Zenless Zone Zero – Best Nicole build in ZZZ

Meet the leader of the Cunning Hares.

Nicole Demara smiling while carrying her weapon case.
Image via HoYoverse

Nicole Demara is one of the first characters you get access to in Zenless Zone Zero. She is one of the first supports you can use, and as a result, it should be good to learn some good builds while you play through the first levels of the game.

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Nicole is an Ether-type Support character wielding a ranged launcher that fires different attacks, dealing either Physical or Ether damage. She also has plenty of crowd control that can keep enemies in one place in the form of her EX Special Attack, Stuffed Sugarcoated Bullet, which summons an energy field that pulls enemies toward its center.

Before you pull for any other characters, here is the best Nicole build in Zenless Zone Zero.

Best Nicole Demara build in Zenless Zone Zero

Weeping Cradle in ZZZ
Put them in a coffin. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Best W-Engine for Nicole

Since Nicole uses her skills to gather her enemies into one place for her friends to launch a wombo combo, Weeping Cradle is great since it is an S-tier W-Engine that enhances the whole squad’s damage against a target by 10 percent.

The effect ramps up by 1.7 percent every half-second, and any repeated triggers refresh the duration, making it a perfect tool for Nicole to enable the rest of her team. She just needs to launch her ultimate ability or Special, then switch over to a main damage dealer for some destructive results.

Best Drive Disc for Nicole

Because you’re playing Nicole as a pure support character for your damage dealers, Swing Jazz‘s four-disc set continues to increase her team with a 15 percent damage buff for all members for 12 seconds after setting up a chain attack or using her ultimate ability. Chaotic Metal‘s two-disc set then increases her Ether damage by 10 percent.

Best Nicole Drive Discs stats and substats

Four characters standing above the word Zenless in Zenless Zone Zero.
Prepare yourselves for a big grind. Image via HoYoverse

The best way to increase the value of Nicole’s Drive Discs is to find the best main stats and substats. Since you want to maximize Nicole’s supporting capabilities but still do decent damage with her, you need a good mixture of stats.

Here are the main stats you should target:

  • Slot four: Anomaly Proficiency 
  • Slot five: Either damage
  • Slot six: Energy Generation Rate

While getting decent main stats can take a while, aim for good substats as well. The more Energy Generation Rate and Anomaly Proficiency you have, the better. 

Best Bangboo for Nicole

Bangboo holding a ball and standing in the stree of Zenless Zone Zero.
You can never forget about this little guy. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Choosing your little sidekick is crucial for this build to work, and the best Bangboo for Nicole is Devilboo. This little guy deals Ether damage, and whenever you have more than two Ether characters on the team, Devilboo inflicts 40 percent extra Anomaly Buildup, which synergizes well with Nicole.

Best Nicole Skills

Nicole holding the box in ZZZ opening scene
Resource management and investment are crucial. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Nicole’s Skills and abilities are the main part of her kit, and focusing on the right ones defines her overall gameplay. Since she’s a support that provides decent crowd control and deals burst damage in quick-rotation teams, you can ignore her Basic Attacks and save your resources for other parts of her kit.

Here are the Skills you should prioritize:

  • Special
  • Ultimate
  • Dodge

Nicole’s Special Attack and Ultimate are connected and equally important because they provide a good amount of crowd control and regenerate a ton of energy. You should also invest in her Dodge because you will swap her with other characters a lot, so you want to utilize her damage potential.

Best Nicole Mindscapes

Two characters sitting on top of a car in Zenless Zone Zero.
You’re in for a ride. Image via HoYoverse

Nicole is very powerful even without Mindscapes, but she gets even stronger with some of her copies, and since she’s an A-Rank agent, you get some of her Mindscapes down the road. If you’re not low on pulls, you should try and get her first two Mindscapes because they increase her Special Attack damage by 16 percent and shred opponents’ defense.

Author
Image of Tyler Esguerra
Tyler Esguerra
Lead League of Legends writer for Dot Esports. Forever an LCS supporter, AD carry main, with more than five years in the industry. Sometimes I like clicking heads in Call of Duty or VALORANT. Creator of the Critical Strike Podcast.
Author
Image of Lazar Pavlovic
Lazar Pavlovic
Freelance News and SEO Writer for Dot Esports, covering games like Genshin Impact, VALORANT, World of Warcraft and League of Legends to new releases. When he's not writing, you can find him grinding dungeons and raids in World of Warcraft.