Orphie and Magus are set to properly kick off ZZZ’s dual attacker meta, and she’s an interesting unit when she has a good build and team composition.
Seed kicked off Zenless Zone Zero patch 2.2, and her unique kit requires a similarly unique build. Orphie and Magus are unique in their own way, but will thankfully be much easier to build up. Still, despite being easier to build, the leader of Obol Squad and her trusty steed are significantly more niche and are much more constrained in terms of team compositions.
With that in mind, players need to be quite particular with Orphie and Magus. Here’s how to play them, how to build them, and who to put them with.
How to play Orphie and Magus in Zenless Zone Zero
Orphie and Magus are a pure off-field DPS option in ZZZ teams.
Sub-DPSs and off-field anomaly agents aren’t a new concept in Zenless, but those general ideas haven’t been combined in this way. While Lucy can be built as a sub-DPS, Trigger is an off-field stunner, and agents like Vivian can passively build up anomalies, Orphie and Magus are meant to occasionally pop up and blast enemies with lasers for big damage.
Orphie and Magus have a special resource in Bottled Heat that builds up as the team uses EX special attacks and ultimates. When the meter charges to 75%, Magus can unleash a “Crimson Vortex” laser that deals strong fire damage and buffs the attack stat of the entire team. This buff scales on Orphie and Magus’ energy regen stat and lasts 12 seconds. Characters can extend the duration of the buffs by using aftershock attacks. This is buffed further by her Forged in Flames additional ability, which lets aftershocks ignore 25% of opponents’ defenses.
What sets Orphie and Magus apart from other characters is that they actually deal bigger damage with their EX Special attacks from off-field as they accumulate energy. This means the optimal way to use Orphie and Magus is keeping them off-field, building up Bottled Heat, bringing them in to use Crimson Vortex, and buffing the team to set up a blitz of damage.
Best Drive Disc build for Orphie and Magus in ZZZ
The best Drive Disc build for Orphie and Magus centers around four-piece Shadow Harmony set. In most cases, players are best served looking to add energy regen through Drive Discs, but there is some wiggle room offered to those who pull for her signature W-Engine.
Here are the main stats to get for each Drive Disc slot:
- HP
- Attack
- Defense
- Crit damage/rate
- Fire damage/ATK%
- Energy Regen
The difference in slot five boils down to whether Orphie is paired with Seed, as a higher attack stat can help both of them.
Though Orphie and Magus are a unique attacker, their optimal sub-stats are standard fare. Crit rate and crit damage are the priority, followed by ATK%. PEN can have some value in certain team compositions, but that’s likely not the case for most teams.
Here are the best Drive Disc builds for Orphie and Magus.
Four-piece Shadow Harmony, two-piece Swing Jazz / Moonlight Lullaby
Orphie and Magus deal damage with Shadow Harmony and scale on Energy Regen, so the best Drive Disc set bonuses are naturally focused on that. Shadow Harmony boosts aftershock damage and stacks buffs on top of this. Meanwhile, the two-piece bonuses for both Swing Jazz and Moonlight Lullaby increase energy regen by 20%.
Four-piece Shadow Harmony, two-piece Inferno Metal
For players who pull for Orphie and Magus’ signature W-Engine, they might be able to get by without the 20% energy regen bonus from Swing Jazz or Moonlight Lullaby. If that’s the case, Inferno Metal is the easiest two-piece bonus to work with. Other damage boosts from Branch and Blade Song, Hormone Punk, or Woodpecker Electro also make sense.
Best W-Engines for Orphie and Magus
Bellicose Blaze is the best W-Engine for Orphie and Magus, and is central to an optimal build for her. Orphie and Magus continue the new ZZZ pastime of characters scaling on an off-role stat, which generally feels awkward and often requires pulling for signature W-Engines. That’s basically the case here, though not to as extreme a degree it was for building Trigger.
Here are the best W-Engines for Orphie and Magus, and what they bring to the table.
Bellicose Blaze
Bellicose Blaze is Orphie and Magus’ signature W-Engine, and its value lies in the simple fact that it’s the only W-Engine that offers energy regen and an effect that the agent can use. This includes a crit rate boost and fire attacks stacking defense penetration, which synergizes with Orphie and Magus’ kit.
Drill Rig
There are only a few A-rank W-Engines that offer attack and energy regeneration, with Drill Rig being the only attacker W-engine that fits this bill. Functionally speaking, there’s no difference for Orphie and Magus between Anton’s Drill Rig, Lucy’s Kaboom the Cannon, or Nicole’s The Vault. Drill Rig’s effect offers nothing to Orphie and Magus, so all these are basically stat sticks for her. Still, these stat sticks bring a lot to the table.
Cannon Rotor
Outside of Drill Rig, some of the limited and premium A-rank W-Engines can be part of a solid Orphie and Magus build. The Cannon Rotor from the battle pass is the best option that’s available at all times. The Marcato Desire and Gilded Blossom are also strong for those who got them when they could. Outside of these, however, the Drill Rig will be the better A-rank option as the pure attack stat boosts don’t do that much for Orphie and Magus.
Best ZZZ team compositions for Orphie and Magus
Orphie and Magus are specifically designed to be a complementary piece for aftershock-based teams, meaning there are few team compositions that she actively synergizes with in Zenless Zone Zero right now. That might change over time if attackers skew toward dealing aftershock damage, but she only really works in a few teams at launch.
All NEDF – Seed/Soldier 0 Anby, Trigger, Orphie and Magus (Mercury)
Orphie and Magus are tailor-made to work with Seed. Seed offers some big buffs that synergize well with Orphie and Magus, and vice versa, which will likely make them one of the stronger teams in the game for some time. Soldier 0 Anby also works well in the primary DPS role given Orphie and Magus’ ability to buff aftershock attacks.
Stars of Lyra +1 – Evelyn, Astra Yao, Orphie and Magus (Snap)
In a surprise twist, Evelyn’s place in the ZZZ tier list and in the meta overall were actually strengthened by Orphie and Magus. The new limited fire attacker can synergize well with both the Stars of Lyra. Some adjustments need to be made to Orphie and Magus’ build due to Evelyn not using ZZZ’s until-recently-forgotten-about aftershocks, but this team can steamroll fire-weak endgame content.
Best Orphie and Magus F2P team – Lucy, Pulchra/Piper, Orphie and Magus (Rocketboo)
Lucy got a sizable buff in Zenless Zone Zero version 2.2 with the Moonlight Lullaby Drive Disc set, while Pulchra and Piper stand among the best A-rank units in the game. This team effectively forces Orphie and Magus into a primary DPS role, which isn’t necessarily ideal but is still workable.
