Chaos Zero Nightmare (CZN)LucasBuild and Guide
Best guide and build for Lucas from Chaos Zero Nightmare (CZN). Lucas is a 4✦ character from the Hunter class and Passion attribute, who belongs to the Ironrain [Wolf Platoon] faction.
Last review update
Season 1
Last build update
Season 0
Last profile update*
6.11.2025
*Profile update means updates done to reviews/builds/gear within a season - showing the last date we changed anything on this page.
To learn more about Lucas check the sections below. Use the tabs to quickly switch to the kind of information you're looking for.
Profile
Review
Gear
Deck & Teams
Profile
Starting Cards:
Machine Gun
Shielding Incendiary Bomb
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Extended Magazine
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Epiphany Cards:
S.S.S
For 1 turn, +40% Bullet card Damage.
Flame Thrower
Draw 1.
Discard 1.
Flashbang
2 Weaken.
If the target has Shield, +50% Damage.
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R.P.G-7
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Generated Cards:
Armor-Piercing Rounds
50% Damage to another enemy.
If the target has Shield, +30% Damage Amount.
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Explosive Shot
50% Damage to another enemy.
1 Weaken to all enemies.
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Dispersing Shot
50% Damage to another enemy.
1 Impair to all enemies.
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Cold Shot
50% Damage to another enemy.
+1 Action Count to all enemies.
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Flame Shot
50% Damage to another enemy.
1 Agony to all enemies.
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Ego Skill:
Full Burst
Ego Skill
250% Damage to all enemies.
Epiphany Variants:
Epiphany cards are special evolutions for the cards you can obtain while playing the roguelike mode. Only some cards in the character's deck can get Epiphany effects. Since there's quite a lot of them, we don't display them by default - press the button below to show them. There are also Divine variants of Epiphany cards, but we're still working on gathering them.
Extended Magazine I
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Extended Magazine II
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Extended Magazine III
With a 50% chance, decrease Cost of those cards by 1 for 1 turn.
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Extended Magazine IV
50% chance to Draw 1.
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Extended Magazine V
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S.S.S I
For 1 turn, +40% Bullet card Damage.
S.S.S II
S.S.S III
+60% Damage per Bullet card in hand
S.S.S IV
+120% Damage of the next Bullet card.
S.S.S V
For 1 turn(s), when using Bullet cards, 50% Fixed Damage to a random enemy.
Flame Thrower I
Draw 1.
Discard 2. Create Launcher Bullet equal to the number discarded.
Flame Thrower II
Draw 1.
Discard 1.
Flame Thrower III
If Critical Hit, 150% Damage to all enemies.
Flame Thrower IV
270% Damage to all enemies.
Increase Damage Amount by 50% for each Exhausted card.
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Flame Thrower V
Create Launcher Bullet equal to number of targets hit.
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Flashbang I
2 Weaken.
If the target has Shield, +75% Damage.
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Flashbang II
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Flashbang III
2 Passion Weakness.
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Flashbang IV
2 Mark.
If the target has Shield, +50% Damage.
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Flashbang V
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Epiphany Bonus
Potential 1
Basic Card Upgrade
Potential 2
Common Card Upgrade
Potential 3
Basic Card Proficiency
Potential 3-1
Unique Card Upgrade
Potential 4
Critical Chance Proficiency
Potential 5
Basic Card Proficiency
Potential 5-1
If Lucas’s Critical Damage is greater than 160%, increase the modifier by an additional +5%.
Critical Damage Proficiency
Potential 6
Unique Stat Upgrade
Potential 7
If Lucas's Critical Damage is greater than 240%, an additional +5% to that value.
Sleeping Memory
Manifest Ego 1
Awakening Memory
Manifest Ego 2
Vivid Memory
Manifest Ego 3
Inner Memory
Manifest Ego 4
Complete Memory
Manifest Ego 5
Liberated Memory
Manifest Ego 6
Review
Lucas offers a strong mix of AoE damage, card draw/cycling, and utility. The core of his kit revolves around generating Launcher Bullets with his abilities, which are 1-cost, semi-AoE Attack cards that apply a myriad of debuff effects. The rest of Lucas' kit focuses on buffing Bullet damage, triggering effects when Launcher Bullets or similar types of cards are Exhausted, and providing general utility to the team.
However, due to his varied utility, buffs and debuffs he has access to, you need to farm multiple builds for him, depending on which DPS you are pairing with him or if you choose to build him as a main DPS.
In the end, Lucas is a flexible unit that can offer a lot of different build paths depending on what your team needs and has access to a lot of great AOE as a sub DPS option. His bullets can become great utility options in a pinch or be ignored for passive DMG. Lucas overall shines the most as a sub DPS option, though he tends to fall short compared to other strong and competitive picks currently fighting for the same spot.
Pros
Good AoE capabilities.
Access to a myriad of debuffs and effects thanks to Launcher Bullets.
Has Card Draw and Discard for hand cycling.
Buffs the Bullet damage archetype.
Cons
Each Launcher Bullet requires 1 AP, and their cost can only be reduced through a specific epiphany.
Upgrade-based strategy requires upfront AP investment to get going.
Falls short as a main DPS option and gets outshone by some of the options for sub DPS.
Not enough shield-based content to benefit from the extra shield DMG options in his epiphanies.
The ratings below are based on the Basin of Hyperspace Dimensional Twilight game mode and the Chaos Manifestation mode. Each of the modes values different mechanics, so some characters may shine in one of the, while being underwhelming in the other.
Armor-Piercing Rounds
50% Damage to another enemy.
If the target has Shield, +30% Damage Amount.
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Explosive Shot
50% Damage to another enemy.
1 Weaken to all enemies.
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Dispersing Shot
50% Damage to another enemy.
1 Impair to all enemies.
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Cold Shot
50% Damage to another enemy.
+1 Action Count to all enemies.
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Flame Shot
50% Damage to another enemy.
1 Agony to all enemies.
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Launcher Bullets
The core of Lucas’ kit. Lucas has five types of Launcher Bullets that he can randomly generate:
- Armor-piercing Rounds: Deals additional damage to enemies with Shield. Great for enemies who Shield frequently.
- Explosive Shot:: Inflicts 1 stack of Weaken (-25% DMG dealt) on all enemies. Improves survivability and helps Shields tank more hits.
- Dispersing Shot: Inflicts 1 stack of Impair (-50% Shield gain) on all enemies. Great for enemies who Shield frequently.
- Cold Shot: [Haste] and delays all enemies’ Action Counts by 1. Great for enemies who have really low Action Counts and many extra actions.
- Flame Shot: Inflicts 1 stack of Agony (50% DoT) on all enemies. Provides the most upfront damage, and DoT helps against enemies with high damage reduction effects.
All Launcher Bullets have [Exhaust / Ephemeral / Bullet], cost 1 AP, and deal 100% damage to the main target while dealing 50% to all other enemies. Note that Lucas’ main Launcher Bullet generation comes from his Upgrade Extended Magazine, though Flamethrower has a few Epiphany upgrades that also do so. Lucas’ Launcher Bullets provide him with a lot of utility options, but it’s up to RNG which ones you get. Armor-piercing Rounds is generally the worst option due to enemy Shields being situational; Dispersing Shot is in the same boat, but at least Frail gives him debuff synergy (which is useful for equipment).
Other mechanics:
- Bullet: Lucas can buff Bullet damage for the whole team, so any card with Bullet works decently with him on the team. R.P.G-7 deals damage when a Bullet is Exhausted.
- Exhaust: R.P.G-7 enables Lucas to deal AoE Fixed Damage every time a Bullet is Exhausted, which means its synergy isn’t limited to Launcher Bullets specifically. At base, his Launcher Bullets’ Exhaust and Ephemeral tags all but guarantee this damage is triggered.
- Lead: Lucas’ main Launcher Bullet generation comes with Lead, which has a chance of discounting its cost to 0…as long as you play it first. As a result, you will not want to run him with many other characters with Lead cards, as they’ll clash with each other.
Full Burst
Ego Skill
250% Damage to all enemies.
Full Burst
Lucas deals AoE damage and draws 2 cards. Very simple and straightforward effect. It’s a bit expensive at 5 EP, but drawing 2 is a pretty good effect—just remember to use it at the beginning of your turn so you can plan out your turn with all cards in hand.
Machine Gun
Machine Gun
Lucas’ basic attack. He starts with 2 copies in his deck. Gains the [Bullet] tag after Potential 3-1, but since they don’t Exhaust, this just means they can get buffed by S.S.S. Helpful for characters who care about how many Bullets you play.
Shielding Incendiary Bomb
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Shielding Incendiary Bomb
Lucas’ basic Shield. Not particularly important for his gameplay.
Extended Magazine
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Extended Magazine
Lucas’ main source of Launcher Bullet generation and arguably the most important part of his deck. His kit basically does not work without it. Its importance to his kit, along with its Lead tag, highly incentivizes you to play this card as early as you can. Generating Launcher Bullets at the start of each turn gives you a guaranteed source of damage unless your hand is full.
S.S.S
For 1 turn, +40% Bullet card Damage.
S.S.S
Lucas’ main buff card. S.S.S increases Bullet card damage for a turn while dealing some single-target damage. A very important card if you plan to use him as a sub-DPS on Bullet teams, but expensive on Lucas if you’re running him solo.
Flame Thrower
Draw 1.
Discard 1.
Flame Thrower
Lucas’ big AoE attack. It comes with a little card draw and discard, which is nice for cycling out Status Ailment and Curse cards. The 2 AP cost is a bit steep, but it has some good Epiphany upgrades.
Flashbang
2 Weaken.
If the target has Shield, +50% Damage.
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Flashbang
All around a fantastic card. At base, it deals AoE damage (more if the target has Shield) and applies 2 stacks of Weaken to all enemies, which makes it great for emergency damage mitigation. Offers a wide variety of different debuffs through its various Epiphany upgrades on top of solid AoE damage for a cheap price.
R.P.G-7
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R.P.G-7
This is a decent Upgrade that unfortunately doesn’t have any Epiphanies, which is a shame given how much it wants Initiation. Dealing 40% Fixed Damage to all enemies every time you Exhaust a Bullet is a nice source of chip damage for something that Lucas already does consistently. This also makes Lucas a hands-off source of damage when run with another Bullet DPS.
- 3-1: Adds the Bullet tag to his basic attack card, Machine Gun. This makes S.S.S and his E2’s Bullet DMG buffs apply to his basic attacks. However, this cannot activate R.P.G-7 because they do not Exhaust. Improves his Bullet synergy.
- 5-1: Increases Machine Gun damage by +5%, and increases it by another +5% if Lucas has >160% Critical DMG. Lucas has innate Critical Rate/DMG through Potentials 5/6, but you’ll likely need a boost from equipment or gear to reach the 160% threshold.
- 7: Increases Launcher Bullet damage by +5%, and increases it by another +5% if Lucas has >240% Critical DMG. Incentivises building his Crit stats even further.
Standard Playstyle
Lucas excels as an AoE DPS. His AoE attacks allow him to double dip on Morale and other damage buffs if there are multiple targets. His Launcher Bullets deal more damage to the main target, making them great for stages with one large boss who summons many minions. When playing Lucas as a main DPS, you want to play his two Upgrades, Extended Magazine and R.P.G-7, as early in the battle as possible to activate his Launcher Bullet generation and Fixed Damage. After that, you’ll want to play his S.S.S to buff his Launcher Bullets before playing them. If you need some big AoE damage or draw poorly, his Ego Skill and Flamethrower can bail you out; you can also use Flashbang in tricky situations to mitigate damage.
As a hands-off sub-DPS with another Bullet DPS on the team, Lucas still wants R.P.G-7 active as soon as possible, but playing Extended Magazine is less of an immediate priority because you’ll be relying on your other DPS’s Bullet generation instead. S.S.S’s Bullet DMG buffs become a lot more potent as a supportive tool to set up burst damage. You can play Flashbang for its AoE Weaken to help Shields sustain more attacks, or for more aggressive debuffs from Epiphanies. As the main DPS Exhausts Bullet cards, Lucas can clean up smaller mobs with his Fixed Damage. You can be a lot more selective about which Launcher Bullet cards you want to play and prioritize debuffs that matter the most.
Dupes review aren't available yet. We will add them soon!
Best Cards
Note
For every Epiphany, we're colored their name based on how useful we think it is compared to the other variants. Here's the key to the colors:
- Epiphany Name - the best variant,
- Epiphany Name - a good variant,
- Epiphany Name - a niche variant.
Lucas best epiphanies aren't available yet. They will be added soon.
Gear
Lucas Gear guide isn't available yet. It will be added soon.
Deck & Teams
Important!
CZN is a game of randomness; sometimes you’ll be offered generic or Divine epiphanies that are stronger than a character's standard five options. In these cases, breaking the listed build can result in an even more powerful save. Adjust as you see fit!
Card Removal Priority
- Shielding Icendiary Bomb: As a DPS/Sub DPS, a shielding card has no place in Lucas’ deck.
- Machine Gun: In general, these are fine to remove unless you are building around S.S.S III, since these will count towards the bullet stack. The machine gun also gets affected by bullet buffs, but you'll be focusing your AP on other cards usually.
Card Dupe Priority
Dupe Priority
R.P.G-7 > Extended Magazine
Dupping R.P.G-7 and Extended Magazine are your top priorities - the focus will depend on whether you are going sub or primary DPS.
- If you are Sub DPS for a Luke comp, then duping R.P.G-7 early is great for more instances of dmg from your bullets. Try to aim for around 2-3 copies for a Luke comp, so each of Luke's bullet triggers multiple instances of this upgrade.
- If you are aiming for a more solo DPS build or primary DPS build, then you want an even number of dupes between R.P.G-7 and Extended Magazine I or II. If you are running Renoa as a main DPS, R.P.G-7 falls in priority since discarding Dirge Bullets doesn't trigger exhaust, so you don't really benefit from this. Instead, dupe S.S.S II or III to either buff Renoa or pump out a big DMG ability that multiplies itself by the number of Dirge Bullets.
Epiphany Alternatives
- Extended Magazine: Extended Magazine I and II are the best if you are looking to do DMG with Lucas in some way. Extended Mag I is great since it starts in your opening hand, but Extend Mag II offers more bullets and potentially more variety of Debuffs, giving you more options in different situations. Extended Mag III is great if you're trying to balance out 2 DPS and your team comp is just a bit too AP heavy, giving you the chance to make your bullets cost 0. Extended Mag IV is a great support option if you want more card draw and are happy with the DMG output of your primary DPS. Extended Mag V is probably the most niche, allowing for some splashy combos, but ends up being very limiting due to Exhaust; duping this would end up being important.
- S.S.S: S.S.S I and II are very similar; both of them apply a 40% bullet buff. In general, we are aiming for a more supportive build when using these, which makes S.S.S II more consistent and a stronger AP cost-effective option. S.S.S III is great if you're looking for big splashy DMG, but filling your hand with bullets. S.S.S IV and V end up falling short compared to the other options. If you are looking for more DMG and you don't manage to get S.S.S III, then V becomes an ok option with Luke.
- Flame Thrower: Flame Thrower I and II both offer card draw, but at a very high AP cost. Flame Thrower I ends up being a stronger option in general due to its bullet creation, ability to discard bullet cards like Dirge to trigger DMG, and on top of all this, draw a card. Flame Thrower III falls short compared to the other options; Flame Thrower IV allows you to exhaust 2 bullets and can reach a higher DMG ceiling easily when partnered with characters like Luke. Flame Thrower V is great for chaos maps with lots of units and bosses that spawn units, allowing you to generate a solid amount of bullets on use.
- Flashbang: Flashbang I and IV allow for great utility depending on what you need. These are both the strongest options unless you're looking for something very niche, which is what the remaining epiphanies are used for. Flashbang II and V as situational for specifically shields, which is very niche but can be useful in those situations. Flashbang III is also strong, but Lucas doesn't want to be partnered with other Passion units at the moment. Once a Passion Bullet user releases, this epiphany will be much stronger. If you really want to use it, the main focus would be on a solo DPS Lucas build.
Luke
- Benefits from Lucas' bullet buffs as well as triggers the RPG upgrade through 0-cost bullet exhaust.
Renoa
- Renoa combos well for certain Epiphanies, stacking a ton of dirge bullets so Lucas can use S.S.S III or building Lucas in a more supportive way, using stuff like Flame Thrower I or S.S.S II
Mika
- Mika works great with Lucas due to running 2 DPS combos; her sustain and AP generation fit in super well in this scenario. Lucas can also be AP hungry as a main DPS, chaining multiple bullets; Mika helps enable this kind of playstyle.
Important!
If you’re losing runs when playing a damage-focused composition either to sanity or dying, consider using a team with more defensive characters - so including both a shielder and healer. This is especially important in the Zero System mode.
Luke + Lucas Team
Renoa + Lucas Team