Zenless Zone Zero Billy Kid Overview
Welcome to our Zenless Zone Zero character guide, where we cover everything you need to know about Billy.
Billy Kid is an A Rank Agent from the Cunning Hares Faction with the Physical Attribute and Attack Fighting Style. He is also one of the free characters you obtain early on in the game. You can obtain more copies of Billy on any Banner through the Gacha System.
The Attack style focuses on dealing damage, and as such, Billy’s Kit revolves mainly around dealing damage rather than providing buffs or utility. Billy is also one of the few ranged characters in the game, providing a different playstyle compared to most others in the ZZZ agents tier list.
Billy |
Cunning Hares |
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A Rank |
Physical |
Attack |
Billy Skills/Abilities
Basic Attack
Basic Attack: Full Firepower
Press to Basic Attack to activate. Unleashes a piercing attack, dealing Physical DMG. Repeatedly press or hold to enter Crouching Shot to extend the attack duration.
Move the joystick during Crouching Shot to launch Rolling Shot and adjust the character’s position, dealing Physical DMG. Stop pressing or holding during Crouching Shot to launch Finishing Shot at enemies in front, dealing Physical DMG.
Dodge
Dodge: Risky Business
Press to Dodge activate. A rapid dodge. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.
Dash Attack: Starlight Sanction
When moving the joystick during a dodge, press Basic Attack: Launches a piercing attack at nearby enemies within a large area, dealing Physical DMG.
When not moving the joystick during a dodge, press Basic Attack: Launches a piercing attack at enemies in a line, dealing Physical DMG.
Dodge Counter: Fair Fight
Press Basic Attack during a Perfect Dodge to activate. Pierces enemies in front, dealing Physical DMG. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.
Special Attack
Special Attack: Stand Still
When Billy has enough Energy, press EX Special Attack to activate. Launches a powerful piercing attack in a straight line, dealing massive Physical DMG. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.
EX Special Attack: Clearance Time
When a Chain Attack is triggered, select the character to activate. Unleashes a powerful piercing attack at surrounding enemies in a large area, dealing massive Physical DMG. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.
Chain Attack
Chain Attack: Starlight Mirage
When a Chain Attack is triggered, select the character to activate. Unleashes a powerful piercing attack at surrounding enemies in a large area, dealing massive Physical DMG. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.
Ultimate: Starlight Sparkle
When Decibel Rating is at Maximum, press to Chain Attack activate. Unleashes a powerful piercing attack at surrounding enemies in a large area, dealing massive Physical DMG. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.
Core Skill
Core Passive: Steady Shot
Billy’s DMG increases by 25% when he enters Crouching Shot during his Basic Attack. The effect ends if he moves, returns to standby, or is knocked back or launched by an attack.
Additional Ability: Team Starlight
When another character in your squad shares the same Attribute or Faction:
After Billy uses a Chain Attack, the DMG of his next Ultimate is increased by 50%, stacking up to 2 times. This effect resets whenever an Ultimate is activated.
Reactive Assist: Power of Teamwork
When the on-field character is launched, press Perfect Assist to activate. Launches a piercing attack at enemies in front, dealing Physical DMG. Character is invulnerable during the attack.
Defensive Assist: Flash Spin
When the character on field is about to be attacked, press Perfect Assist to activate. Dodges the enemy’s attack and activates Vital View. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.
Assist Follow-Up: Fatal Shot
Press Chain Attack after an Evasive Assist to activate. Pierces enemies in a large area in front, dealing Physical DMG. Character is invulnerable while using this skill.
Billy Talents
A | Dazzling Entrance: When Billy hits an enemy with a Dash Attack or Dodge Counter, he gains an additional 2.7 Energy. Can trigger once every 5s. |
B | Roaming Gunslinger: Billy’s Dodge Counter DMG increases by 25%. Rolling Shots during his Basic Attacks are treated as dodges, making Billy Invulnerable during the skill and able to trigger Perfect Dodges. When a Rolling Shot triggers a Perfect Dodge, it will automatically become a Dodge Counter. |
C | Teachings of the Starlight Knights: Basic Attack, Dodge, Special Attack, and Chain Attack Lv. +2 |
D | Starlight Ballistics: When Billy hits an enemy with his EX Special Attack, the skill’s CRIT Rate is increased based on the distance from the enemy. The closer he is to the target, the greater the effect, up to a maximum increase of 32%. |
E | Lost Technological Construct: Basic Attack, Dodge, Special Attack, and Chain Attack Lv. +2 |
F | Starlight Hero: When Billy accumulates 10 hits on enemies or triggers a Perfect Dodge, his DMG increases by 6%, stacking up to 5 times and lasting until he’s knocked back or launched by an attack. |
Zenless Zone Zero Billy Build Guide Overview
W-Engine | Drive Disc | ||
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Main Stat | Substats | ||
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As previously mentioned, Billy is an Attack Agent, meaning you want to focus on building up his damage. This is generally done with stats like ATK and Crit, but Anomaly Mastery/Proficiency may also have viability as well.
If you plan to build a team with multiple Physical Agents, having one Agent with an Anomaly Build will be beneficial. However, there is a small lack of synergy due to Attack W-Engines not having Anomaly stats/passives.
Billy W-Engines
Steel Cushion |
ATK: 46/684 | Crit Rate: 9.6%/24% Increases Physical DMG by 20/25/30/35/40%. The equipper’s DMG increases by 25/31.5/38/44/50% when attacking the enemy from behind. |
Starlight Engine Replica |
ATK: 42/624 | Crit Rate: 8%/20% Increases the equipper’s Physical DMG by 36/41/46.5/52/57.5% for 8s upon hitting an enemy no less than 6 meters away with a Basic Attack or Dash Attack. |
Cannon Rotor |
ATK: 40/594 | Crit Rate: 8%/20% Increases CRIT Rate by 8/9.2/10.4/11.6/12.8%. Attacks that land a CRIT on an enemy will inflict an additional 275% of ATK as DMG. This effect can only be triggered once every 8/7.5/7/6.5/6s. |
When it comes to W-Engines in ZZZ, every Agent has a signature weapon. You can definitely tell as one W-Engine will match the aesthetic and kit of every character.
For Billy, his signature W-Engine is Starlight Engine Replica. This gives him good ATK and Crit stats, and bonus Physical DMG through the passive. The requirement is that you need to hit an enemy from far away at least every 8 seconds to keep the buff uptime.
However, Steel Cushion is our first recommendation. This is an S Rank W-Engine and is Nekomata’s signature weapon. Since Nekomata is also a Physical Attack Agent, the overlap is easy to use.
This W-Engine simply gives stronger base ATK and Crit stats, and the Physical DMG increase is a passive that’s always up. To make full use of this W-Engine, you want to attack enemies from behind, but this is easier to do with Nekomata compared to Billy. Even still, we recommend it for the higher base stats.
Lastly, you can use just about any S Rank or A Rank W-Engine with good stats if you don’t have the other two signatures. Cannon Rotor is a great example of an all around Attack W-Engine, being useful on just about any Attack Agent.
Billy Drive Discs
Woodpecker Electro |
(2): Increases CRIT Rate by 8%. (4): Triggering a critical hit with a Basic Attack, Dodge Counter or EX Special Attack increases the equippers ATK by 9% for 6s. The buff duration for different skills are calculated separately. |
Fanged Metal |
(2): Increases Physical DMG by 10%. (4): Whenever a squad member inflicts Assault on an enemy, the equipper deals 35% increased damage to the target for 12s. |
Freedom Blues |
(2): Increases Anomaly Proficiency by 30. (4): When an EX Special Attack hits an enemy, reduce the targets Anomaly Buildup RES to equippers attribute by 35% for 8s. This effect does not stack with others of the same attribute. |
When it comes to Drive Discs for Attack characters, it’s generally quite simple. You have an Attribute based set (Fanged Metal) and a general Crit stat set (Woodpecker Electro).
If you don’t have these two sets in a perfect (4) and (2) setup, you can use a variety of other (2) piece bonuses that grant ATK% until you farm up more Drive Discs.
Lastly, let’s talk about Freedom Blues. This set provides a strong buff for any team that looks to inflict Attribute Anomaly. For an Assault team, you want to have at least one Agent running the Freedom Blues set. This is a specific setup that requires a specific team, where as the other sets simply increase Billy’s personal damage.
Billy Drive Disc Stats
Main Stats
- (4) Crit Rate%/Crit DMG%/Anomaly Proficiency
- (5) PEN Ratio%/Physical DMG%
- (6) ATK%/Energy Regen%/Anomaly Mastery
When it comes to Main Stats, the every piece is important to further increase the damage of Attack Agents.
Crit Rate and DMG are ideal for Partition IV, since the other two Partitions can’t have Crit Main Stats. Physical DMG and PEN Ratio are two more strong offensive Main Stats for Partition V. Lastly, you have the option of ATK% or Energy Regen% for Partition VI. Both are good, but more testing will be done to see which is better.
Note on Anomaly: If you play Billy in a Physical team, you can potentially try using Anomaly Mastery and Anomaly Proficiency as your Main Stats on Partition IV and VI respectively.
This turns Billy into more of a supportive character, focusing less on Crit and more on inflicting Assault. You can then use another Physical Agent like Nekomata as your main damage source with Crit investment.
Piper is a Physical Anomaly Agent that is superior to Billy for this role. However, if you don’t have Piper, you can potentially use the Anomaly Build on Billy as a replacement.
Substats
- Crit Rate%/Crit DMG%
- PEN
- ATK%
- Anomaly*
When it comes to Substats, things are mostly the same. Crit, PEN, and ATK are all great Substats to increase the personal damage of Billy.
If you want to use Billy as an Anomaly support, then getting stats like Anomaly Mastery will take priority over Crit. Building into Anomaly essentially takes over Crit, while PEN and ATK% are still good Substats for either build.
Billy Skill Priority
Once the game releases, we’ll update this section. In general, leveling up an Agent’s Core Passive is the most effective, as this levels up their Core Passive, Additional Ability, and Assist Moves.
Billy Teams
As with all characters, Billy pairs best with other Agents that are either the same Attribute or Faction. This activates his Additional Ability, which provides strong passive buffs.
As an Attack Agent, his flexibility is somewhat limited, but ZZZ currently doesn’t have Physical Agents outside of the Attack Fighting Style. This means you can still build Billy into different team roles, but future releases can powercreep these builds.
Cunning Hares Hyper Carry Free Team
Billy, Anby, Nicole
This first team is the free Cunning Hares team you get upon starting the game. It’s a nice start because it has the complete team breakdown you would need. Billy is an Attack Agent, Anby is Stun, and Nicole is Support.
This gives you a balanced team to start out with, and gives you an idea of how to team build. For the purposes of our guides, we will call this type of team “Hyper Carry.” This is because you focus on the damage of the Attack character (Billy), with the Stun and Support character buffing them up with their kits.
Mono Physical Assault Team
Nekomata, Billy, Piper
This team uses all Physical Agents and focuses on dealing damage with the Assault Attribute Anomaly. This team hinges on Piper having the Anomaly Fighting Style. This lets her run Freedom Blues (4), providing Anomaly Buildup RES shred on enemies.
The main drawback of this team is that Nekomata and Billy are both Attack Agents. While you can potentially build Billy as an Anomaly Agent, it doesn’t synergize with his kit.
Once ZZZ releases more characters, this type of team can become stronger with Physical Stun/Support/Anomaly Agents.
Assault Flex Team
Billy, Piper, Nicole
Lastly, we have a mixture of the two teams above. Instead of going all in on Physical Agents, we use the third slot as a flex spot for either a Support or Stun Agent.
With this team, we look to focus on the personal damage of Billy (Crit), the Attribute Anomaly of Piper, and a general support build for Nicole. For the last slot, you can also use a Stun Agent like Anby as well instead of Nicole (although not recommended).
In this type of team, Nekomata is likely a superior Agent compared to Billy. The difference might not be big if you build Billy/Nekomata with Anomaly stats, but with Crit/ATK stats, Nekomata will likely outshine Billy.
Closing Words
This wraps up our guide for Billy in Zenless Zone Zero. Billy is one of the free characters you get upon starting the game, but he likely will be powercrept easily.
Nekomata is the same Physical Attack Agent with higher damage, but Billy provides a different ranged playstyle. If you don’t obtain Nekomata, Billy will be a solid Attack Agent for Physical teams, but you’ll need more support with future characters to upgrade a Physical based team.
If you do obtain Nekomata from the gacha, you’ll need to decide how much you value Billy’s ranged playstyle. While you can certainly use them together, future releases will likely powercreep Billy from his role as an Assault Agent.