Zhuang Fangyi is the star of the new 1.2 update of Arknights: Endfield (official title: “At the Wake of the Spring”). Introduced as the main banner on April 17, the new 6-star Electro character is the viceroy of the city of Wuling, the second major region to be unveiled in the game after the initial Valley IV.
We’ll get to the detailed tidbits in a moment, but we can tell you this right out of the gate: Zhuang Fangyi has massive DPS potential. However, some noticeable drawbacks require proper attention before committing to pulling and fully leveling her.
That said, read on to find out how to properly build Zhuang Fangyi and ensure her potential is fully realized in your party.
Overview and Core Attributes
Zhuang Fangyi is what is known in the gacha genre as a “hypercarry,” meaning your party composition should be largely dictated by how the rest of the team enhances her abilities.
In her case, this revolves heavily around maintaining uptime on her Battle Skill and Ultimate, which depend on either inflicting or consuming Electro-based stacking debuffs to deal massive damage. However, unlike the Endministrator, she is not a “combo starter,” as her basic attacks are fairly standard.
Her main attributes, and the ones you should prioritize, are Will (primary) and Intellect (secondary), both of which scale her elemental and ultimate damage. Speaking of which, her key abilities are:
- Mantra of Sundering (Battle Skill): Her primary source of damage. Leveling this skill directly increases the multipliers for her Thunder Strikes and should be your top priority.
- Smiting Tempest (Ultimate): Enhances her “Empyrean of Truth” state, doubling Battle Skill multipliers and drastically reducing Combo Skill cooldown.
- Breath of Transformation (Combo Skill): Important for maintaining her rotation, but contributes less damage overall. Leveling it helps improve synergy with teammates.
- Jolting Arts (Basic Attack): Mainly used to reach a Finisher and trigger her Combo. Lowest priority for upgrades.
Do bear in mind that her Electro-based kit is a bit of a double-edged sword, as she relies heavily on debuffs applied by other characters. Most guides pair her with Perlica almost mandatorily due to their shared Electro synergy. That said, Zhuang Fangyi does have solid defenses, so team compositions should lean more toward support than tanking.
Best Weapons for Zhuang Fangyi
As an Arts Unit user, Zhuang Fangyi scales primarily with Will and Intellect.
- Lone Barge (6-star Signature Weapon): The definitive Best-in-Slot option. It provides massive Will and ATK% bonuses and grants up to 128% Battle Skill Electric DMG through its passive when consuming reactions and using her Ultimate.
- Flickers in the Mist (6-star Battle Pass Weapon): The best alternative. It offers consistent Electric DMG buffs thanks to Zhuang Fangyi’s ability to reliably trigger Electric Amp.
- Oblivion (6-star): A secondary option. While it scales with Intellect instead of Will, its passive grants a strong Arts DMG boost after using an Ultimate or Combo Skill.
- Monaihe (5-star F2P): The best budget option. It provides 37.1% Ultimate Gain Efficiency, effectively reducing her high Ultimate cost to around 176 energy.
Managing energy is critical for Zhuang Fangyi, as her Ultimate has a very high cost (240 energy). Weapons that improve energy generation or efficiency are key to maintaining her rotation.y cost to activate her Ultimate, for instance). So units that allow for quick, consistent maintenance will be key for her optimal use.
Best Gear Sets and Stat Priority
Zhuang Fangyi’s gear options are largely tied to the new resources introduced in the 1.2 update. Fortunately, they are relatively easy to farm, so assembling her equipment should not be too difficult.
- Endgame Set: Xiranflow. Tailor-made for her kit, providing a 10% ATK boost and up to 45% Electric DMG bonus that stacks as she consumes Electrification.
- Alternative Set: Eternal Xiranite. A strong mid-game option that offers Will, Intellect, and Ultimate Gain Efficiency to help manage her energy needs.
- Optimal Stats: Prioritize Will, followed by Electric DMG, ATK%, and Intellect.
- Min-Max Option: Some builds recommend using the LYNX Slab as an off-piece to trade some skill-specific damage for higher overall stats.
All of these are viable, but ideally, you’ll want to transition into the Xiranflow set, as its bonuses are not only strong but also stack effectively with debuffs applied by teammates. of these options are solid choices, although, obviously, you’ll want to grow Zhuang Fangyi into the Xiranflow set, as the percentages she gets as buffs are not just solid, but also stackable when combined with applied debuffs from other characters.
Recommended Team Compositions
Zhuang Fangyi’s team-building is fairly strict, as she requires specific enablers to maintain her “Sunderblade loop” outside of her Ultimate.
- Core Duo (Essential):
Perlica is crucial for applying Electric Infliction, which allows Zhuang Fangyi to trigger her Combo Skill and generate Electrification. Arclight complements this by acting as a battery, providing SP and Energy to fuel her expensive Ultimate while also contributing fast basic attacks. - Premium Flex (Sustain/Arts Buffs):
Gilberta is the preferred fourth slot, offering Arts susceptibility debuffs and reliable healing for extended fights. - Offensive Flex (Maximum Damage):
Antal provides additional Electric buffs and susceptibility, while Alesh (at Potential 3) can deliver significant ATK% boosts.
Among these, Antal is the easiest to obtain as a 4-star unit and appears frequently in pulls, though he is also the weakest. Perlica is readily available through the main story early on, making her essentially guaranteed. Arclight, as a 5-star, is easier to obtain through multi-pulls.
The biggest hurdle is Gilberta. Like Zhuang Fangyi, she is a limited 6-star unit. Fortunately, the 1.2 update includes a multi-banner rerun featuring her and other characters, expected around May 4.her back, alongside other characters, in case you missed them the first time. Look for her by May 4th.
Final Thoughts
As the main highlight of the “At the Wake of the Spring” update, Zhuang Fangyi feels like a direct response to long-standing community demand. Arknights: Endfield had been lacking a true 6-star Electric powerhouse, and Wuling’s viceroy fills that role convincingly.
While she does require a solid understanding of the game’s mechanics to maximize her effectiveness, the payoff is undeniable. Zhuang Fangyi combines strong single-target damage with wide-reaching AoE and crowd control, making her a versatile and highly impactful unit.
A good example of her value is the Triaggelos boss fight (available via the RE:Crisis menu). Its mechanic of becoming temporarily invincible while summoning multiple enemies can drag fights out significantly. Having a unit capable of clearing large groups efficiently makes a noticeable difference, something I learned the hard way while running a more single-target-focused team.
Arknights: Endfield is available as a free-to-play game on PlayStation 5, Windows, iOS, and Android, with optional microtransactions.
