Severian Guide and Best Builds

Severian Guide & Best Builds

Welcome to our Severian build guide for Zenless Zone Zero. Severian Lowell is a powerful S-Rank Wind DPS Agent who deals damage through his Enhanced Basic Attack and Entry Skill, while accumulating resources through dodging enemy attacks. In our guide, we'll cover everything you need to know to get the most out of your Severian, from building the best Drive Discs and W-Engines to important stat priorities and combos.

Severian's Best W-Engines

Listed below are Severian Lowell's best W-Engines. While W-Engines are listed in priority order, the best choice for your Severian can vary based on your exact team composition and playstyle.

Incarcerating Grip (P1) 128%

Evil Caught Within
The equipper's CRIT Rate increases by 20/23/26/29/32%. When the equipper's Basic Attack hits an enemy, their ATK increases by 10/11.5/13/14.5/16%, and their DMG ignores 15/17.3/19.5/21.8/24% of the target's Wind RES for 16s.

Cordis Germina (P1) 113%

Sprouting Core
Increases CRIT Rate by 15/17/19/21/23%. When the equipper deals DMG with a Basic Attack or EX Special Attack, they gain 1 stack of a buff. Each stack increases the equipper's Electric DMG by 12.5/14.5/16.5/18.5/20%, up to 2 stacks. Each stack lasts 40s. The duration of each stack is calculated separately. Can trigger once per use of a skill. At 2 stacks, the wearer's Basic Attack and Ultimate DMG ignore 20/23/26/29/32% of enemy DEF.

Steel Cushion (P1) 102%

Metal Cat Claws
Increases Physical DMG by 20/25/30/35/40%. The equipper's DMG increases by 25/31.5/38/44/50% when hitting the enemy from behind.

Cannon Rotor (P5) 101%

Oversized Barrel
Increases ATK by 7.5/8.6/9.7/10.8/12%. Landing a critical hit on an enemy will inflict an additional 200% of ATK as DMG. This effect can trigger once every 8/7.5/7/6.5/6s.

Marcato Desire (P5) 100%

Get Everyone Fired Up
When an EX Special Attack or Chain Attack hits an enemy, the equipper's ATK increases by 6/6.9/7.8/8.7/9.6% for 8s. While the target is under an Attribute Anomaly, this effect is increased by an additional 6/6.9/7.8/8.7/9.6%.

Starlight Engine (P5) 92%

Knight's Combo
Launching a Dodge Counter or Quick Assist increases the equipper's ATK by 12/13.8/15.6/17.4/19.2% for 12s.

Best Drive Discs for Severian

Severian does not have a single dedicated Best-in-slot set, but instead can use multiple Drive Disc sets, and all are close in DMG, where the best set can depend on sub-stats.

Dawn's Bloom

2-Piece Set: Increases Basic Attack DMG by 15%.
4-Piece Set: Increases Basic Attack DMG by 20%. When equipped by an Attack character, using an EX Special Attack or Ultimate will further increase Basic Attack DMG by 20% for 25s. Repeated triggers reset the duration.

Woodpecker Electro

2-Piece Set: CRIT Rate +8%
4-Piece Set: Landing a critical hit on an enemy with a Basic Attack, Dodge Counter, or EX Special Attack increases the equipper's ATK by 9% for 6s. The buff duration for different skills are calculated separately.

Hormone Punk

2-Piece Set: ATK +10%
4-Piece Set: Upon becoming the active character in combat, the equipper's ATK increases by 25% for 10s. This effect can trigger once every 20s.

Severian's Stat Priority

Severian Lowell can be built similarly to other Attack Agents, with CRIT being the most important stats, followed by ATK % and PEN. Although Severian does have the distinction of CRIT Rate being more important than CRIT DMG as it also grants bonus ATK through his additional ability Additional Ability: Optimal Setup.

Keep in mind that CRIT increase from W-Engine effects (no substat), such as his signature Incarcerating Grip, do not show up in the stat screen. In such a case, Severian should target 80% CRIT Rate on the stat screen with his signature W-Engine.

Severian's Skill Priority

Severian Lowell's skill priority order is to level up his Core Skill, Basic Attack, Quick Assist for his Entry Skill, Ultimate, and EX Special. While Severian will be frequently using his Dodge, it does not directly deal large amounts of DMG and does not need to be leveled.

How to Play Severian

Severian Lowell's kit revolves around automatically dodging enemy attacks and using an Enhanced Basic Attack to deal DMG.

Severian has 2 main resources:

• Flow: Used to activate EBA Basic Attack: Azure Wind's Shadowhunt, accumulated through Basic Attacks, Chain Attack, and Ultimate. Up to 150 points.
• Shadow Flash: Consumed when automatically dodging while using Basic Attacks, overflows into Windborne points. Starts with 2 points, can be restored with EX Special.

If Severian is attacked while using his Basic Attacks, 1 Shadow Flash is consumed to automatically dodge and automatically activates an "Alternative" Basic Attack Basic Attack: Raging Whirlwind. The Alternative Basic Attack grants more Flow points towards Severian's EBA. If enough Flow is available, the Alternative Basic Attack can be followed up into Severian's Enhanced Basic Attack by holding .

1 Shadow Flash point can be granted by using Severian's EX Special EX Special Attack: Swiftwind Rupture which costs 40 Energy. If enough energy is available, Holding can consume 80 Energy and grant 2 points. If Severian's EX Special is used while already holding 2 points of Shadow Flash, a Windborne stack is granted instead.

Overflowing Shadow Flash points is important as it allows Severian's Entry Skill Entry Skill: Clear Out to be activated when switched in via a Quick Assist, and upgrades the next Basic Attack to the Alternative Basic Attack.

With 100 Flow, holding will launch Severian's EBA Basic Attack: Azure Wind's Shadowhunt which deals a large amount of DMG. Flow can be gained quickly through Chain Attacks, Ultimate (instantly restores 100 points), and Basic Attacks with the Alternative Basic Attack restoring more points.

Out of Stun, Severian Lowell's basic combo would be to just use his Basic Attacks and squad members' various skills to stun the enemy. Ensuring that Severian can start the stun window with at least 100 Flow and just before stun have at least 2 Shadow Flash points and EX Special ready to use to convert his Basic Attacks into the alternative version.

This sample rotation demonstrates 3 uses of Severian's Enhanced Basic Attacks, with Squad Members triggering the Chain Window for Severian to use his Chain Attack.

This basic rotation can be applied to most teams. Before entering stun, you would want to have at least 100 Flow and 2 Shadow Flare Points. Severian's EX Special is used just before or at the start of the stun window to convert his next Basic Attack into the Alternative version which accumulates more Flow. During Stun, Basic Attack is held to launch the EBA, followed up by switching to another Squad Member to trigger the Chain window and use Severian's Chain Attack to both deal DMG and accumulate Flow. Then the Chain Attack is cancelled and the alternative Basic Attack is used, then another Chain Attack goes to Severian at which point enough Flow is restored to use the EBA followed by Ultimate which restores 100 Flow to again use EBA.

Severian's Best Mindscapes

This W-Engine ranking is made in a team with Severian Lowell, Norma, and Sunna and showcases overall team DPS. Severian has decent early Mindscapes in M1 and M2, with the rest of his Mindscapes building incremental steps towards M6.

M1 Double Espresso ignores 15% of Wind RES, restores more Flow through Severian's Chain Attacks allowing for more EBAs, and once every 60s converts Entry Skill to Chain Attack.

M2 Reins of Reason allows Severian to start combat with 150 Flow. When a Perfect Dodge (including Automatic Dodges) or EBA is used, PEN Ratio additionally increases by 20%.

M4 Between Light and Shadow grants a 10% ATK increase with near full uptime, and increases decibel generation after using the Alternative or Enhanced Basic Attack DMG.

M6 Beneath a Little Star increases the maximum flow to 180, and additionally increases the Enhanced Basic Attack's DMG while also granting 25 Flow after the EBA, allowing for even more EBAs.

Severian's Best Teams

To learn all about Severian's synergies and best team compositions, check our dedicated Severian team page below:

Changelog