In Zenless Zone Zero, Nicole Demarais an A-rank character with a strike attack stylewho harnesses theetherelement. She’s a support character who can buff the team with ease. Nicole is also a member of the Cunning Hares faction along with Anby, Billy, and Nekomataa.
If you’re new to the game, we recommend you check out our Zenless Zone Zero tier list to find out which Zenless Zone Zero character we think is best, and our Zenless Zone Zero codesfor some in-game freebies.
Here’s everything you need to know about Zenless Zone Zero’s Nicole.
- Build
- W Engine
- Disc drives
- Abilities
- Talents
What is the best Nicole build?
Nicole dishes out strike damage and her element is ether.Dealing ether damage accumulates the ether attribute anomaly, causing the corruption effect. Corruption causes additional ether damage when you attack the enemy andcorrupted enemies also attack both friends and foes.
Nicole’s special attack deals rangedether damage to foes and her EX special can draw enemies together in a damaging energy field. you can also get amongst the action with her basic attack as she strikes enemies with her briefcase to deal physical damage.
We recommend you pairNicole up withone strike and one piercecharacter to trigger her additional ability that makes assist follow-ups deal 20% more daze, Zenless Zone Zero’s Ben and Zenless Zone Zero’s Billy fit the bill here.
What is Nicole’s best W-Engine?
Nicole’s best W-Engine is The Vault, it’s an A-rank item thatreduces the target’sdefense by 30% fortwo seconds when she uses an EX special or chain attack. Our B-rank recommendation is [Reverb] Mark IIItoincrease her attack damage and crit rate.
| W-Engine | Effect |
| The Vault | Bonus stat:attack Effect: Nicloe’s EX special and chain attacks reduce the target’s defense by 30% for two seconds. This effect does not stack |
| [Reverb] Mark III | Bonus stat:crit rate Effect:Increases damage dealt by basic and special attacks by 16% |
What are the best disc drives for Nicole?
In Zenless Zone Zero, disc drives are similar toGenshin Impact’s artifactsorHonkai Star Rail’s relics. You can equip each Zenless Zone Zero character with six disc drives, with each set offering a two- and four-piece set bonus.
As of the second closed beta, we recommend equipping Nicole with a four-piece set ofAssassin’s Ballad and a two-piece set of Noisy Pop to boost her attack.
This information is subject to change, and as we play more and try out different combinations we’ll update this guide.
| Disc drive | Effect |
| Assassin’s Ballad | Two equipped: increases attack by 10% Four equipped: basic attacks deal 20% more damage and an additional 12% upon defeating an enemy. This effect can stack up to three times and lasts for 15 seconds. Repeated triggers reset the duration |
| Noisy Pop | Two equipped: increases attack by 10% Four equipped: increases damage dealt by basic attacks by 15% |
What are Nicole’s skills?
These are each of Nicole’s skills that are available in the second closed beta, these are subject to change on the full release of the game.
Nicole’s attacks:
| Skill | Effect |
| Basic attack – Cunning Combo | Press the basic attack button to performup tofive strikes, dealing physical damage |
| Sub-basic attack – Do As I Please | When Nicole’s weapon has ammo, press the basic attack button to fire bullets, to deal increased AoE damage |
| Special attack – Sugarcoated Bullet | Press the special attack button to unleash a ranged attack against enemies in front, dealingphysicaldamage. Increases Nicole’s anti-interrupt level whilein use |
| EX special attack– Stuffed Sugarcoated Bullet | When Nicole has enough energy, press the special attack to launch apowerful ranged attackthat generates an energy field that pulls enemies toward its center to deal physicaldamage. Hold special attack down to charge up, during which period a small energy field is generated, dealing bonus damage to nearby enemies. Nicoleis invulnerable while using this skill |
Nicole’s dodges:
| Skill | Effect |
| Dodge– Speed Demon | Pressthe dodge button to rapidly avoid an enemy’s attack. Nicoleis invulnerable while using this skill. Hold the dodge button toleap into mid-air after the dodge |
| Dash attack –Jack in the Box | When moving during a dodge press basic attackto dash at the target location and strike nearby enemies, dealing physical damage.Whenher weapon has ammo, this attack also fires bullets. When not moving during a dodge, press basic attack to vault backward and launch a ranged attack against enemies in front, dealing physical damage. Nicole reloads her weapon after the attack to enhance her basic and dash attacks up to eight times |
| Dodge counter – Diverted Bombard | Press dodge during a perfect dodge to vault backward and launch a ranged attack against enemies in front, dealing physical damage. Nicole reloads her weapon after the attack to enhance her basic and dash attacks up to eight times andis invulnerable while using this skill |
Nicole’s combo attacks:
| Skill | Effect |
| Combo attack– Ether Shellacking | When you trigger acombo attack,change to Nicole to unleash a powerful ranged attack that damages enemies in a small AoE and creates a field that draws foes in and dealsphysical damage.Nicole is invulnerable while using this skill |
| Ultimate– Ether Grenade | When Nicole’s decibel rating is at maximum, press the ultimatebutton to unleash a powerful ranged attack that damages enemies in a small AoE and creates a field that draws foes in and deals physical damage. Nicole is invulnerable while using this skill |
Nicole’s core skills:
| Skill | Effect |
| Core passive –Mechanical Case (reach level 15 to unlock) | After Nicole uses a special attack, EX special attack, chain attack, or ultimate, she reloads her weapon to enhance her basic and dash attacks, increasing their damage by 8% and generating an additional 0.04 energy whenever an enemy is hit |
| Additional ability – Hare of Many Burrows (reach level 15 to unlock) | When you have at least two ether characters in your squad:
When there’s at least one strike and one pierce character on your squad:
|
| Reactive assist – Emergency Bombard | When the character in combat is knocked back, press the swap character button to launch this attack. Nicole dodges backward and unleashes a ranged strike, dealing ether damage. Nicole reloads her weapon after the attack to enhance her basic and dash attacks up to eight times and is invulnerable while using this skill |
| Evasive assist – Lucky Rabbit’s Foot | When the character in combat is about to get attacked, press the swap character button to launch this attack. Nicole dodges the enemy’s attack and triggers ‘Vital View’. She’s invulnerable while using this skill |
| Assist follow-up – Window of Opportunity | Press the special attack button after an evasive assist to activate this attack. Nicole charges forward and deals ether damage.She’s invulnerable while using this skill |
What are Nicole’s talents?
If we had to compare talents to something, we think they’re similar to Genshin Impact’s constellations and Honkai Star Rail’s eidolons. You can unlock a new talent every time you receive a duplicate Nicole.
| Talent | Effect |
| Field Expansion | Increases the attack radius of the energy field generated near a target bythree meters |
| Supercharged Bomb | UsingNicole’s EX special attack increases allteammembers’ penetration by 12% foreight seconds. Increases the duration bytwo seconds for every 0.5 seconds spent charging |
| Concentrated Extension | Extends the energy field generated by Nicole’s combo and ultimate attacks by 1.5 seconds |
| Armor Piercer | Every enemy hit by Nicole’s sub-attack has theirdefense reduced by 2%, stacking up to ten times. Thiseffect wears off if the enemy goes 12 seconds without being hit by another sub-attack |
That’s all we have for you on Zenless Zone Zero’s Nicole. If you need some more Hoyoverse action, head over to our Honkai Star Rail codes and Genshin Impact codes lists to pick up some freebies.
