Shiyu Defense Guide & Teams｜Zenless Zone Zero

Hey, Proxies! A fresh round of the "Shiyu Defense" event is here, and I've got your back with a full guide and the best team setups to tackle it. S-rank evaluations? We're grabbing them all!

From May 23 to June 6, Zenless Zone Zero is hosting the latest Shiyu Defense event, and I'm here to break it down for you. This event isn't too brutal overall—especially if you've got strong attackers like Hugo. Whether you're a newbie just stepping into the fray or a seasoned veteran, this guide's got everything you need: Buff breakdowns, boss strategies, and team recommendations. Let's jump right in!

 

Buff Effects

Shiyu Defense comes with unique Buffs that shape how you fight. Get a grip on these, and you'll be racking up wins—and S-ranks—without breaking a sweat.

Effect: Mountain Strike

• Agent ATK is increased by 10% while enemy Stun recovery and speed is reduced by 10%. Enemies will accumulate 10% Daze when Attribute Anomaly is inflicted on them while not Stunned.
• Attack Agents deal 30% more damage with Ultimate and EX Special Attacks. If the enemy is Stunned, these attacks will deal 60% more CRIT DMG.

Quick Take: The first layer of Buffs is pretty universal—most teams can benefit. The second layer, though, is a goldmine for Strong Attack characters. Hugo, for example, thrives here—his Enhanced Special and Ultimate hit like a truck, especially when enemies are imbalanced, which happens a lot in this event.

*Pro Tip: The latest event node still judges S-rank by time. You'll need more than 5 minutes left on the clock to hit that top tier. Plan accordingly!

 

6th Frontier's Boss Analysis

The first five Frontiers are a breeze, so let's dig into the real stuff starting at the sixth line. Here's what you're up against and how to take it down.

Phase I Boss: Hollow Thug - Rampant Brute

Current Intel:

In battle, the Rampant Brute gets a 50% damage boost while charging up, but agents deal 30% more attribute anomaly buildup against it. When it's hit with an anomaly (like Shock), it instantly loses 5% of its HP.

Strategy: Rampant Brute will recharge itself, so watch out as it recharges itself to perform more powerful attacks and is often in an "electrified" state. However, players can disarm it by using disordered attacks with other attribute anomaly, and should pay attention to dodging counterattacks.

Phase II Boss: Thracian

Current Intel:

In battle, the Thracians will perform specific moves multiple times to enter a power-up state, which is a ferocious attack and will cause a massive explosion after launching a high-level move.

Strategy: This boss swings fast, flashing yellow like crazy—prime parry bait. Nail those parries to turn the tide. Watch out for its charged lightning strikes, though—they hurt. If your reflexes aren't on point, dodge with an Enhanced Special instead of eating the damage.

 

6th Frontier's Recommended Teams

Phase I Team Recommendations

High DMG Team

Evelyn

Lighter

Astra Yao

Rocketboo

Evelyn and Yao are your dual-DPS stars, blending fire and physical damage to hit a wide range of weaknesses. Wright's ice anomaly skills (freeze, slow, etc.) keep the battlefield under control, giving your damage dealers room to go wild.

Balanced Team

Jane

Burnice

Caesar

Snap

Jane pumps out damage, Burnice handles control and healing, and Caesar buffs everyone up. It's a solid mix of offense, survival, and enemy lockdown—perfect for a steady clear.

F2P Team

Piper

Burnice

Lucy

Rocketboo

Piper's your burst DPS, while Burnice clumps enemies and boosts energy/damage. Lucy adds consistent fire damage and buffs. Bernice also tosses in shields and energy regen to keep the team alive longer.

Phase II Team Recommendations

High DMG Team

Hugo

Lighter

Lycaon

Snap

Hugo's the MVP here—his Enhanced Special and Ultimate shred, especially with the event Buffs and imbalanced enemies. Wright's fast support ramps up damage and keeps the energy flowing.

Viya Team

Miyabi

Vivian

Astra Yao

Butler

Miyabi slaps on frost anomalies, and Vivian stacks corrosion for steady damage. When both hit, they trigger confusion for a nasty burst—super effective if you time it right.

F2P Team

Ellen

Qingyi

Soukaku

Snap

 

7th Frontier's Boss Analysis

Phase I Boss: Notorious - Thanatos

Current Intel:

In battle, the Thanatos will use Dodge to find tricky angles to attack from, and is extremely aggressive, but it suffers from a high imbalance value from [Stance Support] and [Support Blitz].

Strategy: Thanatos is known for his flexible fighting style.He is extremely active and is good at utilizing his flash skills to move around in the battlefield. But as long as we have an instantaneous and precise bounce when the yellow light flashes, we can accumulate a lot of imbalance values at once. You just need to control the rhythm of your slashes and wait for the enemy to fall into an imbalanced state before outputting.

Phase II Boss: Tepes

Current Intel:

In battle, Tepes will frequently utilize the spiked hammer in both hands to launch powerful attacks, and has a damage reduction effect of his own. If you use [Defensive Assist] multiple times to successfully block Tepes's hand attacks, it will cause damage to his hammers. After the hammers are broken, some of Tepes's moves will break, Tepes loses his mitigation effect, and an Imbalance vulnerability effect is applied to Tepes.

Strategy: Tepes as a new meat shield boss, blood is also exceptionally amazing.He comes with a damage reduction effect, but he can cause damage to parts of his body by bouncing back multiple times.At the same time, after his spiked hammer is destroyed, he loses his damage reduction effect.It will be more efficient to output when it applies the Imbalance Damage effect.

 

7th Frontier's Recommended Teams

Phase I Team Recommendations

Yanagi Team

Yanagi

Vivian

Astra Yao

Butler

Vivian quietly stacks ether anomalies, syncing with Yanagi to trigger chaos and crank up damage. Yao boosts team attack power, making those anomaly hits even deadlier.

Jane Team

Jane

Vivian

Astra Yao

Bangvolver

Yao creates an output environment for Vivian and Jane's anomalies. After locking down an enemy, Vivian can stack Ether anomalies, while Jane is responsible for outputting physical damage. The contrast between the two anomalies triggers the "Turbulence" mechanism to maximize the damage. The stable "Turbulence" triggers, coupled with a battlefield environment where enemies cannot counterattack, are ideal for efficient damage output in Battlegate.

Viya Team

Miyabi

Vivian

Soukaku

Butler

Miyabi's frost and Vivian's corrosion combo into confusion for extra pain. Soukaku stuns or controls, breaking shields and covering the team's weak spots.

F2P Team

Ellen

Lycaon

Soukaku

Penguinboo

Ellen stacks stun fast, Lycaon keeps the pressure on, and Soukaku controls and breaks shields. It's straightforward and gets enemies imbalanced quick.

 

Conclusion

This Shiyu Defense round isn't too punishing—especially if you've got Strong Attack characters in your roster. Stick to this guide, leverage the Buffs, and build teams around boss weaknesses, and those S-ranks are as good as yours!

Want to make it even smoother? Swing by LDShop for some sweet Monochrome top-up discounts and other deals. Load up on resources, power up your squad, and charge toward that top evaluation. With LDShop's help, your Shiyu Defense run's gonna be a victory lap!