The W-Engine system in Zenless Zone Zero (ZZZ) plays a crucial role in defining the power and efficiency of each character in combat. Every character in ZZZ benefits from equipping a suitable W-Engine that enhances their strengths, supports their combat role, and increases their synergy within a team. Since each character is designed with a specific playstyle in mind, understanding which W-Engine suits them best is essential for building a strong and effective lineup. Whether you’re new to ZZZ or looking to optimize your team, knowing the ideal W-Engine for each character will help you progress more efficiently through missions and challenges.
Understanding the W-Engine System
What Is a W-Engine?
A W-Engine is a powerful piece of equipment in Zenless Zone Zero that acts like a character’s primary weapon or core enhancer. It boosts various stats such as attack power, crit rate, skill efficiency, and even energy recharge. Each W-Engine has its own passive abilities and stat scaling, and matching them correctly to a character can significantly enhance their performance on the battlefield.
Choosing the Right W-Engine
The ideal W-Engine for a character depends on multiple factors, such as:
- The character’s combat role (DPS, support, tank)
- Their elemental type (physical, electric, fire, etc.)
- Their skill mechanics and playstyle
- Team composition and synergy
Let’s break down the best W-Engines for each currently available character in ZZZ based on their abilities and roles.
W-Engine Recommendations by Character
Anby Demara
Best W-Engine: Shockstar Converter
Anby excels in dealing electric damage quickly through rapid combos. Shockstar Converter boosts her electric damage output and gives her energy regeneration, which allows her to spam abilities more often. This engine complements her aggressive combat rhythm.
Nicole Demara
Best W-Engine: Starlight Engine Replica
Nicole is a unique support character who can control the battlefield and provide buffs to allies. The Starlight Engine Replica enhances her control abilities and improves her crowd-control effectiveness, making it easier for the team to coordinate attacks.
Billy Kid
Best W-Engine: Street Superstar
Billy is a ranged physical DPS who relies on fast shooting and mobility. Street Superstar enhances his normal attacks and adds critical boost potential, which fits perfectly with his fast-paced gunplay style. The added crit stats allow Billy to shred through enemies rapidly.
Soldier 11
Best W-Engine: Fusion Amplifier
As a fire-element brawler, Soldier 11 benefits from increased fire damage and boosted energy recharge. Fusion Amplifier fits her best as it enhances her burst capabilities and allows her to keep up offensive pressure. She becomes more consistent with her skill rotations using this engine.
Koleda Belobog
Best W-Engine: Industrial Drill
Koleda is a physical tank with close-combat control. Industrial Drill boosts her interruption power and physical damage, allowing her to be more aggressive while still protecting her team. The W-Engine also enhances her stun capabilities, making her a true front-line bruiser.
Grace Howard
Best W-Engine: Voltage Analyzer
Grace is an electric support who specializes in debuffing enemies and enhancing electric synergy. Voltage Analyzer increases her electric skill damage and debuff potency, which helps the team take down enemies faster, especially during chain combos.
Ellen Joe
Best W-Engine: Iceblade Resonator
Ellen is a frost-element assassin-type character who focuses on high burst from her abilities. Iceblade Resonator boosts her frost damage and critical output, increasing her overall damage potential. This engine fits perfectly with her swift and lethal playstyle.
Ben Bigger
Best W-Engine: Armor Support Module
Ben is a defensive character who can absorb damage for the team. Armor Support Module increases his defense and provides HP regen or shields based on battle conditions. This makes him harder to kill and keeps the backline safe during intense fights.
Lucy
Best W-Engine: Inferno Catalyst
Lucy is a support unit with fire-based skills that offer both offense and control. Inferno Catalyst boosts fire damage over time and skill efficiency, allowing her to keep enemies burning while enhancing allied DPS. She works well in fire-based comps with this W-Engine.
Anton Ivanov
Best W-Engine: Overload Battery
Anton is a hybrid between DPS and support, with a focus on electric AoE attacks. Overload Battery enhances his area damage and speeds up energy generation, making him a reliable multi-target clearer and excellent for wave-based encounters.
Factors to Consider When Upgrading W-Engines
Rarity and Scaling
W-Engines come in different rarities, and the higher-rarity ones tend to have better base stats and passives. However, some lower-tier W-Engines can still outperform higher-tier ones if they are more synergistic with a specific character’s kit. Always prioritize synergy over pure stats.
Material and Resources
Upgrading W-Engines requires a significant amount of resources, so choose wisely. Focus on the core units of your team and ensure the investment brings noticeable performance improvements. Farming enhancement materials from high-level commissions or events can speed up this process.
Swapping Between Characters
If you don’t have enough W-Engines for every character, prioritize those who deal the most damage or play key roles in your party setup. You can also swap W-Engines between characters depending on the mission type or enemy weaknesses.
Team Synergy and W-Engine Roles
Balancing Offense and Defense
While it’s tempting to give all your characters offense-boosting engines, it’s important to consider survivability. Tanks and supports benefit more from W-Engines that provide utility, healing, or defense, which ensures that your DPS units can perform without constantly dying.
Elemental Synergy
Many W-Engines are designed to boost elemental damage or synergy effects. For example, running multiple electric characters can trigger electric chain effects, and equipping matching W-Engines can increase the chain damage even further.
Character Rotation and Energy Recovery
Some characters rely heavily on their active skills and ultimates. In these cases, W-Engines that increase energy recharge or skill uptime can drastically improve team flow. This is particularly important in longer battles or elite boss fights.
Optimizing your W-Engine choices in Zenless Zone Zero is one of the most impactful ways to strengthen your characters and increase your team’s efficiency in combat. Every character has unique needs, and choosing the best W-Engine tailored to their strengths can turn an average team into a powerhouse. Whether you’re building a high-DPS fire team or a balanced electric squad, matching each character with their ideal W-Engine will make a noticeable difference. Keep experimenting with combinations, and as new characters and engines are introduced, continue refining your setups to dominate in ZZZ’s ever-evolving battlefield.