The Journey Begins: Initial Challenges and Mistakes
16 days after sharing my initial Shiyu Defense post, I've managed to clear all 17 nodes at S-rank! Here, I want to share the lessons learned along the way.
Shiyu Defense 17/17 S Rewards
In the beginning, I struggled with team composition and wasted materials, despite using battery recharge. My desire to try out various shared builds led to inefficiencies, as I spent resources leveling up all characters to 50. This approach slowed my progress significantly.
Make sure not to level up all your characters at the same time!
Building a Focused Team
After realizing my mistake, I focused on forming a dedicated team and only collected materials for them. A major error was postponing disk farming until my IK level reached 50. Once my IK was level 50 and Ellen hit level 60, I faced a severe disk shortage, which continues to be an issue. My advice: prioritize disk farming as soon as your IK level reaches 40.
Focus your Disks!
Choosing Your Team: My Setup
For my team, I opted for a slightly P2W lineup: Ellen, Lycaon, Soukaku/Zhu Yuan, Koleda, and Nicole. Despite having this team, the lack of disks made things challenging early on. The key takeaway is to focus your resources on one team to see the best results.
1st Team: Ellen, Lycaon and Soukaku / 2nd Team: Zhu Yuan, Koleda and Nicole
Node Tactics and Team Strategies
For each node, I developed specific strategies based on my team. For example, using Ellen to gather enemies and eliminate them efficiently, and coordinating Koleda's Stun with Zhu Yuan's attacks. It's crucial to follow character rotation guidelines to avoid significant DPS losses, often caused by random button mashing.
Ellen's Rotations
Ellen Stats
Standard Rotation:
- Dash Attack: Arctic Ambush: Spinning Slash
- Dash Attack: Arctic Ambush: Charged Scissors
- Basic Attack: Flash Freeze Trimming P1
- Basic Attack: Flash Freeze Trimming P2
- Basic Attack: Flash Freeze Trimming P3
Burst Rotation:
- Chain Attack: Avalanche
- EX Special Attack: Tail Swipe
- Basic Attack: Flash Freeze Trimming P3
- Ultimate: Endless Winter
- EX Special Attack: Tail Swipe
- EX Special Attack: Sharknami
- Basic Attack: Flash Freeze Trimming P3
Zhu Yuan's Rotations
Zhu Yuan Stats
Standard Rotation:
- Assault Mode Basic P1
- Side Dash Attack
- Assault Mode Basic P3
- Assault Mode Basic P4
- Assault Mode Basic P5
- Side Dash Attack
- Assault Mode Basic P3
Burst Rotation:
- Start (2 Shells)
- Chain Attack (5 Shells)
- Quick Assist: After Nicole (6 Shells)
- EX Special Attack (Remove if not enough energy) (9 Shells)
- Suppressive Mode Basic Attack P1 (8 Shells)
- Suppressive Mode Basic Attack P2 (7 Shells)
- Suppressive Mode Basic Attack P3 (4 Shells)
- Suppressive Mode Side Dash Attack (3 Shells)
- Suppressive Mode Basic Attack P3 (0 Shell)
- EX Special Attack (3 Shells)
- Ultimate (6 Shells)
- Suppressive Mode Basic Attack P1 (5 Shells)
- Suppressive Mode Basic Attack P2 (4 Shells)
- Suppressive Mode Basic Attack P3 (1 Shell)
- Suppressive Mode Side Dash Attack (0 Shell)
Disk and W-Engine Choices
For disks and W-Engines, I used the following setups:
Ellen:
- Woodpecker Electro (4-PC)
- Puffer Electro (2-PC)
- Deep Sea Visitor or F2P Starlight Engine/The Brimstone
Ellen's Equipments
Zhu Yuan:
- Chaotic Metal (4-PC)
- Woodpecker Electro (2-PC)
- Riot Suppressor Mark VI or F2P Starlight Engine/The Brimstone
Zhu Yuan's Equipments
Lycaon:
- Shockstar Disco (4-PC)
- Swing Jazz (2-PC)
- The Restrained or F2P Hellfire Gears/Steam Oven
Lycaon's Equipments
Koleda:
- Shockstar Disco (4-PC)
- Swing Jazz (2-PC)
- Hellfire Gears or F2P Steam Oven/Six Shooter
Koleda's Equiptments
Soukaku:
- Swing Jazz (4-PC)
- Hormone Punk (2-PC)
- Bashful Demon alternative [Reverb] Mark II (S5)
Soukaku's Equipments
Nicole:
- Swing Jazz (4-PC)
- Freedom Blues (2-PC)
- Weeping Cradle or F2P The Vault
Nicole's Equipment: I don't have Freedom Blues right now, so I used Chaotic Metal.
Team Composition Tips
Always use your strongest disks for the toughest nodes to minimize completion time, freeing up more time for your secondary team. Pay attention to enemy elemental resistance; using the wrong element can lead to failure.
Before starting, please check the recommended attributes.
Managing Expectations and Materials
Don't aim for an S-rank on the first try. Focus on building a sustainable team and improving completion times. If you can't achieve S-rank, try again the next day.
Lowering Expectations is a good option for the feature.
Team and Attribute Synergy
Ensure your team has the right attributes or is from the same faction to maximize additional abilities, which significantly boost DPS. Test your team configurations both ways, as switching Team 1 and Team 2 might yield unexpected successes.
Always remember to check your attributes and factions
Prioritizing Skill Enhancements
Plan your skill enhancements carefully. Typically, the priority is Special Attack -> Chain Attack -> Assist, but this can vary. For some agents, Core Skill Enhancement is more crucial, especially for Stun agents.
Do not use all your materials on one character. Distribute them between both of your DD.
Maximizing Resource Efficiency
Avoid maxing out purple disks early; save your materials for S-rank disks. Initially, keep A-rank disks at level 9, or even level 6 if you're not hitting a wall.
Be careful when using disk upgrade materials.
W-Engine Upgrades
W-Engine upgrades are crucial if resources allow. Prioritize DPS and Stun characters for these upgrades.
Focus on the Attacker's W-Engine first
Bangboo Preferences
Bangboo's choices often depend on personal preference. I've chosen Sharkboo, Resonaboo, and Plugbuu based on elements. Others may choose based on faction. Whatever your choice, use Boopons wisely, as they are valuable.
Avoid maxing out a single Bangboo too early; it's more beneficial to use them cautiously.
Do not overspend your Boopons!
Please share your thoughts in the comments and follow me for more guides!
I hope this guide helps you in your journey. If you notice any mistakes or omissions, please leave a comment, and I'll update the guide. Thanks for reading, and happy gaming!
