Ellen is an S-Rank Ice character with the Attack Speciality in Zenless Zone Zero, who debuted as the first limited-time character in version 1.0 on her Mellow Waveride Banner.
If you plan on pulling for her, it’s good to know the best Ellen build in Zenless Zone Zero so you can make the most out of her kit. We’ve quickly detailed this below, and have further explanations in our sections on the best Ellen Disk Drives, the best Ellen weapon, and the best Ellen teams to use.
If it’s more general information you’re after, then be sure to check out our Ellen materials and kit page for details on her Core Passives, and what materials you need to Promote her, and level-up Ellen’s Skills.
On this page:
Best Ellen Build
We have more detailed explanations and alternative picks below, but at a glance, here’s what we consider the best Ellen build in Zenless Zone Zero:
- Best Weapon: S-Rank Deep Sea Visitor.
- Best Disk Drive Set: 4-piece Polar Metal and 2-piece Hormone Punk.
- Best team: Lycaon and Soukaku.
How to play Ellen
You want to use Ellen’s Ice attacks as much as possible, as her kit revolves around causing massive amounts of Ice damage, and too do this, you have to build and consume Flash Freeze Charges.
There are a few ways to build Flash Freeze Charges, but simplest and quickest is to Charge Attack twice while Ellen is in her Roaming state. This will give her the maximum stack of six Flash Freeze Charges. To enter Ellen’s Roaming state, all you have to do is double tap the dash button, or hold it down.
With Flash Freeze Charges now full, we recommend buffing her with other characters’ abilities to increase Ellen’s damage potential, then swapping back to Ellen in order to Basic and Dash Attack. This consumes her Flash Freeze Charges, dealing massive amounts of Ice damage.
Unless you have a squad member with great Support or Anomaly abilities on your team, we also recommend activating Ellen’s Ultimate as much as you can, for a nice chunk of bonus Ice damage.
Best Ellen teams
Ellen’s best team is with Lycaon and Soukaku, as Lycaon is an incredible Stun character with Ice Resistance Shred, and Soukaku works perfectly as an Ice Support thanks to the massive attack buff she gives the character you swap to after using her Fly the Flag ability.
If you don’t have Lycaon and Soukaku, there are some general alternative characters you can use instead. Ben can be used if you’re not confident about dodging, as he gives the entire team Shields, but we don’t recommend using him over other characters if you’re struggling to clear combat stages in enough time.
Lucy is great general pick to boost the damage of any team, and doubles up as good sub DPS, as can Rina, thanks to her Penetration Ratio buff the whole squad gains when her Drusilla and Anastella Bangboos are deployed.
Nicole is also a nice free pick to help with grouping mobs of enemies and causing some free sub DPS damage, and Anby can help with your Stun and Dazing needs until you get Lycaon.
Best Ellen Disk Drives
We think the 4-piece Polar Metal is the best Disk Drive set for Ellen in Zenless Zone Zero, as its 2-piece increases her Ice damage, and the 4-piece increases her Basic Attack and Dash Attack Ice damage even more. It’s great for Ice teams in general, as Ellen can get even more damage when a squad member inflicts Freeze or Shatter on an enemy.
You could use the 4-piece Woodpecker Electro as an alternative, as the 2-piece increases Ellen’s Crit Rate, and the 4-piece increases her attack for six seconds after Ellen triggers a Crit Hit with her Basic Attack, Dodge Counter or EX Special Attack. It’s got tougher requirements to meet, however, which is why we recommend the 4-piece Polar Metal instead.
That said, you can pair the 2-piece Woodpecker Electro to increase Ellen’s Crit Rate. Other good 2-pieces to use with your 4-piece are Hormone Punk for its attack boost, Puffer Electro for its Penetration Ratio increase, and Swing Jazz if you need more Energy Regen for your particular Ellen build.
Best Ellen weapons
As it’s her signature, the S-Rank Deep Sea Visitor is Ellen’s best weapon in Zenless Zone Zero. It increases her Ice damage, attack stat, and Crit Rate passively, and when Ellen hits an enemy with her Basic Attack, her Crit Rate increases even more for eight seconds. Additionally, when she deals Ice damage with a Dash Attack, her Crit Rate increases even further for 15 seconds, with the duration of these boosts calculated separately.
If you don’t want to pull for Ellen’s signature W-Engine weapon, however, S-Rank The Brimstone is a solid alternative, as it passively boosts Ellen’s attack, and increases it even further when she attacks with her Basic Attack, Dash Attack, or Dodge Counter.
As for A-Rank options, as long as Ellen’s Crit Rate is relatively high, we suggest using the Cannon Rotor W-Engine. It passively boosts Ellen’s attack and Crit Rate, and increases her damage when landing a Crit Hit.
If you don’t have Cannon Rotor, or can’t meet its Crit Rate requirements, then Starlight Engine is great for boosting Ellen’s attack when she uses a Dodge Counter or Quick Assist, and Street Superstar can also work if you’re squad is performing a lot of Chain Attacks and you focus on unleashing Ellen’s Ultimate.
Lastly, as a B-Rank alternative, the Lunar Pleniluna is actually a very solid choice, as it increases Ellen’s damage when she uses her Basic Attack, Dash Attack, or Dodge Counter.
All the best building Ellen in Zenless Zone Zero!
