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Nicole in Zenless Zone Zero is an A rank Agent who deals ether anomaly damage. Nicole, a Support Agent, specializes in grouping up smaller enemies with her EX Special and Chain Attacks. In addition, she can help support the team by reducing enemy DEF with her enhanced Basic and Dash Attacks.
Below, you will find the best Support builds for Nicole as of the ZZZ 1.0 release. Rather you are a F2P player or a spender, this guide is for you! *Note that these builds assume base talent level.
Overview
Available on the standard banner and given as a free single copy as your starter support agent, Nicole, the leader of The Cunning Hares, is a support unit with the ability to group together smaller enemies. Her skills create an energy field that pulls together small enemies, similar to Venti in Genshin Impact, except at a much smaller scale. Apart from that, her support role is enhanced by the fact that when enemies are inside of the gravitational pull, their defense is decreased by 30% and Ether Damage dealt is increased by 25% for a short time, allowing your team to deal more damage, and making her especially good for an Ether team comp. Unfortunately, she falls a bit short when dealing with bigger enemies, as her energy field has no pull on them. With that out of the way, let's get on to the best W-Engines, Disc Drives, Stats, Skills, Bangboo, and Teams for Nicole!
W-Engines
S - Weeping Cradle
⭐ Pen Ratio
- While off-field, Energy Regen increases by 0.6/0.75/0.9/1.05/1.2 per second. Attacks from the equipper enhance the squad's DMG against a struck target by 10/12.5/15/17.5/20% for 3 seconds. During this period, this effect is further increased by 1.7/2/2.5/3/3.3% every 0.5s, up to a maximum additional increase of 10.2/12/15/18/19.8%. Repeated triggers only refresh its duration without refreshing the DMG increase effect. Passive effects of the same name do not stack.
- As Nicole often attacks off field with her EX Special and Chain Attack, you will be able to proc this passive for your team quite often.
A - The Vault
⭐ Energy Regen
- Dealing Ether DMG using an EX Special Attack, Chain Attack, or Ultimate increases all squad members' DMG against the target by 15/17.5/20/22/24% and increases the equipper's Energy Regen by 0.5/0.58/0.65/0.72/0.8 per second for 2s. Passive effects of the same name do not stack.
- As Nicole's Signature W-Engine, this will be her best in slot after a couple of dupes, outranking Weeping Cradle. Nicole deals Ether Damage, so naturally this fits with her kit, and also ups her support game a lot with the passives from this W-Engine.
A - Unfettered Game Ball
⭐ Energy Regen
- Whenever the equipper's attack triggers an Attribute Counter effect, all squad members' CRIT Rate against the struck enemy increases by 12/13.5/15.5/17.5/20% for 12s. The bonuses triggered by the same type of passive effects do not stack.
- Nicole deals a lot of Ether Damage on her EX Special and Chain Attack, which is what you'll be using her for in order to group enemies with her energy field, so if you're against enemies weak to Ether, your team will have an easier time dealing crits, allowing them to focus more on crit damage.
Disc Drives + Stats
Option 1 - "Business Deal"
4 Piece Swing Jazz
(2) Energy Regen increases by 20%.
(4) Launching a Chain Attack or Ultimate increases all squad members' DMG by 15% for 12s. Passive effects of the same name do not stack.
2 Piece Chaotic Metal
(2) Increases Ether DMG by 10%.
Main Stats: IV. Anomaly Proficiency | V. Ether DMG | VI. Energy Regen
Sub stats in order of priority:
1. Anomaly Prof | 2. ATK% | 3. Crit Rate or Crit Damage
As Nicole relies heavily on her EX Special, Chain, or Ultimate to activate her core passive and additional ability, 4 piece Swing Jazz fits really well with her kit, and the increased energy regen and ether damage further increases Nicole's versatility.
Option 2 - "All Mine!"
4 Piece Chaotic Metal
(2) Increases Ether DMG by 10%.
(4) The equipper's CRIT DMG increases by 20%. When any character in the squad triggers Corruption's additional DMG, this effect further increases by 5.5% for 8s, stacking up to 6 times. Repeated triggers reset the duration.
2 Piece Swing Jazz
(2) Energy Regen increases by 20%.
Main Stats: IV. Anomaly Proficiency or Crit Rate | V. Ether DMG | VI. Energy Regen
Sub stats in order of priority:
1. Crit Rate | 2. Anomaly Prof | 3. ATK% | 4. Crit Damage
This build is more suited for if you want Nicole to be a support DPS rather than just a pure support as the above build. This build relies on you having some crit rate to take advantage of the crit damage boost from Chaotic Metal, so make sure to invest in that.
Skill Priority
ALWAYS PRIOIRITZE CORE SKILL FIRST!!!
1. As Nicole's EX Special is the key part of her kit, you'll be using it the most, making this top priority.
2. Nicole's Chain Attack also has the energy field grouping effect, making this top priority, slightly below her Special.
3. As a support, you'll use Nicole's Assist more often than her basic and dodge, making this third priority.
4. You'll be using Nicole's Basic and Dash attack after acquiring enhanced bullets in order to lower the enemies defense, making them both tied at 4th priority.
5. You'll be using Nicole's Dash and Basic attack after acquiring enhanced bullets in order to lower the enemies defense, making them both tied at 4th priority.
Bangboo
S - Resonaboo
Key Trait - When there are 2 or more Ether Attribute characters in your squad: Bangboo Chain Attack inflicts 100% more Anomaly Buildup.
For Ether centric teams, this will make it much easier to apply Corruption, making builds that rely on applying Corruption much easier to achieve.
S - Amillion
Key Trait - When there are 2 or more Cunning Hares character in your squad: Bangboo Chain Attack DMG increases with fewer enemies in combat, up to a max of 45%.
This will be the best Bangboo for the F2P "Starter" team, as this will increase your damage output by a considerable amount upon doing a full chain attack combo.
A - Devilboo
Key Trait - When there are at least 2 Ether Attribute characters in your squad: Bangboo Chain Attack inflicts 40% more Anomaly Buildup. After activating Bangboo Chain Attack, the coordination state lasts for 5 more seconds and can activate 4 more times.
A slightly weaker version of Reasonaboo, but will still greatly benefit Ether teams.
A - Avocaboo
Key Trait - When there is at least 1 Support character in your squad: Active Skill recovers 20% more HP. Active Skill has 3 more charges.
A great general option for the F2P team if you do not have Amillion, as healing in the game is extremely rare, and in the end game, will become very useful with the less than stellar F2P team.
Optimal Team Comps
Team 1 - Ether
This Ether team consisting of Nicole, Zhu Yuan, and Anby ensures that everyone in the team has their additional ability, and in the case of Nicole, her Core Passive: Mechanical Case applies a debuff to an enemy, all squad members deal 25% more Ether DMG to the target for 3.5s. Since you don't have an anomaly ether unit in this squad, you should consider using Reasonaboo or Devilboo in order to more easily trigger corruption.
Team 2 - Starter Team (F2P)
This completely free to play team consisting of Anby, Nicole, and Billy gives you a solid, jack of all trades team. Anby providing stun, Nicole the support and enemy grouping, and Ben, with the AOE and ranged physical attacks. As Ben will be your main DPS, your damage overall and usefulness end game may cause you to struggle a bit, but it's a great team that you're given completely for free, considering they are all in the same faction, everyone's additional ability is unlocked.
Overall Thoughts
Nicole is a solid support agent considering she is completely free, and is ideal for rooms with numerous smaller mobs due to her energy field. She is also a strong choice for Ether teams. However, her effectiveness decreases slightly in later stages of the game because elite and boss monsters are too heavy to be affected by her gravitational pull. Despite this, her ability to decrease monsters' defense and increase the team's Ether damage makes her a valuable asset for Ether teams.
