ZZZ Event W-Engines Ranked: Every Free Option Shines in Its Own Way

Hello, Proxies! Before we knew it, Version 3.3 of Zenless Zone Zero is already past the halfway mark. Have you picked up this version's free event W-Engine yet? Today we're taking you through every event W-Engine ZZZ has put out so far, ranking them from banger to trash. Their strength varies a great deal these days, so without further ado, let's take a look!

Gilded Blossom

Release: 1.1 [Camellia Golden Week]

The earliest event W-Engine of them all. It suits Attack Agents who rely on EX Special Attacks, and it was once a fine early-game partner for free-to-play players. But times have changed: the only Agents left who fit this engine are Corin and Orphie, and neither of them has a healthy place in the meta today. You can now exchange for it for free at the Outpost shop, but its value is no longer what it was — overall, it only earns an NPC.

Marcato Desire

Release: 1.4 [Into That Pale Wasteland]

An extremely versatile Attack W-Engine that hands out both CRIT and ATK — two of the most important stats. It used to be the first choice for Harumasa when you had no signature, and even today it remains a well-rounded free engine that can serve as a lower-tier stand-in for many Agents' signatures. In both uptime and effect it can fairly be called the shining light of event W-Engines — overall, top-tier.

Reel Projector

Release: 2.0 [Gravitational Attraction]

Mingru has always wondered why the Reel Projector, a lower-tier stand-in for Caesar's signature, took until Version 2.0 to arrive. It is a Defense W-Engine with Impact as its main stat; it offers damage reduction and no buffing power whatsoever, so outside of Caesar it has no home at all.

But these days Caesar herself has next to no place in the meta, and since this engine arrived so late, plenty of Caesars back then ran without a signature and used a Stun W-Engine as a stopgap instead. Judged on both raw strength and current relevance, this one lands in trash tier.

Cauldron of Clarity

Release: 2.5 [Sword Seeker Chronicles]

A Rupture W-Engine that rolls HP, CRIT, and DMG bonus into one, beating the Puzzle Sphere and the battle-pass engine on the same track on every front — its versatility is off the charts.

Its excellent stats and effect let it stand in for every Rupture signature; any Rupture Agent can use it. Its strength is beyond doubt, enough to make it a high point in the event W-Engine line. Proxies without signatures, get it levelled up! Overall: banger.

The Simmering Pot

Release: 2.7 [Chronicle of Simmering Flavors]

The red-oil hotpot, as a Stun W-Engine, gives Impact as its stat and Daze plus DMG as its effect — broadly speaking, it is fairly versatile.

But Agents who combine damage with Stun are few and far between, and most Stun Agents lack damage, which drags down how well this effect fits. Meanwhile, the free A-Rank engine on the same track still has an insurmountable peak to clear: the seafood pot, Steam Oven, which outclasses the red-oil hotpot every way you look at it. Overall: a cut above.

Boisterous Echoes

Release: 3.0 [Assemble! Mock Exam Comeback Plan]

An Anomaly W-Engine with Anomaly Proficiency as its main stat, but its effect is tightly bound to the Vortex effect, which makes it tightly bound to Velina. It grants the equipping Agent Energy regen and a DMG bonus, which looks decent enough on paper.

But think it over and you'll find the effect is actually dreadful: a 10-second internal cooldown further discounts an Energy refund whose numbers were already low. In both trigger frequency and effect it is less direct and less broadly useful than Weeping Gemini on the same track. A future Agent may be able to use it, but as things stand, overall: NPC.

Candlelit Scheme

Release: 3.3 [Spooky Funhouse Tales]

This version's newest Armorer W-Engine, with DEF as its advanced stat; its effect provides CRIT Rate, and once a monster's HP falls below 50% it grants an additional DMG bonus.

All in all, a fairly versatile engine. Compared with the Box Galaxy engine on the same track, which offers nothing but DEF, this one is more well-rounded: you can use it as a lower-tier weapon for Claret, or invest in it for next version's Sunbringer team. Overall, a very strong free weapon — top-tier.

That is everything for this issue. Event W-Engines, as rewards from the version's headline events, give free-to-play players a transitional option beyond signatures, and the strength of the individual weapons shifts from version to version. What kind of event W-Engine would you like to see ZZZ add in future versions? Be sure to keep following our articles and our community extras — see you next time!