NTE Zankou Build: Best Team Comps, Arc and Cartidges

Kyuma·25 August 2026·Updated 1 October 2026

Zankou is an S-rank Incantation DPS introduced in Neverness to Everness version 1.3. She switches between two combat forms and her passive keeps Scorch permanently active once it is applied, giving her one of the highest damage floors at low investment among current DPS characters.

Zankou is quite flexible when it comes to playstyle, and you can play her both as a main on field DPS or as a Scorh support for characters such as Lacrimosa.

Zankou Overview

Zankou Stats and Rarity

RarityS

ElementIncantation

RoleDamage

Arc CompatibilityGas

How to Get Zankou in NTE?

Zankou was the featured character on the 1.3 Phase 1 limited-time banner. You can get her by using Solid Dice on her banner.

Banner Calendar

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Skills

Zankou’s basic attacks change entirely depending on which form she is in. Reality Form gives her a 5-hit string with the Hunt buff. Illusion Form replaces that with a 4-hit string that applies Heartwrench stacks and spreads DoT effects, all of which count as Follow-up Attack DMG.

Zankou Skills

WildfireUp to 5 consecutive hits of Incantation DMG. Pulls targets within range on the 5th hit. Grants the Hunt buff for the attack's duration

Nightmare WaltzUp to 4 consecutive hits of Incantation DMG. Inflicts 1 Heartwrench stack per hit. Pulls targets on the 3rd hit. Spreads up to 4 DoT effects to all enemies in the area per hit. Counts as Follow-up Attack DMG. Grants the Delusion buff

Flickering ShadowHold Basic Attack during the 1st or 2nd stage of Wildfire. Deals Incantation DMG

MoonfallHold Basic Attack during the 1st or 2nd stage of Nightmare Waltz. Deals Incantation DMG. Inflicts 1 Heartwrench stack. Counts as Follow-up Attack DMG

Broken TwigsPress Basic Attack while airborne to plunge and deal Incantation DMG in an area on impact. DMG increases by up to 100% based on fall height

Critical Riposte: VoidstepPress Basic Attack after a Critical Dodge. Deals Incantation DMG and reduces Break

Passives and Traits

Zankou Passives and Traits

Silent SunsetScorch can stack up to 3 times. For each DoT effect allies inflict on a Scorch-afflicted target, Zankou inflicts 1 stack of Scorch on that target, replacing the DMG, type, and duration of existing Scorch. Scorch applied this way cannot trigger itself again

Crimson ReverieSets Zankou's Cycle Energy to 100 upon entering battle. Cooldown: 30s. Triggers once per battle. Increases Zankou's Cycle Intensity by 100 while she is on the team

Awakening and Resonance

Zankou Awakening and Resonance Levels

Eyes of AbyssWildfire, Flickering Shadow, Voidstep, enhanced Sanguine Dash, and enhanced Soulcross can now spread DoT effects. Hunt and Delusion are permanently active regardless of form and are only removed when Zankou is defeated. Hunt DMG bonus increases to 40%. Delusion DoT Crit DMG bonus for the whole team increases to 50%

Abyssal KissBuilds Kindling whenever Zankou participates in a Cycle that triggers Scorch or Hexed. Increases Final DMG of the next Inferno Flamenco by 150%. Kindling can accumulate before Inferno Flamenco is available, up to 1 stack

Kiss in a NightmareHunt grants an additional 50% Resistance to Interruptions. Delusion restores HP equal to 4% of Max HP per second

Nightmare BloomActivates Bloodfeast Reverie immediately when Inferno Flamenco becomes available. Applies the Kindling DMG Bonus to Bloodfeast Reverie, sharing the same Kindling stacks with Inferno Flamenco

Bloom in BloodGuarantees the first Breakable target hit by enhanced Sanguine Dash enters the Broken state. Triggers once per target per battle and does not affect bosses in Character Balance Mode. All allies' Break DMG +300% while Zankou is on the team

Blood Stained EyesFinal hit of Oblivion deals +12% DMG for each DoT stack on the target, up to 240%. Calculated separately per target based on that target's total DoT stacks

Awakening Priority: A5 is the first target for all players who want the break playstyle. For damage investment, the recommended order is A5 → A2 + A4 together → A6 → A1 → A3. A2 and A4 must be taken together — A4 without A2 only allows Bloodfeast Reverie to activate without the purple skill, which provides limited value on its own since the Kindling damage bonus from A2 won’t be available.

Life Skills

Zankou Life Skills

1All Volley Star characters' Serve +10

2Tycoon Incentive Fund earnings from Volley Star Weekly Matches +10%

3All Volley Star characters' Spike +10

4Tycoon Incentive Fund earnings from Volley Star Weekly Matches +10%

5All Volley Star characters' Receive +10

Zankou Ascension Materials

Blurred Numeral 5

Beetle Coin25,000

Best Arcs for Zankou in NTE

Zankou Arcs Recommendation

Ravenous Blade+16% Crit Rate. When dealing Incantation DMG, +9% Crit DMG for 15s (max 7 stacks, max 1 per 0.3s). Resets on retrigger

Fluff of Finesse+8% Damage for 10s after a Critical Dodge (max 3 stacks). Resets on retrigger

Watch Your Heads!+10% ATK and Lakshana DMG to targets with Remora or Stain for 15s after casting a Redirect Skill

Contemplative Cat+2.5% Cosmos DMG for every 100,000 Fons held (max 10 stacks)

Ravenous Blade is Zankou’s best arc in NTE. The combination of its Crit Rate main stat and the on-hit Crit DMG stacking gives her 40% total Crit Rate and up to 63% Crit DMG.
Fluff of Finesse is the battle pass option but is not recommended. Maintaining its damage buff requires three Critical Dodges within a 10-second window, which is unreliable in practice and especially inconsistent during boss fights where attack patterns vary.
Watch Your Heads! is the best alternative for players without Ravenous Blade. It requires using a Redirect Skill to activate its effect, which fits naturally into Zankou’s rotation since both Sanguine Dash and Soulcross are Redirect Skills.
Contemplative Cat is the recommended free option if you already have it leveled. It provides Crit DMG on the main stat.

Cartridge Combination

Set	Effect
Crimson: Twin Butterflies	2-PC: +10% Incantation DMG 4-PC: +6% ATK each time a nearby enemy takes Incantation DMG from the team (max 6 stacks, 10s per stack). Remains active while Zankou is off-field
Lost Radiance	2-PC: +10% Cosmos DMG 4-PC: Ignores 25% of enemies’ DEF for 20s after the wearer casts Ultimate. Does not stack

Crimson: Twin Butterflies is the recommended set for all Zankou playstyles. Its 4-piece bonus stacks up to 6 times, builds passively as long as teammates deal Incantation DMG, and remains active even when Zankou is off-field. This makes it consistently strong for both main DPS and Scorch support builds without requiring specific gameplay conditions to maintain.

Module Setup:

Zankou Module Setup

Best Team Compositions

Team 1

Role	Character
Scorch Support	Zankou
Main DPS	Lacrimosa
Support	Sakiri
Flex	Iroi

Team 2

Role	Character
Main DPS	Zankou
Chaos Support	Daffodil / Lacrimosa
Support	Sakiri
Hex Support	Iroi

Team 3

Role	Character
Break DPS	Zankou (A5)
Break Enabler	Daffodil
Support	Adler (Great Thief Arc)
Support	Sakiri

Team 4

Role	Character
Sub DPS	Blackbird
Main DPS	Zankou
Chaos Enabler	Daffodil
Support	Sakiri

A Chaos character is required on every Zankou team. Without Daffodil or Lacrimosa, Scorch cannot be triggered and Zankou’s primary damage contribution is significantly reduced.

How to Play Zankou

Zankou’s gameplay revolves around efficient form switching and building toward her double ultimate combination. Her highest damage window is Bloodfeast Reverie followed immediately by the enhanced free Inferno Flamenco.

Reality Form and Entering Illusion Form:

Reality Form gives Zankou the Hunt buff, a 25% DMG bonus (40% at A1) that applies to all of her attacks in this state. I recommend that her 5-hit Wildfire basic attack is generally not worth completing. The key input in Reality Form is the hold Basic Attack, which triggers Flickering Shadow.

The enhanced Sanguine Dash becomes available the moment the hold attack animation begins, meaning you do not need to complete the animation. As soon as you see the skill button turn gold, you can cast enhanced Sanguine Dash immediately. This makes the hold attack the fastest route into Illusion Form.

Alternatively, the enhanced Sanguine Dash also activates after the 4th or 5th hit of Wildfire or after a Critical Riposte. But still, the most efficient way is to hold the basic attack.

Illusion Form:

In Illusion Form, Zankou provides a Delusion Buff that gives a teamwide DoT Crit DMG bonus (25% at base, 50% at A1). Zankou’s 4-hit Nightmare Waltz applies 1 Heartwrench stack per hit. Each hit also spreads up to 4 DoT effects to nearby enemies. Illusion Form lasts 8 seconds.

The hold Basic Attack is stronger in Illusion Form as well. Start holding left click during the skill animation and you will autocombo through the first hit into Moonfall. Click once more during the 3rd hit animation to proceed to the 4th hit, then cast the enhanced Soulcross to exit Illusion Form and trigger Oblivion.

DoT Mechanics:

Zankou applies two types of DoT effects. Heartwrench is applied through Illusion Form basics, Moonfall, and Soulcross. Vile Ash is applied exclusively through Bloodfeast Reverie in 5 stacks at once. Both DoTs and Scorch have a fixed 50% crit rate but use Zankou’s own Crit DMG stat for their damage calculation. This is why Crit DMG is her most impactful stat as it scales every major damage source simultaneously.

Scorch and Passive Interaction:

Silent Sunset keeps Scorch permanently active by converting teammate DoT applications into Scorch refresh triggers. Every DoT that lands on a Scorch-afflicted target causes Zankou to apply a new Scorch stack, resetting its duration. Once Scorch is up, it does not drop as long as DoTs continue ticking. Zankou’s Cycle Intensity stat scales Scorch’s intensity damage, giving her a second meaningful damage scaling axis.

Crimson Reverie sets Zankou’s Cycle Energy to 100 at battle start. This allows the team to trigger a Chaos cycle almost immediately, and at A0, it enables Lacrimosa to always cycle to Nova after the first Scorch, making Discord available every rotation.

Should You Pull for Zankou?

Zankou has one of the highest damage output in the game right now. However, that is not the best part, but even at low investment, Zankou does a lot of damage. Once Scorch is up, it stays up for the entire fight, dealing consistent damage even without requiring Zankou to stay on the field.

The major limitation of Zankou’s team is that there are only two Chaos characters in the game: Daffodill and Lacrimosa. This makes it necessary to include either one of them, as without them you cannot trigger Scorch. If you have either of these characters available and you have already invested in them, then pulling for Zankou becomes a no-brainer!

Zankou Outfits

Here is a list of all Zankou outfits currently available in the game along with their source:

Name of Outfit	Image	Source
Fleeting Moment		Default Skin
Red Nightshade		Default Skin
Twilight Noir		Purchase for 2480 Riftcrystals
Autumn Vignette		Scarborough Fair
Moonlight Courtyard		Achieve Bond Level 10 with Zankou
Searing Lavender		Mall (available starting Aug. 27)

Zankou Favorite Gifts

Name	Cost	How to Get	Effect
Deep in the Heart	1,800 Fons	A.R.P.T.S – Miguel District A.R.P.T.S – New Herland District	Increases Team CRIT Rate by 12% for 600s. Affects only your characters in multiplayer mode.
Vintage Gilded Hairpin		Mall	Increases Affection by 300. Grants 1,200 Affection when given to Zankou.
Nightingale’s Sonata	6,000 Fons	Purchased from Hillside Blooms Florist	–
Seasonal Sushi Boat	600 Fons	Budoriya Izakaya (Bridge Crossings) Senjo Brewhouse Izakaya (Miguel District & New Herland District)	Increases Team CRIT Rate by 8% for 180s. Affects only your characters in multiplayer mode.
Cooly Cool Refresher	600 Fons	Bamboo Pharmacy	Increases Team Stamina Recovery Speed by 20% for 900s.
Blazing Crimson	5,400 Fons	Hillside Blooms Florist	–
Moonmelt Tea Set	15,000 Fons	Oops! Chest Gift Shop	–
Serenade	3,000 Fons	Hillside Blooms Florist	–