Zenless Zone Zero (ZZZ) Nekomata guide: Best builds, W-Engines, Drive Discs, combos, and more

If you manage to pull Nekomata from Zenless Zone Zero’s interesting gacha system, the roguelike’s combat becomes easier. This Nekomata guide will break down her best builds, W-Engines, Drive Discs, combos, and more in Zenless Zone Zero (ZZZ). So if you want to make her better, keep this guide near. 

Should you pull Nekomata in Zenless Zone Zero?

As far as S-Ranked characters go, Nekomata stands out quite a bit because of her fast heavy attacks. The more I have her on my team, the more I realize that she’s a great replacement for Anby. Instead of hitting enemies with Daze, Nekomata does a lot of Physical Damage all while being super fast.

Nekomata’s playstyle and combos

Her playstyle is more on the attack side as that’s Nekomata’s specialty in Zenless Zone Zero. You may think she’s low on the defensive end which she can be. However, her attack speed and the ability to hit hard quickly allow her to be a worthy character on your team. If you have her unlocked, she should be your main DPS because of her attack power. This build will help you enhance those qualities so her damage output will be greater afterward. 

Best build for Nekomata

This cat-like character should be your main attacker regardless of what composition you’re running. With this build, you can take out multiple enemies at once thanks to her AoE attacks. Plus, her Dodge Counters double her overall damage.

Since she’s deemed as one of the fastest characters in the game with low defense, you’ll be Dodge Countering quite often which makes your overall damage go up. Capitalizing on this attribute early can make mid and late-game scenarios a lot easier. 

However, out of the gates, Nekomata has a harder playstyle than most other characters in ZZZ. This is due to her speed. By making this build, you may flatten out her learning curve, which in turn, could make her one of the better and easier S-Rank Agents to choose in the game. 

W-Engines to use for Nekomata

As opposed to Anby’s W-Engine which can be more flexible, Nekomata is a focused playstyle. This means you’d need dedicated W-Engines to amplify those specific attributes. With Nekomata being a Physical attacking character, these W-Engines seem to work well with that quality. 

• Steel Cushion: This W-Engine has become a fan-favorite. If you’re running a Billy Build in Zenless Zone Zero, you might be able to tell why. To start, it’s Nekomata’s main weapon. It gives 20 percent more Physical Damage to Nekomata. However, when attacking from the back, you gain 25 percent. As mentioned, Nekomata is fast and she’ll always Dodge Counter which could put her behind any enemy. Every time you Dodge Counter, the damage goes up. But adding Steel Cushion in the mix takes the damage even further. 

• Starlight Engine: Keeping with the theme of using Nekomata’s Dodge Counter, consider equipping this W-Engine to her. Every Dodge Counter you increases the Attack by 12 percent for 12 seconds. What’s cool about this effect, is that as long as you consistently Dodge Counter the 12 percent increase stays constant. It’ll go away after 12 seconds but immediately will come back. Since Nekomanata is fast as heck, Dodge Counters will always be a part of her attack plan. 

• The Brimstone: If you can’t get the aforementioned W-Engines, this one is a great alternative. Since we’re all about using Nekomata’s Dodge Counter and maybe her Basic Attacks, this helps quite a bit. Every time you attack whether it’s a Dodge Counter, Basic Attack, or Dash Attack, her Attack goes up to about 3.5 percent for eight seconds. The best bit, it stacks eight times. Imagine how deadly she can become once you get this W-Engine maxed out. 

Drive Discs for Nekomata

These Drive Discs are more honed in just like the W-Engines. Rather than encompassing every aspect of her, the following continues the party and makes her damage even heavier. 

• Woodpecker Electro: The Two Piece effect is great, it gives you an increase of CRIT damage by eight percent. However, the Four Piece is that when you hit a target for CRIT damage by a Basic Attack or Dodge Counter, the Attack increases by nine percent for around six seconds. The good thing is that Nekomata’s core stat is CRIT rate. By default, she can utilize this Drive Disc better.

• Fanged Metal: At the base of this Drive Disc your Physical Damage is increased to 10 percent. But the Four Piece really brings everything together. As long as someone on the team does Assault Damage, Nekomata deals 35 percent more Damage to the assaulted labeled target for 12 seconds. You’re already doing a high amount of Physical Damage with the W-Engines above, this Drive Discs brings it all home.

Skill Priority

1. Dodge
2. Basic Attack
3. Core Skill
4. Assist
5. Chain Attack
6. Special Attack

With making her Dodge Attack and Basic Attacks front and center, let’s prioritize those two first. Her power comes from the Dodge Counters and Basic Attacks. So maxing out those two skills first will increase everything and amplify the Disc Drives and W-Engine.

However, I do recommend investing in the Assist skill particularly. With each Assist she does, her Damage goes up. By leveling it up, your damage output will help the Basic Attacks. 

Her Special Attack and Chain Attacks can be strong — provided they land. This might be hard to do with Nekomata’s speed, which is why I put those attacks at the bottom. It makes more sense to use her skills that consistently hit.  

Best Team Comps for Nekomata in Zenless Zone Zero

Now, I prefer Nekomata to be the main DPS for most comps she’s in. However, she can be a great Sub-DPS if you use her strengths right. With a good build for Anby for example, Nekomata can complement that aspect.

Additionally, she brings this chaotic energy to whichever team she’s on. In turn, it helps keep the momentum of the attack. With that being said, here are some team comps for Nekomata that have good synergy. 

• Nekomata, Nicole, Billy: If you don’t remember, Nekomata can do great AoE damage because of her speed. However, before you get her to attack, use Nicole to bring all the enemies together. After that, Nekomata can quickly and cleanly damage each enemy in Nicole’s pull. The reason why I put Billy here is that he can bounce off Nekomata’s attack. When she’s swiping away, bring him out to continue high damage attack. Whenever I go up against the bosses in Zenless Zone Zero, I have this team set up because you can create breathing room while dealing heavy damage. 

• Lucy, Nekomata, Anby: What I like about this team-up is that everyone is doing their part equally. Anby is generating Daze which can help the enemy stop attacking faster. Nekomata puts those numbers via here Damage stat. Then while all the enemies are Stunned and unable to do follow-up attacks, Lucy deals damage by launching her minions at them. On top of all that, Nekomata and Anby are fast-attack characters. Even the strongest enemies can’t keep up. Because of those qualities, clearing stages can be done in no time.

Best Bangboos for Nekomata

For Bangboos, I suggest using Amillion. Because Nekomata is all about Physical Damage, the Active and Additional Skill use just that. The Active Skill is it builds a machine gun that deals quite a bit of Physical Damage. 

With Amillion’s Additional Ability, if you have at least two Cunning Hares (Billy, Anby, and Nicole) the Bangboos’s Chain Attack does up 45 percent more damage. However, to trigger this, ensure the number of enemies in the field is low. Its Chain Attack deploys a giant machine gun helping you out that deals significant Physical Damage. Ultimately, Amillion acts as an extension for Nekomata.

Since Amillion is an S-Tier Bangboo, pulling it might be hard. But these are some options that can still make the best out of Nekomata.

• Exploreboo: When it scans the ground nearby, this Bangboo then starts to excavate it. After, it gives Nekomata any of the following buffs: Recover HP, Generates Shield, and Increases Energy Regen. Generates Sheild is your best option since Nekomata isn’t the highest on the defense. The Additional Ability makes those buffs stronger if you have at least one support character on the team. 

• Sumoboo: Nekomata will need all the help she can get via Physical Damage. If you manage to get this Bangboo, it can offer great reinforcement. It jumps up in the air and does a downward attack that can interrupt an enemy’s attack. Next, if you have a character that has Daze like Anby, the Active Skill deals 18 percent more damage for enemies that have 50 percent of Daze. When you successfully do that, Nekomata can strike harder and faster. 

How to farm Nekomata Material in ZZZ

To max out Nekomata, you’ll need the following materials:

• Four Basic Offense Certification Seal
• 32 Advanced Offense Certification Seal
• 30 Pioneer Certification Seal
• 800,000 Dennies

Leveling Nekomata is easy with these materials. The Certification Seals come from the VR Combat. Once you complete that, you’ll earn an assortment of rewards like lower-level materials which you can use to craft advanced materials. After that, you can get Advanced Seals. Dennies is one of the currencies you can get in Zenless Zone Zero, and is earned by doing simply everything in the game.