Lighter punches things, so a good ZZZ Lighter build just needs to make the most of those punches. Despite a high stat ceiling to get his best buffs for the party, Lighter’s stat and W-Engine requirements are comparatively tame. He’s an excellent Stun support member for any team that needs one and doubly so if that team has a Fire or Ice main DPS.
Our ZZZ Lighter build breaks down Lighter’s best W-Engines and Drive Discs, and we’ve put together some Lighter team recommendations as well.
ZZZ Lighter build
ZZZ Lighter W-Engine
Lighter’s signature W-Engine is Blazing Laurel, an S-Rank weapon with the same max-level Impact multiplier as every other S-Rank Stun engine, which is 18 percent. It also increases the user’s Impact by 25 percent when they use a quick assist or perfect assist, and the user applies the Wilt affect to a target they hit with a basic attack. Every stack of Wilt increases the critical hit damage a target takes from fire and ice attacks by 1.5 percent, and Wilt can stack up to 30 times.
Any of the other S-Rank Stun engines will do for Lighter. Qingyi’s Ice-Jade Teapot increases the user’s Impact when they use basic attacks, which Lighter frequently will, and it even gives the rest of the party a sizeable damage boost. Koleda’s Hellfire Gears increases Lighter’s energy regen, which makes it easier for him to recover Morale, and Lycaon’s Restrained buffs Lighter’s damage, albeit without increasing Impact or energy regen.
The thing to understand about Lighter’s W-Engines is that you don’t have to exceed 170 Impact by a dramatic amount. His Additional Ability increases fire and ice damage the party does by a set amount for every 10 points of Impact Lighter has over 170, and the meta consensus is that you want to get as close to 270 Impact as you can. It’s an additional ability for a reason, though. Lighter and your other fire and ice characters do just fine without those extra buffs, and the ability’s base version can give the party a 20 percent or higher fire and ice boost without grinding for a specific stat.
If HoYoverse handles ZZZ like they have Honkai Star Rail, we’ll likely see additional W-Engines that boost Impact or have some other method of raising that stat as the game matures. Unless you already have an S-Rank Stun W-Engine or really want to go all-in on Lighter and his signature, you’re fine to use an A-Rank weapon.
Of those A-Rank W-Engines, Steam Oven is your best choice for boosting Lighter’s Impact. It raises the user’s energy regen and grants up to a 16 percent Impact buff when they accumulate 10 energy. Fossilized Core is another solid choice, with a secondary stat that raises Impact and a passive skill that deals more Daze when the target enemy has over 50 percent HP and even more when its HP is above 75 percent.
If you’re just getting started or don’t have any of these, [Vortex] Arrowis the choice for you. This B-Rank W-Engine boosts the user’s Impact with its secondary stat and increases the Daze damage they deal, and since it’s for sale at the gadget store on Sixth Street, you can quickly max out the passive skill’s buff.
ZZZ Lighter Drive Discs
Like with most Stun characters, Lighter’s best Drive Disc set is Shockstar Disco.
- Two-piece effect: Increases Impact by six percent
- Four-piece effect: Basic attacks, dodge counters, and dash attacks deal 20 percent more Daze
Round that out with two pieces of Swing Jazz to give Lighter a handy energy regen buff.
Alternatively, you could go for two each of Shockstar, Swing Jazz, and Inferno Metal to give him an extra little fire damage boost, or if you plan on using him to cause the Burn Anomaly status, swap Inferno Metal for Chaos Jazz or Freedom Blues.
ZZZ Lighter stats
Impact might be Lighter’s main focus, but he’s going to stay on-field dealing damage for a while. Paying attention to his DPS capability is a good idea, as he benefits from crit rate and crit damage, fire damage, and even anomaly proficiency to help him slot into disorder teams, if you’re running one.
Aim for:
- Disc 4: Anomaly proficiency or crit rate
- Disc 5: Attack, fire damage, or PEN ratio
- Disc 6: Impact
Drive Discs don’t have Impact as a substat possibility, so your best bet for those is basically the same as Lighter’s main stat focus. Aim for attack, crit rate or crit damage, PEN ratio, and anomaly proficiency.
ZZZ Lighter skill priority
Lighter’s damage comes from the last hit of his five-part basic attack chain, so in addition to his Core Passive, make sure you’re leveling up his basic attack before anything else. His special comes next, and then his chain assist. The other two – dodge and chain attack – aren’t that helpful, so level them last.
TL;DR for Lighter’s skill priority:
- Basic attack
- Special
- Assist
- Chain attack and dodge
ZZZ Lighter teams
Lighter’s core passive refuels his Morale meter when anyone in the party uses energy and when he uses his own special, so ideally, you want to pair him with allies who guzzle energy frequently. Tempting as it may be to include Burnice in that, you’ll want to avoid pairing him with a Fire anomaly character. Lighter can cause burn quickly, especially if you raise his anomaly proficiency, and causing Disorder by introducing another element’s anomaly leads to more damage.
He works well with Ellen Joe – and probably Miyabi, once ZZZ 1.4 rolls around – though you could also put him with Lycaon if you wanted a double-Stun team. HoYoverse and early adopters are also putting Lighter and Soldier 11 together, which, since Soldier 11’s fire damage comes in burst, won’t risk wasting Disorder opportunities.
If you just need a strong Stun support option, though, he can work with Yanagi or Jane Doe as well. Soukaku is an ideal support for any Lighter team, thanks to his passive that increases Ice damage.
Let your main DPS choice determine which Bangboo to bring along. For example, if you have Ellen Joe or Lycaon, Penguinboo is the best pick, while a Soldier 11 team benefits the most from Rocketboo.
Lighter team 1
- Ellen Joe or Lycaon
- Lighter
- Soukaku
- Penguinboo
Lighter team 2
- Soldier 11
- Lighter
- Piper or Soukaku
- Red Moccus (if Piper) or Rocketboo
If you’re looking for other ZZZ characters to form a team for endgame trials, check out our up-to-date selection of Zenless Zone Zero codes for some free Polychrome.