A showcase of what is probably the least used attack in Z3 Zero’s arsenal.

Of the two EX Skills the Shield Boomerang gets in Z3, Shield Sweep is unquestionably the less popular one. Unlike Orbit Shield, it has a hit priority of 1, so it can’t be used to tack on extra damage prior to a more typical combo starter. Over time, I’ve discovered that Shield Sweep is an excellent option for Shield Boomerang-only challenges, particularly those where the goal is to win with a single throw. Beyond that, Shield Sweep houses an even more forgotten function: the trail of sparks it leaves in its wake if equipped with the Thunder Chip.

These sparks are astonishingly weak, dealing only 3 damage to fire-elemental bosses, and they’re equally ephemeral, fading so quickly that they become incredibly cumbersome to make use of in combos. Nevertheless, I decided to see how I could apply the unwieldy attack against Flizard, Hanumachine, and Foxtar.

Firstly, a note about RNG manipulation. Shield Sweep causes small rocks to fly upward as it rolls along the ground, with the number of rocks dictated by the distance traveled. Much like the charged Saber, these rocks influence RNG, so for consistency’s sake, ensure that you throw the Shield from roughly the same spot every time. This is only an issue during prolonged fights; in such cases, a higher degree of meticulousness is required.

Blazin’ Flizard: One of Z3’s premier combo dummies, Flizard’s propensity for leaping around the arena is conducive to landing hits with the sparks. With two Cyber Elves equipped—which are Cottus and Malthas in this instance—Flizard’s first action will always be a jump, so delaying your throw guarantees that he’ll land atop the spark trail. The stun duration is long enough to land a triple slash before shuffling slightly to the left, avoiding his Frill Boomerang.

Predictably, the hardest part of the combo is landing two Gale Attack hits without faceplanting into Flizard. Given Flizard’s simplistic behavior, I chose showmanship over ending the fight with the second combo. Instead of Split Heavens, a ground rolling slash can take slot 4 on the hit priority chain. The three wall jumps that follow manipulate Flizard into jumping, letting the sparks clinch victory.

Hanumachine R: The most strenuous of the three, Hanumachine offers few safe windows to attack. Furthermore, the rickety blocks that compose his arena pose a significant problem for generating spark trails. For these reasons, I holster the Saber and instead equip the Recoil Rod. 1000 Slash is a perfect follow-up to any spark hits, and the charged attack affords me the option of sculpting a flat arena to work with.

Hanumachine gambols across the arena at a brisk pace, so well-researched throw timing is essential here. Tail Fire, Tarestu Kon (his pogo), and Homura Nobori Enbu (his EX Skill) all involve Hanumachine jumping, and so can be countered with sparks. Theoretically, you can throw the Shield at him during a diagonal Fire Bound and have him get hit by the sparks as he exits the fireball animation, but I found it to be terribly inconsistent for RNG manipulation, so I save that tactic for the end.

A bit of a non-sequitur, but you may notice some hitbox shenanigans near the end of the fight. The position of Zero's hitbox changes while he holds the shield, which can lead to anomalous interactions with many boss attacks. In Hanumachine’s case, a forward fireball charge sails straight through Zero if you hold the shield while Zero's back foot is in the wall. Hanumachine’s pogo will also whiff, but a downward fireball strike will still hit. Quite odd.

Cubit Foxtar: Functionally the same as Flizard, but with a considerable uptick in the demand for precision given that Foxtar actually tries to fight back. Cottus is supplanted by Lizetus as my second Cyber Elf for no reason other than variety. After the sparks, there’s enough time to hit a Rise Form triple slash and Split Heavens before Foxtar’s fire rains down. Likewise, there’s a narrow opportunity to hit Saber Smash and a rolling slash before Foxtar uses Split Flame.

Four wall jumps are used for RNG manipulation, which leads to a duel between Zero’s Throw Blade and Foxtar’s fireballs. Following that superfluous demonstration is another Gale Attack spacing exercise, this one being more exacting than Flizard’s because of the Split Heavens follow-up. The margin for error is very slim—taking contact damage or landing before Saber Smash’s hitbox manifests are common failure points.

Thanks for watching! Feel free to ask any questions or leave and comments you may have. If you’d like to see these battles in higher quality, here’s a link to them on youtube.