A strong ZZZ Vivian build is refreshingly easy to put together, compared to recent newcomers such as Soldier 0 Anby. Vivian needs Anomaly Proficiency above all else, and then you just slot her into a team with another Anomaly character and you’re good to go. While her signature W-Engine is, as ever, the ideal choice, there’s a fantastic F2P option that you might already have and, if not, can easily get.
Our ZZZ Vivian build lists her best W-Engines and Drive Discs, and we have some Vivian team recommendations as well.
ZZZ Vivian build
ZZZ Vivian W-Engines
Flight of Fancy is Vivian’s signature W-Engine, and it gives her a lot of Anomaly help. Proficiency is its secondary stat, and it raises Anomaly buildup by 40 percent. When the equipping character deals Ether damage, they get a 20 percent Anomaly Proficiency buff that stacks up to six times and lasts for five seconds. The duration resets when you trigger the effect again. After the initial buildup period where you stack Vivian’s feather gimmick, she’s dealing Ether damage almost constantly, so you’ll nearly always have at least some stacks of that buff.
A strong A-rank option is Weeping Gemini, which you can purchase for Dennies and W-Engine chips at the gadget store on Sixth Street. Weeping Gemini has attack percentage as its secondary stat, which VIvian still benefits from, and the equipping character gets a 30/46 percent Anomaly Proficiency buff whenever an enemy suffers from an Anomaly. The effect lasts until the affected target recovers from being stunned or is defeated, and since Vivian doesn’t need a Stun agent in her teams, that means the effect basically lasts until the enemy goes down. Since you can purchase Weeping Gemini using in-game items, it’s much easier to get multiple copies and reach the full bonus.
Fusion Compiler, Grace’s signature, is a useful S-rank to slot onto Vivian if you don’t want to use Weeping Gemini, though you’ll need to use her special attack often. It gives the equpping character PEN Ratio, which is always useful, and it increases attack by 12 percent. When the character uses their special or EX Special attack, their Anomaly Proficiency increases by 25 percent for eight seconds, and it stacks three times. Vivian’s special doesn’t get used that often, but you can just throw it into the rotation a few extra times to activate the effect. Weeping Gemini is still the better choice, though.
If you’re just starting out and only have easy access to B-rank W-Engines, [Magnetic Storm] Bravo is your best choice. Its secondary stat raises the equipping character’s anomaly proficiency, Vivian’s most important stat, and accumulating Anomaly buildup increases their proficiency by a further 25/40 percent for 10 seconds. You can buy this one with Dennies at the Sixth Street gadget store.
ZZZ Vivian Drive Discs
If you wondered who Phaethon’s Melody was for, the answer is Vivian. It’s for Vivian.
- Two-piece effect: Increases Anomaly Mastery by eight percent
- Four-piece effect: When any squad member uses an EX Special attack, the equipping character’s Anomaly Proficiency increases by 45 for eight seconds. If the character using the EX Special is not the equipping character, the equipper’s Ether damage increases by 25 percent
Vivian’s additional attacks trigger when an ally uses an EX Special, so you’ll almost always have both buffs.
Since Vivian needs as much Anomaly Proficiency as you can get on her, the best two-piece set for her is either Freedom Blues or Chaos Jazz, both of which give the equipping character an extra 30 Anomaly Proficiency.
ZZZ Vivian stats
Vivian’s core passive is what determines her most important stats. It increases damage dealt when her enhanced attacks hit targets suffering from an Anomaly, and the increase scales based on how much Anomaly Proficiency she has. The passive also has Vivian deal Ether damage equal to 55 percent of her attack when her Featherbloom or Suspension attacks hit enemies suffering any Anomaly. In short, Anomaly Proficiency and attack are what she needs.
- Slot 1: HP
- Slot 2: Attack
- Slot 3: Defense
- Slot 4: Anomaly Proficiency
- Slot 5: Attack percentage, Ether damage, or PEN Ratio
- Slot 6: Attack percentage or Anomaly Mastery
Attack, PEN Ratio, and both Anomaly stats are useful for Vivian’s substats. PEN Ratio might not have anything to do with her kit, but ignoring an enemy’s defense is always a good thing.
Ideally, you want to aim for 350 Anomaly Proficiency or higher and an attack stat of 2,000 plus – closer to 2,500 or higher if you can.
ZZZ Vivian skill priority
Vivian’s basic attacks are where almost all of her damage comes from, including her off-field damage that triggers when allies use an EX Special attack. There’s little reason to upgrade her other skills early, so spend your resources on her basic attack first. Aside from that, her chain attack and EX Special are the next most-important skills, and then you can upgrade her dodge and quick assist as needed.
TL;DR:
- Basic attack
- Chain attack
- EX Special
- Dodge
- Quick assist
ZZZ Vivian teams
Vivian’s bonus ability requires another Ether or Anomaly character to activate, but even aside from that, her kit is built around dealing additional damage to enemies suffering from Anomaly effects. You’ll want at least one additional Anomaly character on her team as a result, possibly two if you have them.
An ideal, premium team would include Miyabi, since Miyabi has her own special Anomaly effect and powers up when Disorder activates.
You could swap Yanagi for Astra Yao or another support, or if you have Yanagi and not Miyabi, let Yanagi take the main DPS role. Burnice is another, excellent Anomaly unit who applies burn with ease and uses her EX Special frequently, and if you have Jane Doe, she’s a strong option for applying the Assault effect.
Really, any additional Anomaly character will do, and you don’t have to have two on the team.
That’s a much easier team to put together, but even if you don’t have Piper or Grace, Nicole is all you need to activate Vivian’s bonus ability. Nicole’s defense shred skills are a major help in any team, too, and Vivian’s core passive can work on enemies suffering from the Ether Anomaly effect.
What tier is Vivian in ZZZ?
Vivian is like a nice bonus for Anomaly teams, and even though she’s not essential, she helps crank those damage numbers up high with comparatively little investment. Having a free W-Engine as one of her best is a massive bonus over most premium characters, and she can partner with a free character – Nicole – and an easier-to-obtain character (Piper) to form a strong team. Even without Piper, you can still get some decent benefits with just Nicole, though Vivian really does need an Anomaly partner to make the most of her kit. With all that in mind, we’re placing her on the low end of our S-tier.
If you’re looking for other ZZZ characters to form a team for endgame trials, check out our up-to-date selection of Zenless Zone Zero codes for some free Polychrome.