The Withering Garden is one of the Zones within Hollow Zero: Withered Domain. It is one of the most dangerous areas within the Hollow and is the home of the Disaster-class Ethereal Nineveh, the Zone's final boss.
General[]
To gain access to the Withering Garden, players must have reached an Inter-Knot Level of 42. Players must also clear the Core-difficulty levels of the previous three Hollow Zero Zones, i.e. the Old Capital Metro, Construction Ruins, and the Abandoned Skyscraper.
Mechanics[]
Unlike previous Zones which have a distinct floor mechanic unique to them, the Withering Garden draw on the floor mechanics of all the previous Zones to randomize which mechanics it will use for its floors, adding another layer of randomness to the Withering Garden's layout.
Asides from the previous floor mechanics, Hollow Zero also has its own unique potential floor layout: this floor type is based off the Construction Ruin's disappearing tiles mechanic, but with vertical movement being restricted to one-way rails and springs, both which prevent vertical backtracking.
Players do not immediately fight the final boss upon reaching the end of the third floor, and instead they are taken directly to a third Frontline Outpost with which they can acquire last-minute healing and supplies; notably, this Frontline Outpost does not have the S-Rank gate for additional supplies, nor a Bank Zero, though this outpost will always have a Bangboo Merchant to buy last-minute Resonia and catalysts from. Exiting this area will take players to a short corridor leading to the final boss fight at the end.
Support Systems[]
To compensate for the increased difficulty of the level, the Withering Garden will offer players a choice between one of the three (Research Resonia) at the start:
The choice of Resonium also affects the type of Gate that gives access to Bank Zero during the mission:
- (Research) Overload Distribution = Closed Gate - Corruption (Removes or gains Corruption)
- (Research) Resource Conversion = Closed Gate - Wealth (Chance to gain or lose 999 Gear Coins)
- (Research) Trigger Instinct = Automated Medical Cabin (Spreads remaining HP equally among squad)
All three of the support NPC's from the previous Zones - the Masked Scholar, The Opportunist, and the Secret Doctor - are also present, and will greet players at the start of the mission. They will provide players with the choice of one support passive that will remain active for the rest of the commission:
- Pressure Reduction Plan - Reductions to Pressure +40%
- Financial Management Plan - Obtained Gear Coins +20%
- Medical Plan - All HP restoration +30% (outside combat only)
In exchange however, the three NPC's will require players to choose one of three "risk factors" that applies a debuff for the duration of the commission:
- Pressure Risk - Each movement causes +3 Pressure.
- Bankruptcy Risk - All items in stores become +15% more expensive.
- Injury Risk - Your HP cannot exceed 80% of Max HP.
When greeting the three NPC's at the first Frontline Outpost, they will first offer a selection of three support items that the player can choose one of. Once players have chosen an item it is permanently removed as a choice on the next Outpost, and the remaining items will be carried over into the next Outpost where their effects are enhanced.
The first of the three options is always the following:
- Combat Supplies - Obtain 1 Resonia
The second option can be one of the following:
- Medical Insurance - Recover 5% HP for each Corruption sustained.
- Property Insurance - Receive 300 Gear Coins for every Corruption sustained.
- Healing Supplies - Restores 15% HP
- Composite Tonic - Restores 8% HP and reduces Pressure by 20.
- Gear Coins Bag - 500 - 1,000 coins.
- Gear Coin Reserve - Obtain 750 Gear Coins
- Catalyst - Catalyze 2 Resonia
The last option will always be the following:
- Bangboo Plug-In Pack - Obtain 1 (random Bangboo Plug-In)
Along with the support items, players are also required to choose one of three additional risk factors, with the potential choices below:
- Play "blood samples" - Lose 8% HP
- Play "blood samples" - One random squad member loses 20% HP
- Accept the pressure experiment - Sustain 1 Corruption
- Pay Gear Coins - 33% chance: Lose all your Gear Coins
As with the support options, the chosen risk is removed and the remaining items are carried forward to the next Outpost with enhanced effects.
Note that players can also choose the option to not incur the additional risk factor at any of the Outposts, however this option is only available once per mission, and if chosen will no longer be available for the remaining Frontline Outpost encounters.
Once players reach the third Frontline Outpost, if players have the necessary requirements the NPC's will give the option of catalyzing the player's Research Resonium:
- (Research) Overload Distribution - Pressure +50
- (Research) Resource Conversion - Pay 500 Gear Coins
- (Research) Trigger Instinct - Lose 10% HP
Nineveh[]
The Withering Garden's final boss, Nineveh, is one of the dangerous Ethereals ever encountered, and currently one of the most difficult bosses in-game.
Ether Activity[]
After completing Withering Garden for the first time, players are given the option to activate Ether Activities, which are passive level modifiers that drastically increase the Withering Garden's difficulty.
Initially three Activities are available to activate, and players are free to choose which modifiers to activate. If players clear Withering Garden with all available modifiers active, another set of Activities will be unlocked, and so on until players unlock all 11 modifiers.
| Modifier | Notes |
|---|---|
| Normal and Elite enemies' ATK increased by 50% | Initial unlock |
| All items in stores become 50% more expensive | Initial unlock |
| Gain 50 Pressure upon entering a new floor | Initial unlock |
| Elite and Boss enemies' gain 30% Max HP and Anomaly Buildup RES | Unlocked when clearing with 3 active modifiers |
| Bosses gain increased ATK over time, up to 100% | Unlocked when clearing with 3 active modifiers |
| Reduces HP recovery and Pressure reduction by 35% | Unlocked when clearing with 3 active modifiers |
| Bosses have 50% higher max Daze and recover from Stun 100% faster | Unlocked when clearing with 6 active modifiers |
| [Chance Encounter] A series of events entailing unavoidable risks | Unlocked when clearing with 6 active modifiers |
| Agents take 50% more damage when holding fewer than 1,500 Gear Coins | Unlocked when clearing with 6 active modifiers |
| Attacks from Elite and Boss enemies' reduce characters' Energy and Decibels | |
| All enemies are enhanced in all aspects |
First-time clear rewards are given when clearing Withering Garden with a specific number of modifiers active.
Other Languages[]
| Language | Official Name |
|---|---|
| English | Withering Garden |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 枯败花圃 |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 枯敗花圃 |
| Japanese | 凋落花園 |
| Korean | 메마른 꽃밭 Memareun Kkotbat |
| Spanish | Jardín Marchito |
| French | Jardins en friche |
| Russian | Увядший сад Uvyadshiy sad |
| Thai | สวนดอกไม้แห้งเหี่ยว |
| Vietnamese | Vườn Hoa Khô Héo |
| German | Verwelkter Garten |
| Indonesian | Taman Layu |
| Portuguese | Canteiro Definhado |
Change History[]
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