Nicole Demara Guide and Best Builds for Zenless Zone Zero (ZZZ)
Introduction - Nicole Demara
Nicole Demara is an A-Rank Ether Support Agent in Zenless Zone Zero. She specializes in debuffing enemies with her energy fields to reduce a target's Attribute Anomaly RES. Nicole Demara belongs to the Cunning Hares Faction alongside other characters such as Nekomata and Billy Kid.
The leader of the odd-job agency the Cunning Hares, who accept all kinds of Hollow-related commissions. She's been on the streets for many years, and has a reputation among her peers as being exceedingly cunning. She's been blacklisted by many clients due to her all-or-nothing approach. She loves money, but it surprisingly bad at managing it, leaving the Cunning Hares constantly on the edge of bankruptcy and owing many debts.
How to Pull Nicole
Nicole Demara can be pulled at a regular rate from all Channels, excluding the Stable Channel and can not be obtained in the Bangboo Channel.
Nicole is also given to you through the story, specifically after rescuing Billy Kid and Nekomata in The Hare and the Proxy.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
Great crowd control being able to easily group multiple enemies.- Powerful 25% Ether damage buff.
- A significant 40%(At Lv.7) DEF reduction core passive.
Weaknesses
Both Core Skills have a 3.5s cooldown meaning that planning, timing and regular swapping are important to maintain these passives.- Crowd control utility is less effective on larger boss enemies.
Skills, Mindscapes, and Promotions
Skills, Mindscapes, and Promotions
| Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| Basic Attack: Cunning Combo | Press to activate: Unleashes up to 3 strikes, dealing Physical DMG. |
| Basic Attack: Do As I Please | After using a Special Attack, EX Special Attack, Chain Attack or Ultimate, Nicole can reload, and her Basic Attack and Dash Attack are enhanced, increasing the power of her bullets. |
| Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| Dodge: Speed Demon | Press to activate: A rapid dodge. Character is invulnerable while using this skill. Hold to reload after dodging, enhancing Basic Attack and Dash Attack up to 8 times. |
| Dash Attack: Jack in the Box | When moving during a dodge press : Dashes in the target location direction and strikes nearby enemies, dealing Physical DMG. When not moving during a dodge, press : Vaults backward and launches a ranged attack against enemies in front, dealing Physical DMG. Automatically reloads after the attack to enhance her Basic Attack and Dash Attack up to 8 times. |
| Dodge Counter: Diverted Bombard | Press during a Perfect Dodge to activate: Dodge backwards and send a ranged strike at enemies in front, dealing Ether DMG. Character is invulnerable while using this skill. Automatically reloads after the attack to enhance Basic Attack and Dash Attack up to 8 times. |
| Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| Quick Assist: Emergency Bombard | When the character on-field launched, press activate: Dodge backwards and send a ranged strike against enemies in front, dealing Ether DMG. Character is invulnerable while using this skill. Automatically reloads after the attack to enhance Basic Attack and Dash Attack up to 8 times. |
| Defensive Assist: The Hare Strikes Back! | When the character on field is about to be attacked, press to activate: Parries the enemy's attack, dealing massive Daze. Character is Invulnerable while using this skill. |
| Assist Follow-Up: Window of Opportunity | Press after a Defensive Assist to activate: Charge forward and bombard enemies, dealing Ether DMG. Character is invulnerable while using this skill. |
| Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| Special Attack: Sugarcoated Bullet | Press to activate: Unleashes a ranged strike against enemies in front, dealing Ether DMG. Anti-Interupt level is increased while using this skill. Automatically reloads after the attack to enhance Basic Attack and Dash Attack up to 8 times. |
| EX Special Attack: Stuffed Sugarcoated Bullet | With enough Energy, press to activate: A powerful ranged strike, generating an energy field that pulls enemies towards its center to deal Ether DMG. Hold down to charge up this attack, during which a small energy field is generated at the muzzle as Energy is consumed, dealing bonus damage to enemies nearby. Character is invulnerable while using this skill. A Quick Assist is triggered when this skill hits an enemy. Automatically reloads after the attack to enhance Basic Attack and Dash Attack up to 8 times. |
| Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| Chain Attack: Ether Shellacking | When a Chain Attack is triggered, select the Agent to Activate: Unleash powerful ranged strikes at enemies in a small area, generating an energy field that pulls enemies towards its center to deal Ether DMG. Character is Invulnerable while using this skill. A Quick Assist is triggered when this skill hits an enemy. Automatically reloads after the attack to enhance Basic Attack and Dash Attack up to 8 times. |
| Ultimate: Ether Grenade | When Decibel Rating is at Maximum, press to activate: Unleashes a powerful ranged strike at enemies in a small area, generating an energy field that pulls enemies towards its center to deal Ether DMG. When using this skill, other squad members recover 10 Energy. The next character to switch in gains an additional 20 Energy. Character is invulnerable while using this skill. A Quick Assist is triggered when this skill hits an enemy. Automatically reloads after the attack to enhance Basic Attack and Dash Attack up to 8 times. |
| Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| Core Passive: Mechanical Case | When using a Special Attack, EX Special Attack, Chain Attack, or Ultimate, Nicole can reload, enchancing her Basic Attack and Dash Attack. When her enhanced bullets or Energy Field hit an enemy, the target's DEF is reduced by 20%(Lv.1) for 2s. |
| Additional Ability: Hare of Many Burrows | When another character in your squad shares the same Atribute or Faction: When Nicole's Core Passive applies a debuff, the target takes an additional 25% more Ether DMG. |
Nicole Demara's Best Mindscapes
Nicoles best Mindscape is Corrupting Energy Field (M6) which provides a very significant CRIT Rate buff to all squad member's including nicole. That being said, M1, M2 and M4 are also noticeable upgrades to her base kit allowing her to further embrace her supportive role.
| # | Mindscape | Description |
|---|---|---|
| M1 | Supercharged Bomb | The DMG and the Anomaly Buildup inflicted by Nicole's EX Special Attack increases by 16%. For each additional 0.1s of charging when Nicole activates her EX Special Attack, the duration of the energy field created at the target location increases by 0.15s. |
| M2 | Charging Device | Nicole recovers 5 Energy when Core Passive: Mechanical Case's debuff is triggered. This effect can trigger once every 15s. |
| M3 | A Hare's Cunning | Basic Attack, Dodge, Assist, Special Attack, and Chain Attack Lv. +2. |
| M4 | Field Expansion | When Nicole uses her EX Special Attack, Chain Attack, or Ultimate, the diameter of the energy field generated at the target location is increased by 3m. |
| M5 | Industry Star | Basic Attack, Dodge, Assist, Special Attack, and Chain Attack Lv. +2. |
| M6 | Corrupting Energy Field | When Nicole's energy fields deal DMG to an enemy, all squad member's CRIT Rate against that enemy increases by 1.5% stacking up to 10 times, and lasting 12s. The duration of each stack is calculated separately. |
Nicole Demara's Promotion Passives
| Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| Core Skill Enhancement A |
|
| Core Skill Enhancement B |
|
| Core Skill Enhancement C |
|
| Core Skill Enhancement D |
|
| Core Skill Enhancement E |
|
| Core Skill Enhancement F |
|
How to Play Nicole
Nicole Demara is used primarily as a support character; she specializes in debuffing enemies hit by using her enhanced bullets and launching powerful crowd control in the form of Ether Energy Fields.
This character operates off a reload system. Plainly put, using her crowd control abilities (EX Special Attack, Chain Attack, or Ultimate) will force a reload on her bullets, enhancing them and causing her Basic Attacks and Dash Attacks to deal more damage.
Nicole can debuff the enemy using enhanced bullets or Energy Fields, all enemies hit by this will have their DEF reduced by 40% (With Enhancement F) for 3.5 seconds.
To add to the aforementioned debuffs, Nicole's Energy Fields will pull enemies together, acting simimlarly to how you'd expect a black hole to work. This creates a window of opportunity for your main damage dealers to strike, dealing increased amounts of damage to all enemies in the Energy Field.
Upon reaching Mindcape 6 and obtaining Corrupting Energy Field, Nicole can also increase the CRIT Rate against an enemy by up to 15%
Nicole Demara Support Build
| BiS W-Engine | Weeping Cradle |
| Alternative W-Engines |
|
| Best Drive Discs | 4 Piece:
2 Piece:
|
| Main Stats |
|
| Substat Priority |
|
| Skill Priority |
|
Nicoles best W-Engines are Weeping Cradle and The Vault which both help to enhance the squad's DMG. Weeping Cradle is likely best used on other characters being an S-Rank so The Vault should be your go to.
There is currently only a single 4-piece Drive Disc that Nicole can take advantage of, which is Swing Jazz. Other 2-piece options only really help to increase her personal damage which is less significant. For Main Stats on your Discs, the only important one is having Energy Regen in slot VI, the other main stats are flexibile if you managed to roll good pieces.
Bangboo Information
In terms of Cunning Hares Bangboo, 
Amillion is your
best and only real option outside of generic supportive Bangboo due to
being the only Bangboo with a Cunning Hares ability.
Nicole however has 2 good Ether Bangboo, 
Devilboo
and 
Resonaboo are both great options when playing in Ether teams.
Nicole Demara Team Comps and Synergy
As a support, Nicole Demara can be used in any team that is able to utilise her grouping or DMG buffs however her best teams feature members of the Cunning Hares faction or Ether so that her Hare of Many Burrows additional ability can be activated. Until Zhu Yuan releases, there are no Ether DPS for Nicole to be paired with.
Cunning Hares Teams
| DPS | Stun | Support | Bangboo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nekomiya Mana | Nicole Demara | Amillion | |
| Billy Kid | Nicole Demara | Amillion |
Shown above are Cunning Hares teams using Nekomiya Mana and Billy Kid as the DPS of the group. Any of the available stun characters can work but there is no reason why Anby Demara wouldn't be your first choice.
Ether Teams
| DPS | Stun | Support | Bangboo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zhu Yuan | Nicole Demara |
Nicole is currently the best and only Ether support for Zhu Yuan. Nicole helps by providing Quick Assists which helps to generate additional Enhanced Shotshells for Zhu Yuan. Stun characters include Anby Demara as a Cunning Hares member, or Qingyi as a faction support for Zhu Yuan.
Changelog
- 12 Oct. 2024: Reviewed for 1.2.
- 13 Aug. 2024: Reviewed and updated for 1.1.
- 24 Jul. 2024: Zhu Yuan added.
- 07 Jul. 2024: Full Guide released.
- 15 Jun. 2024: Page added.
This guide has been written by Shikhu (Discord - Shikhu). A long-time player for various Hoyoverse games such as Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail.
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