No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you – that is a bear wearing clothing. He’s Zenless Zone Zero’s Ben, an accountant at Belobog’s Heavy Industries, and a playable character in Hoyoverse’s latest game. Let’s see what we know about this fuzzy guy’s story, how to build him, and more.
While you’re here, check out our guides on Zenless Zone Zero’s Billy, Zenless Zone Zero’s Nicole, Zenless Zone Zero’s Anby, and Zenless Zone Zero’s Soukaku to brush up on who more of the Zenless Zone Zero characters are.
Here’s everything in our Zenless Zone Zero Ben guide:
What is the best Ben build?
Ben is an A-tier fire attacker, dealing strike damage to enemies. He has some defensive capabilities, reducing incoming damage with a defense stance, and giving a shield to himself and the team in certain moments.
Ben’s attacks scale off his defense, as does his shield from his EX special attack, so a W-Engine with a defense-boosting stat and at least one defense two-piece disc drive set is a must.
In terms of teams, if you pair Ben with another fire agent and/or another strike agent – for instance, if you have Zenless Zone Zero’s Koleda – Ben can get a significant buff, and provide the entire team a shield.
What is Ben’s best W-Engine?
Ben has a W-Engine geared to his kit, called Big Cylinder. If you get this one, put this on him. If not, Steam Oven or [Lunar] Crescent are good bets as they add a lot of defense to his stats, which is necessary for a lot of his skills.
| W Engine | Effect |
| Big Cylinder | Bonus stat: increases defense Effect: damage taken reduces by 15%. After getting attacked, the next attack to hit an enemy always crits and deals 600% of Ben’s defense as additional damage. This effect can trigger once every 7.5 seconds |
| Steam Oven | Bonus stat: increases defense Effect: EX special attacks deal additional damage equal to 800% of Ben’s defense. This can only trigger once every 8 seconds |
| [Lunar] Crescent | Bonus stat: increases defense Effect: increases defense when attacked by 20% for eight seconds |
What are the best disc drives for Ben?
You want to bump up Ben’s defense stat before anything else, so we highly recommend at least one two-piece set of Mammoth Electro and Ecstatic Punk. Ben gains a shield during his special attack that scales off his HP, so a two-piece of Twisted Grindcore is a very good option to add.
| Disc drive set | Effect |
| Mammoth Electro | Two equipped: increases defence by 16% Four equipped: reduces the damage the wearer takes by 8% |
| Ecstatic Punk | Two equipped: increases defence by 16% Four equipped: on defeating an enemy, recover 1% HP |
| Twisted Grindcore | Two equipped: increases HP by 10% Four equipped: increases Bangboo damage by 45%. This effect doesn’t stack |
What are Ben’s skills?
Ben’s kit is all about defending first and attacking second. here is a breakdown of every skill in his arsenal.
Ben’s attacks:
| Skill | Effect |
| Basic attack – Debt Reconciliation | Press the basic attack button to activate. Ben unleashes up to three strikes dealing physical damage. |
| Special attack – Fiscal Fist | Press the special attack button to activate. Ben lifts his weapon, blocking the enemy’s attack before unleashing a forward strike, dealing physical damage. After a successful block, Ben launches a counterattack, increasing the power of his skill. Hold the special attack button to remain in the blocking stance. While in this stance, Ben gains a shield that weakens over time. After leaving the stance, the shield disappears. The shield cannot exceed 16% of Ben’s maximum HP. Ben is invulnerable while blocking and his anti-interrupt level rises while launching strikes |
| EX special attack – Cashflow Counter | When Ben has enough energy, press the special attack button to activate. Ben lifts his weapon and blocks an enemy attack before unleashing a forward strike and dealing fire damage. After a successful block, Ben launches a counterattack, which increases his power. Hold the special attack button to remain in the blocking stance. While in it, Ben gains a shield that weakens over time. After leaving the stance, the shield disappears. The shield cannot exceed 16% of Ben’s maximum HP. Ben is invulnerable while blocking and his anti-interrupt level rises while launching strikes. Press the special attack button again to follow up with a series of forward strikes, dealing massive fire damage |
Ben’s dodges:
| Skill | Effect |
| Dodge – Missing Invoice | Press the dodge button to perform a rapid evasive move. Ben is invulnerable while using this skill |
| Dash attack – Incoming Expense | Press the basic attack button during a dodge to activate. Strikes enemies in front, dealing physical damage |
| Dodge counter – Accounts Settled | Press the basic attack button during a perfect dodge to activate. Ben strikes enemies in front, dealing fire damage. Ben is invulnerable while using this skill |
Ben’s chain attacks:
| Skill | Effect |
| Chain attack – Signed and Sealed | When a chain attack triggers, select Ben to activate. Ben unleashes a powerful upward strike at enemies in a large area, dealing massive fire damage. Ben is invulnerable while using this skill |
| Ultimate – Complete Payback | When Ben’s Decibel Rating is at maximum, press the ultimate button to activate. This unleashes a powerful strike at enemies in a large area, dealing huge fire damage. The daze dealt to targets increases by 10%. Ben is invulnerable while using this skill |
Ben’s core skills:
| Skill | Effect |
| Core passive – Guardian (unlocked at agent level 15) | Ben’s attack is directly tied to his defense, increasing by 40% more of his own defense. When he launches a follow-up attack during his EX special attack, he gains a shield worth 15% of his defense, lasting for 30 seconds |
| Additional ability – Contractual Agreement (unlocked at agent level 15) | When there are at least two fire agents in your squad: -When Ben hits an enemy with an EX special or assist attack, the anomaly buildup dealt to the target increases by 75%. When there are at least two strike agents in the squad: -Ben’s core passive, Guardian, provides all squad members with a shield |
| Reactive assist – Joint Account | When the character in combat gets knocked back, press the swap character button. Ben strikes enemies in front dealing fire damage. Ben is invulnerable while using this skill |
| Defensive assist – Risk Allocation | When the character in combat is about to be attacked, press the swap character button. Ben parries the enemy’s attack, inflicting massive daze. Ben is invulnerable while using this skill |
| Assist follow-up – Don’t Break Contract | Press the special attack button after a defensive assist to activate. Ben charges and strikes enemies in front, dealing fire damage. Ben is invulnerable while using this skill |
What are Ben’s talents?
Ben’s talents – like Genshin’s constellations or Honkai Star Rail’s eidolons – are unlocked if you pull another copy of him on the banner. Here are the extra skills he gets from each unlock.
| Talent | Effect |
| A – Reacting Force | When successfully blocking an enemy with Ben’s special attack or EX special attack, the blocked enemy’s damage dealt gets reduced by 30% by 15 seconds |
| B – Offense Through Defense | When triggering a successful block counter during Ben’s special attack or EX special attack, he deals extra damage equal to 250% of his defense stat |
| C – Careful Accounting | All skill levels increase by two |
| D – Agile Adaptation | When successfully blocking damage through Ben’s invulnerable effect (during his special and EX special attacks), the following counter deals 30% extra damage |
| E – Meticulous Detail | All skill levels increase by two |
| F – Wild Spirit | After launching an attack or follow-up attack during Ben’s EX special attack, the daze inflicted by basic, dash, and dodge counterattacks increases by 15%, lasting for 12 seconds |
What are Ben’s skill enhancement materials?
You can upgrade Ben’s skills using burn chips, which you can buy from the 141 Store on Sixth Street. As you continue leveling up his skills, you’ll need to get some basic, advanced, and specialized rarities of the chips.
What are Ben’s promotion materials?
As you level Ben up, you need to promote him every ten or so levels. To do this, you need some strike seals. You can farm these in the VR training area, and craft them into higher rarities.
Who is Zenless Zone Zero’s Ben?
Ben Bigger, a self-proclaimed math nerd, is a member of Belobog Heavy Industries, the up-and-coming construction company in New Eridu. No, unfortunately, this isn’t a nod to the Belobog in Honkai Star Rail – more on that in our Zenless Zone Zero developer interview.
He works alongside Zenless Zone Zero’s Anton, Grace, and Koleda, and somehow found a balance between bookkeeping and bashing thugs on the battlefield with his concrete pillar.
We don’t quite know how bears made their way into New Eridu’s society, but we’re very excited to find out. Ben is one of the ‘bear demi-humans’, more of which work in the construction company.
Who are Ben’s voice actors?
Ben’s voice actors are Kenji Hamada in Japanese, known for his work on the Like a Dragon series and Street Fighter 6, and Meng Xianglong in Chinese. Hoyoverse has yet to confirm his English VA.
Why not prepare yourself with these Zenless Zone Zero codes and our Zenless Zone Zero tier list? Plus, keep up with every Zenless Zone Zero update right here so you don’t miss a thing.