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Grace Howard Build Guide
Let’s find the best Zenless Zone Zero Grace Howard build to electrify your opponents. As an experienced member of the Belobog Heavy Industries team and S-rank Anomaly fighter, Grace is always ready to defend her peers - which she does with shocking strength.
Here’s how to get a great Grace Howard build and team composition in Zenless Zone Zero.
How to Obtain Grace Howard
Grace Howard is one of the S-Rank Agents available on the standard gacha banner, which means you’ll have a chance to obtain Grace Howard by wishing on Channel Stable (permanently available). By spending Encrypted Master Tape on the limited-time Exclusive Channel, however, you still have a chance to obtain Grace Howard; if you don’t pull the featured S-Rank character (a 50% chance) you will obtain one of the standard S-Rank Agents instead.
Grace Howard Stats
Grace Howard S-rank | |||
---|---|---|---|
Faction | Belobog Heavy Industries | ||
Attribute | Electric | ||
Role | Anomaly | ||
HP | 602 (lvl 1) - 7480 (lvl 60) | ||
ATK | 119 (lvl 1) - 826 (lvl 60) | ||
DEF | 48 (lvl 1) - 603 (lvl 60) | ||
Impact | 83 (lvl 1) - 83 (lvl 60) | ||
Anomaly Mastery | 115 (lvl 1) - 151 (lvl 60) | ||
Anomaly Proficiency | 116 (lvl 1) - 116 (lvl 60) |
Grace Howard Abilities
- Basic Attack: Unleashes up to 4 attacks, dealing Physical and Electric DMG. While launching Basic Attacks, drag the joystick to attack while moving. This allows Grace to reposition herself and deal Physical DMG.
- Dodge: Performs a rapid dodge. A Dodge Counter throws a grenade at enemies, dealing Electric DMG. A Perfect Dodge makes Grace slide forward while shooting, dealing Physical DMG.
- Assist: During a Quick Assist, throws a grenade at the enemy, dealing Electric DMG. As an Evasive Assist, dodges the enemy's attack and activates the Vital View. As an Assist Follow-Up, unleashes a spinning hail of bullets against enemies in front and throws a grenade, dealing Electric DMG.
- Special Attack: Throws a grenade to the front, dealing Electric DMG. Upon use, drag the joystick to change directions. The EX Special Attack makes Grace leap in the air and throw two grenades to the front, dealing massive Electric DMG.
- Chain/Ultimate Attack: As a Chain Attack, throws three grenades into the air, then strafes to detonate them, dealing massive Electric DMG. As the Ultimate, throws a custom grenade which explodes in the air and splits into four smaller grenades, dealing massive Electric DMG.
- Core Skill: When Grace's Basic Attack or Dash Attack hits an enemy and deals Physical DMG, she gains 1 stack of Zap (up to 8 stacks). Upon reaching maximum stacks, using a Special Attack or EX Special Attack will consume all stacks of Zap, increasing the accumulated Electric Anomaly Buildup by 65%. When another character in your squad shares the same Attribute or Faction: the next Shock effect inflicted on the target increases Shock DMG by 18% upon hitting an enemy with an EX Special Attack. This effect can stack up to 2 times, and each enemy can trigger it once per skill use. Resets when the Shock effect ends.
Grace Howard is an Electric Anomaly character, which means she’s great at dealing Shock damage. Be sure to use Grace’s Core Skill effect, which allows her to accumulate ‘Zap’ stacks through her Basic Attacks and Dash Attacks. You can check Grace’s Zap meter in the top left of the screen (see picture below). When it’s full, use an (EX) Special Attack to consume Zap and greatly improve Grace’s Electric Anomaly Buildup, thus inflicting Shock even faster.
Grace deals far more damage with her EX Special Attacks than her Basic Attacks, so you don’t need to use the Basics for anything other than Zap buildup (which is pretty fast). The Chain and Ultimate Attacks deal strong area-of-effect Electric damage and form an amazing way to inflict Shock on a large group of enemies, but they don’t play a significant role in Grace’s rotation.
Grace Howard Core Skill Enhancement
- Upgrade A: Anomaly Mastery increases by 12. After consuming Zap, increases the accumulated Electric Anomaly Buildup by 75.8%.
- Upgrade B: Basic Attack increases by 25. After consuming Zap, increases the accumulated Electric Anomaly Buildup by 86.6%.
- Upgrade C: Anomaly Mastery increases by 12. After consuming Zap, increases the accumulated Electric Anomaly Buildup by 97.5%.
- Upgrade D: Basic Attack increases by 25. After consuming Zap, increases the accumulated Electric Anomaly Buildup by 108.3%.
- Upgrade E: Anomaly Mastery increases by 12. After consuming Zap, increases the accumulated Electric Anomaly Buildup by 119.1%.
- Upgrade F: Basic Attack increases by 25. After consuming Zap, increases the accumulated Electric Anomaly Buildup by 130%.
Since Grace Howard relies on Shock damage, the Anomaly Mastery and Anomaly Buildup upgrades are extremely important to get a good Grace build. Beware that these stats only increase the buildup speed - not the damage dealt by Shock. The Basic Attack upgrades are not that important, as they’re only used to build Zap and don’t deal much damage on their own.
As for other ability enhancements, focus on Grace’s (EX) Special Attack first, followed by her Chain/Ultimate, and only then her Basic Attacks.
Grace Howard Mindscape Cinema
Mindscape Cinema Level | Name | Effect |
---|---|---|
1 | Recharge Chamber | When the 4th hit of Grace's Basic Attack hits an enemy, all squad members gain 0.25 Energy. Within the same move, this effect can grant a max of 2 Energy to all squad members. |
2 | Lightning Piercer | When Grace's grenade hits an enemy during a Basic Attack, Special Attack, or EX Special Attack, the target's Electric RES is reduced by 8.5%, and Electric Anomaly Buildup RES is reduced by 8.5%, lasting for 8 seconds. |
3 | Chief Mechanic | Basic Attack, Dodge, Assist, Special Attack, and Chain Attack Lv. +2. |
4 | Burst Capacitor | When Grace uses her EX Special Attack, she gains 6 stacks of Charge (max 6 stacks). When her Basic Attack or Dash Attack hits an enemy, 1 stack of Charge is consumed, increasing her Energy Generation Rate of the attack by 20%. |
5 | Frosty Cold Iron Witch | Basic Attack, Dodge, Assist, Special Attack, and Chain Attack Lv. +2. |
6 | Detonation Trigger | When all Zap stacks are consumed to activate a Special Attack or EX Special Attack, Grace's skill is enhanced, tossing an extra grenade and increasing each grenade's DMG to 200%. |
Mindscape Cinema level 1 provides a nice support ability for the team, and it won’t be too hard to trigger since Grace uses her Basic Attack combo to get Zap stacks, but the Energy gain isn’t huge. Level 2 is far more useful as it lowers the enemy’s Electric Resistance. Considering that Grace will likely have another Electric teammate, this doubles as a support ability. Level 4 will help her charge her Energy much faster, allowing her to use her Special Attack sooner and build Shock more quickly. Level 6 just adds a ton of extra damage, which is always welcome. With the right Grace build, however, you don’t need any Mindscape upgrades to have a strong Electric Anomaly unit.
Best Grace Howard Build
Here's an overview of the best W-Engines, Drive Discs, and stats for your Zenless Zone Zero Grace build.
Best Grace Howard W-Engines
W-Engine Name/Rarity | W-Engine Ability | How to Obtain | Notes | |
Fusion Compiler S-rank | Increases PEN Ratio by 9.6-24% and increases ATK by 12-24%. When using a Special Attack or EX Special Attack, the equipper's Anomaly Proficiency is increased by 25-50 for 8 seconds, stacking up to 3 times. The duration of each stack is calculated separately. | Signal Search | The only S-rank Anomaly W-Engine at the moment of writing. | |
Rainforest Gourmet A-rank | Increases Anomaly Proficiency by 30-75. For every 10 Energy consumed, the equipper gains a buff that increases ATK by 2.5-4% for 10 seconds, stacking up to 10 times. The duration of each stack is calculated separately. | Signal Search, Gadget Store | Amazing Anomaly Proficiency bonus, easy to trigger the Attack bonus. | |
Electro-Lip Gloss A-rank | Increases Anomaly Proficiency by 30-75. When there are enemies inflicted with Attribute Anomaly on the field, the equipper's ATK increases by 10-16% and they deal an additional 15-25% more DMG to the target. | New Eridu City Fund | Similar to Rainforest Gourmet, it's easy to keep the attack bonus active. |
The Fusion Compiler is by far the best S-rank W-Engine for Grace. Not only does it improve her Attack power, but it also strengthens her Shock damage through Anomaly Proficiency. As Grace needs to trigger her (EX) Special Attacks to inflict Shock anyway, the Special Attack-based effect works great with her rotation.
If you don’t have Fusion Compiler, go for the A-rank Rainforest Gourmet instead. It offers an Anomaly Proficiency boost as well as an attack bonus whenever Grace consumes energy - which she’ll do a lot. Electro-Lip Gloss is also great as it offers a huge damage bonus whenever enemies afflicted with Anomaly Attributes are on the field, which is nearly always the case. Unfortunately, since this is a battle pass weapon, it’s harder to obtain.
Best Grace Howard Drive Discs
Relic Name/Rarity | Relic Set Effect | How to Obtain | Notes | |
Thunder Metal | 2pc: Increases Electric DMG by 10%.
4pc: As long as an enemy in combat is Shocked, the equipper's ATK is increased by 28%. | Routine Cleanup - Hunter and Hound | Amazing attack boost. | |
Freedom Blues | 2pc: Increases Anomaly Proficiency by 30.
4pc: When an EX Special Attack hits an enemy, reduce the target's Anomaly Buildup RES to the equipper's Attribute by 20% for 8 seconds. This effect does not stack with others of the same attribute. | Routine Cleanup - Sharp Fang and Blunt Axe | Faster Shock application and better Anomaly damage. | |
Swing Jazz | 2pc: Increases Energy Regeneration by 20%.
4pc: Launching a Chain Attack or Ultimate increases all squad members' DMG by 15% for 12 seconds. Passive effects of the same name do not stack. | Routine Cleanup - Monster and Weirdo | Only use the two-piece set; it'll help you trigger the EX Special Attack more easily. |
The Thunder Metal set is one of the two best Drive Disc sets for your Grace build as it offers an Electric Damage bonus plus extra damage against Shocked enemies. Since Grace’s goal is to Shock her enemies as fast as possible and then deal massive damage, this suits her well. That said, especially if it takes too long to inflict Shock, the full Freedom Blues set can be the better choice since it improves Anomaly Build-Up. It also offers Anomaly Proficiency, thus improving Grace’s Shock damage.
As a two-piece set, you can go for either of the above or get some extra Energy Regeneration from the Swing Jazz set. The latter may be best since you’ll ideally trigger Grace’s EX Special Attack instead of her normal Special Attack directly after accumulating enough Zap - without extra Energy Regen, this will be much harder. If you lack any of the Drive Disc sets mentioned here, you can always use two-piece ATK% sets for the time being.
Grace Howard Best Stats
- Drive Disc 4: Anomaly Proficiency, ATK%
- Drive Disc 5: Electric DMG Bonus, ATK%
- Drive Disc 6: Anomaly Mastery, Energy Regeneration
- Sub stats: Anomaly Proficiency, ATK%, PEN
Most of Grace’s damage is Anomaly damage, so her most important stats are Anomaly Mastery (build-up speed), Anomaly Proficiency, and ATK%. Note that Anomaly damage doesn’t land critical hits, which is why your Grace build doesn’t need Critical Rate or Critical Damage.
Go for Anomaly Proficiency on slot 4, or a temporary ATK% if you don’t have it yet. Likewise, go for Electric DMG on slot 5, but use ATK% if you don’t have it yet. As you need to inflict Shock as fast as possible, Anomaly Mastery is almost always the best choice on slot 6, but if you really want to trigger the EX Special Skill faster, you can go for Energy Regeneration instead. ATK% is still an option if you already have a very fast build-up.
Best Teams for Grace Howard
To unlock better Shock damage for your Grace build, be sure to select at least one additional Electric or Belobog Heavy Industries ally. Regardless of the Core Skill, it’s useful to have at least one Electric ally to help with the Shock build-up.
Grace doesn’t need to be on the field all the time, so it’s possible to have a sub-DPS and/or stun expert on her team. Although not required, it’s best to reserve space for a support ally too. As a specialized Shock support, Alexandrina is the number one choice, but someone like Nicole (team energy Regen, enemy debuff) can also work.
Here are two examples of the best Grace team compositions:
Grace Stun Team
Anomaly - Grace | Support - Alexandrina | Stun - Koleda |
Alexandrina boosts Electric damage, PEN Ratio, and recovers Energy for the team. Besides improving Grace’s damage, she’ll deal some Electric Damage of her own on the side, using her EX Special Attacks. Koleda fulfills the role of stun unit, also debuffing the opponent and improving Chain Attack damage from the team. The duo-attributes on this team will enable powerful Disorder damage, but if you’d rather fight with a mono-Electric team, you can swap Koleda for Anton.
Grace Free to Play Team
Anomaly - Grace | Attack - Anton | Stun - Anby |
With two A-rank characters, one of which is a free starter character, this exceptionally powerful free-to-play Grace team is very easy to build. As a mono-Electric team, you don’t need to worry about the Anomaly build-up, which is particularly helpful if you’re using an early-game Grace build without amazing Anomaly Mastery. Anton will fulfill the role of main DPS with a high Critical Rate, while Anby is there to stun the opponents. Grace should still take care of most of the Shock build-up though, as this will affect the Shock damage.