Zankou headlines the first phase of Neverness to Everness Version 1.3 as the game’s first limited Incantation S-Rank, arriving as a promoted Chapter 4 boss from the Scarlet Letter faction. She is an on-field main DPS built around damage over time and follow-up hits, and she directly overtakes Baicang as the strongest Incantation damage dealer in the roster.
Quick answer: Pull Zankou if you lack a strong Incantation carry and can also secure her signature Arc, Ravenous Blade. Skip her if you cannot spare pulls for that Arc or cannot field Linko, Lacrimosa, or Iroi alongside her, because a large share of her damage sits in those two dependencies.
What Zankou brings to an Incantation team
Incantation teams have been stuck with a standard-banner carry since launch. Baicang fills the role, but he pays for his damage with self-inflicted HP loss and a risky Domain playstyle. Zankou removes that compromise. She clears packs through sustained damage-over-time pressure and follow-up attacks, and her high attack frequency chews through enemy Break bars quickly.
She is an on-field unit, which means she needs field time to convert her kit into damage. That shapes everything about her teams. The supports around her exist to keep her attacking, to feed her Esper Cycle, and to stack her attack and crit values while she stays in front.
| Detail | Zankou |
|---|---|
| Rarity | S-Rank (limited) |
| Esper type | Incantation |
| Role | On-field main DPS |
| Faction | Scarlet Letter |
| Banner slot | Version 1.3, Phase 1 |
| Signature Arc | Ravenous Blade |
| English voice | Stephanie Wong |
Ravenous Blade is the deciding factor
Zankou’s signature Arc is the single largest variable in whether she is worth your Annulith. Ravenous Blade carries 570 base ATK and a 24 percent Crit Rate substat, then adds 16 percent Crit Rate on top of that. Its passive grants 9 percent Crit DMG whenever the wearer deals Incantation damage, stacking up to seven times with a 0.3 second gate between stacks and a 15 second refreshing duration.
Fully stacked, that is 40 percent Crit Rate and 63 percent Crit DMG from one item. Zankou triggers Incantation damage constantly, so she holds those stacks with no extra effort. Nothing else in the Arc pool interacts with her kit.
| Arc | Stats | Why it ranks here |
|---|---|---|
| Ravenous Blade | 570 ATK, 24% Crit Rate | Best in slot. Stacks up to 40% Crit Rate and 63% Crit DMG on her. |
| Contemplative Cat | 512 ATK, 44% Crit DMG | Statstick only. Its Cosmos DMG passive does nothing for her. |
| Fluff of Finesse | 512 ATK, 27.5% ATK | Fallback. Needs Critical Dodges to stack 8% DMG up to three times. |
The gap between Ravenous Blade and the next option is not a small percentage. Running Zankou on Contemplative Cat or Fluff of Finesse means accepting a large drop in her ceiling, because those Arcs contribute raw stats and nothing else. If your pull budget only covers the character, factor that shortfall into your decision before you commit.
Her best teammates, and how much they cost
Linko is Zankou’s strongest partner. As an Anima unit arriving in the second phase of the same version, she enables the Hexed Esper Cycle, which is where a meaningful slice of Zankou’s damage lives. That creates an awkward budget problem, since both characters run inside the same update window.
Iroi is the practical substitute. She is also an Anima character and one of the better supports currently available, and she can trigger the same cycle. Zankou’s total output lands slightly lower with Iroi than with Linko, but the team still functions.
The cheaper route works too. Daffodill and Sakiri are both obtainable for free through the standard S-Rank character selection box, and both slot into a Zankou lineup. Daffodill applies Chaos, Sakiri buffs team attack and locks enemies down, and Adler provides the sustain that keeps Zankou on the field. Lacrimosa is another strong option if you already own her.
| Team | Members | Cost to build |
|---|---|---|
| Hexed (highest output) | Zankou, Linko, Adler, flex support | Requires pulling Linko in Phase 2 |
| Hexed (substitute) | Zankou, Iroi, Adler, flex support | Only if you already own Iroi |
| Scorch | Zankou, Daffodill, Sakiri, Adler | Daffodill and Sakiri are free picks |
Note: NTE’s limited character board has no 50/50. Hard pity at 90 pulls always gives you the featured S-Rank, and unspent pity carries over to the next limited banner. Anything left over from Zankou rolls straight into Linko, which makes running both across the version more achievable than it first appears.
Gear priority once you have her
The Crimson: Twin Butterflies Console is the correct set. Two pieces give 10 percent Incantation DMG, and four pieces grant 6 percent ATK each time a nearby enemy takes Incantation damage from the team, stacking to six and lasting 10 seconds per stack. Those stacks persist even when the wearer is off-field, and teammates can build them for her.
Zankou also gains 16 percent Crit DMG per Type III Module. The Crimson: Twin Butterflies set includes two Type III Modules for 32 percent, and there is room to fit two more for another 32 percent. That is 64 percent Crit DMG from Modules alone, stacking on top of what Ravenous Blade provides.
| Slot | Priority order |
|---|---|
| Cartridge main stats | Crit DMG, Crit Rate, ATK%, Incantation DMG |
| Substats | Crit DMG, Crit Rate, ATK%, DMG, Cycle Intensity |
| Skill upgrades | Skill, Ultimate, Basic Attack, Supportive Skill |
Who should skip Zankou
Free-to-play players with tight Annulith reserves are the clearest skip. Zankou is not F2P-friendly, because a large portion of her damage is locked behind Ravenous Blade and behind supports that either cost pulls or require an existing roster. Spending everything on the character and nothing on the Arc leaves you with a good unit performing well below what people will report.
Accounts already carrying two or three tuned damage dealers also have less reason to commit. Support units hold their value across versions longer than carries do, and Linko in Phase 2 may be the better long-term use of the same pity that carries between banners.
If you fall on the other side of that line, the case is straightforward. An account without a real Incantation carry gains the most from Zankou, and free supports like Daffodill and Sakiri mean the rest of her team does not have to cost anything. Save enough to cover both the character and her Arc, and the investment lands where it should.
