Zenless Zone Zero 2.1: Alice's Kit & Top Teams

Introduction to the Spook Shack Faction and Summer Event

The 2.1 update for Zenless Zone Zero introduces players to the Spook Shack faction, which includes Yuzuha and Alice. While Manato is also part of this group, he has not yet been revealed as a playable character. Yuzuha and Alice are central to the game's big summer event, Tales of Midsummer Dreams. This type of event is common in games developed by Hoyoverse, the studio behind Genshin Impact.

The first banner introduced Yuzuha, a Physical Support agent who specializes in aiding Anomaly users and building up Physical Anomaly on enemies. This complements Alice, who appears on the second banner of the patch. Alice is a powerful Anomaly agent capable of dealing significant damage.

Understanding Alice’s Kit in Zenless Zone Zero

Alice is an S-Rank Agent with the Anomaly role and the Physical element. Anomaly units focus on building up Anomaly, which functions similarly to elemental effects on enemies. Once the Anomaly buildup meter is full, the effect triggers, and the meter resets. A physical anomaly causes a burst of damage known as Assault and can interrupt enemies.

Her core passive, Twin Rainbows of the Swordheart, allows Alice to deal additional damage after a squad member inflicts a Physical Anomaly. This makes her a great partner for Yuzuha, another Physical Anomaly specialist. If a Disorder is triggered during a Physical Anomaly, the damage increases. Disorder occurs when two different anomaly effects are active on an enemy.

Alice can activate Disorder on her own through her Blade Etiquette mechanic and Polarized Assault. Blade Etiquette is a special meter that fills up from certain actions. When three bars are filled, holding the Basic Attack will execute an Enhanced Basic Attack that deals high damage and activates Polarized Assault. This is an Anomaly effect separate from normal Assault, so it triggers Disorder.

Enhancing Alice’s Abilities with Special Attacks

Alice’s Ex Special Attack, Ultimate, and the additional ability, Mystery Hunt, increase the Blade Etiquette meter. She needs either an Anomaly or Support agent on the team to activate her special ability. Fortunately, she can easily have one of those on the team. Her Ultimate, Starfall Finale, grants the most Blade Etiquette at once, 200, which is two full bars.

Best W-Engines and Drive Discs for Alice

Alice has six viable Anomaly W-Engine options. Ranked from best to worst, they are:

• Practiced Perfection (Limited S Rank) - Increases Anomaly Mastery by 60. When inflicting Assault, the equipper's Physical Damage increases by 20% for 20 seconds, stacking 2 times.
• Fusion Compiler (S Rank) - Increases Attack by 12%. When using a Special Attack or Ex Special Attack, the equipper's Anomaly Proficiency increases by 25 for 8 seconds, stacking 3 times.
• Electro-Lip Gloss (Battle Pass A Rank) - Increases Attack by 16% when enemies are inflicted with an Anomaly on the field, and deals 25% more damage to the target.
• Weeping Gemini (A Rank) - Increases Anomaly Proficiency by 30 when a squad member inflicts an Anomaly, stacking 4 times.
• Roaring Ride (A Rank) - Provides one of three effects: Increase Attack by 8%, increase Anomaly Proficiency by 40, or increase Anomaly Buildup Rate by 25%.
• Rainforest Gourmet (A Rank) - Increases Attack by 2.5% for every 10 Energy used, stacking 10 times.

Practiced Perfection is the best option due to its S Rank status and specific boosts for Alice’s kit. It offers a 40% Physical Damage boost, along with increased Anomaly Mastery to trigger effects more often. Other options are still viable, but they become less effective as the list goes down.

Weeping Gemini is the best free-to-play option if players don't want to spend a large amount of currency.

Optimal Drive Disc Setup for Alice

The best Drive Disc 4-piece set for Alice is Fanged Metal. The 2-piece effect increases Physical Damage by 10%, while the 4-piece effect boosts damage dealt to the target by 35% for 12 seconds whenever a squad member inflicts an Assault. Players should aim for Anomaly Proficiency as the main stat for Disc Drive slot 4, with Physical Damage, PEN Ratio, or Attack for slot 5, and Anomaly Mastery for slot 6. Substats should be Anomaly Proficiency, Attack %, or PEN in that order.

Best Teams and Bangboo for Alice

Since Alice is an Anomaly unit, there are more team options than last patch's Rupture unit, Yixuan. Her best team consists of Alice, Yuzuha, and either Vivian or Burnice. Yuzuha is the best Support, and they complement each other well. Both are Physical and gain benefits from Physical Anomaly. Yuzuha also boosts Anomaly units, which helps Alice activate multiple parts of her kit.

A F2P option would be Alice, Piper, and Lucy. Piper is a Physical Anomaly unit, allowing faster activation of Assault. Lucy provides additional abilities and slightly increases Anomaly Proficiency.

Another F2P option is Alice, Billy, and Nicole. Billy is a Physical Attack unit, helping to activate Assault, while Nicole reduces enemy Defense, increasing Alice’s damage output.

Miss Esme is the best Bangboo, summoning either a Spectral Bubble or Twinkling Star on the field. Other Bangboos like Bangvolver, Luckyboo, and Knightboo can work if Miss Esme is unavailable.

Tips for Playing Alice

Once players understand her Blade Etiquette and Polarized Assault mechanics, Alice is relatively straightforward to play. Saving Blade Etiquette to max is crucial. Since Alice can only activate Polarized Assault at a full 300, or 3 Bars, of Blade Etiquette, players should wait until then to use Starshine Waltz. Using it too early deals less damage and won’t activate Polarized Assault, which prevents her from triggering Disorder on her own.

Her Special Attack and Ex Special Attacks have unique properties. Each can trigger Perfect Dodge when used right as the enemy attacks, allowing an immediate follow-up with an enhanced 5th hit of her Basic Attack.

Her Ex Special Attack, Aurora Thrust, can go forward or dash back depending on the player's movement direction. This helps in repositioning during battle.

Alice relies on teammates to get the full effect of her kit. Having Yuzuha or another Physical unit is essential. She can stay on the field for a while to attack, so switching to another Physical unit to activate Assault and then returning to Alice is a good strategy.

Her Ultimate Attack, Starfall Finale, deals massive damage and gives a lot of Blade Etiquette. Players should use it as soon as possible. If Blade Etiquette is maxed, using Starshine Waltz before the Ultimate is recommended.

If players are lucky enough or spend money to get Alice's second Mindscape, her Ultimate will also trigger a Polarized Assault, making it a priority when upgrading skills.

Even at M0, Alice is a strong Physical Anomaly unit and an excellent addition to any player’s account in Zenless Zone Zero.