Introduction

General Map

Welcome to Hollow Zero. a place to grind for IK-level, boopons, Master Tapes, and ofc Polychromes. this is basically ZZZ equivalent of HSR's weekly SU or DU. it consist of 4 (four) zones for version 1 with criteria as follows:

Withered Crystals

each area will spawn a specific "token" called "Withered Crystal" that is required to upgrade Niece and Nephew's gear

Purple: Heaven's Azure -> obtained from Zone 1

Yellow: Ink Yellow -> Zone 2 drops

Red: Iron Red -> Zone 3 drops

Withering Garden will drop all 3.

the 3 is going to be used to activate these panels. each panels will have different requirement crystals to activate.

Zone Characteristics

Zone 1: Hollow Corruption

Zone 1 will be focus around corruption either voluntarily taken or after pressure buildup. there will be a researcher monitoring Niece and Nephew's corruption at all safe zones. Maintaining zero corruption AND low pressure are the key to quickly beating this area.

Zone 2: Gear Coin Shark Loans

Zone 2 will be focused around Gear Coins. there will be a loan shark at every safe points. DO NOT take his loan at all cost. it's really not worth the price. Zone 2 hollow will be riddled with Gear Coins. it's more than enough to unlock around 16 resonia is Niece and Nephew planned carefully and S-rank all the floor bosses. it's more than enough to whack the boss under 3 minutes.

Zone 3: Blood Donation

For Souls veteran out there, this really should be a walk in the park. Zone 3 will be focused with HP percentages. a creepy researcher will appear at every safe zone asking for blood donation (your HP). whether Niece and Nephew willing to give a few or a lot entirely depends on you. the more Niece and Nephew give, the better the reward. Shield and Dodge Resonia is important for Niece and Nephew who want to play it the safe way.

Zone 4: Free-For-All Bullying by White Star Institute

it is imperative to have at least 4 Dodge Resonia (8 recommended) to unlock Slow Time to make life easier when beating Nineveh. the rest can be either shield or the one that boost Niece and Nephew's combat ability (i.e Shock, Duel, etc.)

the Loan Shark, Corruption Researcher, and Creepy Blood Researcher will appear all at the same time. Niece and Nephew will be laid several options at every floor by those 3. they all give both reward of your choosing AND risk of your own choosing whether to sustain corruption, donate blood, or give Gear Coins.

the higher the floor, the steeper the cost that must be paid.

Important: Each person can only be used ONCE

what does it mean? Each person (the loan shark, the blood researcher, and the corruption researcher) risk can only be picked twice. so let's say Niece and Nephew pick loan shark twice at floor 1 or 2 because he literally costs the less, at floor 3 the remaining blokes will bite Niece and Nephew in ways so painful it really hurts. so manage Niece and Nephew's risk!

how bad is the price? well ... here it is. just before facing Nineveh. Uncle Lee pick the gear coin guy twice. don't make the same mistake

how bad is the corruption? well ... literally will make Niece and Nephew die within seconds and need to restart the whole thing.

Tested Teams (CBT2, CBT3, v1.0)

here's some tested examples of Team Loadout that Uncle Lee Tested throughout the CBT 2 to v1.0 just now. Rina is still the one close to Uncle Lee's heart just by the sheer mobility and range. ofc in ZZZ, there is no wrong team. it all comes back to how Niece and Nephew style of engagement. some love up close and personal, some like to tank, some like to range

all set? let's go!

Zone 1: Dead End Butcher

The First Hurdle

the first boss of Hollow Zero. and have ... standard features. a truly classic boss type with 2 HP bars and 2 sets of moves. Niece and Nephew should be good with him as long as you build your Nicole, and other 2 character of Niece and Nephew's choosing and preference as long as it can apply an attribute other than Ether to trigger Disorder. so get creative! don't hesitate to trial and error. It has no resistance per se, so Niece and Nephew pretty much can defeat it with anyone + Nicole

Attack Patterns

Stage 1 - Holding Weapon

Doube Slash + Explosive Finish

watch out for the last blast. Uncle Lee often forgot

Slash Combo

it's in rapid succession... parry will work too

Stage 2 - 4 hands

Laser Beam

classic attack of all bosses.

Disengage

the only indirect damage it can do in stage 2. it's more or less a nuisance for melee user... it's a bonus opportunities for ranged users.

Berserk Smash

nearing its death, Dead End Butcher will literally went rampage... again, be careful with the delayed explosion.

Triple Smash

How to Counter?

Anomaly Buildup + Corresponding Resonia (Shock -> Jolt, Corrupt, Assault, etc)

one of the easiest way to beat the thing is simply just keep the anomaly coming. the best one is ofc Corruption + Disorder... but anything works really. Here Uncle Lee use Shock and Jolt combination to beat him without breaking a sweat.

Zone 2: Unknown Corruption Complex

A Friendly Reminder to NOT bring Hans, Grete, and Friday to the Hollow Zero

probably one of the easiest boss of the four. it's ridiculously weak to shock and has a bonus advantage Niece and Nephew can exploit called "Impaired". basically just keep attacking one same spot over and over again, it'll trigger the impar function. making the thing unable to move.

Attack Patterns

Rotary Digger Swipe

Boulder Throw

Laser Beam

... pretty much straight forward isn't it . just take a shelter between its legs... the laser can't reach it. careful if Niece and Nephew is around the back though.

Tail Whip

this is the one Uncle Lee mentioned earlier. if Niece and Nephew trying to get too close to the tail, the thing does this.

Ether Homing Missile

if Niece and Nephew engage at range, it will shoot Ether Missile slightly more often. once the missile bay opened, no matter if Niece and Nephew close the gap, it will still shoot.

Toe Slam

if Niece and Nephew engage at melee distance, this is probably the one that will got spammed quite a lot by the boss. be careful. it's AoE

Forward Tail Slam

as the name suggested, it's just the tail slamming front

Drill Attack

don't get too close with this one... it take a while and have a suction + stagger effect.

Pounce

despite its size, this thing can also pounce.

Kuru-kuru Roar

the thing also sometimes create a damaging whirlwind followed by a roar. both can cause damage. so Niece and Nephew who engage in melee, beware.

How to Counter?

Impair exploit, "Make It Take One on the Knee"

Niece and Nephew can exploit the exclusive mechanism for this boss called "Impair". any chara who repeatedly attack the same spot will trigger this. it's a hefty damage too

Shock, Jolt, Corrupt, Disorder Chain Attack. "Don't Let It Catch A Breath"

when using Electric characters with at least 4 Shock Resonia, it is more than enough to whack the thing to oblivion. just make sure Niece and Nephew have at least 1 stunner (recommendation: Anby) to keep the big thing in check AND keep the chain going. if done right, Niece and Nephew can cut more than 2/3 of it HP in one or two chain attacks.. ofc that in rapid succession like shown below:

Zone 3: Twin Veil Marionette

Drusilla and Anastella Big Pointy Evil Counterpart

well... version 1 changed the Abandoned Skyscraper boss into a twin marionette with a linked system. so Niece and Nephew needs to kill both at the same time. so yeah time to build the AoE chara that one of you might abandoned . The Official name for those 2 are White Veil Marionette and Black Veil Marionette.

Attack Patterns

3-hit kick combo (multiple variation)

opening attack will be a 3-hit combo. the kicking order is irrelevant, can be W-B-W, B-W-B, B-W-W, W-B-B, but the point is ... watch that attack cue! they're pretty fast.

another variation is one of the marionette spin and dive.

Twin Kuru-Kuru

the moment Niece and Nephew hear or see two yellow crosses, get that dodge button ready. first one is easy to dodge. but don't immediately engage in a melee because those two will be spinning a while. it's okay to engage in ranged though...

Joined Kuru-Kuru

another "trap" that these two will throw is a joined kuru kuru. it'll only have a single dodge cross, luring Niece and Nephew to engage melee... like what Uncle Lee did... well... it's a trap. they both spin and Uncle Lee got hit. so yeah beware of that.

Throwing Spin

one of two large scale AoE attack. happens 3 (three) times in a row. so again, watch the cues... particularly on the 3rd one

Dying Spin

second large scale AoE attack these 2 will do. usually triggered when Niece and Nephew has dealt enough damage making the two nearing it's demise... or dragged for waaay too long.

Revive Ally

as the name suggest and as Uncle Lee said from the start, these 2 works in pair. if one down, the other will revive unless killed quickly.

How to Counter

AoE Disorder Chain Attacks, "Group 'em, then Bag 'em... The Good Ol' Reliable Way"

Nicole speciality. Niece and Nephew is highly recommended to utilize a quick succession of AoE chain attacks to quickly drain both of the Marionettes. if Niece and Nephew don't have Rina + Anby, then the next best thing is Grace + Anby. however make sure to save up the EX skill so the chain went rather smoothly and extra Impact to Anby. the Disorder buildup should be quick enough.

yesh... Disoder is not to be underestimated. 100k++ DMG is easy with Disorder when triggered properly. and no Uncle Lee is not joking. here take a look... it says 110072... look at the red bar on the top right

Prevent Revival, "The Long Way Round"

should Niece and Nephew only have a single target DPS, the other way is to deal one by one equally, and when Niece and Nephew manage to get 1 down, use a character Ult to repel or slow it down. Rina Ult can repel the other marionette back, Nicole Ult can slow it down. Corin ult can stagger if it timed right (stun gauge almost filled), some character ult didn't help at all though like Anby, Billy, Anton, Grace... so yeah.. test who's capable to whack the one remaining Marionette back.

Withering Garden: Nineveh

The Evil Queen of Hollow Zero, The Slayer of Many Agents, The Corrupted.... Uncle Lee's archnemesis...

Details are posted in Part 2!