Hugo Vlad is a powerful Ice Attack character in Zenless Zone Zero, designed to function as a standard DPS unit with notable daze output. His kit benefits significantly from a team setup featuring two stun agents, maximizing his buffs and control capabilities. While this requirement can limit team composition flexibility, for combat that benefits from enemies being stunned often, this is excellent, especially if players want to use generalized support units like Astra Yao in team compositions where she's needed much more.

zenless-zone-zero-all-character-ages-height-and-birthdays
All Character Ages, Height, And Birthdays In Zenless Zone Zero

Zenless Zone Zero is an urban RPG by Hoyoverse. Here are a few basic details fans may want to know about their favorite characters.

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In terms of build, luckily, Hugo does not demand heavy investment to perform optimally. Since there is no dedicated Drive Disc set for him, players can leverage existing, well-rounded options that enhance his strengths without requiring specialized gear. The same goes for his W-Engine options; outside of his signature, he can effectively use multiple other S-Rank and A-Rank options. Here’s the best way to optimize Hugo's build in Zenless Zone Zero.

Hugo Build In ZZZ - Zenless Zone Zero

Hugo Vlad Build In ZZZ - Zenless Zone Zero

W-Engine

Drive Discs

Drive Discs Stat

  1. Myriad Eclipse
  2. Deep Sea Visitor
  3. Heartstring Nocturne
  4. Severed Innocence
  5. The Brimstone
  6. Marcato Desire
  7. Cannon Rotor
  8. Gilded Blossom
  9. Starlight Engine

4-piece set:

  • Woodpecker Electro
  • Hormone Punk

2-piece set:

  • Branch & Blade Song
  • Woodpecker Electro
  • Polar Metal
  • 4 slot: Crit DMG or Crit Rate (until 80-100%)
  • 5 slot: Ice DMG or ATK
  • 6 slot: ATK
  • Sub-stat priority: Crit Rate, Crit DMG, ATK, Pen

Hugo Best Drive Discs In ZZZ - Zenless Zone Zero

Hugo Vlad Build In ZZZ - Discs

To build Hugo Vlad effectively in Zenless Zone Zero, players need to prioritize maintaining an 80–100% Crit Rate to maximize his damage output. His core passive allows him to self-buff Crit Rate, Crit DMG, and ATK%, provided he has stun agents in the team to activate the ATK buff. This makes optimizing his stats more straightforward compared to other Crit-oriented DPS characters.

The best Drive Disc set for Hugo is 4pc Woodpecker Electro, as it boosts his Crit Rate while also enhancing his ATK every time he lands a Crit hit. Given Hugo's ability to frequently trigger Crits as long as he's kept on a high Crit Rate, maintaining the 4pc effect is relatively effortless. To further optimize his damage, pairing Woodpecker Electro with 2pc Branch and Blade Song is recommended to increase his Crit DMG.

For players who need an alternative, 4pc Hormone Punk serves as a strong placeholder, providing an ATK boost whenever Hugo is switched in. In this setup, 2pc Woodpecker Electro can be included to maintain additional Crit Rate while allowing room for a gradual transition into a full 4pc set.

Players looking to increase his elemental damage can opt for 2pc Polar Metal, which enhances Ice DMG, making it another strong consideration for Hugo’s build.

Zenless Zone Zero_ Vivian Teams
Zenless Zone Zero: Vivian Team Composition Guide

Vivian will benefit from having another Anomaly or Ether character in the team composition in Zenless Zone Zero.

When optimizing Hugo's stats in Zenless Zone Zero, Crit Values and ATK should be the primary focus. If players equip Hugo with his signature W-Engine, or any other W-Engine that provides Crit Rate, the best approach is to use Crit DMG as the main stat on the 4th Drive Disc slot while acquiring the remaining Crit Rate through sub-stats. However, if achieving the desired Crit Rate threshold through sub-stats isn’t feasible, prioritizing Crit Rate over Crit DMG is essential to maintain consistent high-damage output.

For the 5th and 6th Drive Disc slots, ATK% is generally the best option, though Ice DMG can be a viable alternative for the 5th slot depending on which stat rolls better sub-stats. The difference in performance between ATK% and Ice DMG is minimal, especially since Hugo benefits from ATK buffs through other means. As for sub-stats, Crit Rate, Crit DMG, and ATK remain the top priorities. Flat ATK is preferable over PEN, but PEN can still provide value as a generic stat, making it a reasonable secondary choice.

Hugo Best W-Engines In ZZZ - Zenless Zone Zero

Hugo Vlad Build In ZZZ - W-Engines

When selecting Hugo’s W-Engine in Zenless Zone Zero, prioritizing Crit Rate and Crit DMG is crucial to maximizing his damage output. His signature Myriad Eclipse is the best choice, offering Crit Rate as its ascension stat, along with Crit DMG and DEF ignore whenever Hugo uses EX Special Attack, Chain Attack, or Ultimate. While the latter is situational, this effect ensures his strongest attacks land with higher damage, making it a highly effective option.

For alternatives, Deep Sea Visitor, which is Ellen’s signature W-Engine, is another viable choice. It provides the same Crit Rate ascension stat but boosts Ice DMG and grants additional Crit Rate through its effect. This allows players to shift their focus more toward Crit DMG and ATK when building Hugo, as achieving the required Crit Rate threshold becomes significantly easier. Another strong option is Heartstring Nocturne, Evelyn’s signature W-Engine. It shares similarities with Hugo’s own signature, providing Crit Rate ascension and Crit DMG, though its Fire RES secondary effect is useless for him. Because of this, Deep Sea Visitor remains a more fitting S-Rank alternative.

For players prioritizing Crit DMG, Severed Innocence can also be equipped, though the previously mentioned choices will generally perform better on Hugo. As a non-limited S-Rank option, The Brimstone stands out for players focusing on raw ATK%. While it does not provide Crit Rate or Crit DMG enhancements, its ATK% boost makes it a solid choice for increasing overall damage output, especially in setups where Crit Rate is already optimized.

Among non-limited and A-Rank options, Marcato Desire and Cannon Rotor are the best picks, as they offer Crit Rate ascension and ATK buffs—albeit at lower values than 5-star alternatives. Gilded Blossom and Starlight Engine are alternative A-Rank choices, but they focus only on ATK, similarly to the Brimstone, requiring players to fully optimize Hugo’s Crit Rate and Crit DMG through his Drive Discs to maintain effectiveness.

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Zenless Zone Zero
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Action RPG
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Top Critic Avg: 75 /100 Critics Rec: 72%
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Released
July 4, 2024
ESRB
T (Teen) - Suggestive Themes & Violence
Publisher(s)
HoYoverse
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WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
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Engine
Unity
Genre(s)
Action RPG
Platform(s)
PlayStation 5, PC, Android, iOS
OpenCritic Rating
Strong