Yanagi Best Build Guide

Yanagi is an S-rank Electric Anomaly Agent, notorious for her ability to trigger a unique type of Disorder in the form of Polarity Disorder, as well as being able to function as both a quick in-and-out Anomaly Secondary DPS, but also a very strong on-field Primary Anomaly DPS given the right teammates. In other words, Yanagi is a character with many facets to her kit, mostly relying on Disorders to deal damage. Let’s tackle all of the elements of her kit one by one.

Basic Attack

Yanagi has two stances, which cause her to use different Basic Attacks. Called Jougen and Kagen, they are switched into each other freely by casting her Special or EX Special, or less commonly her Assist Follow-Up. These stances are indicated below her HP bar as well as by the color of her hair garment (blue and orange for Jougen and Kagen respectively) which are also indicative of the uptime on the following buffs: In the Jougen stance, she gains 10% Electric DMG Bonus; in Kagen stance, she gains 10% PEN Ratio. These effects linger for 8s after switching in between the stances, which encourages relatively frequent switching in between the stances to maximize the uptime on these buffs (ideally, you want both of them always active). In either stance, Yanagi’s anti-interruption level on her Basic Attacks will be increased.

Which Basic Attack string is used doesn’t really matter, so long as you ensure uptime on her buffs from switching in between the stances.

Special & EX Special

Yanagi’s regular Special allows her to switch in between the Jougen and Kagen stances at will. It has a unique property called Swift Ruten. Triggered upon using her Special after the 3rd, 4th or 5th hit of her Basic Attack, it allows her to immediately follow up with Basic Attack 3, blocks damage for a short period of time, and speeds up the animation. Ideally, we always want to make use of this attack to block damage and quickly switch stances all at once.

Yanagi’s EX Special consists of 2 parts. Yanagi enters the Shinrabanshou state for 15s after the first part, which allows her to start her Basic Attack string from the 3rd hit after the 5th hit of her Basic Attack.

This last property also applies to her Quick Assist, Assist Follow-Up, Dodge Counter, Chain Attack and Ultimate.

Provided the enemy is inflicted with an Anomaly, Yanagi’s EX Special and Ultimate also trigger a Polarity Disorder, one of her most important mechanics. It acts as a weaker form of Disorder dependent on the current Anomaly aura inflicted on the enemy. This does not get rid of the target’s current Anomaly gauge. It deals damage equal to 15% of the original Disorder DMG plus a portion of her Anomaly Proficiency depending on the skill level of the skill that triggered it. This allows Yanagi to be played as a Primary DPS in Mono Electric teams while still triggering Disorders.

Core Passive & Additional Ability

Via her Core Passive, when Yanagi uses her EX Special, the DMG multiplier of Disorder is increased by up to 250% for all Disorders triggered by all party members for 15s. If an EX Special hits an enemy, Yanagi will deal 20% more Electric DMG for 15s as well.

If her Additional Ability is activated, she gains 45% Electric Anomaly Buildup for 8s when hitting an enemy with a Basic Attack after switching stances. Make sure to activate this ability and exploit its buff at all times!

Ultimate & Chain Attack

While Yanagi’s Chain Attack functions exactly as you’d expect, her Ultimate can also trigger Polarity Disorder. Make sure that all of Yanagi’s self-buffs are active and the enemy has an Anomaly aura applied before using it to maximize its big damage and Anomaly application potential.

Unused/Redundant parts of her kit

Aside from the properties mentioned earlier, Yanagi’s Dodge and Assist-related moves all work as you’d expect them to — detailing them is unnecessary but they may occasionally come in handy in battle.

Meta Position & Conclusion

Yanagi is definitely one of the easier Agents to play and understand at a baseline. However, she has huge room for optimization in her kit, due to the many short-lasting buffs she can apply to herself which she wants to use on as many of her attacks as possible. Able to increase the Disorder DMG of teammates while also triggering her own Polarity Disorders and having big Electric Anomaly application, Yanagi sees use both as the Primary DPS and the Secondary DPS of Disorder-focused teams. 

Ever since the release of many Anomaly-related Agents that came after her, notably Miyabi in her Secondary role, allowing each other to benefit greatly from triggering a ton of Disorders, but also Vivian in Yanagi’s Primary DPS role and also Yuzuha in all instances as her best Support, Yanagi has seen a lot of new teammates play alongside her. Due to the nature of her kit being centred around dealing lots of damage while also contributing to a greater damage total when played with several Anomaly-class Agents, she finds herself capable of slotting on many different teams to varying degrees of success. In her best teams however, Yanagi is absolutely a force to be reckoned with, being one of the strongest Anomaly-class Agents in the game.

In conclusion, Yanagi is a character who can play in several teams at several levels of skill. While any player is able to easily adopt her core playstyle, the players willing to optimize the most will be satisfied with Yanagi’s skill ceiling, which is definitely highly rewarding. In any situation, however, Yanagi has an easy-to-understand playstyle and brings lots of Disorder damage to the table, making her one of the better Anomaly Agents in Zenless Zone Zero.