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Lycaon build | Zenless Zone Zero

Meet Zenless Zone Zero’s Lycaon, a loyal wolf butler who’s not afraid to get his paws dirty (literally), in our guide to his best build.

Zenless Zone Zero's Lycaon standing next to text that says "ZZZ LYCAON"

In our ZZZ Lycaon build, we’ve got everything you need right here for his best build including W-Engines, drive discs, and more. As his name suggests, Lycaon is an elegant-looking wolf man with a grudge against grime and some super-powered robot legs. Keep reading to find out more about him and how to make him stronger.

Make sure to check out our comprehensive guides covering all of the available Zenless Zone Zero characters, our Zenless Zone Zero tier list, and our Zenless Zone Zero codes list. Plus, we’ve got build guides for more powerful agents like Zenless Zone Zero’s Zhu Yuan, Zenless Zone Zero’s Ellen, and Zenless Zone Zero’s Nekomata.

Here’s everything in our Zenless Zone Zero Lycaon build:

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What is the best Lycaon build?

Lycaon is an S-rank stun character that deals a huge amount of ice-infused strike damage using his robotically enhanced legs in combat. Lycaon gains invulnerability during many of his skills and dodges, allowing him to avoid some damage during his close-up combat.

Here’s a brief overview of our best ZZZ Lycaon build:

Rank S
Attribute Ice
Specialty Stun
Attack type Strike
Best W-Engine The Restrained
Best drive discs Four-piece Shockstar Disco and two-piece Swing Jazz
Main stats
  • Disc 4: crit rate/damage
  • Disc 5: ice damage
  • Disc 6: impact
Sub-stats Crit rate = crit damage > attack ratio > anomaly proficiency

We recommend equipping Lycaon with The Restrained W-Engine, a four-piece set of Shockstar Disco drive discs, and a two-piece set of Polar Metal. Focus on increasing his crit, attack ratio, and impact stats to get the most out of his kit.

You can also increase Lycaon’s damage by having another ice anomaly in the squad, or another member of Victoria Housekeeping like Zenless Zone Zero’s Ellen or Zenless Zone Zero’s Rina.

What are Lycaon’s best W-Engines?

Lycaon’s best W-Engine is his signature W-Engine, The Restrained, which massively increases his stun potential by buffing his daze. However, it’s an S-Rank engine, so it’s not the easiest thing to get your hands on.

If you happen to have a spare one, ZZZ Lighter‘s signature W-Engine Blazing Laurel offers a decent impact boost, as well as increased crit damage for ice and fire attacks, thanks to the Wilt mechanic. A good A-Rank alternative is Precious Fossilized Core, which deals more daze to healthy enemies, giving you a chance to get the jump on them.

Here are Lycaon’s best W-engines:

The Restrained Stat: impact ratio
Skill:
When an attack hits an enemy, damage and daze from basic attacks increase for eight seconds, stacking up to five times. You can trigger this effect once during each skill and the duration of each stack is calculated separately
Limited or standard banner
Blazing Laurel Stat: impact ratio
Skill:
Upon launching a quick assist or perfect assist, Lycaon’s impact increases by 25% for eight seconds. When he launches and hits an enemy with a basic attack, this applies Wilt to the target for 30 seconds, stacking up to 20 times. Repeated triggers reset the duration. When any squad member hits an enemy, for every stack of Wilt applied to the target, the crit damage of the attack’s ice damage and fire damage dealt increases by 1.5%. This effect does not stack
Limited banner
Precious Fossilized Core Stat: impact ratio
Skill:
When the target’s HP is 50% or above, Lycaon inflicts more daze on them. When the target’s HP is 75% or above, this bonus increases once more
Limited or standard banner, or the Box Galaxy shop

What are the best drive discs for Lycaon?

If you’re using Lycaon as your main DPS, we recommend equipping Lycaon with a four-piece set of Shockstar Disco to lean into his stun specialty and a two-piece set of Polar Metal to buff his ice damage output. You can also try swapping the two around for a more ice-heavy build, especially if you’re running multiple ice attribute agents.

However, in most team comps, Lycaon serves a stun role rather than as a main DPS, so you should equip him with two pieces of Swing Jazz to buff his energy regeneration.

Here are ZZZ Lycaon’s best drive discs:

Polar Metal Two equipped: increases ice damage by 10%
Four equipped: increases basic attack and dash attack damage by 20%. When any squad member inflicts freeze or shatter, this effect increases by an additional 20% for 12 seconds
Shockstar Disco Two equipped: increases impact by 6%
Four equipped: basic attacks, dash attacks, and dodge counters inflict 20% more daze to the main target
Swing Jazz Two equipped: increases energy regeneration by 20%
Four equipped: not recommended

Lycaon stat recommendations

Aim for these main and sub-stats on Lycaon’s drive disc:

Main stats:

  • Disc 4: crit rate/damage
  • Disc 5: ice damage
  • Disc 6: impact

Sub-stats:

  • Crit (rate or damage)
  • Attack ratio
  • Anomaly proficiency

What is the best Lycaon team comp?

When building a team for Lycaon, you either want to focus on a mono-ice team or a Victoria Housekeeping team. Lycaon is an essential part of both team comps thanks to his stun abilities, so your choice should really depend on which other characters you have and your preferred playstyle.

Here are some examples of good Lycaon team comps:

lycaon iconLycaon Corin iconCorin Rina iconRina Penguinboo
lycaon iconLycaon ellen iconEllen soukaku iconSoukaku Sharkboo iconSharkboo

What are Lycaon’s skills?

Here are all of Lycaon’s active and passive skills in combat that help him stun the enemy and deal ice damage.

Lycaon’s attacks:

Basic attack Moon Hunter
Unleashes up to five strikes in front that deal physical damage. Hold the attack to increase its power and deal ice damage
Special attack Time to Hunt
Press the special attack button to unleash a series of strikes in front of Lycaon that deal ice damage
Hold the special attack button to increase Time to Hunt’s power and Lycaon’s anti-interrupt level
EX special attack Thrill of the Hunt
Press: When Lycaon has enough energy, press the special attack button to use Lycaon’s EX special attack. This unleashes a series of powerful strikes in front of him which deal massive amounts of ice damage
Hold: Hold the special attack button when EX special attack is charged to consume energy and increase the attack’s power. This also makes Lycaon invulnerable while using the skill

Lycaon’s dodges:

Dodge Suitable Positioning
Press the dodge button to avoid an enemy attack and make Lycaon invulnerable
Dash attack Keep it Clean
When dodging, press the basic attack button to slide forward and launch a series of strikes in front of Lycaon that deal physical damage
Dodge counter Etiquette Manual
Press the basic attack during a perfect dodge to deal ice damage to enemies in front of Lycaon, and become invulnerable

White Day art of Zenless Zone Zero Lycaon holding a present

Lycaon’s combo attacks:

Quick assist Wolf Pack
When an enemy launches the active character, press the swap character button to activate this assist. Lycaon swaps in, becomes invulnerable, and deals ice damage to enemies in front of him
Defensive assist Disrupted Hunt
Press the swap character button to activate this assist when an enemy is about to attack the active character. Lycaon parries the enemy’s attack, dealing massive amounts of daze. He also becomes invulnerable
Assist follow-up Vengeful Counterattack
Press the basic attack button after using Disrupted Hunt to create an icicle in front of Lycaon that deals ice damage to all enemies in a certain range. Lycaon is invulnerable while using this skill
Chain attack As You Wish
When you trigger a chain attack, switch to Lycaon to become invulnerable while using his skill and deal massive amounts of ice damage to enemies in front of him
Ultimate Mission Complete
When the decibel rating is at maximum, press the ultimate button to unleash powerful strikes at enemies in a large area, dealing ice damage and making Lycaon invulnerable

Lycaon’s passives:

Core passive Metallic Paws
When Lycaon charges his basic attack to completion, it deals 40% increased daze to enemies. When Thrill of the Hunt or Vengeful Counterattack hits an enemy, their ice damage resistance decreases by 25% for 30 seconds
Additional ability Elegant Predator
When another character in your squad shares the same attribute (ice) or faction (Victoria Housekeeping): When Lycaon hits a stunned enemy, the target’s stun damage multiplier increases by 35%

What are Lycaon’s promotion materials?

As you level up Lycaon, you’ll need to promote him at various points to increase his level cap, similar to ascension in Genshin Impact. You’ll need stun certification seals to do this, which you can get from combat simulation – agent promotion combat challenges, plus plenty of denny.

Here are all of Lycaon’s promotion materials:

10➔20
  • 24k denny
  • Four basic stun certification seals
20➔30
  • 56k denny
  • 12 advanced stun certification seals
30➔40
  • 120k denny
  • 20 advanced stun certification seals
40➔50
  • 200k denny
  • Ten buster certification seals
50➔60
  • 400k denny
  • 20 buster certification seals

What are Lycaon’s mindscape cinemas?

Pulling multiple copies of Lycaon allows you to unlock his mindscape cinemas which are additional buffs and effects to help in battle. If you’re already a Hoyoverse fan, mindscape cinemas are similar to Genshin Impact’s constellations or Honkai Star Rail’s eidolons.

Here are all of Lycaon’s mindscape cinemas:

01 Full Moon Momentum
When Lycaon’s EX special attack hits an enemy, the attack’s daze increases by 12%. This effect can trigger once every eight seconds. When Lycaon charges his EX special attack to completion, this buff increases by an additional 10%
02 Energy Feedback
Lycaon gains five energy when he stuns an enemy or triggers a squad member’s chain attack. This can trigger once every second
03 Attendant Training
Lycaon’s basic attack, dodge, assist, special attack, and chain attack each gain two levels
04 Graceful Demeanor
If an enemy attacks Lycaon while he is using a basic attack or special attack, he immediately gains a shield equal to 7.5% of his max HP that lasts for 15 seconds. During this time, Lycaon’s anti-interrupt level also increases. This effect can trigger once every 15 seconds
05 Alpha Nature
Lycaon’s basic attack, dodge, assist, special attack, and chain attack each gain two levels
06 Ruthless Hunter
When Lycaon hits an enemy with a charged attack, he deals 10% increased damage to that enemy, stacking up to five times and lasting for 12 seconds. You can only gain one stack per skill use, and repeated triggers reset the duration

Zenless Zone Zero's Lycaon cooking with the rest of the Victoria Housekeeping team

What are Lycaon’s core skill enhancement materials?

You can enhance Lycaon’s core skills to power him up even further, but you’ll need special materials and a bunch of denny to do so. You can obtain higher dimensional data: ethereal pursuit from the expert challenge game mode, whereas you can find the finale dance shoes in the notorious hunt mode.

Here are all of Lycaon’s core skill enhancement materials:

A
  • 5k denny
B
  • 12k denny
  • Two higher dimensional data: ethereal pursuit
C
  • 28k denny
  • Four higher dimensional data: ethereal pursuit
D
  • 60k denny
  • Nine higher dimensional data: ethereal pursuit
  • Two finale dance shoes
E
  • 100k denny
  • 15 higher dimensional data: ethereal pursuit
  • Three finale dance shoes
F
  • 200k denny
  • 30 higher dimensional data: ethereal pursuit
  • Four finale dance shoes

What are Lycaon’s skill enhancement materials? 

Enhancing Lycaon’s core skills can only get you so far – you need to level up his combat skills too. You can use freeze chips to increase each skill’s level if you have enough denny and you’re a high enough level. You can get these from the combat simulation – agent promotion combat challenge or craft them using lower-level materials. Hamster cage passes come from the New Eridu City Fund or from event rewards, similar to Genshin Impact’s crowns of insight.

Here are all of Lycaon’s skill enhancement materials:

02
  • 2k denny
  • Two basic freeze chips
03
  • 3k denny
  • Three basic freeze chips
04
  • 6k denny
  • Two advanced freeze chips
05
  • 9k denny
  • Three advanced freeze chips
06
  • 12k denny
  • Four advanced freeze chips
07
  • 18k denny
  • Six advanced freeze chips
08
  • 45k denny
  • Five specialized freeze chips
09
  • 67.5k denny
  • Eight specialized freeze chips
10
  • 90k denny
  • Ten specialized freeze chips
11
  • 112.5k denny
  • 12 specialized freeze chips
12
  • 135k denny
  • 15 specialized freeze chips
  • One hamster cage pass

That’s a wrap on our Zenless Zone Zero Lycaon build. We’ll regularly update this guide as the meta changes. In the meantime, make sure you check out our other Hoyoverse guides, such as builds for Genshin Impact’s Fischl, Genshin Impact’s Yoimiya, Honkai Star Rail’s Rappa, and Honkai Star Rail’s Yunli.