Best Lycaon Zenless Zone Zero build: W-Engine, Drive Disc, team comp & more

While Lycaon is a formidable asset in Zenless Zone Zero, learning his best W-Engine, Drive Disc, and team comp will allow you to make the most out of him.

Following its release on July 4, the first Zenless Zone Zero limited banner will headline the S-rank Ice unit Ellen until July 23. The featured A-rank characters alongside Ellen are Anton Ivanov and Soukaku.

In addition to Ellen, Lycaon is another powerful S-rank agent who can stun enemies and decrease their Ice RES.

If you’re hoping to add Lycaon to your team, we have a complete overview of his best W-Engines, Drive Discs, and more below.

Best Lycaon build in Zenless Zone Zero

W-Engine	Drive Disc	Stat Preference	Team Comp
The Restrained	Shockstar Disco (4-pc) Swing Jazz (2-pc)	Slot 4: Crit Rate or Crit DMG Slot 5: Ice DMG Slot 6: Impact Substats: Crit Rate, Crit DMG, Impact, Energy Regen	Ellen, Lycaon, Soukaku

While this is a summary of Lycaon’s build if you are interested in learning more about the individual components of the setup, the following sections have the necessary in-depth guidelines.

Best W-Engines for Lycaon

The Restrained

The best W-Engine for Lycaon is the S-rank The Restrained. The W-Engine is specific to characters with the Stun Specialty, increasing their Impact percentage. When an enemy is hit by an attack, DMG and Daze from Basic Attacks increase by 6% for eight seconds, stacking up to five times.

Six Shooter

An A-rank alternative W-Engine for Lycaon is Six Shooter. Like The Restrained, this raises Lycaon’s Impact percentage to benefit Stun characters.

With this W-Engine, Lycaon gains 1 Charge stack every 3s, stacking up to 6 times. When launching an EX Special Attack, consumes all Charge stacks and each stack consumed increases the skill’s Daze inflicted by 4%

Best Drive Discs for Lycaon

The best Drive Disc for Lycaon in Zenless Zone Zero is Shockstar Disco. The set bonus for this Drive Disc is as follows:

Drive Disc	Set Bonus
Shockstar Disco	2-piece: Increases Impact by 6%. 4-piece: Basic Attacks, Dash Attacks, Dodge Counter, Special Attacks, and EX Special Attacks inflict 15% more Daze upon the main target.

In addition to Shockstar Disco, you can use Swing Jazz for the final two spots. The set bonus for this Drive Disc is as follows:

Set Piece	Set Bonus
Swing Jazz	2-piece: Energy Regen increases by 20%.

With this Drive Disc combination, Lycaon can make use of the Daze effect and recover energy more quickly to dish out EX Special Attacks more often.

Lycaon Promotion and skill-enhancement materials

Promotion

You will need to gather Basic Stun Certification Seal, Advanced Stun Certification Seal, and Buster Certification Seal for Lycaon. Here is the exact number of required materials:

• x4 Basic Stun Certification Seal
• x32 Advanced Stun Certification Seal
• x30 Buster Certification Seal
• 800,000 Dennies

Skill Enhancement materials

Lycaon in Zenless Zone Zero needs Basic Freeze Chip, Advanced Freeze Chip, Specialized Freeze Chip, Hamster Cage Pass, Finale Dance Shoes, and Higher Dimensional Data: Ethereal Pursuit. The exact number of required materials is below:

• Hamster Cage Pass x5
• Finale Dance Shoes x9
• Higher Dimensional Data: Ethereal Pursuit x60
• Basic Freeze Chip x25
• Advanced Freeze Chip x75
• Specialized Freeze Chip x250
• 2.9 million Dennies

Best Lycaon team comp

Lycaon functions best when used in team comp featuring Ellen and Soukaku. In this team, Lycaon is the sub-DPS, with Ellen as the main DPS and Soukaku as the support.

The benefit of this team comp is that it reduces the ICE Res of the enemies while also stunning them. Thereby, it creates opportunities for Ellen to function without getting interrupted by enemy attacks.

As your Bangboo, you can choose Butler to recover energy thanks to Victora Housekeeping Co. characters.

Lycaon abilities

Basic Attack

Ability Name	Description
Moon Hunter	Press Basic Attack to activate. Unleashes up to 5 strikes in front, dealing Physical DMG. Hold down Basic Attack to charge up, increasing the power of the attack and dealing Ice DMG.

Dodge

Ability Name	Description
Suitable Positioning	Press Dodge to activate. A rapid dodge. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.
Keep it Clean	Press Basic Attack during a dodge to activate. Slides forward, launching a series of strikes in front, dealing Physical DMG.
Etiquette Manual	Press Basic Attack during a Perfect Dodge to activate. Strikes enemies in front, dealing Ice DMG. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.

Assist

Ability Name	Description
Wolf Pack	When the on-field character is launched, press Perfect Assist to activate. Strikes enemies in front, dealing Ice DMG. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.
Disrupted Hunt	When the character on field is about to be attacked, press Perfect Assist to activate. Parries the enemy’s attack, dealing massive Daze. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.
Vengeful Counterattack	Press Special Attack after a Defensive Assist to activate. Creates an icicle in front, which strikes all enemies within range, dealing Ice DMG. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.

Special Attack

Ability Name	Description
Time to Hunt	Press Special Attack to activate. Unleashes a series of strikes in front, dealing Ice DMG. Hold down to charge up, increasing its power. Anti-Interrupt level is increased while using this skill.
Thrill of the Hunt	When Lycaon has enough Energy, press Special Attack to activate. Unleashes a series of powerful strikes in front, dealing massive Ice DMG. Hold down to charge up, consuming Energy and enhancing the power of the attack. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.

Chain Attack

Ability Name	Description
As You Wish	When a Chain Attack is triggered, select the character to activate. Unleashes a series of powerful strikes at enemies in a small area in front of him, dealing massive Ice DMG. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.
Mission Complete	When Decibel Rating is at Maximum, press Chain Attack to activate. Unleashes multiple powerful strikes at enemies in a large area, dealing massive Ice DMG. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.

Core Skill

Ability Name	Description
Metallic Paws	When Lycaon charges his Basic Attack to completion, the attack deals 40% increased Daze.
Elegant Predator	When another character in your squad shares the same Attribute or Faction: When Lycaon hits a Stunned enemy, the target’s Stun DMG Multiplier increases by 35% (only activates once for the entire squad).

Core Skill Enhancements

Ability Name	Description
A	Base Impact increases by six, Metallic Paws skill level +1.
B	Base attack increases by 25, Metallic Claws skill level +1.
C	Base Impact increases by six, Metallic Paws skill level +1.
D	Base attack increases by 25, Metallic Claws skill level +1.
E	Base Impact increases by six, Metallic Paws skill level +1.
F	Base attack increases by 25, Metallic Claws skill level +1.

Mindscape Cinema for Lycaon

• Level 1- Full Moon Momentum: When Lycaon charges his Special Attack or EX Special Attack to completion, the attack will deal 15% increased Daze. Can trigger once every 8s.
• Level 2- Energy Feedback: When Stunning an enemy or triggering a squad member’s Chain Attack, Lycaon gains 5 Energy. Can trigger once every 1s.
• Level 3- Attendant Training: Basic Attack, Dodge, Special Attack, and Chain Attack Lv. +2.
• Level 4- Graceful Demeanor: If attacked while charging or during a charged attack, Lycaon will immediately gain a Shield effect equal to 5% of his max HP, lasting for 5s. His Anti-Interrupt is increased for the Shield’s duration. This effect can trigger once every 15s.
• Level 5- Alpha Nature: Basic Attack, Dodge, Special Attack, and Chain Attack Lv. +2.
• Level 6- Ruthless Hunter: When a charged attack hits an enemy, the target suffers 10% increased DMG from Lycaon, stacking up to 5 times and lasting 12s. Only one stack can be gained per skill use, and repeated triggers reset the duration.

Lycaon pros and cons

While Lycaon is quite powerful, he has one dis-advantage that cannot be ignored.

Pros	Cons
Lycaon can deal a decent amount of Daze DMG to opponents	Short-range attacks that can lead to frequent interruptions
Lycaon can decrease an opponent’s Ice RES, which can be helpful for teams focused on the element

Trailer for Lycaon

On May 27, 2024, HoYoverse posted Lycaon’s character demo on its official YouTube channel. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can watch it below:

If you want to play Zenless Zone Zero, check out our guide on system requirements. For more on the game, read our guides for Zenless Zero codes and controller support.