Zenless Zone Zero (ZZZ) Shiyu Defense Guide and Overview for Critical Nodes

The Critical Node is comprised of stages that rotate on a twice monthly basis. Critical Node stages focus on killing enemies within a certain amount of time, and meeting certain thresholds will grant you the maximum rewards. You will be able to gain up to 720 Polychrome from this content, provided you manage to clear all five stages on S-Rank. Each stage has 3 sets of rewards that you can gain at B, A and S-Grades respectively.

Clearing any stage at any grade will unlock the next one for you, so don't fret if you do not manage to get an S-Grade immediately. Depending on how many stages you have cleared in the previous cycle, you may be able to skip some stages. S-ranking all 5 Critical Node stages will allow you to skip the first 3 stages in the upcoming cycle.

In this guide we will provide detailed information on each of the 5 stages, highlighting the weaknesses of the enemies in each stage, as well as potential team recommendations that might make your life a little easier in order to claim the mode's rewards.

Keep in mind that a well built character may perform better than others, even if it does not match the enemies weakness. Just make sure to not pit them against enemies that are resistant to their damage type.

There are 5 stages in the Critical Node section of the Shiyu Defense. Each stage has its own set of enemies, buffs and effects that boost your characters, as well as their own Challenge Target time-limits. In each stage you will have to field 2 teams, requiring 6 Agents and 2 Bangboos total. You cannot use the same Agent or Bangboo twice. The final stage requires 3 teams instead.

Disclaimer: Depending on your account, you may only have a handful of characters leveled and equipped. While this guide will recommend different teams for different stages, you are more likely to succeed by playing your highest level characters that you have the most practice with, instead of the ones that match the stage's bonuses and vulnerabilities. Simply make sure to not field a team that the enemy units have resistances against, and try to take advantage of the bonuses granted each cycle.

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The first 4 nodes of this rotation of Critical Nodes heavily emphasize Wind and Ice Anomaly Agent. Velina excels in this reset, as the Agent just launched recently and is our only Wind option available as of now. Teams built around Promeia or even Jane Doe, will clear very comfortably however most anomaly DPS will clear fine if paired with Velina.

The final node includes fights with the following bonuses:

• Room 1: Agent Wind DMG and Ice DMG increaase by 30%, Vortex DMG increases by 30% After an Agent uses an EX Special Attack, their Anomaly Proficiency increases by 40 for 15s.
• Room 2: Ether DMG increased by 30%, CRIT DMG increases by 40%. When an Agent with the Attack specialty hits an enemy and crits, enemy DEF drops by 10% for 5s.
• Room 3: Ether Anomaly Buildup Rate and Ice Anomaly Buildup Rate increase by 25%. When Agents inflict an Attribute Anomaly on enemies their DEF is reduced by 10%, and they take 20% more Attribute Anomaly DMG for 10s.

5.

Critical Node: First Frontier

Time Limit	Bonus Effects	Weakness	Resistance
S-Rank: >300s remaining A-Rank: >180s remaining B-Rank: Defeat All Enemies	Agent Wind DMG and Ice DMG increaase by 30%, Vortex DMG increases by 30% After an Agent uses an EX Special Attack, their Anomaly Proficiency increases by 40 for 15s	Team 1 Ice, Ether Team 2 Ice, Ether	Team 1 None Team 2 None

5.1.

Recommended Teams for First Frontier

DPS	Sub DPS/Stun/Support	Support
Team 1
Velina	Promeia Jane Doe	Ukinami Yuzuha Astra Yao
Promeia	Vivian Nangong Yu Tsukishiro Yanagi	Sunna Ukinami Yuzuha Astra Yao
Aria	Sunna Zhao	Velina Nangong Yu
Team 2
Promeia	Vivian Nangong Yu Tsukishiro Yanagi	Sunna Ukinami Yuzuha Astra Yao
Starlight - Billy Kid	Dialyn Ju Fufu Pulchra	Lucia Pan Yinhu

6.

Critical Node: Second Frontier

Time Limit	Bonus Effects	Weakness	Resistance
S-Rank: >300s remaining A-Rank: >180s remaining B-Rank: Defeat All Enemies	Agent Wind DMG and Ice DMG increaase by 30%, Vortex DMG increases by 30% After an Agent uses an EX Special Attack, their Anomaly Proficiency increases by 40 for 15s	Team 1 Ice, Ether Team 2 Fire, Physical	Team 1 None Team 2 Ether

6.1.

Recommended Teams for Second Frontier

DPS	Sub DPS/Stun	Support
Team 1
Velina	Promeia Jane Doe	Ukinami Yuzuha Astra Yao
Promeia	Vivian Nangong Yu Tsukishiro Yanagi	Sunna Ukinami Yuzuha Astra Yao
Aria	Sunna Zhao	Velina Nangong Yu
Team 2
Starlight - Billy Kid	Dialyn Ju Fufu Pulchra	Lucia Pan Yinhu
Ye Shunguang	Sunna Zhao	Dialyn Astra Yao
Evelyn Chevalier	Dialyn Seed	Astra Yao Sunna Zhao
Banyue	Dialyn Ju Fufu	Lucia Pan Yinhu

7.

Critical Node: Third Frontier

Time Limit	Bonus Effects	Weakness	Resistance
S-Rank: >300s remaining A-Rank: >180s remaining B-Rank: Defeat All Enemies	Agent Wind DMG and Ice DMG increaase by 30%, Vortex DMG increases by 30% After an Agent uses an EX Special Attack, their Anomaly Proficiency increases by 40 for 15s	Team 1 Ice, Ether Team 2 Fire, Physical	Team 1 None Team 2 Ice

7.1.

Recommended Teams for Third Frontier

DPS	Sub DPS/Stun	Support
Team 1
Velina	Promeia Jane Doe	Ukinami Yuzuha Astra Yao
Promeia	Vivian Nangong Yu Tsukishiro Yanagi	Sunna Ukinami Yuzuha Astra Yao
Aria	Sunna Zhao	Velina Nangong Yu
Team 2
Starlight - Billy Kid	Dialyn Ju Fufu Pulchra	Lucia Pan Yinhu
Ye Shunguang	Sunna Zhao	Dialyn Astra Yao
Evelyn Chevalier	Dialyn Seed	Astra Yao Sunna Zhao
Banyue	Dialyn Ju Fufu	Lucia Pan Yinhu

8.

Critical Node: Fourth Frontier

Time Limit	Bonus Effects	Weakness	Resistance
S-Rank: >300s remaining A-Rank: >180s remaining B-Rank: Defeat All Enemies	Agent Wind DMG and Ice DMG increaase by 30%, Vortex DMG increases by 30% After an Agent uses an EX Special Attack, their Anomaly Proficiency increases by 40 for 15s	Team 1 Wind, Electric Team 2 Physical, Electric	Team 1 Ice Team 2 Ether

8.1.

Recommended Teams for Fourth Frontier

DPS	Sub DPS/Stun	Support
Team 1
Velina	Promeia Jane Doe	Ukinami Yuzuha Astra Yao
Promeia	Vivian Nangong Yu Tsukishiro Yanagi	Sunna Ukinami Yuzuha Astra Yao
Aria	Sunna Zhao	Velina Nangong Yu
Team 2
Starlight - Billy Kid	Dialyn Ju Fufu Pulchra	Lucia Pan Yinhu
Ye Shunguang	Sunna Zhao	Dialyn Astra Yao
Seed	Cissia Orphie & Magus	Trigger Sunna

9.

Critical Node: Fifth Frontier

Time Limit	Bonus Effects	Weakness	Resistance
S-Rank: >25,000 Score in all 3 Rooms A-Rank: >16,000 Score in all 3 Rooms B-Rank: >8,000 Score in all 3 Rooms	Room 1: Agent Wind DMG and Ice DMG increaase by 30%, Vortex DMG increases by 30% After an Agent uses an EX Special Attack, their Anomaly Proficiency increases by 40 for 15s. Room 2: Ether DMG increased by 30%, CRIT DMG increases by 40%. When an Agent with the Attack specialty hits an enemy and crits, enemy DEF drops by 10% for 5s. Room 3: Ether Anomaly Buildup Rate and Ice Anomaly Buildup Rate increase by 25%. When Agents inflict an Attribute Anomaly on enemies their DEF is reduced by 10%, and they take 20% more Attribute Anomaly DMG for 10s.	Team 1 Wind, Physical Team 2 Ether, Physical Team 3 Ice	Team 1 Ether Team 2 Fire Team 3 Physical

9.1.

Recommended Teams for Fifth Frontier

DPS	Sub DPS/Stun	Support
Team 1
Promeia	Vivian Nangong Yu Tsukishiro Yanagi	Sunna Ukinami Yuzuha Astra Yao
Velina	Promeia Jane Doe	Ukinami Yuzuha Astra Yao
Aria	Sunna Zhao	Velina Nangong Yu
Team 2
Starlight - Billy Kid	Dialyn Ju Fufu Pulchra	Lucia Pan Yinhu
Pyrois Zhu Yuan	Dialyn Qingyi	Astra Yao Zhao Nicole Demara
Team 3
Promeia	Vivian Nangong Yu Tsukishiro Yanagi	Sunna Ukinami Yuzuha Astra Yao
Aria	Sunna Zhao	Velina Nangong Yu
Hoshimi Miyabi	Nangong Yu Tsukishiro Yanagi Von Lycaon	Astra Yao Ukinami Yuzuha Sunna