Guide
How the kit works
With enough Energy, use EX Special Attack: Stuffed Sugarcoated Bullet (Special) against the enemies you want to group. It deals Ether DMG and creates a pulling field. Holding the input charges the attack, consumes Energy and creates a smaller field at the muzzle that damages nearby enemies. Nicole is invulnerable during the skill, and a hit triggers a Quick Assist.
The field also applies Core Passive: Mechanical Case, so the Quick Assist gives you a way to bring a teammate in while the enemy's DEF is reduced. Without enough Energy, Special Attack: Sugarcoated Bullet gives Nicole a ranged Ether attack and increases her Anti-Interrupt level, but it does not create the EX skill's field.
Both attacks reload automatically and enhance Basic Attack and Dash Attack up to 8 times. The enhanced bullets can apply the DEF reduction too. Basic Attack: Cunning Combo deals Physical DMG in up to three strikes; Basic Attack: Do As I Please describes the reload and bullet enhancement after a Special Attack, EX Special Attack, Chain Attack or Ultimate.
Chain Attack: Ether Shellacking also creates a pulling field and triggers a Quick Assist on hit. Ultimate: Ether Grenade does the same and restores 10 Energy to the other squad members, with another 20 Energy for the next character switched in. Use it when Decibel Rating is at Maximum and that Energy is useful to the team.
Build and why
Start with four pieces of Swing Jazz. Its two-piece bonus gives 20% Energy Regen, and launching a Chain Attack or Ultimate raises the whole squad's DMG by 15% for 12s. Pair it with two pieces of Chaotic Metal for 10% Ether DMG.
Four pieces of Moonlight Lullaby are another option: Nicole qualifies as a Support, so her EX Special Attack or Ultimate raises squad DMG by 18% for 25s. Astral Voice is worth considering for Quick Assist teams: each entry through Quick Assist grants a stack, up to three, and each stack raises the entering character's DMG by 8%. Stacks last 15s.
For disc 4, choose Anomaly Proficiency or CRIT Rate. For disc 5, use Ether DMG Bonus or Percent ATK; use Energy Regen on disc 6 to help Nicole have Energy for her EX Special Attack. Look for Percent ATK and then Anomaly Proficiency in substats.
The Vault is the first weapon choice. Ether DMG from Nicole's EX Special Attack, Chain Attack or Ultimate increases all units' DMG against the target by 15% and her Energy Regen by 0.5/s for 2s. Weeping Cradle is another option, with off-field Energy Regen and a target-based squad DMG increase. Unfettered Game Ball raises all units' CRIT Rate against a struck enemy by 12% for 12s when Nicole triggers an Attribute Counter.
Leveling priority
Follow the game's order: Core Passive: Mechanical Case first, then Special Attack: Sugarcoated Bullet, Chain Attack: Ether Shellacking, Quick Assist: Emergency Bombard, Basic Attack: Cunning Combo and Dodge: Speed Demon. The Core Passive comes first for Nicole's DEF reduction. Special and Chain follow because they are part of her Ether attack and field kit.
For maximum ascension, you need 800,000 Denny, 4 Basic Support Certification Seal, 32 Advanced Support Certification Seal and 30 Ruler Certification Seal. To raise all skills to their maximum, the listed total is 2,905,000 Denny, 25 Basic Ether Chip, 75 Advanced Ether Chip, 250 Specialized Ether Chip, 5 Hamster Cage Pass, 9 Ferocious Grip and 60 Higher Dimensional Data: Murderous Obituary.
Mindscapes worth it
Corrupting Energy Field is worth considering for its team benefit: when Nicole's fields damage an enemy, all units gain 1.5% CRIT Rate against that enemy per stack, up to 10 stacks. Each stack lasts 12s and has its own duration.
Charging Device restores 5 Energy when the Core Passive debuff triggers, once every 15s. Supercharged Bomb increases EX Special Attack DMG and Anomaly Buildup by 16%; each additional 0.1s of charging extends the target field by 0.15s. Field Expansion is another useful option if you want a wider field: it adds 3m to the diameter of the fields from EX Special Attack, Chain Attack and Ultimate.
A Hare's Cunning and Industry Star each add two levels to Basic Attack, Dodge, Assist, Special Attack and Chain Attack. Their effects are skill levels rather than a new team effect, so you can skip treating them as goals of their own.
Common mistakes
Do not leave too much time between Nicole's hit and your teammate's attack. The DEF reduction lasts 3.5s, so use the Quick Assist after a successful EX Special Attack or Chain Attack when you want to pass the opening to another character.
Do not expect the regular Special Attack to pull enemies like the EX version. Also check the Additional Ability condition: a squad without another Ether character or a faction partner does not activate its Ether DMG increase. Energy Regen on disc 6 helps support repeated EX use, but charging the attack consumes Energy.
