Should You Pull Zankou in NTE 1.3? Complete Neverness to Everness Banner Verdict

Should You Pull Zankou in NTE 1.3?

Yes, if you need a limited Incantation main DPS. Zankou is the first limited S-Class Incantation attacker in Neverness to Everness, and she is built to replace Baicang as the default on-field Incantation carry. Her kit stacks damage-over-time, spreads those effects, and then pays them off with follow-up attacks and a dual Reality / Illusion rotation.

Pull her now if most of these are true:

• You do not already own a finished limited Incantation DPS.
• You enjoy DoT, Scorch, and follow-up combat instead of simple skill-and-burst rotations.
• You already have (or can easily slot) Sakiri, Daffodill, Lacrimosa, or Iroi.
• You can accept that Linko in Phase 2 is her premium Hexed partner, not a reason to skip Phase 1 entirely.
• You like her design enough to live with a higher skill ceiling than Nanally.

Skip or lightly dip if most of these are true:

• Your account is already Anima-heavy and still missing Nanally.
• You only have enough currency for one guaranteed S-Class before September 9.
• You dislike timed form swaps and would rather play a simpler on-field attacker.
• You are saving specifically for Linko plus Hotori in Zankou Phase 2’s successor window.

The honest mid-patch view: Zankou is the higher-ceiling, newer, longer-lasting pull. Nanally is the safer, more flexible rerun if your Anima / Blossom core is incomplete. Most accounts should not try to guarantee both in the same 21-day window.

NTE 1.3 Banner Schedule You Are Actually Choosing Between

NTE Version 1.3 splits into two limited windows. Pity on Limited Boards carries forward, which is the single most important rule in this patch.

Zankou’s featured board is Alluring Shadows. Nanally returns on The Ichi-daime. Both run at the same time, share Limited Board pity, and close when Linko’s Surfing All Channels board opens.

That shared pity is why “Zankou phase 2” planning starts in Phase 1. Pulls you spend on Alluring Shadows are not wasted if you stop short. They roll into Linko. Pulls you spend after you already own Zankou are pulls you no longer have for her best future teammate.

Who Zankou Is and Why Her Kit Feels Different?

Zankou is an S-Class Incantation Esper who uses Gas Arcs. In the story she is a Scarlet Letter member, a face-stealing antagonist who finally becomes playable in 1.3. In combat she is an on-field condensate DPS whose damage comes from two stacked systems:

• Reality for raw damage and setup.
• Illusion for extra hits, Crit Damage, Heartwrench / Heart Erosion DoT, and spread.

Zankou enters Illusion through her Redirect Skill, rides an 8-second window, then uses an enhanced Redirect near the end of that window to slam back into Reality with an AoE finisher and a short extra Ultimate window. Delusion stacks raise DoT Crit Damage while she is performing that loop.

That is why Neverness to Everness Zankou known for her DoT + follow-up carry rather than a classic burst unit. She wants field time, and she wants existing DoTs on the target so she can spread them. Also, Zankou wants Crit Rate solved so the rest of the build can live on Crit Damage and Incantation Damage.

Signature Piece that Changes the Pull Math 

Ravenous Blade is Zankou’s signature Arc. It is not required to make her function, but it is the piece that makes her comfortable. The Arc dumps a huge chunk of Crit Rate onto her (community testing puts the package around 40% Crit Rate once the passive is counted) and then stacks Crit Damage as she deals Incantation damage.

If you pull Zankou and skip Ravenous Blade, she still works on alternatives such as Contemplative Cat or Fluff of Finesse. She just becomes gear-hungry. If you only have currency for the character, take the character. If you have leftover Solid Dice after the guarantee, the Arc is the first luxury, not extra copies.

Best console direction is Crimson: Twin Butterflies. Prioritize Crit Damage or Incantation Damage mains, then Crit Rate, Crit Damage, and ATK in substats. Skill order is Ultimate, Basic Attack, then passives / Redirect. A1 is the awakening that actually changes how the kit feels; extra copies after that are whale territory.

Zankou vs Nanally: The Real Phase 1 Question

This is the comparison players actually want when they search for: Zankou vs Nanally. So, having a comparison based on different factors of them will be useful:

Nanally is still one of the best Anima damage dealers in Neverness to Everness. She drives Blossom teams, builds Cycle quickly, and slots next to free units. If you skipped her in 1.0 and your current clear teams feel thin, her rerun is legitimate.

Zankou is the unit the Incantation slot has been waiting for. Baicang covers the standard-banner version of that job. Zankou is the limited upgrade: more DoT tools, more spread, more follow-up, and a ceiling that rises again when Linko arrives.

Power-creep logic favors Zankou. Flexibility and ease of use favor Nanally. If you already have Nanally built, do not spend Phase 1 pity on extra copies unless you specifically want her signature or a missing Awakening. Spend it on Zankou or save it for Linko.

You can even run them together. A Hex team with Zankou and Nanally as dual attackers, Iroi on buffs, and Hotori or Linko in the fourth slot is a real lineup, not a theorycraft joke. That does not mean you should pull both from zero in one patch.

Comparison of Nanally and Upcoming Phase II Banners

Phase II is the trap that punishes greedy Phase I spending.

Linko is an S-Class Anima Esper arriving September 9. Her kit is built around a ghost companion, extra attacks, and sync damage that can involve bench members. She is the teammate Zankou wants for Hexed: Anima + Incantation is the pair that lights that Cycle, and Linko’s follow-up pattern feeds the same damage language Zankou already speaks.

Hotori reruns beside Linko. Hotori is the “fits almost any account” limited. If you still do not own her, she can outrank a second copy of anyone in Phase 1.

Practical Phase 1 vs Phase 2 plans should be like this:

• Need an Incantation carry: Pull Zankou to the guarantee. Then stop and the rest for Linko.
• Need an Anima carry and already have Baicang / Lacrimosa covering Incantation: Pull Nanally. Skip Zankou. Reassess Linko after you see live kits.
• Own Nanally, need both a new DPS and her best partner: Guarantee Zankou, then decide if leftover pity plus 1.3 event Annulith can reach Linko.
• Own neither and cannot guarantee two characters: Pick the element your roster lacks. Do not split 40/40.

Pity carryover is what makes this plan possible. Limited Board progress does not vanish on September 9. Cosmetic milestones on Zankou’s board do not transfer the same way, so the 200-pull Autumn Vignette outfit is a whale extra, not a F2P goal.

How Many Pulls / Currency Should You Prepare?

Neverness to Everness does not use a 50/50 on limited character boards. Land an S-Class on Alluring Shadows and it is Zankou. That is the most generous part of the system.

Core numbers here are:

• 1 pull = 160 Annulith (or 1 Solid Die)
• 10-pull = 1,600 Annulith
• Soft pity / Board Modification = pull 70 (rate jumps hard)
• Hard pity = pull 90, featured character guaranteed
• Worst-case character = 14,400 Annulith
• Most players hit the featured unit between 70 and 90

So your goals should be as follows:

F2P income across a version is not 90 pulls by default. Plan around events, Anomaly Commissions, Beyond the Rails, Bond rewards, and codes, then treat anything past ~40–60 new pulls as bonus. If you are sitting at 50 pity already, Zankou is much cheaper than the headline 14,400 figure.

This is where Enjoygm becomes relevant in a practical way. A guarantee is 14,400 Annulith. If you are 20–30 pulls short of Board Modification and you already decided Zankou is your 1.3 identity, buying the missing Annulith through Enjoygm is cheaper than either forcing a bad split into Nanally or walking into Phase 2 with a dead board and no Hexed partner.

If you still need exploration Annulith before you swipe, clear the new Duskmoor files first. Go through our NTE 1.3 Duskmoor Anomaly Commissions guide as well because it walks the six new commissions that pay Annulith, materials, and Hunter EXP while the banner is live.

Best Teams If You Do Pull Zankou

You do not need a premium four-limited squad on day one. Just follow these cores:

Scorch core (most natural home)

• Zankou — on-field DoT / follow-up carry
• Lacrimosa or Daffodill — Scorch partner and Break pressure
• Sakiri — DoT payoff
• Iroi or Haniel — buffs and Cycle help

Hexed core (the one that grows in Phase 2)

• Zankou — Incantation half of Hexed
• Nanally, Mint, or later Linko — Anima half
• Iroi — Amplify
• Hotori or Zero — flex support / extra Cycle

Sakiri and Daffodill being obtainable without limited pity is a big part of why Zankou is more F2P-friendly than her signature Arc implies. The character works. The Arc and Linko are how she stops being “works” and starts being “best Incantation in the game.”

Final Pull Verdict by Account Type

• New or early account: Pull Zankou if you like her combat fantasy. Pull Nanally if you want the easiest strong DPS and already bounce off Illusion timings in the trial.
• Established Anima account that missed Nanally: Take the rerun. Zankou can wait for a later return.
• Established account with Nanally and no Incantation limited: Pull Zankou. This is her patch.
• Low-pull F2P who also wants Linko: Guarantee Zankou only if you are already close to pity. Otherwise save the board and let Phase 2 decide.
• Collector / story player: Zankou is the Scarlet Letter payoff unit. If the character is the reason you play 1.3, pull the character.

Conclusion

So finally, should you pull Zankou in Neverness to Everness 1.3? If your roster still lacks a limited Incantation damage dealer and you can live with a technical rotation, yes. If your hole is Anima and Nanally was the unit you regretted skipping at launch, take the rerun and keep your pity flexible for Linko. The worst 1.3 mistake is spending 60 pulls on both banners and owning neither when Phase 2 opens. We hope that you have your clear idea with our guide with everything we hve cleared from this guide so go on and test your power.