Boss Overview
The Pioneer Secret Source Control Array has 8,268,034 HP for Fearless and 16,743,001 HP for Dire. The main gimmick is the Suppression Field.
At the start of battle, the boss deploys four Detection Devices around the arena and creates a massive Field Energy Shield equal to 100% of its Max HP. While this shield exists, the boss heavily increases to 130% except for Cryo and Electro.
Core Mechanics
Field Energy Shield
At the start of the fight, the boss creates a shield equal to 100% of its Max HP and immediately begins a 45-second charge period.
During this phase:
- All non-Cryo and non-Electro elemental resistance is heavily increased.
- Superconduct and Stellar Conduct damage are strongly favored
- Each Superconduct or Stellar Conduct proc reduces the shield further by 4% of the shield's HP.
- Destroying Detection Devices also removes 12.5% of the shield each.
Detection Devices
The boss deploys four Detection Devices around the edge of the arena. Each one has a 12U Hydro shield and is positioned around 3 meters above the ground, favoring ranged characters.
Each destroyed Detection Device removes 12.5% of the boss’s Field Energy Shield. Destroying all four devices removes half of the boss’s shield before even counting your reaction damage.
You can take down the shield by applying enough Cryo or Dendro. Alternatively, if Melt, Shatter, or Superconduct is triggered then it will immediately be killed. There are certain characters' attack or skills that can unexpected hit the drones, refer to the Character-specific Tech for more information
After Breaking Shield
When the Field Energy Shield is destroyed:
- The boss takes a large backlash hit, up to 40% of the boss’s Max HP.
- The boss becomes paralyzed for 13 seconds.
- During paralysis, all of its RES is reduced by 40%.
- After roughly 35 seconds, the mechanic will restart.
This is the main damage window. You should not waste your damage window before the shield breaks unless it helps you break the shield quickly.
What Happens If You Fail the Shield Check
If the Field Energy Shield is not destroyed, the boss consumes the remaining Detection Devices and put up a hydro shield based on the amount absorbed.
Game Plan
- Bring Cryo/Electro if possible.
Focus on shield breaking if your main DPS isn't Cryo or Electro. - Destroy the devices if possible.
Each one removes 12.5% of the boss shield so it will speed up your shield break a lot. - Keep triggering Superconduct or Stellar Conduct.
These reactions are the intended shield-break method. - Save your burst for the down phase.
Once the shield breaks, dump your main DPS rotation into the boss.
Best Team Archetypes
1. Stellar Conduct Team
C0 Sandrone
R1 Teaspoon
C6 Sucrose
R5 TTDS
C3 Kuki
R5 Xiphos
C6 Diona
R5 Sac Bow
C2 Wriothesley
R1 Cashflow
C0 Sandrone
R1 Verdict
C6 Fischl
R5 Fav Bow
C0 Xilonen
R5 Fav Sword
2. Electro Teams
C0 Flins
R5 PJWS
C0 Columbina
R5 Sac Jade
C0 Ineffa
R5 Sacrificer
C6 Rosaria
R5 Fav Lance
3. Cryo teams
C0 Skirk
R1 Azurelight
C1 Furina
R5 Fav Sword
C0 Escoffier
R1 Fork
C6 Charlotte
R5 TTDS
4. Brute Force teams
C2 Nefer
R1 Reliquary
C2 Citlali
R5 Sac Frag
C0 Columbina
R1 Nocturne's
C1 Ineffa
R1 Fractured
Required DPS
Assuming a 120s timer, the raw baseline DPS requirement is:
- Fearless: 68,900 DPS
- Dire: 139,525 DPS
This is only a theoretical baseline. It does not account for shield downtime, movement, boss animations, rotation setup, or the fact that Stygian Onslaught starts characters at zero energy.
Actual DPS
The actual DPS check is best understood with this formula:
Actual DPS = Required damage / DPS window
Where:
- Actual required damage = Boss HP − damage gain during stunned phase - damage loss during shield phase
- DPS window = 120s - stall animations
In reality the DPS requirement is much lower for Stellar Conduct teams because Sandrone will break the shield very fast. However, for every other team, likely an electro or cryo needs to be added, lowering the DPS potential of the team. So the DPS number is actually deceptively low:
- If your DPS is primarily Electro or Cryo while being able to deal with the shield then it will be the same as the baseline.
- If your DPS is any other element then the requirement is nearly double due to the amount of team loss and high RES of the boss during shield phase.
Character-Specific Tech
Sandrone
You can target the Pokeball and the drones all at once
Charlotte
You can Hold E to target all 4 drones.
Lauma
If you stand beneath the Drones then you can still apply Dendro.
Skirk
Before the boss puts up its hydro shield, there's a window where you can freeze and damage the boss for about 20s.