Shielded4

Shielded4 is the boss variant of the Chapter 4 Shield buff, granting 9 points of non-stacking Shield that regenerates to full at the start of each round. The boss's health is reduced by 20%. The 9-point Shield must be fully depleted before any damage reaches the boss's health, and it resets completely every round. While lower than the enemy variant's 16-point Shield, 9 points still represents a meaningful barrier that must be broken each round.

Against a boss, the 9-point Shield that refreshes every round creates a sustained damage tax across a long fight. Your team must consistently deal at least 9 damage per round just to start affecting the boss's health pool. Combined with other boss mechanics and abilities, this barrier ensures that low-damage teams will struggle to make any progress. The Chapter 4 context means your team should be well-developed, but the Shield still demands focused burst damage coordination.

Coordinate your team's attacks each round to break the 9 Shield early, then pile on damage to the boss's actual health. Marked status bypasses Shield entirely and is the single most efficient counter. Shield-piercing abilities or effects that strip Shield without dealing damage help your team's damage efficiency. The 20% health reduction partially compensates for the barrier, so once you consistently break through, the boss falls faster than expected. Front-load your highest-damage attacks at the start of each round to crack the Shield for your other cats.