Zero is the starter Cosmos Esper in Neverness to Everness, and he sits in a strange spot: officially labeled a damage dealer, but actually most valuable as a cycle enabler whose Skill instantly fills his Esper meter. That single property dictates almost every build decision, from which Arc you slot to which three teammates you bring.
What Zero actually does
Zero is an S-Rank Cosmos Esper with a Solid Arc compatibility. His basic kit hits acceptably hard, but the standout number is on his Skill, Appraise and Engrave, which carries a Cycle Rate of 100. One cast fills the Esper meter outright, letting the next character on field trigger a cycle reaction without any setup.
His Ultimate, Divide by Zero, is where his personal damage lives. It costs 100 Ultimate Energy and benefits from a passive that adds 25% Ultimate damage, plus an Awakening node (A3) that adds 50% Crit Chance specifically to that Ultimate. Everything in his build feeds that one button.
He also doubles as a soft healer in Charge teams. His passive, Appraiser, restores HP equal to 50% of his Base ATK whenever the active character gains Ultimate Energy, which is why ATK scaling matters even for his support value.
Best Arcs for Zero
There are two viable directions: lean into Ultimate burst, or feed the team more energy so cycles spin faster. Both work, and the right pick depends on whether your team needs Zero to nuke or to enable.
| Arc | Rank | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Marching Beyond Time | S | Highest base ATK and CRIT Rate, plus a stacking buff that grants up to 48% Ultimate Crit DMG and 12% DEF ignore on burst windows. |
| The Rain That Shook the World | S | 30% Cosmos DMG on Redirect Skill and Ultimate, with a Cycle Intensity buff. Best when you want Zero contributing to reaction damage. |
| Day Off | S | 33% Charge Efficiency and 30% ATK, plus a 40s Eclipse that returns Ultimate Energy on kills. Strong in mob-heavy content. |
| Fluff of Fearlessness | S | 22% CRIT Rate and a 25% ATK buff after using Ultimate. Solid budget-S option from the battle pass. |
| The Forgotten | A | 20% ATK while above 50% HP. The realistic A-rank pick for early accounts. |
Marching Beyond Time edges out the rest if you can land all three Wastetime stacks before the Ultimate, which is reliable in a Charge team where allies cast Redirect and Support skills frequently. Day Off is the better call when your team struggles to hit 100 energy on time.
Console and module setup
Zero's Console specialization grants 10% ATK per Type III Module equipped. The default build is a 4-piece Lost Radiance, which gives 10% Cosmos DMG and 25% DEF ignore for 20 seconds after his Ultimate, lining up perfectly with his burst window.
With the 4-piece set placed, you can fit two more Type III modules and one Type II, reaching 40% ATK from the console bonus. A 2-piece Lost Radiance variant lets you stack six Type III modules for 60% ATK, but you lose the DEF ignore that scales his Ultimate hardest.
| Slot | Main stat | Substat priority |
|---|---|---|
| Cartridge mainstat | CRIT > ATK% > Cosmos DMG% | CRIT > ATK% > Universal DMG% |
Zero needs to crit reliably on his Ultimate. Once A3 (Anomalies Record) is unlocked, he gets +50% Crit Chance on Divide by Zero, so you can shift more substat budget toward CRIT DMG and ATK%.
Skill and Awakening priority
Skill leveling order is Ultimate first, then Skill, then Basic Attack and Support Skill at equal priority. Most of his damage and most of his cycle utility live in the first two.
For Awakenings, Zero is the protagonist, so you unlock them through progression rather than dupes. The recommended order:
| Order | Node | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A3 Anomalies Record | +50% Crit Chance on Divide by Zero. Single biggest damage upgrade. |
| 2 | A2 Finding the Calling | +8 Ultimate Energy after Appraise and Engrave, smoothing rotations. |
| 3 | A4 Undecided Factors | Up to 25% bonus Ultimate damage from Base ATK scaling. |
| 4 | A5 Theopneustos | +10% ATK for 20s on Support Skill trigger. |
| 5 | A1 Blooming Gaze | Bonus first-hit damage on lower-level enemies. Useful in open-world. |
| 6 | A6 Deceptive Liberation | Increases Skill extra-damage ratio to 300%, but only on lower-level targets. |
Hitting six Awakenings unlocks Resonance R2, Zero Display, which gives the team 10–12% ATK for 20 seconds whenever Zero triggers a Cosmos Esper Cycle. That is the real payoff for finishing his node tree.
Best teams for Zero
Zero's identity is the Charge cycle, which requires Anima, Lakshana, and Cosmos Espers in the same lineup. Charge generates Ultimate Energy on hit, which lets Zero loop his burst faster while his Skill keeps pre-loading the team's Esper meter.
The strongest teammates by role:
| Esper | Element | Role with Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Nanally | Anima | Triggers Blossom, fires Lebenblumes faster, accelerates Charge buildup. |
| Skia | Lakshana | Provides the missing Charge element and adds Remora stacks. |
| Edgar | Cosmos | Healer whose Charge Enhancement grants 120 Ultimate energy on a Support Skill trigger. |
| Haniel | Psyche | Flex support with strong ATK buffs from Skill and Ultimate. |
| Sakiri | Incantation | Crowd control plus team ATK buff after her Ultimate. |
| Hathor | Lakshana | Remora applier; pairs into Remora-Charge hybrid setups. |
| Jiuyuan | Cosmos | Sub-DPS for Cosmos-stacked teams that lean on Resonance buffs. |
Three compositions cover most use cases:
| Team | Use case |
|---|---|
| Zero, Nanally, Skia, Sakiri | Full Charge cycle with high ATK uptime from Sakiri's Support Skill, fueled by Nanally's faster Blossom rate. |
| Zero, Mint, Skia, Haniel | Accessible A-rank Charge team. Haniel covers buffs, Skia handles the Lakshana slot. |
| Zero, Jiuyuan, Hathor, Edgar | Cosmos-leaning Remora/Charge hybrid with Edgar healing and front-loading energy. |
| Zero, Haniel, Edgar, any DPS | F2P starter team using registration and easily-obtained Espers for early story content. |
Rotation pattern
The rhythm is simple once your team is set. Cast Appraise and Engrave on entry to fill the Esper meter, swap to your Anima or Lakshana enabler to trigger the cycle, let the cycle reaction generate Ultimate Energy, and return to Zero for Divide by Zero inside the Lost Radiance DEF-ignore window.
If you are running Edgar, his Charge Enhancement converts a single Support Skill into 120 Ultimate Energy, which means Zero can fire his burst on the very first rotation without waiting for organic charge buildup. After that, normal Charge generation pauses briefly, so plan a small gap before the second Ultimate.
Should you invest in Zero?
Yes, but understand what you are investing in. Zero is not a screen-clearing main DPS. He is a low-friction cycle enabler with a respectable burst, and his ceiling is tied to the quality of the Anima and Lakshana Espers around him. Pulling Nanally on the launch banner immediately upgrades him; pairing him with Skia or Hathor unlocks his Charge identity properly.
For a free starting character, that is a strong place to be. You will likely keep Zero in your active rotation through the first several weeks of content, and Resonance 2 keeps him relevant in any Cosmos cycle team even after a dedicated Cosmos main DPS arrives.