Overview
Underboss is the entity summoned by Nanally's ultimate ability in Neverness to Everness. When Nanally activates her ultimate, Underboss manifests on the field to fight alongside her, dealing Anima area damage and continuously following up on her attacks for the duration of the ultimate window. The summon is the centerpiece of Nanally's kit and a key reason she is widely considered the strongest main DPS in the launch roster.
The name "Underboss" reflects Nanally's role as head of the Coluccis Family in Hethereau. Underboss is the title for a high-ranking lieutenant in mafia hierarchy, sitting just below the boss; in Nanally's case, the summon becomes her literal lieutenant in combat. The mafia framing extends to Nanally's broader visual design and the Coluccis Family aesthetic.
Combat Mechanics
Joint Strike
Underboss continuously executes a maneuver called Joint Strike, dealing additional Anima damage in coordination with Nanally's attacks. The follow-up framing means Underboss strikes whenever Nanally lands a hit during the ultimate window, multiplying her effective damage output without requiring any additional input from the player.
Joint Strike damage counts as follow-up attack damage for the purposes of Esper Cycle reactions and team buffs. This stacks well with Nanally's existing automatic follow-up attack system, where her off-field hits trigger whenever teammates strike enemies. During the ultimate, the team is effectively running a triple-layer follow-up attack stack: Nanally's basic attacks, her passive teammate-triggered follow-ups, and Underboss's Joint Strike.
Pull Effect and AoE
Underboss creates a small pull effect on surrounding enemies whenever Nanally attacks during the summon's active window. This crowd-control utility groups enemies together, increasing the value of subsequent AoE damage and making Nanally's ultimate a strong tool for clearing waves of mid-tier enemies as well as bursting single targets.
Ultimate Window
The Underboss summon is time-limited, so the rotation goal during Nanally's ultimate is to maximize the number of attacks landed inside the window. Coordinating Nanally's attacks with Underboss's follow-up is what separates an efficient Nanally rotation from a wasted ultimate. Players who chain basic attacks rapidly during the window receive the most Underboss-amplified damage; players who pause or swap mid-window lose damage.
Lore Significance
Underboss is more than a generic summon. The entity reflects Nanally's role as head of the Coluccis Family and rising star Esper at Eibon Antique Shop. The Coluccis Family operates as a faction with mafia-flavored framing in Hethereau's urban underworld, and Underboss being Nanally's combat manifestation positions her power as inseparable from her family identity.
The summon also fits the broader Anima element theme. Anima encompasses life-force, electricity, and projected animal presence; Underboss appears with electric Anima energy crackling around it, in contrast with Nanally's own lightning finger strikes. The two together create a unified visual language for her kit, with Underboss serving as the larger, more imposing manifestation of the same elemental power Nanally channels at finer scale.
Position in Nanally's Kit
Nanally has three combat layers that all stack during the ultimate:
Basic attacks: multi-hit lightning combos with her Fangs and Claws weapon
Passive follow-up: automatic off-field strikes whenever a teammate hits an enemy
Underboss: active during ultimate, follows up on every Nanally attack with additional Anima damage and pull effects
This three-layer stack is what makes Nanally the launch S-tier main DPS. Most other characters have one or two damage layers; Nanally has three, and the third (Underboss) only fires during the ultimate window, giving her ultimate one of the highest peak-damage outputs in the game.
Tips
Save Nanally's ultimate for stagger windows. Discord teams stagger setups multiply Underboss damage further by adding Discord's increased-damage-during-stagger window.
Maintain attack uptime during the window. Underboss only follows up on Nanally's attacks; standing still during the ultimate wastes the summon entirely.
Pair with Mint for Anima passive stacking. Mint's Esper Cycle Passive doubles Blossom projectiles, complementing Nanally's Anima theme.
Use the pull effect strategically. Underboss's small pull groups enemies for AoE follow-ups; positioning matters during multi-target encounters.