Deciding on a ZZZ Pulchra build comes with more options than you usually get with a stun agent. Pulchra deals more damage than most in that class and can strike while off-field, and the frequency of her attacks mean she’s also useful for building physical anomaly. Combine that with HoYoverse giving Pulchra away for free during ZZZ 1.6, and you’ve got quite the useful and easy-to-build addition for any team.
Our ZZZ Pulchra build guide breaks down her best W-Engines and Drive Discs, and we include some Pulchra team recommendations as well.
ZZZ Pulchra build
- Has her own signature W-Engine, Box Cutter
- Needs impact, but also crit rate and possibly anomaly proficiency
- Works in practically any team
ZZZ Pulchra W-Engine
Like most A-rank agents, Pulchra has her own signature W-Engine, Box Cutter. It’s a new weapon introduced in ZZZ 1.6’s W-Engine banner, and it’s got a bit of everything that Pulchra needs. The secondary stat raises her impact by 15 percent at max level, and after the equipping character uses an Aftershock attack – that’s the bonus, off-field attacks Pulchra can unleash – their physical damage increases by 15 percent and their daze damage by 20 percent for 10 seconds. That last buff is important, as the daze multipliers for Pulchra’s Aftershock are quite low.
Lighter’s W-Engine, Blazing Laurel, is the currently accepted meta pick for Pulchra, thanks to how large its impact and daze buffs are – not because its passives do anything useful or even relevant for Pulchra. Another S-rank choice is Koleda’s Hellfire Gears, which increases energy regeneration while the user is off-field and buffs their impact by 10 percent after they use an EX Special.
However, an easier-to-obtain W-Engine that does one even better than Hellfire Gears is Steam Oven, which you can purchase using Dennies from the gadget store on Sixth Street. It has energy regeneration as its secondary stat, and for every 10 energy the user accumulates, their impact increases by two percent up to eight times. At max refinement level, that increases to 3.2 percent up to eight times, for a total of 24 percent impact – much higher than Hellfire Gears and without having to rely on banner pulls.
Six Shooter, which you can get from the battle pass, does essentially the same thing by buffing daze damage, but it costs money and has no energy regeneration. If you get the battle pass regularly, though, you might as well grab this one if you don’t have the other options and don’t want to use Steam Oven.
The best B-rank option is [Vortex] Arrow, since it raises daze on all of the user’s attacks. That covers every eventuality for Pulchra, whether she’s on-field or using her Aftershock attacks.
ZZZ Pulchra Drive Discs
Pulchra doesn’t have any sets that work specifically for her as of ZZZ 1.6, but you do have plenty of mixing options. One that gives you a bit of everything she needs is:
- Shockstar Disco two-piece: Increases impact by six percent
- Fanged Metal two-piece: Increases physical damage by 10 percent
- Phaethon’s Melodty two-piece (increases anomaly mastery by eight percent) or Woodpecker Electro two-piece (increases crit rate by eight percent)
This method gives Pulchra a little boost in her most important stats, with the last set depending on whether you’re building her for damage or anomaly (more on that in the stats section).
A solid choice for parties that don’t feature Astra Yao is Astral Voice. Astral Voice is Astra Yao’s best set, but the effect doesn’t stack – hence not wanting to double up if she’s in the party.
- Two-piece effect: Increases attack by 10 percent
- Four-piece effect: When any party member enters the field using a quick assist, the party gains an Astral stack and can hold up to three. Each stack increases the damage dealt by a character who enters the field with a quick assist by eight percent, for a maximum of 24 percent
It’s a generally useful set that strengthens everyone, given how frequently Pulchra set up for quick assists, even if it doesn’t give Pulchra herself much beyond a nice attack buff.
ZZZ Pulchra Stats
Impact is Pulchra’s most important stat, since she’s a stun character, but you have a few choices for her other primary stats depending on how you want to play her. Given how often Pulchra will attack, on- and off-field, she’s a good candidate for inflicting anomaly effects, despite not being specifically designed to do so. If she’s on an anomaly team, especially with Miyabi, you could opt to increase her anomaly buildup or the damage it causes. If not, focus on building her as a DPS, with attack, crit rate, and crit damage as your main stats.
- Slot 1: HP
- Slot 2: Attack
- Slot 3: Defense
- Slot 4: Crit rate or anomaly proficiency
- Slot 5: Physical damage or attack percent
- Slot 6: Impact
Pulchra’s energy regeneration is important as well, so if you can, try for discs that come with that as a substat.
ZZZ Pulchra skill priority
Pulchra’s skill priority is a bit odd and more demanding than most. Her ultimate is exceptionally powerful, and it’s definitely worth keeping it leveled. However, you’re not going to just be using her ultimate. Pulchra’s special should get plenty of attention, as that’s where her off-field damage comes from, and her basic attack is strong enough from a damage and daze perspective to warrant leveling as well.
However, you’ll also be relying on Pulchra’s quick assist frequently, as a way to activate her Hunter’s Gait passive.
So, the priority should be something like this:
- EX Special
- Ultimate
- Basic, if you want Pulchra on-field more often or quick assist if not
- Whatever you didn’t choose for the above
- Dodge
ZZZ Pulchra teams
The short version is that Pulchra can work on essentially any team. Aside from her contribution to daze and stunning enemies, her EX Special lets her provide additional physical damage several times while she’s off-field. Naturally, she works well as a stun agent for any team that needs a stun agent, but she’s also a strong support for attack-oriented teams and even works well in anomaly teams. Basically, she works almost anywhere.
Some options are:
Practically any other attack agent works well as a partner for Pulchra, though. Zhu Yuan, Soldier 11, Harumasa, Ellen Joe – any of them benefit from having Pulchra around.
Jane Doe is the obvious choice for an anomaly team featuring Pulchra, but Pulchra also blends nicely with Burnice, thanks to the latter’s unique ability that lets other characters deal fire damage while Burnice is off-field. It’s a strong setup for disorder teams, and speaking of disorder, Pulchra and Miyabi also make for an excellent combo. The third member of an anomaly party could be another anomaly character, though a supporter, such as Astra Yao, Lucy, Rina, or Nicole would also be a smart option.
TL;DR:
- Miyabi
- Pulchra
- Astra Yao or Nicole
Pulchra’s F2P team would look something like this.
What tier is Pulchra in ZZZ?
There’s been some grumbling about Pulchra’s bonus effects being useless since they only apply to Aftershock damage, and there’s just a single Aftershock character as of Pulchra’s debut, Soldier 0 Anby. More Aftershock characters will likely follow in future, though, and Pulchra’s Aftershock buff is confined to her bonus ability anyway. Locking a similar all-damage buff behind her final Mindscape Cinema is a bit scummy, but there’s another, more pressing concern.
Pulchra’s daze multipliers are quite low, even for an A-rank. Her basic attacks have high daze, and that increases further when the Hunter’s Gait passive is active. However, her special attack daze multiplier is lower even than basic Anby’s special attack. The idea is that Pulchra will perform her special five more times while another character is active, but the multipliers for her additional attacks are only slightly higher than her basic attack daze miltipliers. Even adding those additional hits, another character’s daze, and the Hunter’s Gait passive, you’re nowhere near the likes of what other stun agents can do. Still, it’s technically extra daze on top of what she can do with her regular special attack.
Pulchra is a useful source of additional damage, can help with anomaly buildup, and is reliable with basic attack daze damage, even if she doesn’t have a strong burst source of it. All this means she lands in the A-tier of our ZZZ tier list.
If you’re looking for other ZZZ characters to form a team for endgame trials, check out our up-to-date selection of Zenless Zone Zero codes for some free Polychrome.