Hugo Vlad Guide and Best Builds

Hugo Vlad Guide & Best Builds

Welcome to our Hugo Vlad build guide for Zenless Zone Zero. Hugo Vlad is a powerful S-Rank Ice Attack DPS Agent who deals massive damage on Stunned enemies. In our guide, we will cover everything you need to know to get the most out of your Hugo Vlad, from building the best Drive Discs and W-Engines to important stat priorities and combos.

Hugo Vlad's Best W-Engines

Listed below are Hugo Vlad's best W-Engines. While W-Engines are listed in a priority order, what is best to build on your Hugo Vlad can vary slightly depending on your team composition.

Myriad Eclipse

False Personas
Increases CRIT DMG by 45/51.75/58.5/65.25/72%. When using an EX Special Attack, Chain Attack, or Ultimate to deal Ice DMG, the equipper gains the Absolute Zero Death Sentence effect for 3s. While Absolute Zero Death Sentence is active, the character ignores 25/28.75/32.5/36.25/40% of the enemy's DEF when landing a hit.

Deep Sea Visitor

Lord of Seas
Increases Ice DMG by 25/31.5/38/44.5/50%. Upon hitting an enemy with a Basic Attack, the equipper's CRIT Rate increases by 10/12.5/15/17.5/20% for 8s. When dealing Ice DMG with a Dash Attack, the equipper's CRIT Rate increases by an additional 10/12.5/15/17.5/20% for 15s. The duration of each effect is calculated separately.

Heartstring Nocturne

String & Melody
CRIT DMG increases by 50/57.5/65/72.5/80%. When the equipper enters combat, or activates a Chain Attack or Ultimate, they gain 1 stack of Heartstring. Each stack of Heartstring allows the equipper's Chain Attack and Ultimate to ignore 12.5/14.5/16.5/18.5/20% of the target's Fire RES, stacking up to 2 times and lasting 30s. Repeated triggers reset the duration.

Zanshin Herb Case

Growth Through Adversity
CRIT Rate increases by 10/11.5/13/14.5/16%. Dash Attack Electric DMG increases by 40/46/52/58/64%. When any squad member applies an Attribute Anomaly or Stuns an enemy, the equipper's CRIT Rate increases by an additional 10/11.5/13/14.5/16% for 15s.

Severed Innocence

Tranquil Blossom
CRIT DMG is increased by 30/34.5/39/43.5/48%. When the equipper lands a hit with a Basic Attack, Special Attack, or Aftershock, they gain 1 stack of a buff. Each stack increases the equipper's CRIT DMG by an additional 10/11.5/13/14.5/16%, stacking up to 3 times. The effect lasts for 30s, with each stack's duration calculated separately, and can only be triggered once per use of a skill. With all 3 stacks, the equipper's Electric DMG increases by 20/23/26/29/32%.

The Brimstone

Scorching Breath
Upon hitting an enemy with a Basic Attack, Dash Attack, or Dodge Counter, the equipper's ATK increases by 3.5/4.4/5.2/6/7% for 8s, stacking up to 8 times. This effect can trigger once every 0.5s. The duration of each stack is calculated separately.

Cannon Rotor

Oversized Barrel
Increases ATK by 7.5/8.6/9.7/10.8/12%. Landing a critical hit on an enemy will inflict an additional 200% of ATK as DMG. This effect can trigger once every 8/7.5/7/6.5/6s.

Marcato Desire

Get Everyone Fired Up
When an EX Special Attack or Chain Attack hits an enemy, the equipper's ATK increases by 6/6.9/7.8/8.7/9.6% for 8s. While the target is under an Attribute Anomaly, this effect is increased by an additional 6/6.9/7.8/8.7/9.6%.

Gilded Blossom

Extraordinary Anti-Theft Measures
ATK increases by 6/6.9/7.8/8.7/9.6%, and DMG dealt by EX Special Attacks increases by 15/17.2/19.5/21.8/24%.

Starlight Engine

Ingenious Craft
Upon launching an EX Special Attack, the equipper's CRIT DMG increases by 16/18.4/20.8/23.2/25.6% for 12s. Additionally, if the target's current HP is below 50% of their Max HP, EX Special Attack DMG increases by 20/23/26/29/32%.

Best Drive Discs for Hugo Vlad

Woodpecker Electro

2-Piece Set: CRIT Rate +8%
4-Piece Set: Landing a critical hit on an enemy with a Basic Attack, Dodge Counter, or EX Special Attack increases the equipper's ATK by 9% for 6s. The buff duration for different skills are calculated separately.

Hormone Punk

2-Piece Set: ATK +10%
4-Piece Set: Upon becoming the active character in combat, the equipper's ATK increases by 25% for 10s. This effect can trigger once every 20s.

Hugo Vlad's Stat Priority

When building Hugo Vlad, CRIT Rate and CRIT DMG are the most important stats to focus on.

Hugo Vlad's Skill Priority

Hugo Vlad's most important skill to level is his Core skill since it provides with a massive CRIT and ATK bonus. His Special Attack and Ultimate are also important since they are his main DMG dealing abilities, so you want to upgrade those as soon as possible.

How to Play Hugo Vlad

Hugo Vlad is a main DPS, and an insanely strong one on top of it. He functions mainly through stun mechanics and his burst DMG window. When you use 2 Stun Agents in your squad, Hugo's ATK increases massively. When your finishing move of your Ex Special Attack hits an enemy, Hugo enters the Totalize effect, which increases the DMG multiplier of the Finishing Move. On top of that, the Totalize effect further increases the skill's DMG multiplier based on the remaining Stun time you had on the enemy when Totalize was triggered.

Hugo requires you to keep enemies stunned as much as possible. In order to do that, you may want to use two Stun Agents in your squad. Doing so will also increase his ATK massively, so it is only beneficial.

When your enemy is stunned, use your Ex Special attack as soon as available and make sure you don't miss your target. If the skill hits the Stunned enemy, Hugo enters the Totalize effect.

When Hugo enters Totalize, it immediately stops the Stun state of the enemy. However, instead, it will accumulate a certain amount of Daze on the enemy, based on the remaining Stun when Totalize was triggered. Every second of Stun remaining equals 5% Daze accumulated.

When Hugo is under the Totalize effect, the following buffs will apply:

• Entering Totalize increases the DMG multiplier of the Ex Special's Finishing move by 1000%. This allows you Ex Special to deal massive damage.
• The skill's DMG multiplier will be further increased based on the remaining Stun time of the enemy when Totalize was triggered:
  • For each remaining second of Stun time from the portion that is less than or equal to 5s, the skill's DMG multiplier increases by 280%
  • For each remaining second of Stun time from the portion between 5 and 15s, the skill's DMG multiplier increases by 100%
  • Totalize uses the remaining Stun time, so switch to your Stun Agents to stun the enemy again
  • The total increase can raise the skill's DMG multiplier by a maximum of 3,400%

Hugo Vlad's Combos

Hugo Vlad's default combo is the following:

• Main Basic Attack combo with 4 hits.
• Hold the Basic Attack right after the 4th hit.
• When you dash, perfect dodge, quick assist, or assist follow-up, hold the Basic attack as well.
• When your Ex Special attack is ready use it to activate Totalize. Hold the Basic Attack right after.
• Totalize uses the remaining Stun time, so switch to your Stun Agents to stun the enemy again.
• When your Ultimate is ready, use it. Follow up with another Basic Attack hold.

Hugo Vlad's Best Mindscapes

Hugo Vlad's M1 Mindscape is quite good to get as it gives him an additional CRIT Rate and CRIT DMG bonus. On top of that his M2 is quite important, as it allows his Totalize effect to not end the Stunned state, and it also allows Totalize to ignore an additional 15% DEF.

Hugo's M6 is good, it increases the Totalize effect's DMG and allow his Finishing MOve and Ex Special to also trigger Totalize on enemies that are not Stunner, however, his M2 is a good stopping point.

Hugo Vlad's Best Teams

To learn all about Hugo Vlad's synergies and best team compositions, check our dedicated Hugo Vlad team page below:

Changelog