Zenless Zone Zero (ZZZ)Ye ShunguangBuild and Guide

Intro & Unique Mechanic

Ye Shunguang is a "Honed Edge" Attack Agent who has the ability to benefit from the enemy's Stun DMG Multiplier even when out of stun. Having the title of "Void Hunter" befits how strong she is, with some truly mind-boggling damage multipliers that demand little care for what enemies are doing.

There are a number of unique mechanics that define Ye Shunguang, namely:

• Honed Edge

• Qingming Sword Force

• Entry Skill

• Enlightened Mind state

• Ether Veil: Verdict

• Airborne & Grounded stances

Although her actual gameplay is rather straightforward, it's important to understand how each of these systems interact with one another.

Honed Edge

"Honed Edge" is Ye Shunguang's element, being completely unique to her. As far as the game is concerned, this is treated as Physical, so any Physical DMG Bonuses and resistances apply to it, and it applies Assault and Flinch when its Anomaly maxes out. Unlike Physical however, it has the added benefit of having a x1.5 multiplier to its Miasma Purification value - all attacks done under the Honed Edge element then will consume Miasma very quickly in comparison to all other elements. It also has its own distinct Anomaly gauge, so despite it functioning identically to Physical in that regard, its build-up is separate.

All of Ye Shunguang's attacks deal Physical damage by default, but cannot build-up Physical Anomaly. She can only do so when she enters the "Enlightened Mind state", where her damage is converted to Honed Edge.

Core Passive & Additional Ability

To understand what the Enlightened Mind State is and how to get to it, it's worth understanding how her Core Passive works. By default, it gives her 30% CRIT Rate and 25% DMG at all times as a pure stat bonus, but this is only the start.

There is a UI element underneath her portrait in combat with 2 distinct parts: 6 diamond icons and a gauge. This tracks Ye Shunguang's "Qingming Sword Force", the unique resource that she uses to enter the Enlightened Mind state.

As she hits enemies with various different attacks, they will build Qingming Sword Force and fill up the gauge. Once the gauge is maxed, it will generate one Qingming Sword Force point and reset, restarting the cycle. Up to 6 Qingming Sword Force points can be built this way. Some skills can directly generate them however, namely her EX Special (1 point) and her Ultimate (6 points). If her Additional Ability is active, which requires Support or Defence Agents, then when other squad members activate (not extend!) Ether Veil, 3 points are generated.

When done this way, Ye Shunguang can break the 6 Qingming Sword Force point limit. Any overflow will be converted into a stack of "Bearer", which itself has a cap of 3, leading to a true upper limit of 9 Qingming Sword Force points. Once at 6 points (or above, with Bearer stacks), an "Entry Skill" is unlocked. Swapping to Ye Shunguang will automatically cast it, dealing a lot of damage and consuming all 6 points to activate the Enlightened Mind state.

Swapping to Ye Shunguang isn't needed to activate it however, as simply holding the Basic Attack button with enough points in stock will also cast it. Using her Ultimate - which itself generates 6 points - will bypass the Entry Skill and directly place her into the Enlightened Mind state.

While in Enlightened Mind state, she can no longer build Qingming Sword Force points, gains access to a whole new subset of skills and her Energy is replaced, becoming a timer that ticks down for 16 seconds. Once it exhausts, she will exit the state, but this timer only ticks down while Ye Shunguang is on-field. Swapping out of her will pause the timer decay.

Once the timer ends or she forcefully exits the state, all Bearer stacks will be converted into Qingming Sword Force points, making it easier to build back up to it. All of Ye Shunguang's damage in the Enlightened Mind state is of the Honed Edge element, and while she is on-field in said state, "Ether Veil: Verdict" is applied to the stage.

This Ether Veil will take the enemy's current Stun DMG Multiplier and - to Ye Shunguang specifically - enforces it out of stun. The end result is that her Enlightened Mind state damage benefits from full Stun DMG Multiplier increases at all times.

There is a cap of 210% Stun DMG Multiplier and it is strictly limited to Ye Shunguang; allies will not gain this bonus.

The Enlightened Mind state and Ether Veil: Verdict are directly tied to one another. So long as the Enlightened Mind state is active, Ether Veil: Verdict will apply.

Basic Attacks & Specials

Having Stun DMG Multiplier at all times is already a massive bonus, but that alone is only part of it.

While in the "normal" state, her Basic Attacks are mostly unremarkable, dealing decent damage but serving the purpose of building up the Qingming Sword Force gauge. She has a hold Basic Attack alternate move, which will channel a series of sword waves, but they do pitiful damage and have terrible Qingming Sword Force build-up, so it’s never worth using. Her regular EX Special consumes 60 Energy and immediately provides a Qingming Sword Force point, being an effective way to speed up its generation. These attacks cannot be used in the Enlightened Mind state, with "airborne" and "grounded" subsets of Basic Attacks and EX Specials taking their place.

Although Qingming Sword Force points are "consumed" to enter the Enlightened Mind state, it is perhaps more accurate to say that they are converted. The UI element will change and lose its gauge section, with the 6 diamonds turning white. These Enlightened Mind state Qingming Sword Force points can be consumed by various Basic Attacks and EX Specials during the state for highly damaging attacks.

When first entering the state, Ye Shunguang is placed in the airborne stance. In it, she can use "Sunderlight" by pressing the Basic Attack button - a series of flying slashes - and "Sunderlight Annihilation" - a dive attack - by pressing the Basic Attack button after Sunderlight, pressing the Special button at any time or either waiting or being swapped out of, in which case it is used automatically.

Sunderlight Annihilation (or Annihilation for short) will consume 2 of the Enlightened Mind state Qingming Sword Force points to significantly enhance its damage and build 1 stack of "Culmination", which functions as a sort of "fake" Qingming Sword Force point that can be used by other skills.

Regardless of whether or not it's enhanced, it will always ground Ye Shunguang on cast, changing her stance.

After Annihilation is used and Ye Shunguang is grounded, pressing the Basic Attack will further consume 1 Enlightened Mind state Qingming Sword Force point to cast "Sunderlight Maximum" (or Maximum for short), a high damaging wide slash attack. As Ye Shunguang is now grounded, she is no longer able to use Sunderlight, Annihilation or Maximum, as they are either airborne stance attacks or can only be used after airborne stance attacks.

While grounded, a third set of Basic Attacks are unlocked, being "Splitting Currents" and "Skyward Ascent". The former is a high damaging 3-hit string and is the only move in the Enlightened Mind state that is not fully invulnerable, although its third hit has built-in parry properties and leads to the latter, a very weak attack which brings Ye Shunguang back to the airborne state.

This then leads to a cycle of:

• Enter Enlightened Mind state with Entry Skill or Ultimate.

• Airborne Basics (Sunderlight) into an enhanced Annihilation, followed by Maximum.

• Grounded Basics (Splitting Currents) into Skyward Ascent.

Then repeat a second time, with each cycle using up 3 Enlightened Mind state Qingming Sword force points.

Such a combo is not particularly optimal though, as it's possible to use the "Culmination" stack built by Annihilation on the Enlightened Mind state's EX Special. Much like how there are different Basic Attacks, so too there are different EX Specials.

While in the grounded stance, pressing the Special button will cast "Clean Exit", which functions as a Perfect Dodge and allows for a transition into Maximum if there are Enlightened Mind state Qingming Sword Force points in stock. Casting Maximum this way allows for the grounded Basics to be bypassed, shortcutting straight into Skyward Ascent.

Although stylish to do so, this isn't worth using, as pressing the Special button after Annihilation or Maximum, or holding the Special button when not after either skill will cast "Soaring Light". 

Normally, Soaring Light will consume 1 Enlightened Mind state Qingming Sword Force point, but if a Culmination stack is built, that cost is negated and it instead uses up the stack. If used after Annihilation, Ye Shunguang remains grounded and delivers a quick strike, but if used after Maximum or by holding the Special button, it will place her in the airborne stance.

With Soaring Light doing far more damage than Skyward Ascent, it's much better to:

• Enter Enlightened Mind state with Entry Skill or Ultimate.

• Airborne Basics (Sunderlight) into an enhanced Annihilation, followed by Maximum.

• Press Special for Soaring Light.

Alternatively, it can also be used after the grounded Basic Attacks, but with a hold Special input.

If Soaring Light is held for too long though, it will keep consuming all remaining Enlightened Mind state Qingming Sword Force points until the button is released or none are left, so be careful!

Once all Qingming Sword Force points are used up, it's recommended to exit the Enlightened Mind state and begin building to it again. To exit it, pressing the Ultimate button at any time or holding the Special button when out of Enlightened Mind state Qingming Sword Force points will cast "Return to Dust", a very strong finisher attack that forcefully exits the state regardless of how much time is left.

Dodge

Ye Shunguang’s Dodges aren’t all that useful. When in the normal state, Dodge Counters will be used occasionally to avoid being hit, having decent multipliers and Qingming Sword Force generation, but have no outstanding features.

While in the Enlightened Mind State, there are no Dodge Counters, with Perfect Dodges leading to Basic Attack: Skyward Ascent. As previously mentioned, it has poor multipliers so it ends up being a damage loss to do so over using the Soaring Light EX Special.

Like her Void Hunter-level predecessors before her though, Ye Shunguang does have a unique dash, where holding the Dodge button will have her ride her sword rack and move faster than normal.

Assist

Similar to her Dodges, her Assists don’t do much. Both her Quick Assist and Assist Follow-Up have normal and Enlightened Mind state variants, but neither are particularly good.

Quick Assists work as standard, with the Enlightened Mind state variant leaving her in a grounded state, as do Assist Follow-Ups. The former will be used naturally depending on team composition (such as for Astral Voice application) and the latter is a decent way of building Decibels quickly, but usually not worth doing all that often owing to its lacklustre Qingming Sword Force generation.

The only Assist that will see frequent use is Ye Shunguang's Entry Skill, which is considered as one. In fact, activating it is treated the same as activating a Quick Assist, hence related effects (like Starlight W-Engine or Astral Voice stack build, not application) work with it.

Chain Attack

As with many of Ye Shunguang's skills, her Chain Attack has a normal and Enlightened Mind state variant.

Her normal Chain Attack is one that should be avoided unless in desperate need of Decibels. Its damage multiplier isn't terrible, but it has a very lengthy animation and disappointing Qingming Sword Force generation rate. Any time spent on it would likely be more effectively used by building resources with Basic Attacks.

As for her Enlightened Mind State Chain Attack variant, it has a slightly higher DMG Multiplier but with the added bonus of being one of the few skills that will put Ye Shunguang into the airborne state after use. Since Annihilation is cast automatically when swapped out of, the combined damage of her Enlightened Mind State Chain Attack and an unenhanced Annihilation makes it comparatively strong. This means that double double Chain Attacks can be an effective way to both build Decibels and get some extra damage in with no Qingming Sword Force point consumption.

Note that while she casts the skill, she will also not exit the Enlightened Mind State, working as a pseudo-extension of the state.

Ultimate

There are also 2 Ultimate variants, with the first being "Chasing Storms" - the standard Decibel Ultimate that is used when in the normal state. Using this Ultimate deals a lot of damage and generates 6 Qingming Sword Force points, immediately putting Ye Shunguang into the Enlightened Mind State without needing her Entry Skill to be used.

Her second Ultimate is "Cleaving Heavens", being 60% stronger than her standard one and only being usable in the Enlightened Mind state, ending it immediately after use. Unlike Ultimate: Chasing Storms, this does not consume Decibels, instead working as an unlockable skill that needs Decibels to be consumed in the cast of her first Ultimate.

Normally, when entering the Enlightened Mind state via the Entry Skill, or with Ultimate: Chasing Storms that do not consume Decibels (like from Dialyn's Ultimate conversion), pressing Ultimate - even with 3000 Decibels in stock - leads to Return to Dust. Ye Shunguang will not be able to use Ultimate: Cleaving Heavens.

When doing so via a Decibel-consuming Ultimate: Chasing Storms however, Return to Dust is replaced with Ultimate: Cleaving Heavens.

Despite Ye Shunguang's ridiculously verbose and complex kit, she is remarkably simple to play. 

Although many characters may need specific set-ups to build resources in time for stuns, may struggle with Energy/Adrenaline and Decibel alignment for critical burst periods, or must juggle their own field-time with Stunners', none of this really matters much for all but the highest level of play with Ye Shunguang.

Her gameplan cycle can be neatly split into "normal" state and "Enlightened Mind" state phases.

While in the normal state, the priority is to build Qingming Sword Force points as quickly as possible. This mostly entails using Basic Attacks over and over, with the occasional Dodge Counter to avoid being interrupted by enemy attacks.

When there's enough energy in stock, use her normal EX Special and - as it has a very long animation - swap out to other Agents for any resource generation or buff/debuff application as required (e.g. Dialyn for Malicious Complaint or Zhao for Frostbite Point build-up and Ether Veil activation).

Once 6 Qingming Sword Force points are built, apply any relevant buffs (e.g. King of the Summit or Astral Voice) and then make use of the Entry Skill to enter the Enlightened Mind state.

Alternatively, if at 3 Qingming Sword Force points or below, use Ye Shunguang's Ultimate to immediately enter the state. Try not to be at above 3 points so as to not overcap with the 6 points from the Ultimate, as Bearer stacks do have a limit.

In the Enlightened Mind state, there are 3 potential combos to follow:

Short Combo:

• Basic Attack: Sunderlight Annihilation

• Basic Attack: Sunderlight Maximum

• EX Special: Soaring Light

• Basic Attack: Sunderlight Annihilation

• Basic Attack: Sunderlight Maximum

• EX Special: Soaring Light

• EX Special Return to Dust or Ultimate: Cleaving Heavens (hold Special/press Ultimate)

Inputs would be: Special > B > EX > Special > B > EX (Hold)

Extended Combo:

• Basic Attack: Sunderlight x2

• Basic Attack: Sunderlight Annihilation

• Basic Attack: Sunderlight Maximum

• Basic Attack: Splitting Currents x3

• EX Special: Soaring Light

• Basic Attack: Sunderlight x1

• Basic Attack: Sunderlight Annihilation

• EX Special: Soaring Light (Ground Ver.)

• Basic Attack: Sunderlight Maximum

• Basic Attack: Splitting Currents x3

• EX: Special Return to Dust or Ultimate: Cleaving Heavens (hold Special/press Ultimate)

Inputs would be B > B > B > B > B > B > B > EX > B > B > EX > B > B > B > B > EX (Hold)

Standard Combo:

• Basic Attack: Sunderlight x2

• Basic Attack: Sunderlight Annihilation

• Basic Attack: Sunderlight Maximum

• EX Special: Soaring Light

• Basic Attack: Sunderlight x1

• Basic Attack: Sunderlight Annihilation

• Basic Attack: Sunderlight Maximum

• EX Special: Soaring Light

• EX Special: Return to Dust or Ultimate: Cleaving Heavens (hold Special/press Ultimate)

Inputs would be: B > B > B > B > EX > B > B > B > EX (Hold)

Which to use depends.

The Short Combo does the least damage but exits the Enlightened Mind state the fastest. If doing so over the course of a fight affords enough time to get 1 more Enlightened Mind state, it will be the best option, but this may require proper planning and routing.

The Extended Combo does the highest damage but takes the longest to exit the Enlightened Mind state. As a result, it's likely that it will lead to fewer Enlightened Mind state uses over the course of a fight, making it suboptimal if not near the end, but there are situations (such as before a boss' invulnerability phase) where it is worth using.

Do be careful as the grounded Basic Attacks (Splitting Currents) have no invulnerability in their first 2 hits!

The Standard Combo is a balance of both. It is decently high damage without needing too much of a time commitment, usually being the go-to default option to fall back on in most circumstances.

Once out of the Enlightened Mind state, the cycle begins again. Build back up to it, execute a combo, then rinse and repeat. There may be times where using double Chain Attacks for Decibels may be needed, or where it's better to hold back on the Enlightened Mind state so as to complete a boss mechanic, but even without worrying about these, Ye Shunguang is more than strong enough to demolish every single boss with ease.