Pan Yinhu Guide and Best Builds for Zenless Zone Zero (ZZZ)

Pan Yinhu's overall Mindscape Cinema is impressive, as all of his significant Mindscapes add something beneficial to his basic kit. For example:

• At M0, the Depleted Qi debuff cannot be stacked. But at M1: Qi Shield, it increases the DMG taken by Depleted Qi.
• Pan Yinhu wants to use his EX Special often, but requires additional energy. His M2: Yunkui Pressure-Point Strike fixes this problem, by refunding Energy for every 6 Break Force points consumed and extending the Depleted Qi effect duration. This simultaneously increases the frequency Pan Yinhu can use his EX Special and lowers the need to use his EX Special often.
• His M4: First-Class Head Chef is an efficient upgrade from his basic Ultimate effect, as it provides an instant HP recovery effect if players are struggling to survive.
• And lastly, Pan Yinhu's M6: Meridian Theory increases the maximum Sheer Force he can give to other Agents.

Overall, if you have a squad that focuses on Sheer Force gameplay, getting all of Yinhu's Mindscapes is ideal, as his most important Mindscape, the one that affects his Sheer Force distribution, is his M6: Meridian Theory.

If players are just looking for a low investment into Pan Yinhu's Mindscape Cinema, they should consider going up to his M2: Yunkui Pressure-Point Strike, which is the most efficient gameplay upgrade he can get. It would also come with a debuff damage increase from his M1: Qi Shield.

As Pan Yinhu's primary goal is to provide as much Sheer Force available, he should prioritize a W-Engine that has an ATK % Advanced Stat first, then a W-Engine Effect that gives either additional ATK % or Energy Regen. Pan Yinhu's provided Sheer Force amount is only dependent on his ATK, and his healing amount is not affected by any equipment. The extra Energy Regen is nice to have, as Pan Yinhu relies heavily on using his EX Specials.

As a result, Pan Yinhu's best W-Engine is his signature Tremor Trigram Vessel, but realistically, any Defense W-Engine with a focus on ATK % will work just fine. See the relevant sections, such as below or in Additional Notes, for more information.

For Pan Yinhu, the only S-Rank Defense W-Engine available is the Tusks of Fury, which provides both the highest available base stat, as well as a decent party-wide buff due to its W-Engine Effect.

However, as most of Pan Yinhu's kit is focused on obtaining the highest ATK available, you can benefit more from using a W-Engine that has an ATK % Advanced Stat instead. An ATK % Advanced Stat is more efficient than a higher ATK Base Stat, as shown in the example below:

The above comparison does not consider other stats relevant to combat (such as Daze, Energy Regen, or skill DMG increases), nor the bonuses from Drive Discs and Team Compositions. The Total ATK % required is rounded up, as rounding down will not meet the 3,000 ATK threshold.

As Tusks of Fury's Advanced Stat is in Impact, this will improve Pan Yinhu's Daze application in combat, but the W-Engine cannot provide the most Sheer Force (of the options available). He will also not benefit from its W-Engine Effect, as he cannot provide shields himself. The trigger's DMG and Daze increase is beneficial, but it cannot be stacked if Pan Yinhu is paired with another Agent who is using Tusks of Fury.

In addition, while Tusks of Fury will have a higher total ATK (at 3,009.04), Pan Yinhu's ATK goal is to be as close to 3,000; any ATK value above this is wasted. So it is more efficient to use an ATK % W-Engine, as both Tremor Trigram Vessel and Peacekeeper - Specialized will reach 3,001.65 ATK, only wasting 1.65 ATK instead of 9.04 ATK.

As a result, Tusks of Fury is not as great of a recommendation compared to W-Engines with an ATK % Advanced Stat. The excess ATK value should be used in other relevant stats whenever possible.

As most ATK-focused W-Engines in this Rarity are very similar, deciding which W-Engine to use can be difficult. A summary of each relevant W-Engine is provided below:

1. Tremor Trigram Vessel: Increases Pan Yinhu's EX Special and Ultimate DMG and gives him Energy whenever anyone takes DMG or heals.
2. Peacekeeper - Specialized: Increases Pan Yinhu's Anomaly Buildup from EX Specials and Assist Follow-Ups. However, Pan Yinhu cannot provide shields to take advantage of the Energy Regen.
3. Spring Embrace: Lowest Base ATK. Reduces DMG Taken and additionally provides an Energy Regen buff when attacked, which can also be transferred to other Agents.

Of the above, Tremor Trigram Vessel and Spring Embrace are the only W-Engines with Effects that Pan Yinhu can fully utilize. However, Spring Embrace is locked behind the New Eridu City Fund, and when compared to the other ATK % W-Engines, has the lowest Base ATK available at Lv.60 (594 x 1.25 = 742.5 ATK).

As a result, if players are unable to obtain Tremor Trigram Vessel for Pan Yinhu, they are highly recommended to go with Peacekeeper - Specialized. This W-Engine provides the same Base ATK as Tremor Trigram Vessel at Lv.60 (624 x 1.25 = 780 ATK), which is the highest Base ATK available for all Defense W-Engines.

For other W-Engines that do not provide an ATK % Advanced Stat, players should only use them if they have no other options available.

Pan Yinhu's best Drive Disc sets are those that provide as much ATK or ATK % as possible. The only stat dependency his kit has is ATK; building other stats (such as Energy Regen, Physical DMG, CRIT Rate/DMG, or PEN) is up to the player's preference.

Players should focus on building Hormone Punk, Astral Voice, or Swing Jazz for his 4-Piece set. Pan Yinhu is a supportive Agent, so players should choose a set most effective for his squad options.

For example, Hormone Punk is an excellent option if players are still building Pan Yinhu's Core Skill Enhancements: the initial amount of ATK required for the maximum Sheer Force begins at 6,000 ATK, but decreases with every Core Skill Enhancement. So if players are lacking in resources and substats, they can supplement the missing ATK with the 4-Piece Effect from Hormone Punk in combat instead.

If players have already reached the 3,000 ATK required for the maximum Sheer Force, they should focus on switching to Astral Voice or Swing Jazz, as both 4-Piece Effects will offer better supportive Effects than Hormone Punk.

For 2-piece set options, depending on how much ATK Pan Yinhu has, he can use any of the following:

1. Astral Voice and/or Hormone Punk: Use one or both to reach 3,000 Base ATK. This should be a High Priority until you reach the ATK threshold otherwise.
2. Swing Jazz: Excellent option, as Pan Yinhu relies on his EX Special to gain Break Force points and trigger multiple Quick Assists.
3. Fanged Metal: Only an option if you have nothing else to build. Helps improve his personal DMG output, on top of his high ATK.

For more information and examples on building ATK, or why Pan Yinhu would need up to 114% in ATK %, refer to the Additional Notes section.

Sheer Force is a Base Stat unique to Sheer DMG. For example, Yixuan can convert her Sheer Force base stat into a DMG multiplier for skills that deal Auric Ink DMG. For Pan Yinhu, because he can only provide Sheer Force, his most effective squad is one where he supports Agents who use Sheer Force.

Though his healing capabilities are handy, Pan Yinhu only needs to build ATK to increase his Sheer Force provision, which is his biggest boon. His Ultimate's healing, on the other hand, only scales with the Skill's Level, not Pan Yinhu's Base Stats. Pan Yinhu also cannot provide any shields of his own, which reduces the need to focus on other Defense-oriented substats (such as DEF, HP, or Impact).

For the maximum provision of Sheer Force, Pan Yinhu requires 3,000 ATK as his Base Stat. This amount can either be calculated during Combat (such as through squad or conditional multipliers), or it can be a result of unconditional ATK and ATK % values (such as Core Skill Enhancements B/D/F, W-Engine stats, or Drive Disc stats/set effects).

He only needs 3,000 ATK, as his Core Passive: Meridian Enlightment, which provides the Meridian Flow effect, only provides a Sheer Force boost equal to 18% of Pan Yinhu's ATK, or 540 points. At 3,000 ATK, the maximum Sheer Force Pan Yinhu can provide is 3,000 x 18% = 540.

His Mindscape Cinema 6: Meridian Theory does not affect how much ATK Pan Yinhu needs, as the Meridian Flow effect compensates with an extra 6% on top of the 18% (at Core Skill Enhancement F). 24% of 3,000 ATK is 720, which is the maximum Sheer Force available at M6.

At Lv.60, Pan Yinhu has 586 Base ATK (661 with Core Skill Enhancement F), which is neither the least nor most Base ATK a Defense Agent can have. Assuming he has the minimum Base ATK from an ATK % W-Engine (which is currently Spring Embrace), he will need a total of 114% in ATK % to reach 3,000 ATK.

While 114% in ATK % may sound difficult, it is easy to obtain with the proper Equiment Effects. For example, 114% in ATK % includes the following:

• 661 Initial ATK from Lv.60 and Core Skill Enhancement F
• 594 Base ATK from Spring Embrace, an ATK % W-Engine with the lowest ATK Base Stat
• +25% from the ATK % W-Engine
• +60% from two Drive Discs with ATK % as the Main Stat
• +20% from using two Drive Disc sets with ATK % Effects
• 316 ATK from Partition 2 Disc's Main Stat (which is added after Base ATK multipliers)

From this, Pan Yinhu can reach a minimum of 2,888.75 Base ATK, and would require up to 112 ATK or 9% in ATK % via Drive Disc substats. This calculation also assumes you are using the ATK % W-Engine with the lowest ATK available, so your total ATK % required will be less if you use a more efficient W-Engine (such as Tremor Trigram Vessel or Peacekeeper - Specialized).

Therefore, if players want to save on resources, it is highly recommended to focus on getting as many unconditional bonuses as possible. This can be an assortment of the following:

1. Core Skill Enhancements B, D, and F
2. W-Engines with ATK % Advanced Stats (such as Tremor Trigram Vessel or Peacekeeper - Specialized)
3. Drive Discs with ATK % as its Main Stat (such as Disc Partitions 4, 5, and/or 6)
4. Drive Discs with ATK % as its 2-Piece/4-Piece Effect ( Hormone Punk or Astral Song)

For an example of what Pan Yinhu's ATK might look like, see the Additional Notes on ATK Distribution.

Please Note: The following does not take into any consideration for the Bangboo or Team Composition for Pan Yinhu. This is based on building his ATK exclusively from his Best-in-Slot options alone. This is also not an example for the highest ATK Pan Yinhu can build, but the amount required for the maximum Sheer Force (which is 3,000 ATK).

If players are looking to hit 3,000 ATK on Pan Yinhu, they can consider the following table as an example:

Based on the conditions given in the table, with no substat or team composition variables, Pan Yinhu can easily reach 3,000 Base ATK in combat. By using at least 2 Drive Discs with +30% ATK Main Stat each, and having two +10% ATK Drive Disc sets (such as Hormone Punk and Astral Voice), Pan Yinhu can reach an unconditional 2,950 Base ATK. If players do not want to rely on the Drive Disc Set Effect, the missing 50 ATK (or 4%) can come from any of the following:

1. Up to 2 S-Rank ATK % Substat Upgrades (6%)
2. Up to 3 S-Rank ATK Substat Upgrades (57)

The above example build gives room for Pan Yinhu's final Drive Disc Main Stat to be either damage-oriented (Disc 5: Physical DMG) or supportive (Disc 6: Energy Regen). In addition, if players do not need the 4-Piece Effect from Hormone Punk, they can use better alternatives, such as 4-Piece Astral Song.

If players wish to utilize other Drive Disc Main Stats or Set Effects instead (such as Energy Regen, Impact, or Physical DMG), they may need to rely more on the random substat distribution in order to meet the 3,000 ATK threshold. As a result, the example build above may need to be adjusted appropriately.

For every S-Rank Drive Disc, each ATK substat begins at 19 ATK, while each ATK % substat begins at 3%. It will increase by the same amount with each distribution, up to a maximum of five distributions available per Disc. If the Disc started with only three substats, one of the distributions will give a different substat altogether (rather than increasing a current value).

Essentially, every Drive Disc that starts with ATK+0 or ATK %+0 can build up to ATK+5 or ATK %+5 respectively. If the Drive Disc did not have ATK or ATK % to begin with, the maximum possible substat value will only be ATK+4 or ATK %+4.

Every Drive Disc can have ATK % as one of its available substats, except for any Drive Disc with an ATK % Main Stat. The only Drive Discs that can have ATK % as the Main Stat are Discs 4, 5, and 6.

Conversely, Partition 2 Discs can only have ATK as its Main Stat. As a result, Partition 2 Discs cannot have ATK as its substat, but ATK % is possible.

If players use a Drive Disc that has neither an ATK or ATK % Main Stat, that Drive Disc can have both ATK and ATK % as two of its total substats.

At Lv.60, Pan Yinhu only has 586 ATK before Core Skill Enhancements, so he will require significant bonuses to reach 3,000 ATK. Players are highly recommended to take advantage of what ATK % bonuses are available, such as:

• Any W-Engine with ATK % as its Advanced Stat and/or Effect (High Preference for Defense specialty)
• Drive Discs with ATK % Main Stat (stackable, exclusive to Drive Disc Partitions 4/5/6)
• Drive Disc Sets with ATK % Effects ( Hormone Punk 2P and 4P, Astral Song 2P)

Players may also choose to deploy certain Agents or Bangboo in Pan Yinhu's squad, but this is not required for Pan Yinhu to provide the maximum amount of Sheer Force.

At the end of the day, building ATK and ATK % is exclusively for maximizing Sheer Force. Pan Yinhu should avoid getting any excess ATK beyond 3,000, as ATK is an inefficient way to build his personal DMG output. In addition, any ATK beyond 3,000 is not considered when calculating the Sheer Force amount. Instead, Pan Yinhu's overall Base Stats will benefit more from building other multipliers, such as Energy Regen or CRIT Rate/DMG.