Arabella Best Build Guide: Mechanic, Cards & Teams | Chaos Zero Nightmare

Arabella is set to join Chaos Zero Nightmare on August 19, 2026, arriving in Season 4 Phase 2 right after Hilde's run ends. As the leader of the mercenary group Black Spica, she fights with a flexible blade, a whip-like sword that no other current character uses. Her unique weapon gives her a spacing-focused, combo-driven playstyle that could make her one of the more distinctive combatants introduced so far.

This page is being prepared ahead of her full kit reveal, so consider it a starting point rather than a finalized guide. We'll update her Cards, Epiphanies, gear, and team recommendations once her official numbers and remaining abilities are available.

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Overview

Arabella is a 5★ Instinct Striker confirmed to release alongside her signature Partner, Licinia, during Season 4 Phase 2. She's a limited-time Seasonal Combatant, meaning she'll only be recruitable during her rate-up banner before rotating out.

Her weapon, the flexible blade, is a whip-like sword designed around spacing and combo chaining. This gives her a combat style that currently stands apart from the rest of the roster. Alongside Hilde's bow and Olga's scythe, Arabella is part of a trio that expands the game's traditionally melee-heavy roster with more varied combat styles.

Core Mechanic: Fracture

Arabella shares Season 4's new damage-over-time effect, Fracture, with her two seasonmates, Hilde and Olga. Fracture deals damage at the end of the turn based on its current stack count before halving itself, with a maximum of 30 stacks. Early previews used the name "Rift" for this system, so players who have seen that name elsewhere are referring to the same effect under an earlier unofficial name.

Arabella's confirmed Cards suggest that she is designed not only to apply Fracture but also to activate and capitalize on existing stacks. Diagonal Slash and Crimson Domain, her two confirmed Basic Cards, focus on direct damage and defense without interacting with Fracture. Her early Fracture generation and payoff instead come from her Epiphany Cards.

Scream For Me and Hollow Verdict both deal 40% Damage and apply 2 Fracture to all enemies. Hollow Verdict goes a step further by activating the Fracture already applied to enemies, allowing Arabella to trigger an early burst of damage rather than simply waiting for Fracture to naturally activate.

Sadistic Restraint further builds around this mechanic, activating Arabella's inflicted Fracture twice per use and adding an extra hit for each type of harmful effect on the target, up to three additional hits.

Her strongest confirmed payoff is The Art of Unmaking, which deals 200% Damage to all enemies and gains another 15% Damage for each harmful effect type on the target, up to an additional 120%. It also provides Fracture Amplification worth 2x the base Damage Amount.

Observer's Pleasure completes the setup by providing a free 0 AP Skill Card that stacks Fracture Amplification and grants 20% Damage Amount for the turn, with the bonus scaling based on the number of enemies present. This makes it a natural setup tool before Arabella uses her major AoE damage Cards.

Put together, her confirmed gameplay loop looks like this: use Scream For Me or Hollow Verdict to spread Fracture and trigger it early, use Observer's Pleasure to build Fracture Amplification and take advantage of the enemy-count bonus, then finish with The Art of Unmaking or Sadistic Restraint after enough harmful effects have been applied.

Her Ego Skill and remaining Epiphany options have not yet been fully revealed, so this should be treated as a preliminary rotation based on her currently confirmed Cards rather than a finalized combo.

Skills & Card

Basic Cards

Diagonal Slash provides Arabella with a straightforward 1 AP opener that requires no setup, while Crimson Domain is currently her only confirmed defensive tool. Neither Card directly interacts with Fracture, meaning her Fracture application and payoff are primarily handled by her Epiphany Cards.

Epiphany Cards

How the loop works: The developers describe Arabella as a Combatant who strengthens Fracture effects through Scream For Me and Observer's Pleasure before converting those stacks into additional damage with Hollow Verdict and Sadistic Restraint.

One of her key interactions is to use Observer's Pleasure on the enemy with the highest HP, applying Fracture Amplification to the target, and then follow up with Hollow Verdict to activate Fracture across multiple enemies. Each activation adds another Fracture stack to the Amplified target, meaning a single Hollow Verdict against a full wave can build several additional stacks on a boss before Arabella follows up with Sadistic Restraint or The Art of Unmaking.

Both of these payoff Cards also benefit from harmful effects on the target, making debuff management an important part of maximizing Arabella's damage.

These are the Basic and Epiphany Cards confirmed so far. Her Ego Skill, Potential effects, and Manifest Ego upgrades have not yet been fully published, so any build based on the current Card list should be considered a starting point until her complete kit is revealed.

Partner: Licinia

Licinia is Arabella's signature Partner and will run alongside Arabella's banner for its full duration. Importantly, Licinia isn't exclusive to Arabella and can be used by any character compatible with Striker Partners. This makes Licinia worth considering when planning your pulls, as she can also provide value to existing Striker teams even if Arabella isn't your main priority.

Best Team Comps

Current synergy information points toward three main team directions for Arabella.

The first is the all-in Season 4 Fracture trio, built around AoE harmful-effect coverage and draw support. Hilde's Homing Arrow chain helps the team cycle through Cards while spreading Ionization and Fracture, allowing Arabella's Scream For Me and Observer's Pleasure to hit targets that are already carrying multiple effects. Olga adds another source of Fracture, giving Arabella more stacks and harmful-effect types to work with when she uses Sadistic Restraint or The Art of Unmaking.

The second option keeps Hilde as the core Fracture partner but replaces the third attacker with AP sustain. Mika is a Justice Controller who generates AP for the entire team through her Wave mechanic while also providing consistent healing. This is particularly useful for Arabella's combo-focused playstyle, as sequences such as Observer's Pleasure into Hollow Verdict and a finishing Card can require a significant amount of AP in a single turn. Mika helps make this rotation more consistent over longer fights.

The third option focuses on single-target and boss encounters. Adelheid is a Void Vanguard who protects the team through her Blessing mechanic, giving Arabella more time to build Fracture and Fracture Amplification on a single target. This works especially well with Observer's Pleasure when fighting bosses. Narja provides reliable healing and Card-cost reduction, helping Arabella maintain AP efficiency throughout longer battles.

Arabella's full Ego Skill and Manifest Ego upgrades are still unpublished, so the exact strength and positioning of these team compositions may change once her complete kit becomes available.

Story & Background

Arabella is the leader of Black Spica, a mercenary group known for accepting almost any job as long as the payment is right. The group is willing to use whatever methods a mission requires, giving Black Spica a reputation for being ruthless and unpredictable.

Despite that reputation, the members of Black Spica are closely connected and operate more like a tight-knit family. Their activities frequently bring them into conflict with other factions across the Chaos Galaxy, but their willingness to handle discreet, unofficial jobs also makes them useful to factions that need work done away from the public eye.

Arabella is the second member of Black Spica to join the roster, following Veronica. While Veronica is a support-oriented damage dealer centered around generating and strengthening Ballista Cards, Arabella takes on a more aggressive and combo-focused Striker role. Her combat design also reflects the dangerous and unpredictable image associated with her character.

Arabella is also connected to the season's broader storyline involving the cosmic gods and the new Flash mechanic alongside Olga. While her exact role in this storyline has not yet been fully revealed, her connection suggests that Arabella will have an important place in Season 4's narrative beyond simply being a new Seasonal Combatant.

FAQ

Is Arabella worth pulling?

It's still too early to give a definitive answer. Her Fracture-based damage scaling and combo potential look promising, but her complete numbers, Epiphany options, and AP costs have not yet been revealed.

Is Arabella a limited or permanent character?

Arabella is a Seasonal Combatant, meaning she is only recruitable during her rate-up banner window. She is not part of the standard roster in the same way as permanent characters.

Will Arabella be F2P-viable?

This is currently unknown. Her overall value will depend heavily on her final Card effects, Epiphany choices, AP requirements, and available upgrades. We'll update this guide once her complete kit and numbers are confirmed.

How is Arabella different from Veronica, given they're both Black Spica?

Although both characters belong to Black Spica, their combat roles are quite different. Veronica is a support-oriented damage dealer built around her Ballista Cards, while Arabella is designed as a more aggressive, combo-focused Striker centered around Fracture and harmful-effect interactions.