Some characters come and go with the meta. Zhezhi isn’t one of them. Since her debut back in Version 1.2, this quiet Glacio artist has stayed relevant through multiple major patches, and in version 3.2 she remains one of the most valuable Sub-DPS units in the entire game. Her Outro Skill alone is reason enough to pull her — but the full picture of what she brings to a team is even better than that. If you’re running Carlotta or Jinhsi and you don’t have Zhezhi yet, this guide will make you want to fix that.
Who Is Zhezhi?
Zhezhi is a 5-star Glacio Rectifier Resonator who operates primarily as a Sub-DPS and off-field damage dealer. Her role is a bit different from most Sub-DPS units — she doesn’t just deal damage and get out. She builds Concerto Energy fast, fires off a powerful Outro Skill that buffs the next character’s Resonance Skill DMG and Glacio DMG, and then continues attacking from off-field through coordinated attacks triggered by her Resonance Liberation.
In plain terms: Zhezhi makes your Glacio main DPS hit harder, both through direct buffs and by continuing to contribute damage even when she’s not on the field. And because all of her damage — including her Liberation’s coordinated attacks — is classified as Basic Attack DMG, she has a very clean and consistent stat scaling path.
She’s not the flashiest character in the roster, and her kit description reads like a wall of text. But in practice? She’s one of the smoothest Sub-DPS units to actually play, with a rotation that clicks into place naturally once you understand her Forte Circuit.
Zhezhi’s Kit Breakdown
Forte Circuit: Ink and Wash (Afflatus & Phantasmic Imprints)
Zhezhi’s Forte Circuit revolves around a resource called Afflatus, which caps at 90 points split into three segments of 30 each. She builds Afflatus through her three-stage Basic Attack combo (which generates 10, 15, and 25 points respectively) and through her Intro Skill, which can fill roughly half the gauge in one use.
Once she has enough Afflatus, she can spend it by summoning Phantasmic Imprints — up to three on the field at once, placed by tapping or holding her Resonance Skill. Here’s where the magic happens: Zhezhi can teleport to each Imprint she places, and each teleport hits the enemy hard while building a large chunk of Concerto Energy. Getting three Imprints on the field and dashing through all of them is her primary damage burst, and it’s visually satisfying while also being efficient and quick to execute.
Because of her mobility when teleporting between Imprints, Zhezhi is also notably hard to pin down during her on-field time — a practical advantage in fights with heavy enemy attack patterns.
Resonance Liberation: Spiritful Animation (Off-Field Coordinated Attacks)
When Zhezhi activates her Liberation, she summons Inklit Spirits that rain down as coordinated attacks for up to 30 seconds or 21 total hits, whichever comes first. These attacks trigger once per second whenever any teammate deals damage — meaning as long as your active Resonator is hitting things, Zhezhi is contributing damage in the background.
This off-field pressure is what makes Energy Regen such an important stat on her. If you can reliably have her Liberation up every rotation, you’re getting sustained background damage from Zhezhi even during your main DPS’s full window. If her Liberation is offline, you lose that entire layer of damage for that rotation.
Outro Skill: The Reason You Pull Her
Zhezhi’s Outro Skill is genuinely one of the best in the game for the right partners. When she exits the field, she grants the next Resonator:
- 20% Glacio DMG Amplification
- 25% Resonance Skill DMG Amplification
Both of these are deepening buffs, not just simple percentage bonuses — meaning they multiply damage rather than just adding a flat bonus on top. For characters like Carlotta who deal most of their damage through Resonance Skill hits, and Jinhsi who is similarly Resonance Skill-focused, this Outro is absolutely enormous.
Her Inherent Skill, Flourish, adds even more value: when she switches out, she restores 15 Resonance Energy to the incoming Resonator. This means Jinhsi and Carlotta both get a head start on their Liberation every single rotation, which contributes to smoother, more consistent team damage.
Skill Priority
- Resonance Liberation — Her off-field coordinated attacks scale from this and it’s what keeps damage flowing when Zhezhi isn’t active
- Forte Circuit — The Phantasmic Imprint damage and teleport hits all scale through here
- Resonance Skill — Contributes to Imprint summoning and some direct damage
- Basic Attack — Necessary for Afflatus generation but lower personal damage scaling
- Intro Skill — Useful for Afflatus burst, lower upgrade priority compared to the above
Best Weapons for Zhezhi
1. Rime-Draped Sprouts (Signature — Best in Slot)
Zhezhi’s own signature weapon is the clear winner and it’s not particularly close. The passive stacks a 12% Basic Attack DMG Bonus each time she uses her Resonance Skill, up to three stacks. When she casts her Outro at full stacks, those three stacks get consumed and replaced by a massive 52% Basic Attack DMG Bonus applied to Zhezhi’s off-field attacks for 27 seconds. Since all of her coordinated attacks during Liberation count as Basic Attack DMG, that 52% bonus stays active for virtually the entire enemy team’s rotation window while she’s off-field. The CRIT DMG substat is also extremely high, which feeds directly into her 1:2 CRIT ratio goal. If you have this weapon, it’s on Zhezhi, full stop.
2. Stringmaster (Yinlin’s Signature)
Yinlin mains might not want to lend this out, but if you have a spare Stringmaster, it’s a legitimate second option for Zhezhi. It carries one of the best CRIT Rate substats of any Rectifier in the game, which makes hit ratio management much easier. The passive provides a generic DMG boost through its own stacking mechanic that Zhezhi can activate comfortably given how frequently she uses her Resonance Skill. Not as tailored as Rime-Draped Sprouts, but the stat ceiling is still very competitive.
3. Cosmic Ripples (Standard Banner)
A solid option that Zhezhi can make full use of thanks to how often she casts her Resonance Skill — she naturally maintains the passive’s stacks throughout her rotation. The Energy Regen bonus is also genuinely helpful for keeping her Liberation on cooldown. Not flashy, but practical and available to anyone who’s been playing for a while.
4. Cantarella’s Signature Weapon
An interesting option if you already have it and are running the Empyrean Anthem Echo set, since the 40% Basic Attack DMG Bonus from using the Echo skill plays well with coordinated attack builds. The CRIT DMG and ATK stats are solid baselines too. It won’t beat the top two options in most scenarios, but it’s worth mentioning for players who have it and want to maximize what they have.
5. Guardian Rectifier (Best Free-to-Play Option)
If you don’t have any 5-star Rectifiers, Guardian Rectifier is the go-to. It directly increases Basic Attack and Heavy Attack DMG Bonus, which syncs well with how Zhezhi’s damage is categorized. Not a ceiling push option, but perfectly functional for clearing all content.
6. Augment (Battle Pass 4-Star)
The best 4-star pick outside of Guardian Rectifier. The CRIT Rate substat helps with ratio management and the ATK% stacking from her Liberation use stacks naturally with her rotation. A solid placeholder until a 5-star becomes available.
Best Echo Sets for Zhezhi
Empyrean Anthem (5-Piece) — Best in Slot for Sub-DPS
This is the current top set for Zhezhi in version 3.2, specifically because of how well it synergizes with her coordinated attack gameplay. The 5-piece effect buffs the active Resonator’s ATK by 20% as long as Zhezhi is scoring Critical hits with her off-field coordinated attacks. That ATK bonus applies to your main DPS’s entire window, which translates to a meaningful team damage increase rather than just personal gain.
The key requirement is keeping Zhezhi’s CRIT Rate high enough that her coordinated attacks consistently crit — which is why CRIT Rate matters as a substat even on a Sub-DPS. If she’s not critting, the ATK buff doesn’t proc.
Main Echo: Nightmare: Lampylumen Myriad — This is the correct main echo for the Empyrean Anthem build. It grants Zhezhi an unconditional Glacio DMG and Coordinated Attack DMG boost when equipped in the main slot, and since it’s a Summon-type echo, you can activate it at any point in the rotation without interrupting her combos. That flexibility is genuinely valuable when you’re trying to fit everything into a tight rotation.
Moonlit Clouds (5-Piece) — Strong Alternative / Support-Focused Build
If you’re running Zhezhi purely to maximize your main DPS’s output rather than caring about her personal damage, Moonlit Clouds is worth considering. When Zhezhi exits the field after casting her Outro, the active resonator gets a bonus ATK% buff on top of Zhezhi’s already strong Outro. The trade-off is that Zhezhi herself deals less damage during this build, but team-wide DPS can actually come out slightly higher in some scenarios — around 5 to 6% better in Carlotta-focused teams according to community calculations.
Main Echo for Moonlit Clouds: Impermanence Heron — swapped in quickly before switching to the next character, giving your main DPS an additional ATK buff as they enter the field.
Freezing Frost (5-Piece) — If Playing Zhezhi as Main DPS
If you’re running Zhezhi as your primary damage dealer rather than a Sub-DPS, Freezing Frost is the pick. It gives a flat Glacio DMG boost and works cleanly with her Imprint-focused playstyle. This isn’t the optimal way to run her in most teams, but in budget compositions where she’s carrying the offensive weight, this set delivers.
Echo Stats & Substats
Main Stats (4-3-3-1-1 format):
- Cost 4: CRIT Rate or CRIT DMG (whichever your weapon doesn’t already provide)
- Cost 3 (both): Glacio DMG Bonus (double Glacio is optimal; swap one for Energy Regen if Liberation uptime is inconsistent)
- Cost 1 (both): ATK%
Substat Priority: CRIT Rate → CRIT DMG → Energy Regen → Basic Attack DMG Bonus → ATK%
Energy Regen target: Aim for around 120% Energy Regen. You should be able to reach this through substats rather than sacrificing a 3-cost main stat slot, but if rotations feel choppy, swapping one 3-cost to Energy Regen is the right call. Consistent Liberation uptime matters more than small personal damage gains from a second Glacio main stat.
CRIT Ratio target: The standard 1:2 ratio of roughly 70-75% CRIT Rate to 200-250% CRIT DMG works well for Zhezhi. Because her Empyrean Anthem ATK buff proc depends on critting with coordinated attacks, don’t let CRIT Rate fall too low even if CRIT DMG looks more appealing on paper.
Best Teams for Zhezhi
Team 1: The Premium Glacio Core Carlotta + Zhezhi + Shorekeeper
This is arguably the cleanest team in Zhezhi’s kit and one of the strongest compositions overall in version 3.2. Carlotta scales her damage almost entirely off Resonance Skill hits and Glacio DMG — which happen to be the exact two stats Zhezhi’s Outro amplifies. Zhezhi fires off her rotation, lands her Outro buffs, and Carlotta enters the field with 20% Glacio Amplification and 25% Resonance Skill Amplification active, plus 15 bonus Resonance Energy from Zhezhi’s Inherent Skill. Shorekeeper handles sustain and contributes CRIT Rate and CRIT DMG buffs through her Stellarealm, completing a team where every member feeds into the others’ strengths.
The rotation for this team flows like this: Start on Carlotta and use two casts of her Resonance Skill to partially charge her Forte Gauge. Swap to Shorekeeper, build her Liberation and Concerto Energy, pop Liberation when available, then switch to Zhezhi when Concerto is full. On Zhezhi, activate Intro Skill, run through her full Basic Attack sequence (Stage 1-2-3) to generate 90 Afflatus, use Resonance Skill to summon and teleport through Imprints, cast Liberation, then switch back to Carlotta to receive the Outro buffs and take her full damage window.
Team 2: The Classic Pairing Jinhsi + Zhezhi + Shorekeeper
Before Carlotta arrived, this was the definitive Zhezhi team and it remains extremely strong. Jinhsi is another Resonance Skill-focused DPS, meaning Zhezhi’s Outro hits her just as hard as it hits Carlotta. An added bonus here is that Zhezhi’s off-field coordinated attacks (from Liberation) actually generate Incandescence stacks for Jinhsi‘s Forte Circuit, meaning Zhezhi is contributing to Jinhsi‘s damage setup even while she’s off-field. Their relationship is genuinely built into the kit — they feel like they were designed together.
Shorekeeper fills the same role as in the Carlotta team, and Verina is a perfectly viable alternative if you’re running Shorekeeper elsewhere. Verina‘s Coordinated Attacks also synergize well with this team style.
Team 3: The Symbiotic F2P Duo Zhezhi + Sanhua + Shorekeeper / Verina / Baizhi
If you don’t have Carlotta or Jinhsi, Zhezhi can slot into a budget team where she plays a more active DPS role. The interesting dynamic here is that Zhezhi and Sanhua actually buff each other in a neat exchange: Zhezhi’s Outro gives Sanhua Glacio DMG Amplification and Resonance Skill buffs, while Sanhua’s Outro grants Zhezhi a Basic Attack DMG boost — which lands perfectly since virtually all of Zhezhi’s damage is categorized as Basic Attack DMG. They’re each other’s best budget partner, and the team functions surprisingly well in endgame content even without a premium carry behind it. Baizhi works as a free healer here, with Shorekeeper or Verina stepping in if available.
Rotation Guide
Zhezhi’s optimal on-field combo:
- Intro Skill — Jump in via Intro to immediately fill roughly half of Afflatus gauge
- Basic Attack (Stages 1-2-3) — Complete the full sequence to top off Afflatus to 90 points
- Tap Resonance Skill — Convert 30 Afflatus into first Phantasmic Imprint
- Tap Resonance Skill again — Summon second Imprint (if holding, she goes airborne for the aerial variation)
- Use Forte Heavy Attack — Converts final Afflatus into third Imprint
- Teleport through all three Imprints — Dash to each one in quick succession, building Concerto Energy fast
- Cast Resonance Liberation — Activate off-field coordinated attacks for the next 30 seconds
- Use Echo (Nightmare: Lampylumen Myriad) — Can be done before switching out
- Switch to Main DPS — Triggering Outro Skill buffs and Flourish energy restore on swap
The whole rotation is fast. Zhezhi doesn’t need much field time to do her job, and her quick Concerto generation means she cycles through it efficiently. Once you’ve practiced the Imprint teleport sequence a few times it becomes second nature.
Advanced tip: Zhezhi players who want to push further can learn the Jump Cancel technique on her teleport attacks, which shortens her rotation time noticeably at zero damage cost. It’s not required to clear content, but it’s a satisfying optimization if you enjoy mastering her kit.
Sequence Nodes (Resonance Chain)
Zhezhi at S0 is already excellent, and the community consensus is to either stay at S0/R0 or S0/R1 (signature weapon) and not push further unless you’re going all the way to S6. The mid-sequences don’t add enough to justify the cost.
- S1 — Adds additional Afflatus generation and makes the first Resonance Skill of the rotation stronger. A noticeable but not dramatic improvement
- S2 — Boosts Coordinated Attack DMG. Adds up over time given how many coordinated attacks Zhezhi fires
- S3/S4 — Kit refinements that smooth out the rotation and add small damage increments
- S5 — Further Coordinated Attack amplification
- S6 — The big payoff. Dramatically increases her Imprint damage multipliers and makes her a genuine threat on-field, not just a buffer. Worth it if you’re going deep on her, but S0 is strong enough that S6 is firmly in the “enthusiast investment” territory
Ascension & Forte Materials
To fully build Zhezhi you’ll need:
- Pecok Flower — Gathered from the open world in Huanglong
- Sound-Keeping Tackle — Dropped from the Forgery Challenge
- Whisperin Core materials — Collected from Echoes in the early-game zones
- Lampylumen Myriad materials — From the weekly boss in the Glacio region
- Shell Credits — Plan for significant amounts across both Ascension and Forte upgrades
The Forgery Challenges for Rectifier-type materials are straightforward to farm regularly. Budget your weekly boss materials carefully since they’re shared across multiple upgrades.
Is Zhezhi Worth Pulling in 3.2?
If you have Carlotta or Jinhsi and you’re missing Zhezhi, she should be high on your priority list the next time she reruns. The Outro buff she provides to both of those characters is among the best Sub-DPS contributions in the game — both Carlotta and Jinhsi see significant team damage increases when paired with her versus their next-best alternatives.
Even if you don’t have either of those characters yet, Zhezhi is a long-term investment that pays dividends. She’s been valuable since Version 1.2 and shows no signs of becoming obsolete, because Resonance Skill amplification is a buff type that will always matter for DPS characters who use their skills constantly.
She’s not particularly niche either — while she’s at her best in Glacio teams, her off-field coordinated attack damage and Outro energy restore make her comfortable to run in any Resonance Skill-reliant lineup. For other top-tier Resonators worth building your roster around, check out guides for Brant, Phoebe, Changli, Camellya, Cantarella, Ciaccona, Zani, Lupa, Verina, and Rover (Aero).
Final Thoughts
Zhezhi has quietly been one of the most reliable investments in Wuthering Waves since her debut, and nothing about version 3.2 changes that. Her rotation is clean, her Outro is elite, her off-field contribution is consistent, and she fits into two of the strongest endgame teams in the current meta. Whether you’re a new player figuring out your first premium team or a veteran who skipped her the first time around, pulling Zhezhi on a rerun remains one of the most straightforward decisions you can make for your account.
