Zankou in Neverness to Everness, explained

By DayOneFix Editorial · August 13, 2026

Zankou’s CN banner opened on 13 August 2026; her global banner was scheduled for 19 August. This page records the CN launch-day findings from 13 August, six days before the listed global opening, and separates them by how well-sourced they were.

Zankou release date

Her banner opens on global on 19 August 2026, when version 1.3 goes live — expected after maintenance running 06:00–11:00 (UTC+8), which is 18 August afternoon in the Americas. Full window and timezone table →

CN players have had her since 13 August, which is why the sections below are based on what CN accounts actually found rather than on datamined numbers.

The basics (official, global)

Her global kit page names a Reality / Illusion state switch, a Delusion buff, a Heartwrench DoT debuff, Hunt and Oblivion effects, and two ultimates — Inferno Flamenco and its upgraded form Bloodfeast Reverie. A structural note that matters more than any single number: all of her attacks are treated as follow-up attacks, which is what lets her stack damage without holding the field.

What CN players confirmed on day one

This is the part English guides don’t have yet — four independent Chinese launch guides agree on the following, and they describe a considerably more layered character than the global preview suggested.

The two states do different jobs. Reality form runs a five-hit normal chain built for direct damage and carries the Hunt buff, with a counterattack window after a perfect dodge. Illusion form’s normal attack applies a personal damage-over-time effect and spreads that debuff to nearby enemies, and it carries the Delusion buff — which is the important one, because Delusion raises damage-over-time CRIT damage for the whole party, not just for her. Her transition skill lets her hold both buffs at once for a window, which is what the rotation is built around.

The stacking effect is the engine. The DoT stack she specialises in (CN: 浊燃) normally caps at one layer, and one existing character’s passive raises it to two; Zankou pushes it higher still. More importantly, once one layer is on the target, every DoT any teammate applies causes her to add another layer — so in a team already running DoTs she holds maximum stacks permanently, as main DPS or sub-DPS.

She carries three DoT types by herself. Alongside the stack she applies two further personal DoTs. That matters because of a support in the roster whose passive grants 25% final DoT damage per distinct DoT type on the target, up to four types for 100% — Zankou alone supplies three of the four, so a single additional DoT teammate maxes it. (That support’s global English name is one CN sources disagree on, so we’re describing rather than naming her.)

The team question English guides left open

Here is the cleanest example of the six-day gap. English coverage of Lacrimosa teams says the fourth slot is “genuinely flexible” — that is, unsolved. Chinese launch coverage answers it: Zankou is that fourth member, because she replaces two different stopgap picks at once, supplying quick-swap direct damage, permanent max stacks and the teamwide DoT crit buff.

The three team shapes CN guides converge on:

Should you pull — the CN answer by account type

CN guides give the same four-way split, which is more useful than a yes/no:

• You run Lacrimosa and already have a well-invested sub-DPS in that fourth slot → you can wait for global numbers; the upgrade is real but not urgent.
• You run Lacrimosa without a good fourth → strongly recommended; this is the slot she was built for.
• You are newer and have only one complete team → strongly recommended, because she anchors a second team that doesn’t compete with your first for characters.
• You already have two complete limited teams → skip. CN guides are blunt about this: a third team splits your upgrade materials and drags all three down.

One farming constraint worth knowing before you commit: her skill upgrades need a material that only drops from a weekly-capped activity. You cannot rush her to max skills in a weekend no matter how much currency you have — plan several weeks.

Materials (pre-farm list — community sourced)

Community checklists for the global release put her requirements at:

Ascension

Skills

These numbers are community pre-farm figures, not an official list — the sites publishing them say so themselves. They are close enough to plan farming routes around, and worth re-checking against the in-game screen the day you actually ascend her.

The honest caveat

Her global damage numbers have not been measured by anyone yet, and launch-day CN consensus has historically shifted a little once players optimise. Everything above is mechanism, which travels well between servers; the tuning is what you should re-check on 19 August.

If you are saving, note what else wants the same currency — the 1.3 villa costs 6.9 million Beetle Coins, more than ten times her ascension bill.

FAQ

When does Zankou’s banner open? Her banner, Alluring Shadows, opens on global on 19 August 2026 with version 1.3 (running to 9 September), expected after maintenance from 06:00–11:00 (UTC+8). CN got her on 13 August, alongside a Nanally rerun, with the CN banner running to 3 September.

What kind of character is Zankou? An S Rank Incantation damage dealer with a Gas arc type, built as a DoT engine: a Reality / Illusion state switch, teamwide DoT crit damage through the Delusion buff, three DoT types carried by herself, and all of her attacks treated as follow-up attacks — which lets her stack damage without holding the field.

Should you pull Zankou? The CN four-way split: strongly recommended if you run Lacrimosa without a good fourth slot, or if you are newer with only one complete team; you can wait for global numbers if your Lacrimosa team already has a well-invested sub-DPS; skip if you already have two complete limited teams.

Can you max her skills quickly? No — her skill upgrades need a material that only drops from a weekly-capped activity, so you cannot rush her to max skills in a weekend no matter how much currency you have. Plan several weeks.

Are the material numbers official? No — the ascension and skill tables are community pre-farm figures (525,000 Beetle Coins and the rest), and the sites publishing them say so themselves. They are close enough for farming routes, but re-check the in-game screen the day you ascend her.

Related

• 1.3 CN vs global schedule — why the gap exists
• The 1.3 villa: price, level gate and the farming loop
• Codes: current status

Sources

Rarity, attribute, arc type, banner name and dates plus the named kit effects are from published global character data. The day-one mechanical description, the team shapes and the account-type pull advice come from four independent Chinese launch guides (异环工坊, 桃心云游戏, 雷宝探游记 and a fourth pull-intent roundup) that agree on each point cited — labelled as launch consensus from the live CN build, not an official statement. Material tables are community pre-farm lists explicitly marked as unconfirmed by their publishers. Where a CN term has no published global equivalent, or where sources disagree on the mapping, we describe rather than invent a translation.