SoukakuBuild and Guide

Soukaku is an A-Rank Ice Support Agent whose primary role is to buff Ice Main DPS Agents to amplify the party’s overall damage while dealing good damage of her own. The core of her kit lies in her “Fly the Flag” and “Vortex” stack mechanics, so we’ll detail those first.

Vortex stacks are a consumable resource that Soukaku can use to buff the party’s damage and cast Enhanced Basic/Dash Attacks (although this latter feature is rarely used). They stack up to 3 times and she gains them in 3 ways:

• 1 Vortex stacks per use of her EX Special (low cost, easy to chain 3 together);

• 1 Vortex stack when using her Chain Attack (rarely used);

• 3 Vortex stacks when using her Ultimate.

Tapping Soukaku’s Special with enough Energy causes her to use her EX Special which releases wind currents in succession if pressed repeatedly. The low Energy cost makes it possible to use them 3 times one after the other to get max Vortex stacks without the aid of her Ultimate or Chain Attacks. A finishing move can be executed if not interrupted by Fly the Flag, however it is slow to execute and deals relatively low damage and as a result, using this finishing move is not favourable.

Vortex stacks are consumed when launching Fly the Flag, which is done by holding Special. Consuming Vortex stacks allows Soukaku to buff the party’s Ice DMG by 20% for 22s via her Additional Ability. Additionally, launching Fly the Flag buffs Soukaku’s ATK by up to 1000 points for 22s, scaling directly with her own ATK. When launching Fly the Flag, she can activate a Quick Assist to the next character in the squad. Doing so will transfer the Fly the Flag ATK buff to the next Agent who entered via this Quick Assist, and in very rare cases this can also be done via a Chain Attack (although this basically never sees use). 1000 flat ATK is a massive buff, however it has the weakness of only applying to 1 Agent at a time, meaning it’s completely incompatible with secondary DPS characters. This causes Soukaku to see teambuilding restrictions, like with Vivian in a Miyabi team for example, where the two are better off paired with other Support Agents who benefit the whole party at once such as Lucy and Nicole instead of Soukaku.

With that being said, Soukaku has massive ATK and Ice DMG buffs that last for 22s. It’s really easy to guarantee full uptime on both so long as she is managed properly. Using her EX Special 3 times, or an Ultimate if available, into Fly The Flag is enough to activate all of her buffs in relatively quick succession. Granted, Soukaku carries a heavy weapon and has rather slow execution wielding it. To her credit however, the sheer buffing potential she holds for Ice Agents in particular is enough to justify her a solid position in several Ice teams.

So in short, Soukaku’s primary Support gameplay sums up to the following:

• Use EX Special 3 times OR Ultimate;

• Launch Fly the Flag and Quick Assist into your Main DPS to guarantee high damage buffs.

Generally speaking, her Enhanced Basic Attacks and Chain Attacks are too slow to justify their damage potential. While Soukaku does deal higher damage than most Supports, to where some dedicated players even go as far as using her as a Main DPS, generally speaking the average player is better off solely investing into her ATK to guarantee Fly the Flag’s buff provides the full 1000 ATK to a Main DPS Ice Agent like Miyabi or Ellen in order to deal damage with them as the spotlight instead. This makes logical sense considering Soukaku’s class as a Support Agent.

Soukaku also accesses a small 10% Ice RES Shred for 8s when hitting an enemy with Fly the Flag via her Mindscape 4. While the uptime on this is low, it is entirely possible to quickly burst down enemies hit with a high-damaging attack such as an Ultimate or Miyabi’s max charge Shimotsuki attack. Overall, it only enhances her supportive potential for Ice Agents. Additionally, her Mindscape 1 increases the uptime on her main buffs (Ice DMG boost, Flat ATK) from 22s to 30s, which pretty much guarantees permanent uptime. These vertical upgrades justify Soukaku’s position as a strong Ice Agent buffer even better, not to mention her personal damage remains non-negligible compared to other Support Agents. In the meta, while she’s often overshadowed outside of Ice teams by other A-ranks like Lucy and Nicole, via her specialization towards buffing Ice Agents she finds herself a viable niche for when premium Supports like Astra Yao are unavailable to use, or even in some specific synergies like the Miyabi - Lycaon - Soukaku trio that can reach the highest of heights when fully optimized.

In conclusion, Soukaku is a dedicated Ice Support who finds some niche uses outside of Ice teams but is generally overshadowed. However, to support Ice Main DPS Agents, there is rarely any Support who can match her level of damage increasing capabilities. Her ability to scale well off of high investment thanks to her high personal damage, in spite of her low attack speed, cements her position as one of the prime Ice element buffers in Zenless Zone Zero.