Guide
How the kit works
With another Anomaly or Support character in the squad, Additional Ability: Mystery Hunt gives Alice 300 Blade Etiquette on entering the battlefield. Each 100 is one bar. In Investigation Zone mode, that entry effect can trigger once every 180 seconds.
Hold Basic Attack: Starshine Waltz with at least one bar to charge it. A full three-bar charge ends with a Finishing Move that triggers Polarity Assault on a hit. It ignores Anomaly Buildup progress and can interact with any Attribute Anomaly, including Physical, to trigger Disorder. Alice is invulnerable during the attack, but its hits do not build Blade Etiquette.
Build the resource again by hitting enemies with other attacks. Triggering Assault through Anomaly Buildup grants 10 Blade Etiquette and enhances the fifth hit of the next Basic Attack: Celestial Overture. Assault also raises Alice's Physical Anomaly Buildup Rate by 25% for 30 seconds.
Use Special Attack: Piercing Dawn to trigger a Perfect Dodge, then follow it with the fifth Basic Attack hit. With enough Energy, EX Special Attack: Aurora Thrust - Northern Cross (Special) moves through enemies when you hold forward. EX Special Attack: Aurora Thrust - Southern Cross (Special) backs away before thrusting when you hold back or leave the stick neutral. Both restore 10 Blade Etiquette and can trigger Perfect Dodge.
Build and why
Use four pieces of Fanged Metal with two pieces of Phaethon's Melody. Fanged Metal gives 10% Physical DMG, and after any squad member inflicts Assault, Alice deals 35% more damage to that target for 12 seconds. Phaethon's Melody adds 8% Anomaly Mastery. Two pieces of Freedom Blues are another option, giving 30 Anomaly Proficiency.
Choose Anomaly Proficiency on disc 4, Physical DMG Bonus on disc 5 and Anomaly Mastery on disc 6. For substats, look for Percent ATK first and Anomaly Proficiency second. Anomaly Mastery also helps Alice through Additional Ability: Mystery Hunt: each point above 140 gives her 1.6 Anomaly Proficiency.
Practiced Perfection is the first weapon choice. It gives 60 Anomaly Mastery and starts combat with two stacks of its Physical DMG bonus. Assault refreshes the bonus and can build it back up.
Sharpened Stinger is the next option. It grants Physical DMG stacks on a Dash Attack, starts combat at full stacks and returns to full stacks on Perfect Dodge. At maximum stacks it also increases Anomaly Buildup Rate. Fusion Compiler follows, offering ATK and Anomaly Proficiency stacks when Alice uses a Special Attack or EX Special Attack.
Leveling priority
Level Core Passive: Twin Rainbows of the Swordheart first, then Basic Attack: Celestial Overture. The Core governs Alice's Physical Anomaly and Blade Etiquette mechanics, while Basic Attack supports the attacks she uses on field.
After that, follow the game's order: Special Attack: Piercing Dawn, Chain Attack: Starfall Intermission, Quick Assist: Intertwined Stab, then Dodge: Jumpy Bunny. This puts the attacks ahead of the defensive options.
For maximum ascension, gather 800,000 Denny, 4 Basic Anomaly Certification Seal, 32 Advanced Anomaly Certification Seal and 30 Controller Certification Seal. Maxing all skills takes 2,905,000 Denny, 25 Basic Physical Chip, 75 Advanced Physical Chip, 250 Specialized Physical Chip, 5 Hamster Cage Pass, 9 Sycophant's Refinement and 60 Higher Dimensional Data: Toxic Edge.
Mindscapes worth it
For the largest upgrades, I'd look at A Heart of Thyme, Sage at the Sword's Tip and Palmful of Cilantro, in that order. This is a suggested priority rather than a comparison backed by the supplied guide evidence.
A Heart of Thyme gives Alice Victory State for 30 seconds after a third-stage charged attack or Ultimate. Hits by any squad member can trigger Alice's follow-up once per second, up to six times. Each deals Physical DMG equal to 3,300% of her Anomaly Proficiency and is guaranteed to CRIT.
Sage at the Sword's Tip adds Polarity Assault to the Ultimate's Finishing Move, increases squad Assault DMG by 15% and increases Disorder DMG against enemies with Physical Anomaly by 15%. Palmful of Cilantro refunds 25 Blade Etiquette on Polarity Assault and reduces a target's DEF by 20% for 30 seconds when Alice triggers Assault.
Rosemary on Her Lips is another option for Physical RES ignore and more Anomaly Buildup on the enhanced Basic Attack. If you are choosing which upgrades to pass over, Symmetrism and Passion for the Supernatural give skill levels rather than new mechanics.
Teams
Alice contributes damage during a Physical Anomaly inflicted by any squad member. Core Passive: Twin Rainbows of the Swordheart deals 2.5% of the original Physical Anomaly DMG every 0.95 seconds during its active duration. It also raises the Disorder multiplier by 18% for each second of Physical Anomaly remaining when Disorder triggers, up to the passive's cap.
Common mistakes
Do not release Basic Attack: Starshine Waltz early if you are aiming for Polarity Assault. Its Finishing Move needs a three-stage charge. Watch the Blade Etiquette bars before you hold the attack, and remember that its own hits will not refill them.
Do not leave out both an Anomaly and a Support teammate. Without one of those specialties, Additional Ability: Mystery Hunt does not activate, so Alice misses its entry resource and its Anomaly Mastery conversion.
Do not treat the two EX Special Attack directions as interchangeable positioning. Forward sends Alice through enemies; neutral or back makes her retreat before the thrust. Both can trigger Perfect Dodge, so pick the movement that fits the situation.
Do not build around the four-piece Ether DMG effect of Phaethon's Melody for Alice. The recommended two pieces give her Anomaly Mastery, while her attacks deal Physical DMG.
