Liu Zhigang Build Guide – Solo Leveling: ARISE Best Artifacts, Team & Rotation
Liu Zhigang, China's 7-Star National Level Hunter, is an SSR Fire Elemental Buster in Solo Leveling: ARISE and the game's first Buster. This guide covers how his Dragon Soul and Burst mechanics work, his best artifacts and stats, the team he needs, his skill rotation, and which advancements are worth chasing.
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Quick answer
Build Liu Zhigang with the Surtur's Flame artifact set and Attack-based stats (Attack, Crit Rate, Crit Damage, Defense Penetration). Run him with Christopher Reed to trigger Overload, open with his Ultimate, spend each enhanced skill once, then cash out with his Burst skill. A1 is a must; A5 is the big damage spike.
01Who Is Liu Zhigang in Solo Leveling?
In the Solo Leveling story, Liu Zhigang is China's strongest Hunter and one of the five National Level Hunters — known as China's 7-Star Hunter. Before Sung Jinwoo's rise, he was considered the most powerful Hunter in Asia and one of the strongest in the world. Anime fans met him in the Season 2 finale, where he wipes out a swarm of ants single-handedly.
Solo Leveling: ARISE brought him in as a playable SSR Hunter with the June 4, 2026 update, along with an original Hunter Origin story that explores his life before he awakened.
02Liu Zhigang in Solo Leveling: ARISE at a Glance
Rarity
SSR
Element
Fire
Class
Elemental Buster
Weapons
Sword & Dao
Liu Zhigang is the game's first Buster. Busters store up damage while an enemy is in Overload, then release it in one Burst skill once Overload ends. His damage also grows with each Overload cycle, so he gets stronger the longer a boss fight goes on.
Strengths
- Very high Fire burst ceiling
- Damage ramps up in long boss fights
- Simple core loop once you learn it
Weaknesses
- Needs a Stacker (Christopher Reed) to trigger Overload
- Low team flexibility outside Fire
- Weaker in short fights before he ramps up
03How Liu Zhigang Works: Dragon Soul & Burst
His whole kit revolves around one transformation, Dragon Soul:
Use Basic Skill 1 or Basic Skill 2, then cast his Ultimate Fire Dragon Ascension for the first time to enter Dragon Soul (30 seconds).
During Dragon Soul, his Core Attack and both Basic Skills turn into enhanced versions. Each enhanced skill can be used once, in any order.
While the target is in Fire Overload, his damage is stored. When Overload ends, his Buster-exclusive Burst skill Veiled Intent releases it as one big hit.
Dragon Soul ends when he tags out or uses Veiled Intent — so spend all three enhanced skills before you cash out.
04Liu Zhigang Skills Breakdown
Basic Attack & Core Attack
Basic Skills & Support Skill
Basic Skill 1: Hidden Dragon
Sweeping sword-and-dao swings. 1796–2694% ATK · 8s cooldown · 150–198 MP. Inflicts Airborne.
Dragon Soul: Awakened Dragon
Basic Skill 2: Skyborne Dragon
Rising slash into a crushing downward strike. 1820–2730% ATK · 12s cooldown · 200–264 MP. First hit Airborne, final hit Knock Down.
Dragon Soul: Windborne Dragon
Support Skill: Beacon of Salvation
Powerful rising slash when tagged in. 1360–2795.56% ATK · 25s cooldown. Inflicts Airborne.
QTE, Burst & Ultimate Skills
05Best Skill Rotation & Skill Priority
Combat Rotation
Let Christopher Reed push the boss into Fire Overload.
Swap to Liu and open with Fire Dragon Ascension to enter Dragon Soul.
Spend Basic Skill 2 → Core Attack → Basic Skill 1 (enhanced versions) while Overload stores the damage.
When Overload ends, fire Veiled Intent for the payoff, then swap back to Reed and repeat.
Skill Level-Up Order
06Best Liu Zhigang Artifacts, Cores & Stats
Artifact Set: Surtur's Flame
Surtur's Flame is the Buster set released alongside Liu Zhigang, covering all 8 armor and accessory slots. It boosts Buster skill damage and damage against Overloaded enemies — exactly where Liu deals his damage — so it is his best-in-slot choice over generic DPS sets.
Stat Priority
Attack — all his skills scale off Attack.
Crit Rate and Crit Damage — the stored burst is only as big as the hits that feed it.
Defense Penetration — high-end players report it as the stat Liu runs short on against tanky bosses.
For Cores, stick to Attack-based options for the same reason.
07Best Liu Zhigang Team
Liu can't create Overload on his own, so his team is built around a Fire Stacker that can:
Not sure who to invest in for the flex slot? Check our Solo Leveling: ARISE tier list.
08Which Advancements Matter? (A1, A3, A5)
A1 · Must-have
Enters his transformation on tag-in and after each Burst, refreshes his enhanced skills, lets enhanced skills cut his Ultimate cooldown, and adds Scorch stacks for up to 50% more damage.
A3 · Optional
Extra Crit Damage against Scorched enemies plus survivability (less damage taken, HP and MP recovery) while transformed. Nice, but not a big jump.
A5 · Big spike
Stronger Attack and Defense Penetration buffs, more Ultimate and Burst damage, a new buff that raises Crit Rate and skill damage, and no cooldown on his regular Basic Skills while buffed.
09Is Liu Zhigang Worth Pulling?
Pull if you…
- Already own Christopher Reed
- Want a top Fire damage dealer for long boss fights
- Can reach at least A1
Skip if you…
- Have no Fire Stacker to trigger Overload
- Are saving for the 2.5th Anniversary Hunters
- Mostly play short content where he can't ramp up
Liu Zhigang has a very high ceiling, but he pays off best as part of a full Fire team with real copies behind him. Plan your Essence Stones and Draw Tickets before his banner reruns — grab every free pull from the latest redeem codes first.
Short on pulls for Liu Zhigang's A1 or A5?
Top up Solo Leveling: ARISE Diamonds, the Hunter Pass and Double Up packs on KeyGold — below in-game store prices, on mobile and PC, with Double Up bonuses kept.
Top Up Solo Leveling: ARISE