The agony of blowing 160+ Encrypted Master Tapes without seeing Ellen Joe is a rite of passage in the community—especially with Mono-Ice currently throttling Shiyu Defense 7 clear rates across v1.0. Losing the 50/50 on her limited banner compresses weeks of Polychrome grinding into the heartbreak of receiving only a standard pool S-rank. For Proxies pushing hard numbers, few things sting like stalling behind the burst meta due to one unlucky pull.

Tier 0: The Frostbite Formula — Mono-Ice Domination

Start by assembling the trinity that defines the current meta: Ellen Joe + Lycaon + Soukaku. Ellen runs a 4-pc Polar Metal plus 2-pc Woodpecker Electro setup—slot 4 must roll Crit DMG for the signature power spike. Lycaon's Impact stacking on slot 6 enables calculated sub-8-second stun windows. Precise execution is non-negotiable: open with Lycaon for Daze, chain into Soukaku for the "Fly the Flag" ATK buff, then swap directly to Ellen to maximize synergy and hit the critical 3000 dB burst window before Ice Freeze resolves. Every faction resonance and core passive must be active to avoid DPS loss.

Tier 1 Electric & Fire — High-Roll Alternatives

Pivoting to Electric, Grace + Anton + Rina brings rapid Shock applications for punishing mob packs—Grace's Anomaly output procs Disorder cascade, while Anton caches burst during Conduction. However, rolling Grace remains triple-pity bait despite her potential; missing her puts this comp below ideal thresholds. Next, Fire teams like Soldier 11 + Koleda + Ben rely on counter-heavy chip and safe clears—Koleda’s unique i-frame coordinate attack with Ben adds a hidden DPS layer, often skipped in mainstream Proxy guides but essential for squeezing out impact value versus boss shields. Team and drive disc choices here must not drop Koleda’s Stun uptime below 12 seconds per rotation.

F2P Lifeline: Cunning Hares & Starter Synergy

Mastering Shiyu Defense 8 with Anby + Nicole + Billy/Nekomata proves that M0-budget squads still punch above their weight. All three unlock full Core Passives—no gacha RNG required. Nicole’s black hole group utility lines up perfectly with Physical DEF shred, opening textbook burst rotations, while Anby’s Impact ceiling rivals A-rank stunners even into late-game content. In the free-to-play speedrun circuit, sub-90s clears are not only possible but reproducible with optimal drive disc rolls and tight rotation order.

Bypass the Gacha Grind — Stocking Encrypted Tapes

With the Ether shift approaching (all eyes on Zhu Yuan + Nicole), missing a top-tier limited S-rank can bottleneck meta viability for entire cycles. Many high-level Proxies sidestep the 50/50 heartbreak by stockpiling Master and Encrypted Tapes through various methods. Most notably, veterans use Lootbar for quick, secure top-ups to ensure banner coverage. If you want to check the current ZZZ monochrome rates or grab the freshest deal, just click here.

Meta Table: Build Stats at a Glance

(*triple-pity risk)

What Comes Next: Beyond Version 1.0

Looking past current tier lists, attribute synergy remains king—teams will pivot sharply once Ether becomes dominant with Zhu Yuan’s arrival. Until then, maximizing Daze, timing chain attacks precisely, and ensuring all core passives trigger (matching both Attribute and Faction where possible) are the pillars of progression. The 300-standard-pull selection exists, but mis-timing banners or failing to plan Tape reserves can place your account in meta purgatory for an entire patch—realistically, no publicly verifiable data is available yet for Zhu Yuan's release date, but her impact is certain.

Stack Crit DMG on slot 4, Impact on slot 6 for stunners, and always prioritize teamwide resonance bonuses over single-agent min-max stats. With every update, stay nimble—the v1.0 polar meta won’t last forever, but the pain of missing a top-tier Agent on a 160+ grind is as permanent as ever.