Zenless Zone Zero (ZZZ)EllenBuild and Guide

Ellen is an S-Rank Ice Combat Agent specializing in delivering high amounts of pure Ice damage through and outside of her burst rotation, as she enjoys being played on-field. She can handle groups of small enemies and bosses alike and is characterized by her versatility in playstyle.

Ellen boasts high mobility, thanks to her signature “Roaming” state accessed via double-tapping or holding Dodge, which positions her as one of the fastest characters in the game. Her gameplay is centered around managing Flash Freeze charges, a resource exclusive to her, which powers her multiple Enhanced Basic Attacks.

Ellen’s Basic Attack is a 3-hit combo integral to both her standard and burst rotations. It features two variants: a standard form dealing Physical damage (which will be mostly unused) and an enhanced form consuming Flash Freeze charges to deal Ice damage instead (requiring 3 Flash Freeze for a full 3-hit combo). In both forms, the first and second strikes are swift and relatively weak, while the third strike is a lengthier attack that can be extended further with continuous tapping. The third hit deals the majority of the combo's damage and triggers Ellen's teleportation behind her current or a new target if the original is eliminated or moves.

After this attack, Ellen automatically casts an additional wave of Ice DMG called “Icy Blade”. There are several ways to activate it which include:

• Using her Enhanced Basic Attack 3;

• Using her second EX Special;

• Using her Dodge Counter;

• Using her Assist Follow-Up.

Icy Blade is an extra attack automatically activated at the cost of a little bit of time, and it improves Ellen’s damage by a ton, as it deals more up to 2 or 3 instances against Medium and Large enemies (1 low-power hit against Small enemies). It has a wide AoE and also gives her the “Quick Charge” buff, significantly speeding up her next Charged Arctic Ambush from roughly 2 seconds to about 1.5 seconds. Let’s explain what that is:

Ellen possesses a standard Dodge, Dodge Counter, and Dash attacks common among characters. Unique to her is the ability to hold down her Dodge to enter a special sprinting state known as the Roaming State. This state allows her to remain indefinitely sprinting and transforms her standard Basic Attack into Arctic Ambush, a critical component of her kit. Activating Arctic Ambush exits the Roaming State, delivering a chopping attack with her scissors that generates 1 Flash Freeze charge on hit. Alternatively, holding the Basic Attack button charges Arctic Ambush, increasing its damage and generating 3 Flash Freeze charges (ideal for executing a full Enhanced Basic Attack combo). Charging Arctic Ambush costs Ellen considerable field time, but executing a Perfect Dodge grants her the "Quick Charge" buff mentioned prior as well. Additionally, it can act as a form of parry. If Ellen is hit by an enemy, the attack is instantly cast while providing the full 3 Flash Freeze charges, negating any field time cost with proper timing. Add that on top of the fact that Ellen is completely invulnerable for a brief period after exiting the Roaming state, and you have a parry mechanic similar in several ways to Yixuan’s charged EX special.

Additionally, after using her Basic Attack 3, if Ellen has Flash Freeze charges remaining, she can use up to 2 of them to cast a special Basic Attack called “Glacial Blade Wave” which is a big burst of Ice DMG and can transition right back into Basic Attack 3, allowing for the potential to alternate between the two attacks for really high damage. Note however that using this ability does not trigger Icy Blade. Other ways to trigger Glacial Blade Wave (note Ellen must have Flash Freeze charges in any situation) include:

• After a Quick Assist;

• After a Charged Scissor Strike;

• After a Dodge Counter.

Ellen’s Defensive Assist, Assist Follow-Up, and Quick Assist are standard attacks among melee characters, dealing Ice damage and/or inflicting Daze. Notably, when she performs a Quick Assist, she also gains the "Quick Charge" effect mentioned before, in addition to the usual Perfect Dodge bonus.

Ellen possesses 2 EX Specials (her regular Special will be unused). The first EX Special can be activated when having sufficient energy, dealing Ice damage ahead of her, generating 1 Flash Freeze charge, and allowing an immediate Follow-Up with the third Basic Attack of her Basic Attack combo. This sequence allows Ellen to quickly deal damage, generate a Charge, and then immediately use it via her powerful Basic 3 automatically followed up by Icy Blade, making for a really good burst of damage. Ellen’s second EX functions similarly but with increased damage, requiring immediate use after her first EX. This choice gives Ellen flexibility: she can opt for EX1 followed by a Basic 3 and 1 Icy Blade or EX1 + EX2 and 1 Icy Blade followed by a Glacial Blade Wave.

Ellen’s Chain Attack and Ultimate deliver substantial Ice damage and Daze. However, her Chain Attack requires more time to execute compared to other characters, something to take note of as it may take up precious Stun window times.

Ellen’s Core Passive is very strong, making it a nice incentive to approach 100% CRIT Rate without damaging her other stats. This passive grants up to 100% Crit damage to Arctic Assault, all her Flash Freeze-Enhanced attacks (including Icy Blade, Glacial Blade Wave and Basic Attacks), Chain Attacks, Ultimates – you name it. Her Additional Ability is also a good boost and is really easy to activate thanks to its simple activation requirements. It grants a buff increasing her Ice damage by 3% each time she deals any Ice damage, stacking up to 10 times for 10 seconds. This ability is easily maintained, effectively providing a consistent 30% boost to Ice damage.

Ellen’s meta relevancy has seen a new surge in 2.0 thanks to her revamped kit, restoring a good chunk of the dominance she had during the game’s launch period. Now usable with new, more powerful teammates such as Lighter and Astra Yao on top of her revamped kit, she’s able to clear endgame content much better than she used to, and her damage potential has only reached new heights despite her build being completely unchanged from before. If you already have Ellen built and benched her in favour of more powerful DPS Agents, think again as her damage output is back and it’s way more noticeable than ever. Despite requiring a new playstyle due to her revisited combos, it’s definitely worth the effort learning. 

In conclusion, Ellen used to be a very potent damage dealer in version 1.0, and thanks to her revamped kit in version 2.0, she’s back to that state once again. She’s worth considering if you wish to acquire a good Ice Attack Agent and an Agent like Miyabi doesn’t suit you or isn’t available. Thanks to her synergy with free characters and standard banner characters like Lycaon and Soukaku, building a strong team for Ellen couldn’t be easier and you’ll get great performance out of her that way.