMG > ATK