GamePress

Champion Zerato

Submit Feedback or Error
Rarity
Element
Dark
Class
Mage
Zodiac
Aries
Max CP16702
An arrogant and impudent supremacist who only cares about strength
Rival
Dingo
Rival
Rival
Dominiel
Rival
Sven
Incredibly skilled in fighting, Champion Zerato boasts a flawless win streak, largely thanks to his refusal to fight anyone he may be at risk of losing to. Frost Mage Zerato has been trying to pick a fight with him for a long time, but Champion Zerato keeps making excuses to avoid it.

Table of Contents

Hero Stats

Hero CP: 16702
HP 4733
ATK 1159
SPD 99
DEF 627
Crit Hit Chance Crit Hit DMG Dual Atk Chance
27.00% 150.00% 5.00%
Effectiveness Effect Resist
18.00% 0.00%
Imprint Release

+Attack %
SSS : +8.4% SS : +7.2% S : +6% A : +4.8% B : +3.6% C : +2.4%
Imprint Concentration

+Effectiveness %
SSS : +22.8% SS : +20.4% S : +17% A : +13.6% B : +10.2% C : +6.8%
*Red tiles mark the effective area of a Devotion Skill.

Builds

"No u"

This build revolves around a mix of Soul Weavers with the Idol's Cheer Artifact and a Knight wielding Aurius. Any variation of this build will require at least one Soul Weaver to keep Champion Zerato alive. The more Soul Weavers holding Idol’s Cheer, the faster Champion Zerato will become.

Champion Zerato’s role for this setup is simple: constant counterplay with his passive to wear the enemy team down. Kal'adra is probably his best Artifact for raw damage, since it works so well with his debuff-focused playstyle, but since Champion Zerato is usually in it for the long haul, there are other Artifacts that can help him get to the finish line:

  • Sira-Ren or Etica's Scepter can be effective for long fights. Sira-Ren adds even more debuffs whenever he attacks, while Etica's Scepter helps him use his S3 more often and thus spam more Defense Break.
  • Iela Violin is great for removing Immunity (or any other debuffs the enemy might try to give themselves).
  • Abyssal Crown has a low activation chance, but gives Champion Zerato the ability to spam Stun lockdown on multiple targets per turn, especially while countering.

Unlike most Mages in PvP, it's not a great idea to give Champion Zerato your Tagehel's Ancient Book. Champion Zerato pretty much demands to be the focal point of a team composition, so he wants an Artifact that helps him do more damage or cause more lockdown, rather than holding the Soulburn Artifact that only helps at the very start of a fight. (Of course, he loves it if somebody else can hold Tagehel's for him. Any volunteers?)

Equipment

Main
Atk %
HP %
Sub
HP %
Atk %
CritC %
CritD %
Set
Counter
Critical

Artifact

Upgrade Priority

Early Mid Late
0 0 +6
+3 +3 +3
+4 +4 +4

Team

Core

Champion Zerato has incredible synergy with most Soul Weavers and Knights (as long as they don’t pack team-wide debuff Immunity -- no Angelica or Desert Jewel Basar, please!) His kit relies on a second turn counter-play, meaning the enemy will usually attack before he does. As such, this setup requires heavy support so Champion Zerato can be bulky enough to absorb the incoming damage and then retaliate at full power.

  • Ruele of Light and Destina are prime examples of Soul Weavers that can sustain Champion Zerato for long fights without interfering with his debuff play too hard. Heroes like Ruele, Maid Chloe, and Shooting Star Achates can also revive Champion Zerato in case he dies, giving you an insurance policy when the whole team revolves around him.
  • Fallen Cecilia and Troublemaker Crozet are great examples of Knights that can keep Champion Zerato bulky enough to absorb damage and retaliate.

PvE Cheese

This is a standard Lifesteal build. Champion Zerato’s role in PvE is to constantly counter bosses and sustain himself until they die. Since Raid bosses inflict many different debuffs, Champion Zerato will be able to constantly counter and transfer them all back at the bosses.

  • The Lifesteal set is here for sustainability, complementing his default heal on his S1.
  • Critical Chance is important for maximizing damage output and therefore lifesteal. 
  • You will need a decent amount of HP to survive the damage as well, as Champion Zerato’s heals scale from his HP. It is therefore more important to have a large stock of HP than to have extra DEF.

Equipment

Main
Atk %
Sub
CritC %
Set
Lifesteal
Critical

Artifact

Upgrade Priority

Early Mid Late
0 0 +6
+3 +3 +3
+4 +4 +4

Team

Core

Champion Zerato can actually solo both Hell Raid and Azimanak 11 with this build on auto. An Idol’s Cheer support, an Attack buffer, or a dedicated Defense Breaker can help to speed up the process.

Table of Contents

Analysis

Overview

Champion Zerato is the ideal solution to the oversaturated Dizzy population in the PvP Defense meta. His S2 passive has a unique effect: if Champion Zerato takes damage while being debuffed or after he has been debuffed, he counterattacks with his S1. This is bad news for the enemy, because his S1 transfers up to two debuffs from Champion Zerato to his targets and also heals the user as a bonus. With the appropriate team support, Champion Zerato can be a much-needed hard counter to debuff-centric teams.

Strengths

Counterplay Mechanic 

Anytime Champion Zerato is struck with a debuff, he has a 100% chance to retaliate at the attacker and one additional enemy with his S1. His S1 will remove up to two of his debuffs and transfers it to the enemies. This mechanic is the key factor that makes Champion Zerato so valuable in PvP. (It’s important to note that, should the debuff transfer fail on both his targets, he will retain the debuffs.)

Immune to Stun, Sleep, and Decrease Hit Chance

The bread and butter of his kit. With his recent buff, Champion Zerato is now immune to decreased Hit chance, allowing him to always retaliate reliably with his S1. This turned him into a solid check against Dizzy and other debuff-heavy comps. He’s also strong in Hell Raid and other debuff-heavy content (and has excellent Morale values in the bargain).

Built-in Durability

In addition to turning debuffs into ammunition, Champion Zerato's kit is built for endurance. His S1 (you know, the move he's always counterattacking with) heals him every time it is used, and his S3 buffs his Defense for 2 turns when used. Combined with the fact that he's constantly debuffing enemies, Champion Zerato is deceptively hard to take down.

"Ignore Effect Resistance" Soulburn

Champion Zerato is currently the only hero in Epic Seven who has access to an AOE Defense Break paired with an "ignore effect resistance" Soulburn. This means his S3 can bypass even the heaviest Effect Resistance stackers with minimal investment as long as you have Souls to burn on it. (Immunity is still a problem, though.)

Weaknesses

Needs Enemy Debuffs

His S2 relies heavily on opponents inflicting debuffs for his counterplay to function. When facing raw DPS or healing heroes who do not cause debuffs (i.e., Blood Blade Karin, Vildred, Ruele of Light, or Destina), Champion Zerato is simply a lackluster bruiser with subpar survival and an AOE Defense Break.

Countered by Immunity

Champion Zerato's debuff-centric gameplay can be completely walled off by AOE Immunity buffs (i.e., Angelica, Vivian, and DJ Basar) or Immunity gear sets. He needs a buff stripper like Basar or Hurado to do his job reliably.

Demands Team Support

Ironically (considering his personality), Champion Zerato requires heavy support from his teammates to win battles. Despite his sustain and survivability, Champion Zerato is no tank, so he needs help protecting himself from burst damage and huge AOE cleaves (especially ones without debuffs). Similarly, while his DPS can be high when he's dishing out counterattacks and striking Defense-Broken opponents, his actual damage output isn't that great. He appreciates some extra help from his allies to get the job done.

Table of Contents

Skills

0 Turns
+1 Souls
Attacks two enemies including the target with an earthen blast, transferring two debuffs from the caster to the enemy and recovering the caster's Health. Amount recovered increases proportional to the caster's max Health.
Skill Enhance
Effects and Multipliers
Skill 2: Iron Will
0 Turns
+0 Souls
Passive
Immune to stun, sleep, and Decrease Hit Chance. Has a 80% chance to counterattack when the caster is debuffed after being attacked.
Skill Enhance
Effects and Multipliers
Skill 3: Cataclysm
5 Turns
+3 Souls
Attacks all enemies by slamming rocks, with a 60% chance each to decrease Defense and Attack for 1 turn. Increases Defense of the caster for 2 turns.
Skill Enhance
Effects and Multipliers

Awakening

Lvl
Effectiveness +6% Attack +20 / Health +60

Dark Rune
x8
Lvl
Critical Hit Chance +4% Attack +20 / Health +60

Dark Rune
x12

Greater Dark Rune
x2
Lvl
Attack +6% Attack +30 / Health +80

Greater Dark Rune
x8

Epic Dark Rune
x1
Lvl
Effectiveness +12% Attack +30 / Health +80

Epic Dark Rune
x5

Blessing of Orbis
x12
Lvl
Critical Hit Chance +8% Attack +30 / Health +80

Epic Dark Rune
x8

Nightmare Mask
x8
Cataclysm
Attacks all enemies by slamming rocks, with a 60% chance each to decrease Defense and Attack for 1 turn. Increases Defense of the caster for 2 turns.
Ability Upgrade
Attacks all enemies by slamming rocks, with a 60% chance each to decrease Defense and Attack for 2 turns. Increases Defense of the caster for 2 turns.
Stat Increase
Attack +20 / Health +60

Dark Rune
x17

Greater Dark Rune
x8

Campsite Stats

Campsite Topic

Heroic Tale
Self-Indulgent