Zenless Zone Zero Hollows Boss Strategies: How to Defeat Endgame Encounters
Endgame Hollow bosses in Zenless Zone Zero are less about raw stats and more about managing Pressure, Corruption, and Stun windows while abusing dodge‑counters and Assists. Treat each run as both a buildcraft puzzle and a mechanical check, especially in Hollow Zero, Shiyu Defense, and Deadly Assault.
Hollow Zero Bosses (Withering Garden & Ether Activities)
Hollow Zero is a roguelite: you fight through floors, pick Resonium buffs/debuffs, and finish with a boss like Nineveh whose damage and mechanics scale off your Pressure and Corruption. Guides emphasize that survival hinges on staying below 4 Corruptions, picking strong Dodge/Shield/Defensive Assists Resonia, and preserving HP for the last fight.
- Nineveh strategy: Nineveh has no specific elemental weakness, but uses huge AoEs, including a near one‑shot at around 75% HP and tentacle/Hornet summons in later phases, so high HP and healing matter more than typing. Prioritize removing Corruptions like Hay Fever I (40% boss damage up and HP drain in exploration) and Weakened (longer dodge cooldown) before the final floor so your evasive tools still work.
- Gameplay tips: abuse Perfect Dodge counters, which have full i‑frames during the animation and can be chained to negate multi‑hit patterns that would otherwise exhaust your two normal dodges. Bring at least one strong Stun agent for mid‑bosses to spam Perfect Assists and control gank fights; for the final boss, rely more on Dodge and Shield Resonia plus ranged DPS to handle projectile spam.
Shiyu Defense Bosses (Multi‑Wave, Multi‑Team Content)
Shiyu Defense is a wave‑based endgame mode tuned around max‑level agents, high gear, and optimized Bangboos, with bosses typically appearing after a gauntlet of ranged and elite enemies. Later rotations assume you understand boss patterns, so guides urge players to “overbuild” first teams and learn mechanics before chasing perfect times.
- Positioning & crowd control: many nodes feature snipers and spread‑out mobs; push enemies together with pulls and displacement to avoid time loss and stray shots, then focus fire to break shields quickly. Turn off damage numbers if needed to reduce visual noise during busy boss phases.
- Boss timing: successful Shiyu runs revolve around chaining Defensive Assists and Perfect Assists into ult dumps when a boss’s shield or stance breaks. Save big cooldowns for these breakpoints and don’t panic‑dump EXs during invulnerable or shielded animations, late‑stage bosses are balanced for players who can compress their burst into these vulnerability windows.
Deadly Assault and High-Intensity Bosses
Deadly Assault is a rotating endgame mode that pits three separate teams against enhanced bosses with new mechanics, higher damage, and special buffs/debuffs. Instead of raw survival, scoring depends on how much damage you can push in a limited window, forcing clean rotations and aggressive use of Stun and Anomaly.
- Team specialization: build each team around a clear plan (burst, sustain, or anomaly heavy) that matches that boss’s pattern and shield type. For bosses with thick shields or frequent stance shifts, dedicated Stun frontliners and Defense Supports that extend safe damage windows are invaluable.
- Assist economy: some Deadly Assault modifiers grant extra Assist Points on Chain Attacks or shield breaks, use these to chain Defensive Assists and Follow‑ups through the boss’s most dangerous strings instead of hoarding them “just in case.”
General Hollow Boss Tips and Checklist
Across Hollow Zero, Shiyu Defense, and other endgame modes, successful clears share the same fundamentals.
- Know your enemy: check boss weakness/resistance in the codex and tailor your element; some encounters ignore weaknesses (like Nineveh), but many reward focusing on Ether, Ice, or Electric.
- Control Pressure and Corruption: in Hollow Zero, keep Pressure under 100 as much as possible and remove the most punishing Corruptions before the final floor, especially ones that drain HP or extend dodge cooldowns.
- Abuse defensive tech: Perfect Dodge counters, Defensive Assists, and Shield/Dodge Resonia are often stronger than pure “damage” buffs in high-intensity boss encounters.
- Front-load investment into one or two teams: both Shiyu Defense and Deadly Assault are tuned around well-built agents with leveled skills, W‑Engines, and Bangboos, partial builds are a common reason players feel “walled.”
Apply these principles, HP and Corruption management in Hollow Zero, focused burst in Shiyu Defense, and clean rotation play in Deadly Assault, and Zenless Zone Zero’s Hollows bosses become demanding but consistent endgame fights instead of brick walls.
