Physical
Fire
Ice
Ether
Rookie Jaeger
Light Jaeger
Lightfoot Rover
Heavy Striker
Tyrfing
Alpeca
Arlaune
Hati
Strike Jaeger
Guardian
Hoplitai
Mandrake
Metro Goblin
Rustler
Ambusher
Doppelganger Mors
Doppelganger Pulchra
Doppelganger Bellum
Sordidus
Fossor
Armored Hati
Thanatos
Goblin
Wanted Enforcer
Notorious - Armored Hati
Electric
Bulky Intimidator
Bulky Enforcer
Scorpse
Miasmic Terror Raptor
Faun
Miasma Spawn
Flame Cantor
Miasmic Thracian
W-Engine Chip
Noise Reduction Master Copy
This survey will take about 1 minute.
Your answers will help us to improve our website.
Zenless Zone Zero (ZZZ)
Critical Node Guide for Version 2.5
☆ New: Tier List Maker & Co-Op Board!
★ Upcoming: Version 2.6, Sunna, & Aria!
☆ 2.5 Debut: Ye Shunguang & Zhao
★ 2.5 Rerun: Alice, Soldier 0 Anby, & Astra
☆ Tier Lists: Agents | W-Engines | Bangboos | Teams
★ Redeem Codes for free Polychromes!
Critical Node is the second node of Shiyu Defense in Zenless Zone Zero (ZZZ) that consists of seven stages. Check out when it resets, all the frontier guides, the best characters for each stage, and all the rewards here!
| Endgame Guides | |
|---|---|
 Shiyu Defense |
 Deadly Assault |
List of Contents
Critical Node Latest News
Restructuring and Updated Fifth Node
Critical Node of Shiyu Defense updated their stage structure in Version 2.5, reducing the frontiers from 7 to 5.
In this new Critical Node mode, the Fifth Frontier is upgraded. In order to gain higher rankings, Proxies will now have to defeat waves upon waves of enemies as fast and as much as possible, which means a high DMG output is key to winning.
The Upgraded Fifth Frontier
In the upgraded Fifth Frontier, Proxies will be required to complete 3 different stages, each with their own unique enemy lineups and bosses.
The new scoring parameter is based on DMG dealt, so having a higher DMG output is your key to a higher ranking. The higher your DMG output, the faster you can annihilate waves of enemies. The more waves you defeat, the higher your score will be.
Critical Node Reset Date and Countdown
Critical Node Resets on January 23
| Critical Node Reset Date and Countdown |
|---|
| January 23, 2026 |
Critical Node resets every other Friday. This resets all your progress in Critical Node so that you will be able to collect rewards again upon completion.
This Phase of Critical Node will reset on January 23, 2025.
Critical Node Stage Effects
Current Stage Effect
| Frontier Info | |
|---|---|
|
• Agent CRIT DMG increases by 15%. While in Ether Veil, Agent ATK increases by 25%, and attacks ignore 10% of enemy's DEF. • Agent Electric DMG and Fire DMG increase by 30%, Anomaly Proficiency increases by 60. • Agents start with 40 additional Energy, Attribute Anomaly DMG increases by 20%. • Agent Sheer DMG increases by 10%, CRIT DMG increases by 25%. • When an Agent's Ultimate hits enemies, ignores 10% of their All-DMG RES. |
|
| Next Reset | 01/23/2026 - 04:00 |
In response to Critical Node's reset time, its Stage Effects also change in turn. This current Stage Effect for Critical Node is applied to all of its Frontiers.
Future Effects and Phases
| Phase | Effects |
|---|---|
| II 01/23 |
Frost-Bitten Iron: Agent CRIT DMG increases by 25%. While in Ether Veil, Agent Physical DMG and Ice DMG increase by 20%, and attacks ignore 10% of the enemy's DEF. Rush of Lightning and Fire: Agent's Electric DMG and Fire DMG are increased by 30%, and Anomaly Proficiency is increased by 60. Agents start with 40 additional Energy, Attribute Anomaly DMG increases by 20%. Blazing Stream: Agent's Sheer DMG increases by 15%, CRIT DMG increases by 15%. When an Agent's Ultimate hits enemies, ignores 10% of their All-DMG RES. |
| III 02/06 |
Fleeting Glory: While in an Ether Veil, the Agent's Attack increases by 25% and CRIT DMG increases by 20%. When an Agent hits enemies, ignore 10% of the their Physical RES. Piercing Blade Abyss: Agent Ice and Physical DMG increase by 15%. When Agents inflict an Attribute Anomaly on enemies, their DEF is reduced by 10%, and they take 20% more Attribute Anomaly DMG for 10s. Repeated triggers reset the duration. Cleanse the Heart With Fire: Agent Fire DMG increases by 20%. Agent's Basic Attack and Chain Attack DMG increases by 40%, and CRIT DMG increases by 30%. |
How to Unlock Critical Node
Clear Stable Node: Tenth Frontier
Critical Node is unlocked after clearing Stable Node: Tenth Frontier in Shiyu Defense.
Shiyu Defense 11
Critical Node First Frontier Details
| Objectives | 
- More than 300s remaining
- More than 180s remaining
- Defeat all enemies |
|---|---|
| Best Attributes | 1st Half: 2nd Half: |
| Enemies | 1st Half: 2nd Half: |
Shiyu Defense 11 Critical Node Guide
Critical Node First Frontier Best Characters
| First Half Teams | Second Half Teams |
|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other Recommended Characters
| 1st Half | 
|
|---|---|
| 2nd Half | 
|
Shiyu Defense 12
Critical Node Second Frontier Details
| Objectives |
- More than 300s remaining
- More than 180s remaining
- Defeat all enemies |
|---|---|
| Best Attributes | 1st Half: 2nd Half: |
| Enemies | 1st Half: 2nd Half: |
Shiyu Defense 12 Critical Node Guide
Critical Node Second Frontier Best Characters
| First Half Teams | Second Half Teams |
|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other Recommended Characters
| 1st Half |
|
|---|---|
| 2nd Half |
|
Shiyu Defense 13
Critical Node Third Frontier Details
| Objectives |
- More than 300s remaining
- More than 180s remaining
- Defeat all enemies |
|---|---|
| Best Attributes | 1st Half: 2nd Half: |
| Enemies | 1st Half: 2nd Half: |
Shiyu Defense 13 Critical Node Guide
Critical Node Third Frontier Best Characters
| First Half Teams | Second Half Teams |
|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other Recommended Characters
| 1st Half |
|
|---|---|
| 2nd Half |
|
Shiyu Defense 14
Critical Node Fourth Frontier Details
| Objectives |
- More than 300s remaining
- More than 180s remaining
- Defeat all enemies |
|---|---|
| Best Attributes | 1st Half: 2nd Half: |
| Enemies | 1st Half: 2nd Half: |
Shiyu Defense 14 Critical Node Guide
Critical Node Fourth Frontier Best Characters
| First Half Teams | Second Half Teams |
|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other Recommended Characters
| 1st Half |
|
|---|---|
| 2nd Half |
|
Shiyu Defense 15
Critical Node Fifth Frontier Details
| Challenge Target |  - Get an S-rating in all rooms and achieve a total score of 100,000. - Get an S-rating in all rooms - Get an A-rating in all rooms - Get a B-rating in all rooms |
|---|---|
| Objectives Per Room | - Reach 25000 points for the current room- Reach 18000 points for the current room- Reach 8000 points for the current room |
| Best Attributes | Room 1: Room 2: Room 3: |
| Enemies | Room 1: Room 2: Room 3: |
Shiyu Defense 15 Critical Node Guide
Critical Node Fifth Frontier Best Characters
| Room 1 | Room 2 | Room 3 |
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Critical Node Rewards
List of Critical Node Rewards
| Frontiers | Rewards |
|---|---|
| 1st |  Polychrome
x150 Denny
x45,000 |
| 2nd | Polychrome
x150 Denny
x45,000 |
| 3rd | Polychrome
x150 Denny
x45,000 |
| 4th | Polychrome
x150 Denny
x45,000 |
| 5th | Polychrome
x240 Denny
x45,000 |
| Total | Polychrome
x740 Denny
x315,000 |
What is Critical Node?
Shiyu Defense Stages
Critical Node is the second node you will play through in Shiyu Defense. These consist of seven stages that refresh on a regular basis, and you can challenge to collect up to 720 Polychromes.
Zenless Zone Zero Related Guides
Stable Node Guides
| All Stable Node Stages | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frontier 1 | Frontier 2 | Frontier 3 | Frontier 4 | Frontier 5 |
| Frontier 6 | Frontier 7 | Frontier 8 | Frontier 9 | Frontier 10 |
Disputed Node Guides
| All Disputed Node Stages | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Frontier 1 | Frontier 2 | Frontier 3 | Frontier 4 |
| Frontier 5 | Frontier 6 | Frontier 7 | Frontier 8 |
Critical Node Guides
| All Critical Node Stages | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frontier 1 | Frontier 2 | Frontier 3 | ||
| Frontier 4 | Frontier 5 | |||
Ambush Node Guides
| All Ambush Node Stages | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frontier 1 | Frontier 2 | Frontier 3 | ||
| Frontier 4 | Frontier 5 | |||
Author
Critical Node Guide for Version 2.5
Please participate in our site
improvement survey
01/2026
improvement survey
01/2026
Would you assist in
improving Game8's site?
improving Game8's site?
×
We are listening to our users' valuable opinions and discussing how to act on them.
The information collected through this survey will be used for the purpose of improving our services. In addition, the information will only be disclosed a part of a statistic in a format that will not allow identification of personal information.
Begin Survey
Not Now
×
Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Advertisements.
Amount of Ads
Very Dissatisfied
Somewhat Dissatisfied
Fine
Somewhat Satisfied
Highly Satisfied
Placement of Ads
Timing of Ad Display
Ad Loading Speed
Safeness of Ads
Content of Ads
×
Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Quality of Articles.
Amount of information
Very Dissatisfied
Somewhat Dissatisfied
Fine
Somewhat Satisfied
Highly Satisfied
Frequency of updates
Speed of new information
Accuracy of articles
Understandibility of articles
Readability of sentences
×
Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Usability of the Site.
Ease of finding information
Very Dissatisfied
Somewhat Dissatisfied
Fine
Somewhat Satisfied
Highly Satisfied
Loading Speed
Use of Color
Font Size
Visibility of Images
Easy to Understand Layout
×
Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Message Boards, Comments.
Ease of Writing
Very Dissatisfied
Somewhat Dissatisfied
Fine
Somewhat Satisfied
Highly Satisfied
Readability
Ease in Finding Information
Comment Quality
Comment Quantity
Admin Response
×
Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Site's new design.
Please rate our site's new design
Very Dissatisfied
Somewhat Dissatisfied
Fine
Somewhat Satisfied
Highly Satisfied
Do you think that the website's design change makes the site easier to use?
Has the new design made it easier for you to find information on the site?
Has the new design improved the overall visual appeal of the site?
How would you rate your overall satisfaction with the new design of the site?
×
How likely are you to recommend Game8 to someone you know?
Very Unlikely
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Very Likely
If you have other opinions regarding potential improvement to the website, please share them with us. We would appreciate your honest opinion.
Note: This is a free response section, so you can proceed without entering anything.
Note: Please be sure not to enter any kind of personal information into your response.
Note: Please be sure not to enter any kind of personal information into your response.
×
Thank You
×
Thank you for participating in our survey! Your answers will help us to improve the quality of our website and services.
We hope you continue to make use of Game8.
We hope you continue to make use of Game8.
Close
Rankings
Gaming News
![Parasite Mutant Review [Demo] | Chasing the Ghost of Square Enix Past](https://img.game8.co/4380957/c56b9e6b4b577bc34dc3a380f7700a8f.jpeg/show)
Popular Games
Genshin Impact Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Zenless Zone Zero Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Umamusume: Pretty Derby Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Wuthering Waves Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Digimon Story: Time Stranger Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Pokemon Legends: Z-A Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Where Winds Meet Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Pokemon TCG Pocket (PTCGP) Strategies & Guides Wiki
Monster Hunter Wilds Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Recommended Games
Fire Emblem Heroes (FEH) Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Monster Hunter World Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl (BDSP) Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Persona 3 Reload Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition Walkthrough & Guides Wiki
All rights reserved
Copyright © 2024 HoYoverse, COGNOSPHERE. All Rights Reserved.
The copyrights of videos of games used in our content and other intellectual property rights belong to the provider of the game.
The contents we provide on this site were created personally by members of the Game8 editorial department.
We refuse the right to reuse or repost content taken without our permission such as data or images to other sites.
Hi, when will the page get update ?