Gloria & Zacian come as the first Galar sync pair and they take their place as a focused, high-damage Steel- and Fairy-type Striker. Their sync grid is also almost entirely optional, so if you’re pressed for Orbs, Zacian is still fully functional with minimal investment.
The best Gloria & Zacian Sync Grid Builds are Knightly Scuffle and Clean Slice. Options depend on if you want to use Play Rough or Behemoth Blade.
The two builds focus on either Play Rough or Behemoth Blade entirely, so switch between the two depending on what type of opponent you’re facing. Picking up some refresh tiles and the sync move tiles may be all you need if you sacrifice power boosts to the move power.
Even the two MP Refresh tiles and all of the passive skills are better off ignored because Zacian hits fast and finishes a fight before any of them would be worth the large energy requirements.
Knightly Scuffle (3/5): The Fairy-type Play Rough attack quickly takes down both the opponent’s health and Attack.
Clean Slice (3/5): A very simple build that only boosts Behemoth Blade’s power and its chances to regain bars on the move gauge.
Universal Upgrades
HP +10
Attack +15
Defense +5
Sp. Def +5
Speed +5
Glorious Behemoth Blade Power +50
Universal Recommended Lucky Skill:
Critical Strike 2, Power Flux 3
Because Zacian wants to focus on either Play Rough or Behemoth Blade, both builds only overlap by giving +50 power to its sync move, Glorious Behemoth Blade.
As always the lucky skill Critical Strike 2 is recommended for this Steel-type Striker. It will increase Zacian’s critical-hit damage, including it’s powerful sync move. Zacian will need allies to permanently increase its critical-hit rate because Laser Sharp Focus! only guarantees a critical hit on the next attack.
If you lack an ally that can help Zacian boost its critical-hit rate, Power Flux 3 is also a good option. It will increase move damage based on how full the move gauge is when you select the attack. With Zacian’s high Speed and ability to fill the move gauge, its an excellent option for increasing damage of Play Rough and Behemoth Blade, but it doesn’t affect its sync move.
Sync Grid Builds
Knightly Scuffle Build (Sync Level 3/5)
Total Sync Orb Cost: 750
Total Energy Used: 60
Unique Upgrades:
Speed +20
Play Rough Power +12
Play Rough Move Gauge Refresh 3
Play Rough On a Roll 2
Play Rough Superduper Effective 1
Sync Level 2:
– Glorious Behemoth Blade Power +50
+ Attack +5
+ Speed +10
+ Play Rough Power +3
Play Rough gains several skills and an additional +12 Power that help this Steel-type Pokémon be just as effective with its Fairy-type attack. Against opponents that are weak to Fairy-type, Superduper Effective 1 will increase the move’s damage further by 10%.
Play Rough Move Gauge Refresh 3 helps out by having a 40% chance of returning one bar to the move gauge after a successful attack. Zacian may be fast, but its allies might not be. The move has a 10% chance of lowering the opponent’s Attack stat by -1 each time. This is not a high chance, but On a Roll 2 increases the likelihood of it happening by adding on two additional chances. This means one Play Rough could result in between zero and three debuffs to the opponent’s Attack.
At Sync Level 2, Zacian misses out only on the +50 power to its sync move, which frees up energy to use for stats and additional power.
Clean Slice Build (Sync Level 3/5)
Total Sync Orb Cost: 750
Total Energy Used: 60
Unique Upgrades:
HP +10
Attack +10
Defense +5
Behemoth Blade Power +8
Behemoth Blade Move Gauge Refresh 2
Behemoth Blade Move Gauge Refresh 2
Sync Level 2:
– Behemoth Blade Power +4
– Behemoth Blade Move Gauge Refresh 2
– Glorious Behemoth Blade Power +50
+ Stat Upgrades / Orbs
It really couldn’t get simpler than this. Behemoth Blade gains +8 power and picks up two Move Gauge Refresh 2 tiles. Unlike Play Rough, there are no skills to improve the attack further. Picking up both refresh tiles will allow each successful attack to have the chance to regain zero, one, or two bars on the move gauge. At a cost of four bars, Zacian can be move-gauge hungry, despite its high Speed and other move-gauge boosting moves. Its allies will thank it for giving something back to them.
At Sync Level 2, it’s recommended to just save your Orbs and use them for another sync pair. If you’ve already committed them to Gloria & Zacian, you are able to get all stat upgrades except the one Defense +10 in Play Rough’s branch. There’s little on the grid that is actually helpful.