Lycaon ZZZ Build Guide: Discs, W-engines, Teams

Lycaon, despite being one of the earlier agents introduced in Zenless Zone Zero, remains a highly versatile S-rank Ice character, especially after the recent Version 2.6 updates. Known for his exceptional ability to inflict Stun and apply crucial debuffs, Lycaon has become a core component in many powerful team compositions. This guide will help you optimize Lycaon’s performance by detailing his best Drive Discs, W-engines, and effective team setups to dominate the Hollows.

Character profile – Lycaon

Understanding Lycaon’s foundational attributes is key to maximizing his potential. Von Lycaon is an S-rank agent affiliated with Victoria Housekeeping Co., bringing an icy touch to combat. His primary role revolves around Stun, making him an invaluable asset for controlling the battlefield and creating openings for damage dealers. His core stat is Impact, which directly influences his ability to daze enemies, while his kit also provides significant debuffing capabilities, reducing enemy resistance and amplifying team damage. This combination of crowd control and support makes him a unique and powerful addition to any squad.

Real Name	Von Lycaon
Gender	Male
Faction	Victoria Housekeeping Co.
Rarity	S-rank
Attribute	Ice
Specialty	Stun
Core Stat	Impact
Role	Stunner & Debuffer

How to play Lycaon in Zenless Zone Zero 

Lycaon’s gameplay centers on delivering potent daze and debuffs through his unique attack sequences. As an Ice Stun agent, your main goal is to disrupt enemies and amplify damage for your team. When Lycaon is active on the field, focus on chaining his charged EX Special attacks with his charged Basic attacks. His core skill provides a substantial boost to the daze inflicted by these charged attacks, making them highly effective. During team rotations, leverage his assist capabilities to maintain pressure. Initiate with a Defensive Assist, then follow up with a Vengeful Attack and Glacial Waltz (by holding the basic attack button). This specific combo triggers a quick backward assist, allowing Lycaon to continue attacking and applying daze without gaining anomaly, even after you swap to another character. This “Encircle Prey” state significantly accelerates the stun window for your whole squad.

ZZZ Lycaon skill priority

To maximize Lycaon’s effectiveness in battle, prioritize upgrading his skills in a specific order, focusing on those that contribute most to his damage and daze output. These key abilities enhance his role as a primary stunner and debuffer, directly impacting combat performance.

Skill Name	Priority	Reason for Priority
Basic Attack	★ ★ ★ ★ ★	High daze multipliers, crucial for charged attacks.
Special Attack	★ ★ ★ ★ ★	Significant damage and daze contribution, especially the EX variant.
Assist	★ ★ ★ ★ ★	Essential for maintaining daze application and entering Encircle Prey state.
Core Skill	★ ★ ★ ★ ★	Boosts daze from charged attacks significantly, central to his kit.
Chain Attack	★ ★ ★ ★	Good for burst daze and activating team buffs.
Dodge	★ ★	Lower priority, mainly for defensive maneuvers.

Basic Attack, Special Attack, Assist, and his Core Skill are paramount due to their high daze and damage multipliers, making them essential for Lycaon’s primary role. The Chain Attack is also very valuable for its immediate impact. Other skills, like Dodge, are less critical for his core function and can be upgraded based on personal preference or if surplus resources are available, without significantly hindering his overall performance.

Best Lycaon Drive Discs build

For Lycaon, optimizing his Drive Discs involves enhancing his Impact stat to maximize daze application and providing valuable team buffs. The ideal setup focuses on sets that complement his stunner role while also boosting overall squad performance.

Primary Build: 4-pc King of the Summit + 2-pc Shockstar Disco

• 4-pc King of the Summit: This set is Lycaon’s top choice. It not only increases the daze inflicted by his attacks but, more importantly, provides a powerful team-wide 30% Critical Damage buff. To fully activate this buff, Lycaon needs to use an EX Special Attack or Chain Attack while having 50% Crit Rate. Maintaining this condition is achievable with proper substat farming and a Crit Rate main stat on Disk 4, making it highly rewarding for team damage.
• 2-pc Shockstar Disco: This pair complements King of the Summit by directly increasing Lycaon’s Impact by 6%, further boosting his daze capabilities.

Alternative Build: 4-pc Shockstar Disco + 2-pc King of the Summit

• 4-pc Shockstar Disco: A strong and more straightforward alternative, this set significantly boosts Lycaon’s Impact by 6% with its 2-piece bonus and makes his Basic Attacks, Dash Attacks, and Dodge Counters inflict 20% more Daze to the main target with its 4-piece bonus. This is an excellent option for players seeking a consistent daze increase without complex activation conditions, making it very user-friendly.
• 2-pc King of the Summit: Adding two pieces from this set provides a flat 6% increase to the daze inflicted by all Lycaon’s attacks.

Main stats for every drive discs: 

• Disk 4: Crit Rate (aim for 50%+ if using 4-pc King of the Summit)
• Disk 5: Ice DMG
• Disk 6: Impact

As for substats, prioritize enhancing Lycaon’s offensive capabilities and meeting the Crit Rate threshold for King of the Summit’s bonus:

• Crit Rate
• Crit Damage
• ATK%
• PEN (Penetration)
• ATK (Flat Attack)

Zenless Zone Zero best Lycaon W-engines 

Lycaon thrives with W-engines that amplify his Impact and daze output, and luckily, several excellent options exist. These weapons enhance his ability to stun enemies and contribute to overall team damage, making him an even more formidable presence on the battlefield.

• Blazing Laurel (S-rank): This is Lycaon’s premier W-Engine. It provides a substantial Impact boost upon using a Quick or Perfect Assist and applies “Wilt” stacks with Basic Attacks. Wilt stacks then significantly increase the Critical Damage of Ice and Fire attacks from any squad member, making it perfect for relevant elemental teams.

• Hellfire Gears (S-rank): Koleda’s signature W-Engine is also highly effective for Lycaon. It boosts his Energy Regeneration while off-field, allowing for more frequent EX Special Attack usage. Each EX Special Attack further increases Lycaon’s Impact, enhancing his daze potential and ensuring consistent stun application.

• Steam Oven (A-rank): A surprisingly powerful F2P option, Steam Oven significantly boosts Lycaon’s Impact based on his accumulated energy. Its generous Energy Regeneration stat ensures high uptime for this Impact bonus, often outperforming even some S-rank options in practical scenarios.

• Precious Fossilized Core (A-rank): Another excellent F2P W-engine, this weapon provides a substantial increase in daze infliction, particularly against high-health targets. It’s best utilized early in fights to capitalize on its maximum impact bonus, making initial stun setups incredibly efficient.

• The Restrained (S-rank): While Lycaon’s signature W-Engine offers boosts to Basic Attack damage and daze, it often falls short compared to other options. This is because Lycaon’s daze application comes from various skills, not just Basic Attacks, limiting the full potential of this weapon’s passive effects compared to the broader utility of other W-engines.

All the best Zenless Zone Zero Lycaon teams

Lycaon’s exceptional capabilities as an Ice stunner and debuffer make him a versatile choice for numerous team compositions. He excels at setting up powerful damage windows by shredding enemy resistance and locking down foes with continuous daze, enabling various main DPS agents to shine.

Miyabi hypercarry team – Miyabi, Lycaon and Soukaku 

This team maximizes Miyabi’s damage output by utilizing Lycaon’s potent Ice RES shred and stun capabilities. Lycaon creates extended stun windows, allowing Miyabi to unleash her full potential against vulnerable enemies. Soukaku rounds out the team, offering crucial Ice damage amplification and a team-wide ATK buff, significantly boosting the squad’s overall offensive power during these crucial stun phases. The synergy ensures rapid enemy elimination through concentrated bursts.

Hugo double stunner team – Hugo, Lycaon and Lighter

This composition emphasizes relentless stun application to enable Hugo’s kit, which thrives on keeping enemies incapacitated. Lycaon provides consistent Ice debuffs and daze, benefiting Hugo’s Ice attribute attacks. Lighter, another top-tier stunner, further augments the team’s ability to lock down targets and provides additional Ice damage buffs. Together, Lycaon and Lighter create an almost perpetual stun state, allowing Hugo to deal uninterrupted damage and maintaining superior battlefield control against even the toughest adversaries.

Yidhari Ice Rupture team – Yidhari, Lycaon and Lucia 

This team is designed to enhance Yidhari’s Ice Rupture damage by leveraging Lycaon’s setup abilities. While not a Rupture agent himself, Lycaon excels at shredding enemy Ice resistance and bringing foes into a stunned state with his charged attacks, priming them for Yidhari’s powerful ruptures. Lucia completes this team as an ideal support, specializing in boosting Rupture damage and ensuring Yidhari’s passive abilities are fully optimized. This trio combines sustained daze with explosive elemental reactions for significant damage.