In Zenless Zone Zero (ZZZ)Astra Yao is a 5-star character who belongs to the Support type and uses the Ether attribute. In a team, she can act as a support, giving additional attack chains to allies, as well as increasing their attack power and crits. In this guide, you will learn about her best build, amplifiers and drive disks, as well as recommended squads with her and Banbu.
Main features of Astra Yao
How to get Astra Yao
In the first phase of version 1.5, the talented singer appeared in the banner, which increased the likelihood of her dropping. In the future, this actress can only be obtained using Signal Search. Unfortunately, HoYoverse only once held an event in which the reward was a 5-star fighter (Harumasa), so you will definitely not be able to get the performer for free.
Astra Yao Key Stats
| Rarity | Faction | Attribute | Speciality | Attack Type | Main Stats (lvl 60) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 stars |
Lyra Constellation |
Ether |
Support | Crushing | HP: Attack: Defense: Knowledge of anomaly: |
Astra Yao's abilities and their upgrade priority
You can read the information about the heroine's abilities in the game itself, so we decided to add it under the spoiler so as not to increase the size of the article. We also recommend that you study our guide to the combat system to better understand it.
Information will appear in the near future…
As for leveling up the heroine's talents, then the priority should be the inclinations and special attacks, as they allow you to increase the buffs given to allies. Next in importance are the attack chains, as the singer's super ability heals the team.
As soon as you maximize the specified abilities, you can move on to pumping basic attacks and assistance, which you will often use to gain decibels and energy. Pump evasions last, as you will have to use them quite rarely.
Mental picture of Astra Yao
To open it, you need to save up Agent Profiles, which are given out when you drop duplicates of the heroine, which, of course, is random. Considering the small chance of getting 5-star characters, you will need to spend a lot of time and money to unlock all the mentals. However, even without them, Astra Yao can easily perform the function of support.
The table below lists all the mentals, their descriptions and benefits for the heroine.
| Name | Bonus | Usefulness |
|---|---|---|
| Mentalka 3 | Basic attack, evasion, assist, special attack, chain attack level +2. Brings average benefit. | |
| Mentalka 5 | Basic attack, evasion, assist, special attack, chain attack level +2. Brings average benefit. | |
If you still decide to try your luck, you can stop at M1 and M2, …. If you have a choice between a starting mental weapon and a signature weapon, we advise you to take the second option, since there are simply no good alternatives to the signature weapon now.
How to play as Astra Yao
Basic mechanics
The singer's gameplay revolves around the state of “Perfect Cadence”, the presence of which can be determined by the twinkling stars located under the heroine's portrait. Let us remind you that it increases the overall and critical damage of the entire team. To enter this mode, you must perform one of the following actions:
- Superpower.
- Chain of attacks.
- Special attack – energy is not required in this case. The best option for quickly activating “Perfect Cadence”.
While Astra is in this state, incoming damage to her, although reduced by 40%, can still be dealt, so it is recommended to immediately switch to another hero, since the actress will remain on the field and continue to give buffs, but will become completely invulnerable to enemy attacks.
Let's add that for every 25 units of energy, Astra will have 1 star painted under her portrait, which is called Chord. If there is at least one such star, any attacks from allies will trigger Quick Aid. If you use it, the performer will spend 1 Accord (25 units of energy) and launch 1 additional attack “Tremolo” (an ethereal projectile will fall from the sky onto the enemy).
However, the main advantage of this effect is the activation of the main passive, which increases the attack power of Astra and the summoned ally, and by a very significant amount (maximum up to 1200 units). The duration of this buff is 20 seconds, but repeated activations can increase it to half a minute.
This bonus can be triggered not only by quick help, but also by defense help, evasion help, or chain attacks when spending 1 Chord. However, quick help is the most convenient option, considering that you can use it immediately after the heroine switches to “Perfect Cadence”.
Let's add that if you use defense/evasion help or chain attacks, then in addition to the additional attack “Tremolo”Astra will launch 3 more small projectiles with less damage. To achieve such a strike with quick help, you need to perform it according to timing, that is, press the button only after the special animation effect appears. In general, you should not bother with this, since even with the second passive, the damage will be relatively small.
Now you can create a preliminary rotation for the heroine, allowing you to provide the team with basic buffs:
- Start the battle with Astra's special attack (you can hold it down if you need to pull enemies) to transition it into “Perfect Cadence”, which will immediately give the entire squad an increase in overall and critical damage.
- In addition, Quick Aid will trigger, which should be activated immediately to switch to the damage dealer and spend 1 Accord (-25 energy units), which will deal additional damage and activate a bonus to attack power.
- Then Quick Aid will trigger again, which will allow you to strengthen the next hero. Now just switch between sub-DD and main-DD as soon as Quick Aid appears to deal the main damage to the enemy.
- This process will last for about half a minute, until Astra runs out of energy and the attack power buff wears off. However, even in this case, the bonuses to total and critical damage will continue to work, and Astra will still be in her invulnerable state – to get her out of it, you need to manually switch to the heroine.
Let's also add that Astra is able to pull enemies by holding down the basic attack button, however, the radius of the pull is not very large, so it will not work on enemies standing far from each other. You can also pull mobs by holding down a special attack, so use this if you need to pull mobs to one point before steps 1 and 2 in the above rotation.
This information should be enough for you to use the heroine's basic buffs, but if you want to fully utilize her potential, we advise you to study the information below related to obtaining additional attack chains.
Advanced Mechanics
Let's take a closer look at the superpower. As you know, its use also allows you to enter the state of “Perfect Cadence” and use Quick Aid, plus, it immediately restores health to the entire team. However, its main advantage is the ability to transform the next two acts of Quick Aid from other heroes into chains of attacks, that is, Astra's ally will be able to perform two chains of attacks even without the need to stun the enemy.
Let's remember that a chain of attacks not only allows you to inflict huge damage on enemies, but also generate a considerable amount of decibels, which will speed up the activation of your allies' superpowers. Of course, you want your main damage dealer to perform all these additional attacks. This is quite possible, and now we will tell you exactly how to achieve this:
- First, stun the enemy, then use Astra's superpower and perform regular chains of attacks. Make sure that the last character in them is not your main DD.
- Then the quick help will work (which will transform into a chain), and you will be able to switch to the main damage dealer.
- Continue attacking the enemy with your main DD and do not use the quick help that appears under any circumstances. Only when it disappears, change your character and wait for another quick help to appear – at this moment, use it to switch back to the main damage dealer and use another chain of attacks for him.
You can use this mechanic depending on the situation, that is, when Astra has accumulated a sufficient number of decibels. However, if you want, you can speed up this process by exiting the “Perfect Cadence” state (hold down the Dash button) and using Dodge Assist, which will generate 312 decibels for you. Then you can also hold down the Basic Attack button to get another 55 decibels.
Finally, we note that if Astra is suddenly left alone on the battlefield and has no one to spend energy on, then hold down the Basic Attack button to exit “Perfect Cadence”, spend energy, fire two volleys of projectiles and give yourself a bonus to attack power.
Astra Yao's Advantages and Disadvantages
With her unique abilities, the talented singer can bring great benefit to the team, significantly strengthening her allies. Her advantages also include:
- She is a universal and extremely useful support that will fit into almost any squad with an Attack or/and Anomaly character, and she will remain relevant for a long time with the introduction of new damage dealers.
- Her buffs (increased overall damage, attack power, and critical damage) affect the entire squad at once, and not just one character.
- Can provide bonuses to overall and critical damage almost infinitely without any additional actions, while on the battlefield and not taking damage.
- Can heal the entire team with her super ability (at the time of patch 1.5, she is the only healer in the game).
- Relatively easy to master, since the basic combo consists of easy-to-learn actions, so it is suitable for beginners.
- The ult allows you to turn quick assists into chains of attacks, which can significantly increase the damage of the damager if you use this effect correctly.
- Easy to build, since, in fact, Astra only needs to increase one stat – attack power, which will determine one of her buffs.
However, Astra cannot be called an ideal character, as she also has her downsides:
- The critical damage bonus is not very useful for Anomaly characters, so Astra is still better suited for Attack damage dealers.
- The ultimate ability provides a lot of useful buffs, but Astra may have problems with decibel accumulation, since she will be inactive most of the time, and her ethereal projectiles do not provide decibel points. For this reason, to speed up their accumulation, you will have to use the singer more actively on the battlefield, sometimes taking her out of the Perfect Cadence state and taking time from the main DD.
- Astra spends energy quite quickly, so you may need to pay a lot of attention to speeding up its recovery.
The best build for Astra Yao
The best amplifiers
We recommend choosing a weapon that can increase energy recovery and attack power, as well as provide additional buffs for allies. The table below shows the most interesting options.
| Name | Stats | Ability and Utility |
|---|---|---|
A Stylish Thing | Base Attack: 713 Attack Power: 30% | When any team member is brought to the battlefield by a Quick Assist, Chain Attack, Dodge Assist, or Defense, the wearer gains 5 Energy. This effect can occur once every 5 seconds. When the wearer spends 25 or more Energy, the damage dealt by all team members increases by 10%. The bonus stacks up to 2 times and lasts for 15 seconds. Repeated activations extend the duration of the buff. Similar effects do not stack. A signature weapon for Astra that significantly increases her attack power, and therefore the buff, gives her the energy she needs, which makes it easier to accumulate Accords and gives another bonus to the whole team. If you choose between M1 and a signature weapon, we recommend taking the second option, as it will bring more benefits. |
Cradle of Lamentation | Base attack: 46-684 Penetration chance: 9.6-24% | An agent with this item restores energy 0.6-1.2 units/sec faster. When an agent with this item hits an enemy, all squad members deal 10-20% more damage to that target for 3 sec. While the effect is active, its value is additionally increased by 1.7-3.3% every 0.5 sec. The maximum additional increase is 10.2-19.8%. Re-triggering the effect refreshes the duration of the effect itself, but not the increase in its damage. Identical passive effects do not stack. A good alternative to the previous option. Although the penetration chance is generally useless for Astra, she will find energy restoration useful, which will make it easier to gain Chords. Plus, you will get an additional buff that works best when fighting strong single enemies. |
Boom Cannon | Base Attack: 42-624 Energy Recovery: 20-50% | When an attack by an ally in a squad (agent or other creature) hits an enemy, the attack power of the entire squad increases by 2.5-4%, the effect stacks up to lvl 4, lasts 8 sec. The duration of each level of the effect is calculated separately. Each ally gives only lvl 1. positive effect. Identical passive effects do not stack. Solves the energy problem for Astra and gives a nice buff to attack power up to 16%, and it lasts quite a long time compared to other 4-star boosters. |
Treasure Chest | Base attack: 42-624 Energy recovery: 20-50% | When an agent with this item deals Ethereal damage with their empowered Special Attack, Chain Attack, or Super, all squad members deal 15-24% more damage to the target. The agent with this item gains 0.5-0.8 Energy/sec for 2 sec. Duplicate passive effects do not stack. Also solves the problem with Astra's energy accumulation and gives a good buff to single-target damage. But you'll have to use the enhanced special attack more often, and the buff itself doesn't last very long. |
A frame for memory | Base attack: 40-594 Penetration chance: 8-20% | Activating a counterattack after an evasion, enhanced special attack, attack assist, or chain attack provides an additional 20-55 decibels and restores 0.7-1.1 energy to the agent with this item. Triggers once every 12 sec. Cooldowns for different attack types are calculated separately. Identical passive effects do not stack. Will help Astra get more decibels, which will allow her to activate her super more often, and, therefore, heal the team and provide the damager with additional attack chains. In addition, this weapon will partially solve the energy problem. But the singer practically doesn't need a chance to penetrate. |
A shy monster | Base attack: 42-624 Attack power: 10-25% | When launching a Enhanced Special Attack, the attack power of all party members increases by 2-3.2%. The effect stacks up to 4 times and lasts for 12 sec. Repeated launches reset the duration. Identical passive effects do not stack. Gives a huge boost to Astra's attack power, which increases her buff, but to get it, you will have to use the Enhanced Special Attack more often. In addition, you will have to collect energy recovery from drive discs. |
Best Drive Discs
As with weapons, we recommend choosing options that increase attack power and energy recovery, as well as provide additional bonuses to the team. The table below shows the best kit options for this heroine.
| Name | Bonuses | Advantages |
|---|---|---|
Astral Voice | 2 pieces: Increases attack power by 10%. 4 pieces: When any team member is on the battlefield with Quick Assist, the entire party gains 1 level of the Astra effect (up to a maximum of 3) for 15 seconds. Repeated activations refresh the duration. Each level of the status increases the damage dealt by the hero who performed the Quick Assist by 8%. Only one effect can be active for the team at a time. | The best set for Astra, which perfectly adapts to her rotation. It gives her the attack power she needs and buffs the main damage dealer summoned by quick help. We recommend combining it with Swing Jazz (2 parts; when lacking energy) or Hormon Punk (2 parts). |
Swing Jazz | 2 pieces: Increases energy regeneration by 20%. 4 pieces: After activating a chain attack or super ability, all team members deal 15% more damage for 12 seconds. Duplicate passive effects do not stack. | Provides the necessary energy and allows the damage dealer to deal much more damage during the triple attack chain we described above. However, in terms of overall efficiency, this set is still inferior to the previous one, so it can only be used as a temporary option. We recommend combining it with Hormon Punk (2 parts) or Freedom Blues (2 parts; if you use Astra in Anomaly teams). |
As for the main characteristics of drive disks, your choice should look like this:
- IV sector: attack power%.
- V sector: attack power%.
- VI sector: attack power% (or energy recovery, if there is a shortage).
- Substats: attack power% > anomaly knowledge > penetration chance > attack power
If we talk about the recommended values of Astra parameters, they should look something like this:
- Attack: 3000-3400+ units
- Health: 10000+
- Defense: 800+
- Anomaly knowledge: 140-190 units (optional)
Best commands for Astra Yao
F2P commands
| Main DD | Sub DD | Support | Banbu |
|---|---|---|---|
Korin |
Enby |
Astra |
Sumobu (Packet) |
Billy |
Astra |
Nicole |
Velzebu (Rezonaboo, Avocabu, Amillion) |
Anton |
Enby |
Astra |
Shtekerbu (Electrobu) |
All three damage dealers (Billy, Corin, and Anton) will benefit greatly from Astra's buffs, which will have a positive effect on their damage. Enbi will help with stunning enemies to activate attack chains, and Nicole will allow you to buff your main DD even more. However, these teams may no longer be enough to clear late-game modes.
Teams through Assault
| Main DD | Sub DD | Support | Banbu |
|---|---|---|---|
Evelyn |
Lightyear (Caesar) |
Astra |
Clicker (Knight, Rocketboo, Plaksaboo) |
Zhu Yuan |
Qingyi (Nicole) |
Astra |
Officer Tsui (Knight, Barobu, Rezonab) |
Ellen |
Lycaon |
Astra |
Akulabu (Majordomo, Penguin, Knight) |
Soldier 11 |
Lightyear (Kolyada) |
Astra |
Rocketaboo (Crybab, Knight) |
Harumasa |
Qingyi (Enbi) |
Astra |
Shtekerbu (Electrobu, Knight) |
Classic squads with hypercarry, in which the main damage dealer will be able to significantly increase his damage thanks to the buffs from Astra. Sub-DD is needed to quickly stun enemies, so that the main DD can then deal significant damage to them with a triple chain of attacks.
Team through Anomaly
| Main-DD | Sub-DD | Support | Banbu |
|---|---|---|---|
Miyabi |
Yanagi |
Astra |
Agent Gulliver (Magnetobu, Rytsarbu) |
Miyabi |
Nicole |
Astra |
Rezonaboo (Velzebu) |
Yanagi |
Rina |
Astra |
Shtekerbu (Electrobu, Knight) |
Jane |
Bernice |
Astra |
Zlobnobu (Magnetobu) |
All the teams presented here play through Chaos. However, Miyabi will benefit more from Astra's buffs than other main DDs, since critical damage is also important to her. Otherwise, the rotations in these squads will not change in any way with the addition of the singer, since her main task will still be to provide all sorts of bonuses to the main DD.
Pumping Astra Yao
The table below shows the materials needed to increase the level, skills and inclinations of the heroine, as well as their total amount.
| Leveling up | Inclining up skills | Inclining up inclinations |
|---|---|---|
Denny x800000
Entry-level support tokens x4
Top-level support tokens x32
Ruler Tokens x30 |
Denny x500000
Basic ether chips x5
Advanced x15 Ethereum Chips
Specialized x50 Ethereum Chips
Pass to the “Hamster Cage” x1 |
Denny x400000 |
This concludes the guide to the best build for Astra Yao in ZZZ. We hope that this information will help you choose the best amplifiers, drive disks, banba and commands for the heroine.
