Grace Howard Guide and Best Builds for Zenless Zone Zero (ZZZ)
Introduction - Grace Howard
Grace Howard is an S-Rank Electric Anomaly Agent in Zenless Zone Zero. She specialises in Pierce damage and throws grenades to both deal Electric damage and to reduce enemies' Electric Resistance. Grace Howard belongs to the Belobog Heavy Industries faction alongside other characters such as Anton Ivanov, Ben Bigger, and Koleda Belobog.
"Did you say Grace?" Wrench jumped in and answered: "Hm, she's the first person I've met nice enough to give me a massage."
"She's genuinely caring," Screw quickly added: "Rather than being tightly wound, I prefer her way of tightening screws just right."
Gear joined in at this point: "Her intelligent mind is alluring and elegant like a well-engaged gearbox!"
"And very rational," Oil muttered: "In her dictionary, there's no room for 'a little' or 'moderate amount'. It's all precise 'milliliters'."
Grace Character Demo - "Mech Mania"
How to Pull Grace Howard
Grace Howard can be pulled at a regular rate from all Channels, excluding the Bangboo Channel. After a total of 300 Signal Searches in the Stable Channel, you may recruit an additional S-Rank Agent of your choice from the options given. This recruit option is only available once per account. These characters include Nekomata, Alexandrina Sebastiane, Koleda Belobog, Soldier 11, and Von Lycaon.
Grace Howard Strengths and Weaknesses
- EX Special Attack is significantly stronger than her normal Special Attack.
- Fast Electric Anomaly Buildup within seconds.
- A full Basic Attack combo gives maximum Zaps.
- Can work with many different W-Engines, Drive Discs, and Bangboo.
- Overcaps on Zaps before meeting her EX Special Attack Energy Cost.
- Needs some Energy Regen or higher Energy Generation Rate to compensate for fast-paced gameplay.
- Can not reach the same damage potentials of an Attack Agent, nor buff like a Support Agent either.
- Needs either an Electric or Anomaly focused Team Composition.
Skills, Mindscapes, and Promotions
Skill | Description |
---|---|
Basic Attack: High-Pressure Spike |
Press to activate: Unleashes up to 4 attacks, dealing Physical DMG and Electric DMG. While launching Basic Attacks, drag the joystick to attack while moving. This allows Grace to reposition herself and deal Physical DMG. While Grace is launching Basic Attacks, her Basic Attack combo will not be interrupted by her Special Attacks, EX Special Attacks, Dodge, Dash Attacks, or Dodge Counter. |
Skill | Description |
---|---|
Dodge: Safety Regulation | Press to activate: A rapid dodge. Character is invulnerable while using this skill. |
Dash Attack: Quick Inspection | Press during a dodge to activate: Slide forward while shooting, dealing Physical DMG. |
Dodge Counter: Violation Penalty | Press during a Perfect Dodge to activate: Throws a grenade at enemies, dealing Electric DMG. Character is invulnerable while using this skill. |
Skill | Description |
---|---|
Quick Assist: Incident Management | When the on-field character is launched in the air, press to activate: Throws a grenade at the enemy, dealing Electric DMG. Character is invulnerable while using this skill. |
Evasive Assist: Rapid Risk Response |
When the character on field is about to be attacked, press to activate: Dodges the enemy's attack and activates Vital View. Character is invulnerable while using this skill. |
Assist Follow-Up: Counter Volt Needle | Press after an Evasive Assist to activate: Unleashes a spinning hail of bullets against enemies in front and throws a grenade, dealing Electric DMG. Character is invulnerable while using this skill. |
Skill | Description |
---|---|
Special Attack: Obstruction Removal | Press to activate: Throws a grenade to the front, dealing Electric DMG. Upon use, drag the joystick to change directions. Anti-Interrupt level is increased while using this skill. |
EX Special Attack: Supercharged Obstruction Removal | With enough Energy, press to activate: Leap in the air and throw two grenades to the front, dealing massive Electric DMG. Upon use, drag the joystick to change directions. Character is invulnerable while using this skill. |
Skill | Description |
---|---|
Chain Attack: Collaborative Construction | When a Chain Attack is triggered, select the character to activate: Throws three grenades into the air then strafes to detonate them, dealing massive Electric DMG. Character is invulnerable while using this skill. |
Ultimate: Demolition Blast - Beware | When Decibel Rating is at Maximum, press to activate: Throws a custom grenade which explodes in the air and splits into four smaller grenades, dealing massive Electric DMG. Character is invulnerable while using this skill. |
Skill | Description |
---|---|
Core Passive: Pre-Driven Needle |
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 the maximum stacks, using a Special Attack or EX Special Attack will consume all stacks of Zap, increasing the accumulated Electric Anomaly Buildup by 65%(Lv.1). |
Additional Ability: Tech Support Dept. | When another character in your squad shares the same Attribute or Faction: Upon hitting an enemy with an EX Special Attack, the next Shock effect inflicted on the target increases Shock DMG by 18%. 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's Best Mindscapes
Most, if not all, of Grace's Mindscape levels are beneficial to her in some way. For example, Grace's M1 gives additional Energy to both her and the squad, while Grace's M4 further increases the Energy Generation for Grace herself. If players want to increase Grace's personal damage output, they can look into either the M2 or M6 upgrades.
# | Mindscape | Description |
---|---|---|
M1 | 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. |
M2 | 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 8s. |
M3 | Chief Mechanic | Basic Attack, Dodge, Assist, Special Attack, and Chain Attack Lv. +2. |
M4 | Burst Capacitor | When using 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%. |
M5 | "Frosty Cold Iron Witch" | Basic Attack, Dodge, Assist, Special Attack, and Chain Attack Lv. +2. |
M6 | 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%. |
Grace Howard's Promotion Passives
Skill | Description |
---|---|
Core Skill Enhancement A |
|
Core Skill Enhancement B |
|
Core Skill Enhancement C |
|
Core Skill Enhancement D |
|
Core Skill Enhancement E |
|
Core Skill Enhancement F |
|
How to Play Grace
Grace Howard's core gameplay revolves around generating Energy for herself, as well as building Electric Anomaly to deal more Electric DMG or cause Anomaly Disorders. She does this by accumulating Zap stacks, which activates her Core Skill: Pre-Driven Needle.
She can obtain Zaps through the following methods:
- Basic Attack: Gain 1 Zap each time you press Basic Attack
- Dash Attack: As you dodge with Dodge, press to gain 1 Zap
Grace can hold up to a maximum of 8 Zap stacks. Pressing Special Attack will consume all accumulated Zaps. For every Zap consumed, her Special Attack increases the amount of accumulated Electric Anomaly Buildup on her targets; more gets built if she uses an EX Special Attack instead.
In addition to the Electric Anomaly Buildup, Grace's EX Special Attack can also increase the Shock DMG enemies receive, stackable up to 2 times per target. However, her Additional Ability is only available if Grace's squad has at least one other Agent who shares the same Attribute or Faction as her.
Grace and Energy Regen
At Grace Howard's base Energy Regen stat, she does not have enough to keep up
with her Energy requirement for an EX Special Attack every Basic Attack combo or every other combo.
If you have Mindscape Cinema 1, cancelling her Basic Attack combo early also
means you do not benefit from the Energy Regen bonus, despite executing
more attacks faster.
This does not impact teams where regular switching is viable, but if Grace is
your primary DPS Agent, you will want her on-field often in order to make use
of her Zaps.
Grace's best use for her Zaps is with her EX Special Attack, as it has significantly better damage scaling than her normal Special Attack. In addition, it is not difficult to meet the Energy requirement, so long as she has some Energy Regen in her build. Grace thankfully does not need a lot, as her EX Special Attack's Energy Cost is only 40.
In theory, she can achieve 40 Energy every 3-5 full Basic Attack combos (depending on your latency and build). In practice, however, players are likely to meet Grace's Energy requirement just by executing Assists and using other Agents in their squad effectively. This means that Grace does not necessarily require an Energy Regen-focused build, and in fact, will benefit more from building her other stats, such as: Anomaly Proficiency, ATK and ATK%, PEN Ratio, and etc. Having another Anomaly Agent in the squad also enables her to contribute to Anomaly Disorders.
In an optimized setting, Grace should be able to meet her Energy Regen needs through either a team composition with good synergy, or through her Best in Slot possibilities. Please see Grace's Best in Slot Guide for more information.
Grace Howard Build
BiS W-Engine |
|
Alternative W-Engines |
|
Best Drive Discs | 4 Piece:
2 Piece:
|
Main Stats |
|
Substat Priority |
|
Skill Priority |
|
Grace's Best in Slot Guide
Signature W-Engine: Fusion Compiler
Grace's best W-Engine available permanently is her signature
Fusion Compiler. Players can obtain this W-Engine through Signal
Searching, or exchanging Residual Signals at the Signal Shop.
This W-Engine is a significant upgrade over other W-Engines currently available, as
its advanced stat can provide up to 24% PEN Ratio alone, when upgraded to Lv. 60.
In addition to helping Grace's PEN Ratio, the base ATK and Data Flood Effect also increase Grace's damage output significantly. The Base ATK is comparable to Attack speciality W-Engines, despite being an Anomaly W-Engine. The Data Flood Effect additionally provides an ATK % buff, and can improve Grace's Anomaly Proficiency by 25 three times, up to a maximum of 75. The duration of each stack is calculated separately, so Grace can effectively maintain the Effect, as long as she is able to do Special or EX Special Attacks regularly in her rotation.
Limited W-Engine: Timeweaver
If players are able to obtain Timeweaver, it is a better Best in Slot option than Fusion Compiler due to its added Electric Anomaly Buildup and Disorder DMG effects. With at least 375 Anomaly Proficiency, Timeweaver would significantly improve Grace's damage output in any Mono-Electric or Disorder Anomaly squads. The only downside to Timeweaver is the lack of Fusion Compiler's PEN Ratio. When fighting targets with higher DEF pools, stacking multiple ATK % sources will not be as strong as having more PEN Ratio.
While other W-Engines are also possible to slot in, they do not provide the same
amount of maximum synergy that Fusion Compiler or Timeweaver can achieve.
However, players can substitute with most -Rank W-Engines, as Grace will
benefit from any of them. For specifics, see below:
- While not listed in the BiS summary, Sharpened Stinger deserves a special mention as another S-Rank W-Engine. Grace can activate the effect fine, as her Basic Attack Combo can be executed with Dash Attacks. However, she will not benefit as much from the Physical DMG bonus, as most of her Anomaly Buildup and damage multipliers are based on Electric DMG.
-
Weeping Gemini has a higher Anomaly Proficiency potential than Fusion Compiler, and is an excellent alternative. However, the W-Engine's base and maximum ATK stat potential is lower due to being an A-Rank. As well, stacking too many ATK% buffs may have diminishing returns.
The main issue with Weeping Gemini is that the effect only lasts until the target recovers from Stun or is defeated. So if targets recover or die too fast in combat, you will need to re-build the stacks once more. It is also easier to achieve the stacks if you have other Anomaly Agents in the squad, as the effect can be activated by any of them.
- Electro-Lip Gloss increases Anomaly Proficiency and ATK significantly, but is locked behind the New Eridu City Fund.
- Rainforest Gourmet increases Anomaly Proficiency, but she will average 10% ATK maximum approximately every 2-4 Basic Attack combos, due to her EX Special's 40 Energy Cost. Grace would need significant Energy Regen bonuses to continuously do EX Special attacks each combo, which the W-Engine does not provide.
- Roaring Ride is good only if you can do EX Special Attacks regularly to maintain all 3 buffs. Otherwise, the buff(s) you receive will be random.
-
Flamemaker Shaker is an okay alternative, but not as useful as Grace's other options. It has a similar issue to Roaring Ride, where Grace requires maximum Energy to maximize on the Effect's buff potential.
From off-field with 4 EX Specials (at 120 Energy), Grace can build about 5 stacks within 6s. It would be difficult for her to sustain all 5 stacks without Energy Regen, as well as reaching 10 stacks for the maximum DMG buff.
While B-Rank W-Engines can be considered, they will not be able to achieve the maximum potential an S-Rank W-Engine like Fusion Compiler can, due to the differences in Ranks. Players are advised to upgrade when possible, as Grace has many A-Rank and above W-Engines she can use.
If players want more information on W-Engine calculations, see Additional Notes.
Grace's best Drive Disc set is Thunder Metal, as it can provide a
permanent Electric DMG% bonus, as long as targets stay Shocked.
This is easy for Grace to do if she has Energy Regen, as she can build
EX Special Attacks relatively quickly.
Players can also consider Freedom Blues, if they are building other Anomaly Agents,
or prefer the 4-Piece set bonus more. The same can be applied for Hormone Punk; it saves resources over time
(as your Battery is only used for 1 Drive Disc set). However,
the Freedom Blues effect does not stack with others of the same attribute, so only 1 Agent on a squad
can utilise the 4-Piece set bonus. Whereas with Hormone Punk, players may have diminishing returns if
there are too many ATK or ATK% bonuses.
The Chaos Jazz 4-Piece set may also be considered if you primarily play Grace as an off-field Agent. For example, in Anomaly or Disorder teams where the other Agents prefer on-field time more than Grace, she may opt to switch into combat often, benefiting from the Drive Disc effects.
2-Piece Sets with Thunder Metal and Freedom Blues also work, if you are unable to get
a complete 4-Piece Set of your preference, or prefer the 2-Piece set bonuses more.
Alternatives include Hormone Punk and Puffer Electro. If players require more
Energy Regen, they may consider Swing Jazz; or Chaos Jazz for more Anomaly Proficiency.
Puffer Electro's 4-Piece set bonus does not impact Grace much; while her Ultimate has powerful scaling, her frequent damage output is from EX Special Attacks and Basic Attack combos. To benefit from the 4-Piece set, she would need to have a build similar to Attack Agents, which is difficult to achieve with an Anomaly Agent's base stats and scaling. However, it is a possible alternative for players who do not wish to spend their Battery on Anomaly focused Drive Discs.
Timeweaver
Assuming both W-Engines are at Lv.60, the primary differences between Timeweaver and Fusion Compiler are:
Category | Timeweaver | Fusion Compiler |
---|---|---|
ATK % | 30% |
W1: 12% W5: 24% |
Anomaly Proficiency (AP) |
W1: 75 AP/15s W5: 115 AP/15s |
W1: 25 AP/8s, stackable up to 3 times (75 AP maximum) W5: 50 AP/8s, stackable up to 3 times (150 AP maximum) |
Additional Stats |
Electric Anomaly Buildup Rate: 30% (W1) to 50% (W5) Disorder DMG Increase: 25% (W1) to 35% (W5) |
PEN Ratio: 24% |
Weeping Gemini
Comparing Fusion Compiler with Weeping Gemini:
The table below provides the minimum and maximum ATK potentials of each W-Engine,
independent of other stat bonuses available.
W-Engine | Minimum at Lv. 0, 1 Star | Maximum at Lv. 60, 1 Star | Maximum at Lv. 60, 5 Stars |
---|---|---|---|
Fusion Compiler |
Base ATK: 46, Data Flood Bonus: 12% ATK ATK = 46 x 1.12 = 51.52 |
Base ATK: 684, Data Flood Bonus: 12% ATK ATK = 684 x 1.12 = 766.08 |
Base ATK: 684, Data Flood Bonus: 24% ATK ATK = 684 x 1.24 = 848.16 |
Weeping Gemini |
Base ATK: 40, Advanced Stat Bonus: 10% ATK ATK = 40 x 1.10 = 44.00 |
Base ATK: 594, Advanced Stat Bonus: 25% ATK ATK = 594 x 1.25 = 742.50 |
No Change from Maximum at Lv. 60, 1 Star |
Rainforest Gourmet's ATK% potential is calculated based on the following for EX Special Attacks:
Regarding Grace's Base Potential, completely independent of other Bonuses:
- Grace averages 8-9 Zaps every 3 Basic Attacks (3 Zaps per 1 Basic Attack, capped at 8 Zaps)
- A full Basic Attack combo (4 hits) is approximately 3-4 seconds, depending on latency or frame rate
- Mindscape 1: Doing the 4th-hit of her Basic Attack combo will provide 0.25-2 Energy (depending on number of targets)
- Grace's EX Special Attack uses 40 Energy, with no possible discount or increase
- Grace's Special Attack uses 0 Energy, but multiplies time due to rebuilding Zaps for the next Special/EX Special Attack
- Grace has a Energy Limit of 120
- At base M0, Grace recovers 1.2 Energy per second
Regarding Grace and the W-Engine Rainforest Gourmet:
- The W-Engine provides 2.5% ATK per 10 Energy for 10s; the ATK% is stackable up to 10 times
- ATK% drop-off begins to occur when minimum Energy for her EX Special cannot be used every 10 seconds
- Without cancelling her combo, Grace would need to build 40 Energy every 10 seconds to keep the ATK% stacks
- Starting from 0 Energy at 1.2/s Energy Regen, M0 Grace would need to do approximately 3-4 full combos to reach 40 Energy
- Assuming a player takes the time length of 5 full Basic Attack combos (due to latency or gameplay), they will need additional Energy Regen to keep the ATK% buff without any drop-off
Regarding Flamemaker Shaker:
Assuming Grace receives the double stack effect from beginning off-field, at W0:
Minimum Energy | DMG Stack Formula (Off-Field Bonus + Stacks) | Effect Buffs |
---|---|---|
40 | 2 (Off) + 1 (EX) = 3 Stacks |
|
80 | 2 (Off) + 2 (EX) = 4 Stacks |
|
120 | 2 (Off) + 3 (EX) = 5 Stacks |
|
If Flamemaker Shaker is at W5, the Anomaly Proficiency buff increases to 100. In comparison,
- A Lv.60 Sharpened Stinger reaches 90 Anomaly Proficiency
- All Lv.60 Advanced Stat A-Rank W-Engines reach only 75 Anomaly Proficiency
- At maximum buff stacks, a Weeping Gemini can have an Anomaly Proficiency from 120 (W0) to 192 (W5).
- With the Anomaly Proficiency buff, Roaring Ride can have an Anomaly Proficiency from 40 (W0) to 64 (W5). As well, this buff is not guaranteed to be always active due to its random effect.
Bangboo Information
Grace's best Bangboo are Plugboo and Safety. Plugboo is good if you want to maximize Grace's Electric and Shock DMG potential, while Safety is beneficial if you run a Belobog Heavy Industries squad.
Alternative considerations can also include Butler if you have a Victoria Housekeeping Co. focused squad, as Grace will benefit from the Energy Generation bonuses. Officer Cui and Red Moccus from their respective Factions also work, as both Bangboo have high damage potential.
If players do not have an -Rank Bangboo, other -Rank considerations include Magnetiboo, Electroboo, Booressure, and Boollseye. If you need more support than damage, Knightboo or Exploreboo also works.
Grace Howard Team Comps and Synergy
DPS | Stun | Support | Bangboo |
---|---|---|---|
Grace Howard | Alexandrina Sebastiane | Plugboo |
Mono-Electric Grace
For Grace, she benefits the most from an Shock or Anomaly focused team, as Grace can output a lot of Electric DMG herself through her EX Special Attacks.
Her best Support is Alexandrina Sebastiane, as Rina can provide both PEN Ratio and Electric DMG buffs. However, players can substitute with another Electric Agent such as Anby Demara, Qingyi, or Seth Lowell.
Tsukishiro Yanagi is not considered as a compatible Electric Agent due to her kit focusing more on Disorder DMG. Though Grace can go either way, Mono-Electric or Disorder, Grace needs all the Energy support she can get. While other Anomaly Agents may be able to provide this support, such as Piper Wheel's Power stacks, Tsukishiro Yanagi does not provide any party-wide buffs at all.
If players want to consider other Attribute Agents, such as Caesar King or Lucy, they should consider compatibilities with Grace and the overall squad. For example, Soukaku's Ice DMG buffs do not directly benefit Grace, but Lucy has ATK and Energy buffs that work for any Attribute. As Grace does not have a Defensive Assist, she personally cannot activate Caesar King's Additional Ability.
Grace, Anomaly, and Disorders
As an Anomaly Agent, Grace will achieve a larger damage output if she can accumulate either Electric Buildup or Disorder quickly. This means that, with a team such as Jane Doe and Seth Lowell, she can benefit both from Seth Lowell's all attribute Anomaly Buildup RES reduction and Jane Doe's Anomaly type for building Disorders.
On-Field DPS | Support | Off-Field DPS | Bangboo |
---|---|---|---|
Jane Doe | Grace Howard |
Both Grace and Jane Doe would not suffer from a lack of Support either, as having more Anomaly Agents in the squad would benefit everyone. Grace can also work with Qingyi, though Anomaly and Disorder applications cannot build Daze. Grace may run into rotation issues with either Jane Doe or Qingyi due to their preferred on-field playstyles.
On-Field DPS | Support | Off-Field DPS | Bangboo |
---|---|---|---|
Grace Howard |
If players wish to use a squad with Piper Wheel or Burnice White, Grace will likely be an off-field Anomaly Agent. It is easier to build Disorders with Burnice White, as her Anomaly DMG can continuously apply even when Burnice White is off-field. Whereas Piper Wheel requires on-field time to build Power stacks, so there may be rotational issues with Grace's playstyle.
Grace and Belobog Heavy Industries
DPS | Stun/Defense | Support | Bangboo |
---|---|---|---|
Grace Howard |
If players want a Belobog Heavy Industries focused team instead, they can consider Anton Ivanov, Koleda Belobog, or Ben Bigger for the squad. All Agents can work well together, especially with Safety as the squad's Bangboo.
If players want to use Anton Ivanov more effectively, Grace as an Anomaly Agent can act as a sub-DPS, providing additional Shock DMG. He can also allow Grace to use either Plugboo or Safety, as both Agents have the same Attribute and Faction. However, keep in mind that Anton Ivanov will likely have a longer on-field time than Grace, so there may be some rotational issues.
So, it may be more effective to use Burnice White or Lucy instead of Anton Ivanov. Both Sons Of Calydon Agents have no problems with letting Grace be the primary DPS Agent, and benefit from the same Attribute as Koleda Belobog or Ben Bigger. As a result, Grace can still have a Disorder-focused team that can safely use Safety.
Changelog
- 05 Nov. 2024: Updated Best-in-Slot and Team Composition sections for Version 1.3.
- 16 Oct. 2024: Updated How to Play, Best-in-Slot, Additional Notes, and Team Composition sections for Version 1.2.
- 04 Sep. 2024: Updated Team Composition section to include Jane Doe and Seth Lowell.
- 12 Aug. 2024: Modified wording for Build Guide and added Mindscape Cinema recommendation. Updated for Version 1.1.
- 06 Jul. 2024: Updated Skills and Mindscapes Section for Version 1.0. Added Best in Slot Guide and Suggested Team Compositions.
- 15 Jun. 2024: Page added.
Piyo is an active raider who has been playing Final Fantasy XIV Online since Shadowbringers. Though she can play all roles, she specialises in healer optimization and teaches both new players and peers alike. She often streams entertaining raid content, ranging from extreme trials to ultimates on release. In addition, she streams other games, such as Honkai Star Rail and Genshin Impact, as well as digital art commissions. Be sure to check her comfortably chaotic streams on Twitch, or commission her art on VGen!
- Zenless Zone Zero A Storm of Falling Stars!
- ZZZ Asaba Harumasa Character Demo is Here!
- ZZZ Latest December Redemption Code!
- ZZZ Version 1.4: A Storm of Falling Stars!
- Zenless Zone Zero December Redemption Codes!
- Upcoming Version 1.4 Livestream for Zenless Zone Zero!
- ZZZ Shares a Thank-You Letter to All Proxies!
- ZZZ Additional Miyabi Adjustments!