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Grace Howard in Zenless Zone Zero is an S rank Agent who deals Electric anomaly and piercing damage. She specializes in rapid shock AOE damage and can easily apply the shock effect in record time thanks to her special ability.
Below, you will find the best DPS and support DPS builds for Grace as of the ZZZ Equalizing Test. Rather you are a F2P player or a spender, this guide is for you! *Note that these builds assume base talent level.
Overview
Available on the standard banner (as of current test), Grace Howard is a Belobog Industries S rank agent, who deals ranged pierce and electric damage. She can weave in dodges and special attacks without interrupting her basic combo, making her a highly versatile agent. Her ranged attacks consist of rapid fire with a rifle, as well as electric grenades, which both deal wide AOE damage. Due to this, she is one of the best anomalies build up characters in the game thus far.
She can be built in many ways, but through my play testing, you can use her as your main DPS, or a support DPS, focusing on applying the shock effect at a reliable pace. Now then, let’s get on with the best W-Engines, Disc Drives, Stats, Skills, Bangboo, and Teams for Grace!
W-Engines
S - Canon Rotor (Main / Support DPS)
⭐ Attribute Mastery
Oversized Barrel (level 1 stats)
- Crit Rate is increased by 16%.
- Attacks that deal a CRIT on an enemy will deal an additional 275% ATK as damage. This effect can only trigger once every 5 seconds.
- Attribute Mastery advanced Stat works great with Grace, as she is already rated one of the highest at base 118, and her ability to deal rapid electricity attribute damage makes it an appealing choice.
- Crit Rate is especially good on Grace as her rate of attack is among the highest in the game, meaning more crit procs.
A - Starlight Engine Replica (Main DPS)
⭐ PEN Ratio
Knight Beam: Change (level 1 stats)
- Basic Attacks that hit an enemy deal 20% increased damage. This effect is increased by an additional 25% when the target is 5 or more meters away.
- As Grace is a ranged character, this fits with her kit perfectly. As a main DPS, you’ll have Grace on the field a lot, so naturally, her basic attack will be used more frequently, so this will amplify her damage output by a lot.
- Pen Ratio Advanced Stat adds to her already 15% base at level 60, so her attacks will penetrate enemy defense even more with this W-Engine.
A - Demara Battery Mark II (Main DPS)
⭐ ATK%
In a Flash of Light (level 1 stats)
- Electric damage is increased by 15%
- Gain 2.7 Energy when a Dodge Counter hits an enemy. This effect can trigger once every 5 seconds.
- If playing with Grace as your main DPS, a boost to her electric damage will help to dish more damage. If you are also able to consistently dodge counter, you will get a nice burst of energy which will increase the rate at which you can use Grace’s special and Ultimate, which are her strongest moves.
- ATK% Advanced Stat means you can roll for other stats on your disc drives, not to mention helps with overall damage output.
A - Electro-Lip Gloss (Support DPS)
⭐ Attribute Mastery
Kiss of Death (level 1 stats)
- Deal 40% more Attribute Anomaly Damage
- Straight forward, good for essentially all elemental support DPS agents, so if you want to use Grace as a support DPS, this is a good choice.
- More Attribute Mastery = higher electricity damage.
Disc Drives + Stats
Main DPS "Thunder Struck"
4-Pieces Thunder Metal
2-Pieces Puffer Electro
Main stats: IV. CRIT Rate% or CRIT DMG | V. ATK% or PEN Ratio% | VI. Anomaly Rate% or Energy Regen%
Sub stats in order of priority:
1. CRIT Rate% or CRIT DMG | 2. Pen | 3. ATK% | 4. Attribute Mastery
This build is for if you want Grace Howard to act as your main DPS carry. With how effective she can apply the shock effect, the 4-piece thunder metal alone is a perfect match, boosting damage from all her attacks. If you want to proc shock more, go for anomaly rate% on VI, but if you’d rather constantly use her special grenades, which is quite fun to spam and effective, go with energy regen. Both choices are viable. The 2-piece puffer electro further enhances Grace’s Pen Ratio to pierce defenses and deal even more damage overall.
Support DPS (Recommended) "Static Shock"
4-Pieces Freedom Blues
2-Pieces Thunder Metal
Main stats: IV. CRIT Rate% or CRIT DMG | V. Attribute Mastery or ATK% | VI. Anomaly Rate%.
Sub stats in order of priority:
1. Attribute Mastery | 2. Pen | 3. ATK% | 4. CRIT Rate% or CRIT DMG
This build is for if you want Grace Howard to become one of, if not the best, support DPS in the game. The 4-piece Freedom Blues ensures that her naturally high attribute mastery can be used to its advantage with not only adding 20 more, but increasing the damage caused by shock, acting as a powerful suppressant against aggressive enemies.
You want high attribute mastery to maximize damage output, or just roll for ATK% if RNG is not on your side. Simply switch to Grace when she has energy, pop all your specials, ultimate if she has it, and then switch to your other agents to fill in. Rinse and repeat for an unstoppable team with this powerful support agent, especially against robotic enemies!
Skill Priority
ALWAYS PRIORITIZE CORE SKILL FIRST!!!
Bangboo
S - Safety
Key Trait - Increases PEN Ratio of all Agents by 17.5%, and the PEN Ratio of Belobog Industries Agents by an additional 17.5%
As Grace is a Belobog Industries Agent, Safety increases PEN Ratio for Grace by 35%, which means Grace gets a total base PEN Ratio of 50%! If you go this route, make sure to pump up Grace’s Pen as much as you can for outrageous damage potential. To add, if using Anton, who is part of Grace's optimal team comp, he too will benefit from this as a member of Belobog Industries, leaving him with a total base PEN Ratio of 35%.
S - Butler
Key Trait - Increases CRIT Rate of all Agents by 14%, and the CRIT Rate of Victoria Housekeeping Co. Agents by an extra 14%
Increasing the crit rate is generally good for everyone, but for Grace’s case, as she pairs extremely well with Rina (see team comp below), this gives Rina an additional 28% crit rate.
As of CBT2, the only way to receive S rank Bangboos is from mail gifts, we can assume it’ll be tied to a gacha mechanic like B and S rank bangboos. If your luck fails you, Paperboo and Luckyboo are also viable A rank options.
Optimal Team Comp
This team consisting of Grace Howard, Rina, and Anton ensures perfect electricity synergy between all involved by checking off all the requirements in their Core Skill Additional Ability. In the case of Grace, when there are at least 2 electric agents, Grace’s Electric DMG is increased by 30%. On top of that, when there are at least 2 pierce agents in the squad, the entire squad generates 0.1 energy per second that there are shocked enemies in battle. With 3 electric element agents, you can count on enemies constantly shocked, especially with the help of Grace’s Special.
If you are unable to attain these specific units, do not worry, but at least go for at the minimum 2 pierce and/or 2 electric agents in order to unlock the bonus that appeals most to you.
Overall Thoughts
While Grace can be used as a main DPS or a support DPS, I think she clearly shines the best when used as a support DPS. And by support, I mean pop her on the field when she has energy to spend, then put her back into reserves while you let Anton or someone else of your liking act as your main DPS. If you're dealing with a bunch of robotic trash mobs, however, Grace will ensure that you can clear them out quickly.
