Iroi vs Zankou vs Linko: Who Should You Save for in Neverness to Everness?

Saving up for the next banners? Top up Annulith safely through the Neverness to Everness top-up page on Topuplist at the official Topuplist storefront, with fast delivery, so your savings plan never stalls mid-patch.

Latest status: Iroi is live on The Lifeline board until August 19, 2026. Hotta Studio has confirmed Zankou and Linko as the Version 1.3 characters; Zankou is expected in Phase 1 (around August 19) and Linko in Phase 2 (around September 9). Their kits are officially unrevealed, so decisions still rest on role forecasts.

Right now the biggest resource debate in the Neverness to Everness (NTE) community is a three-way fight: spend on Iroi while she is live, or hold everything for Zankou and Linko in Version 1.3? On Reddit and the wikis the answers split hard by account state — players who own Shinku defend Iroi as the missing piece, players without an Incantation carry point at Zankou, and a third camp argues Linko's unknown kit is the sleeper. This guide lays out the confirmed facts, the honest unknowns, and a decision plan that works whether you are free-to-play or a light spender.

The Three-Way Decision

The choice is really about two questions. Do you lack a healer or reaction support? Pull Iroi. Do you lack a main DPS, specifically an Incantation one? Save for Zankou. Linko, meanwhile, is a "wait and see" because her kit is the least confirmed of the three. There is no wrong answer for every account — the wrong answer is spending without checking your own roster first.

Iroi: The Confirmed Value

Iroi is fully confirmed: S-Rank Anima support, live since July 29, healing, grouping, ATK buffs and a revive. Her banner, The Lifeline, closes August 19 at 05:59 (UTC+8), and a guaranteed copy costs 14,400 Annulith at worst case with no 50/50. She is the first limited dedicated healer and slots into Shinku Charge teams and Blossom teams today. Her known downsides: she is not a main DPS, and the Regression mechanic has a real mis-click risk.

Everything about Iroi is published — GameWith's Iroi guide covers her kit, builds and teams in full — which makes her the only one of the three you can evaluate with certainty right now.

Zankou: The 1.3 Phase 1 Question

What We Know About Zankou

Zankou is confirmed as an S-Class character with the Incantation Esper, a member of the antagonistic Scarlet Letter faction and a Chapter 4 story boss. Official drip marketing shows white hair, red eyes and a dark kimono-inspired design, with the line: "You can think of me as a secret. A phantom. A nightmare that's yours alone."

What is not confirmed is her kit, weapon type, exact date and signature Arc. The community forecast, based on her story role and the fact that NTE only has one Standard Incantation DPS (Baicang, an S-Rank from the permanent pool), is that Zankou is a burst-heavy Incantation main DPS — the first limited one. Her banner is expected to open around August 19, the day after Iroi's closes, following NTE's three-week phase cadence. If that forecast holds, she is the direct answer to accounts whose damage ceiling is capped by the Standard-only Incantation options.

Linko: The 1.3 Phase 2 Question

What We Know About Linko

Linko is confirmed as an S-Class Anima character from the ETD-6 division of the Bureau of Anomaly Control, partnered with a ghost anomaly named Xiaozhen that lives inside the TV she carries like a backpack. Her official reveal line: "Bzzt, bzzt! Appraiser, do you copy? This is Linko from ETD-6, executing Operation Play Date!" She is expected in Phase 2 of 1.3, around September 9, 2026.

Her role is pure speculation at this point. The leading community theory is that she is a support or utility sub-DPS with Hexed synergy alongside Zankou, but nothing is officially confirmed. That makes her the least actionable of the three: you literally cannot plan around a kit that has not been shown.

Iroi vs Zankou vs Linko: Side-by-Side

Who Should You Save For?

Pull Iroi If...

• You lack sustain. She is the only confirmed limited healer; every other scenario below can be revisited later, but a missing healer hurts you in every hard mode today.

• You own Shinku or Nanally and want their best support partner now.

• You value guaranteed value over speculative kits — Iroi is the only one of the three whose power you can verify before spending.

• You are free-to-play with a reaction carry but no sustain: she is the single most efficient Annulith spend on the calendar.

Save for Zankou If...

• You lack an Incantation DPS. Baicang is Standard-rarity and the only current option; Zankou is forecast as the premium answer.

• Your sustain is already solved (e.g., you already have Iroi, Hathor or strong standard sustain) and the gap in your roster is damage.

• You are willing to accept forecast risk. Her kit is not confirmed; pulling blind on a DPS forecast is riskier than pulling a confirmed healer.

Wait on Linko If...

• You are resource-tight. With zero confirmed kit data, there is no factual basis to save specifically for her yet.

• You want to wait for official gameplay reveals. The 1.3 preview livestream is the point where she becomes evaluable.

• You already plan to pull Zankou — if she is truly a Hexed support pairing, the two-slot investment is the expensive route and deserves full information first.

F2P and Light Spender Plans

Free-to-play: If you have a healer already, hold your Annulith through August and reassess at the 1.3 livestream — your worst case is pulling Zankou with a fresh 90-pull budget. If you have no healer, pull Iroi; she is the only unit here you can fully evaluate, and her multi-version shelf life justifies the 14,400 Annulith.

Light spender: The Riftcrystal Permit (4.99 monthly pass) plus Circle Bounty Elite (9.99) gives roughly 4,000+ extra Annulith per phase. Use it to secure Iroi now while still banking ~one guarantee for the 1.3 Phase 1 character. Do not touch your first-purchase double packs — they are your safety net for whichever 1.3 kit turns out to be the real deal.

The efficient whale route: Iroi C0 → Zankou at 1.3 P1 → evaluate Linko after her livestream reveal. Never pre-commit to both 1.3 characters sight unseen.

How We Got Here: NTE Banner History

Context helps read the forecast. Every limited S-Class released so far followed a one-new-character-per-phase cadence, alternating elements between phases:

Two patterns stand out. First, every phase has delivered one limited S-Class for 21 days, so the August 19 / September 9 expectation for 1.3 fits the established cadence. Second, the game has not yet released a limited Incantation character — Zankou would be the first, which is exactly why the DPS-starved part of the community is hoarding for her. Iroi, meanwhile, is the first limited Anima support, and the only confirmed healer of the three.

Decision Scenarios That Keep Coming Up

Run the situation that matches you:

Scenario A — "I own Shinku but no healer." Pull Iroi now. Shinku's Charge rotations need sustain, and Iroi is her documented best partner. Skipping her to save for Zankou leaves your strongest unit unprotected for a whole extra patch, and Zankou's kit is not even confirmed yet.

Scenario B — "I have a healer and no main DPS." Save for Zankou. Your sustain is solved; the gap is damage, and Zankou is the only limited Incantation DPS on the roadmap. Iroi would be a comfort pull that delays your carry by a month.

Scenario C — "I have neither." This is the genuinely hard case, and the community answer is: pull Iroi. A confirmed healer you can build today beats an unconfirmed DPS you might not even like, and she enables every future carry — including Zankou and Linko if their Hexed synergy materializes. Her shelf life covers the month you spend waiting.

Scenario D — "I'm a whale." Iroi C0-C2 now, Wrong Gate Arc, then reassess Zankou at the 1.3 livestream. Never pre-commit to two unconfirmed characters.

Saving Strategy That Works Either Way

Because every limited character board shares one pity pool and there is no 50/50, any partial pity you build is never wasted — it rolls into the next limited banner. That single rule makes the Iroi-or-save dilemma far less scary than it looks:

• Pull on The Lifeline only if you are willing to take Iroi at the 90th pull. "Building pity and hoping Iroi doesn't come" is a common community joke, but it is a real trap: if she arrives early, you lost your Zankou budget. Decide before pulling, not after.

• Track your pity number. If you are at 60+ from Shinku's banner, Iroi is effectively discounted — 30 pulls (4,800 Annulith) for a guaranteed S-Rank support is the best deal on the calendar.

• Do not let 1.3 hype empty your stash on the Arc banner. The Dreamgate Special pool (The Wrong Gate) is optional; a full Arc guarantee costs 12,800 Annulith that could be a whole 1.3 character.

• Remember that Gift Points and rate-up progress carry over too. It is not only the raw pull counter that survives a banner change — the board's upgraded rate-up state follows you, so an account that soft-pitted on Iroi walks into 1.3 with the same boosted odds. NTE is unusually forgiving about interrupted plans, and that forgiveness is exactly why saving is a strategy rather than a gamble.

What Changes After the 1.3 Livestream

The Confirmed vs Leaks Line

Keep every claim above sorted into two buckets. Confirmed: Iroi's kit, banner window and cost; Zankou and Linko's identities, factions and Esper types; the shared-pity and no-50/50 rules. Expected or speculation: Zankou's DPS role, both 1.3 release dates, both signature Arcs, and any Hexed team synergy. Official drip marketing is solid ground; community kit forecasts are not.

The decision table will rewrite itself the moment Hotta Studio holds the 1.3 preview program, expected around late August. Once Zankou's and Linko's kits, Arcs and exact dates are published, you can re-run this comparison with facts. Until then, treat Zankou as "forecast DPS" and Linko as "unknown," keep your pity visible, and spend only on what is confirmed — which today means Iroi.

And while you wait, keep your Annulith liquid: a Neverness to Everness top-up on Topuplist through the official Topuplist storefront delivers Riftcrystal fast and converts 1:1 into Annulith, so you can commit to whichever banner the livestream settles — without the top-up wait eating into your pull window.

FAQ

Should I pull Iroi or save for Zankou?
If you lack sustain or own Shinku, pull Iroi — she is confirmed and live until August 19. If your sustain is solved and you lack an Incantation DPS, save for Zankou (expected around August 19). Pity carries over, so partial progress is never lost.

Who is Zankou in NTE?
Zankou is a confirmed S-Class Incantation character from the Scarlet Letter faction and a Chapter 4 boss. She is expected in Version 1.3 Phase 1 around August 19, with her kit forecast as a main DPS — unconfirmed as of now.

Who is Linko in NTE?
Linko is a confirmed S-Class Anima character from ETD-6, partnered with the ghost anomaly Xiaozhen. She is expected in Version 1.3 Phase 2 around September 9, with her role unconfirmed — the community forecasts a support or utility sub-DPS.

How much does each character cost to guarantee?
Under NTE's shared rules, a worst-case guarantee is 90 pulls = 14,400 Annulith per character, with no 50/50. Iroi's cost is confirmed; Zankou and Linko are expected to follow the same system.

Can free-to-play players get both Iroi and a 1.3 character?
Tightly. Between August free income (300 compensation, 10 Solid Dice from Circle Gifts, event Annulith) and 1.3's own rewards, F2P can realistically secure Iroi at a partial pity position and still approach 1.3 with meaningful savings — but only by skipping the Arc banner.

Where can I top up Annulith while I decide?
Buy Riftcrystal through the Neverness to Everness top-up page on Topuplist at the official Topuplist storefront, which converts 1:1 into Annulith and keeps your options open for either banner.