Chaos Zero Nightmare Best Nine Builds

Looking for the ultimate Chaos Zero Nine Vanguard build? Meet Nine, the defense-scaling powerhouse who turns her shields into explosive Hew damage. Whether you’re grinding Tower content or just want a high-damage, easy-to-play Vanguard, Nine delivers. Think Haru’s slam combos, but with shields, survivability, and enough numbers to make your enemies scream. This guide breaks down her best card builds, potentials, and team comps, so you can max her Hew damage output while staying tanky.

Nine Overview

Attribute:Order Role: Vanguard

Nine is a Vanguard character designed around defense-scaling damage, repeated Hew activations, and ramp-based gameplay. Her playstyle closely resembles Haru's high-impact slam pattern, but with clearer build signposts and less reliance on specific evolutions.

According to early evaluations, Nine functions as either:

• A high-damage Vanguard focused on Extreme Hew ramping, or
• A defensive tower unit built around shields, counterattacks, and sustain

Core Build

Nine's entire build path is dictated by her Hew card choice. Once a Hew path is selected, the rest of her deck naturally follows it, with very limited flexibility.

This design makes Nine one of the most straightforward characters currently available: there are few "wrong" decisions once the Hew direction is clear.

Nine Card Builds

Basic Cards

Slash

After unlocking Potential 03-1, Slash increases the damage of Exhaust cards and becomes a core support tool.

Epiphany Cards & Priority

Hew

Nine's core attack card. Starts at Level 1 and levels up after each Exhaust trigger. At the maximum level, using Hew resets it back to Level 1.

Priority:

2 > 4 > 5 > 3 > 1

Hew Extreme (Best Damage Build)

Recommended for: Players who want maximum damage output

Key Trait: Up to 200% damage scaling at max level

Scaling Stat: Defense (not Attack)

Hew Extreme is the default recommendation for players who enjoy big single-hit damage and ramp mechanics, similar to Haru's anchor-shot style. Once fully ramped, it produces extremely high numbers, though it requires time and repeated activations.

This is the most commonly recommended path for general content and damage-focused play.

Ironclad (Defensive / Tower Build)

Recommended for: New players and Tower-focused content

Key Benefits:

Frequent 240% damage activations

Large shield generation

Strong synergy with counterattack-based teams

Ironclad trades AoE potential for consistency and survivability. While it is single-target and less efficient against large enemy groups, its shield output allows Nine to function as a reliable frontline Vanguard, especially when paired with counterattack enablers.

Flex Options (Situational)

Other Hew paths exist but are generally niche:

Massacre: If additional AoE is required

Flash: Exhaust-heavy teams (e.g. Luke synergy)

Ambush: All-Vanguard teams with counterattack focus

These options are viable but secondary to Extreme and Ironclad.

Experienced Strike

A 1-cost attack card that grants a shield and increases Exhaust card damage.

Priority:

1 > 5 > 2 > 3 > 4 

Fatal Strike

A 1-cost attack card that increases its damage based on the highest-cost card in your hand, then Exhausts that card to accelerate setup.

Priority:

1 > 5 > 3 > 4 > 2 

Counterblade

 A buff card that grants Honed Edge whenever a shield is gained. Honed Edge increases attack card damage and stacks up to 3 times.

Priority:

5 > 4 > 3 > 1 > 2

Ego Skill and Potentials

Nine's Ego Skill provides: AoE damage, Additional exhaust options and Emergency level-ups when needed.

For Potentials:

• Early potentials are low priority
• 350 Defense is a key benchmark for optimal scaling
• Crit and upgrade-card potentials are preferred long-term

Manifest Ego

If you plan to invest further into Nine, E1 and E2 offer the highest return.

Potential Priority

• 3-1 – Enables Slash to increase Exhaust card damage
• 7 – Increases Order damage
• 4 → 5 → 6 – Damage and shield-scaling Potentials
• 2, 5-1 – Basic card enhancements (low priority)

Neutral card Potentials can be safely skipped.

Best Partner and Team Build

Best Partner

Alcea

Nine's best-in-slot partner provides:

• +24% Defense
• Bonus defense-based damage against vulnerable targets
• Battle Pass partners are usable but slightly weaker due to lower defense values.

Alcea is widely considered Nine's best partner because her buffs line up cleanly with her core mechanics. She provides multiplicative damage bonuses that specifically benefit Exhaust triggers and 2-cost or higher cards, which Nine relies on heavily. In addition, she increases Nine's DEF, improving her overall stability. Her E.G.O skill further supports Nine by applying a debuff to enemies that causes them to take increased multiplicative damage, directly reinforcing Nine's offensive output without introducing unrelated effects.

Alt Partner

Wilhelmina

Wilhelmina is a viable 4-star substitute for Nine only at max Manifest E.G.O. She boosts her DEF and provides additive damage against Vulnerable enemies, while her E.G.O skill grants Morale and Fortitude. Though weaker than premium options, she works as a functional defensive and damage-support partner when fully invested.

Best Team

Nine's strongest team pairing is Orlea with Veronica. Orlea sustains the team through healing while providing multiplicative attack buffs, which scale especially well with Nine's already high damage multipliers and maximize her overall output.

Narja and Khalipe make a stable support core for Nine. Narja reduces AP pressure while providing healing and damage boosts, and Khalipe applies Vulnerable to amplify burst, with Celestial cards naturally triggered by Nine's high-cost plays.

Magna and Maribell both start each turn with Counterattack, allowing Nine to quickly stack Honed Edge and significantly increase Fatal Strike damage. With Magna also applying Vulnerable to enemies, overall damage is further amplified, making this combination the strongest option for Counterattack-focused Nine builds.

Memory Fragments Setup

Best:

Line of Justice Set + Executioner's Tool Set

For this setup, the optimal gear combination is Line of Justice paired with Executioner's Tool. Line of Justice increases Nine's critical chance, while Executioner's Tool enhances critical damage on her attack cards. Together, they maximize her likelihood of landing critical hits and fully capitalize on the high burst damage of her Hews.

Alt:

Beast's Yearning Set + Tetra's Authority Set

Beast's Yearning greatly enhances Exhaust damage tied to the Order attribute, making it an ideal fit for Nine's kit. Tetra's Authority, meanwhile, supplies additional defensive support to keep her stable in combat.

Stat Priority

Main Stats

Slot 4: Crit Rate

Slot 5: Order DMG or DEF

Slot 6: DEF

Substats

Crit Rate = Crit DMG > DEF > Self-Awareness Regen

Is Nine Worth Pulling?

New Players

Nine is highly recommended for players who:

• Need a reliable Vanguard
• Struggle with Tower content
• Want a straightforward, durable frontline unit

Veteran Players

For established accounts with: Kelipe, Magna, Naria.

Nine offers limited long-term value and is generally considered a safe skip, especially since she will enter the standard pool and relies on seasonal cards for peak performance.

Conclusion

In short, Nine is the go-to Chaos Zero Vanguard for players who want reliable defense, massive Hew damage, and straightforward gameplay. New players will love her tankiness and easy-to-follow build, while veterans can enjoy her damage-scaling mechanics without overthinking.

With the right partners, memory fragments, and potentials, Nine can dominate both Tower and general content, proving that sometimes the simplest Vanguard builds hit the hardest.