Zenless Zone Zero (ZZZ) Billy guide: Best builds, W-Engines, Drive Discs, combos, and more

Hoyoverse games are known for charming rosters. If you’ve fallen in love with the Deadpool wannabe in Zenless Zone Zero (ZZZ), let me explain everything in our in-depth Billy guide, including his best builds, combos, W-Engines, Drive Discs, and more.

Billy Playstyle and Main Combos in ZZZ

If you look at any Zenless Zone Zero tier lists, you’ll likely see Billy chilling out at the bottom somewhere. I’m just as sad about this as you are, but it doesn’t mean Billy is useless. He can still take names, and his playstyle is easy to understand and intuitive.

You can mash buttons and have a great time with Billy, but there’s a method to the madness and a loose gameplay loop to follow to maximize damage. Use your Crouching Shot when your other abilities are off cooldown, and switch to Dash Attacks when you have to deal with multiple opponents. Your ultimate is a crowd-pleaser, but save it until you’ve used a Chain Attack to deal maximum damage.

Hold the Basic Attack button

When you hold down Basic Attack (Full Firepower), Billy will perform a Crouching Shot. This ability is at the core of Billy’s kit, as his damage ramps up while performing it.

The increased damage comes from Billy’s Core Passive, Steady Shot. Keep in mind that if Billy is interrupted either by your inputs or an enemy attack, the bonus damage is lost.

Know when to use Billy’s Ultimate Attack

Billy’s Starlight, Shine Bright Ultimate is a decent damage-dealing ability, and Billy is invincible throughout the attack. It’s best to save Starlight, Shine Bright until after you’ve used a Chain Attack, as it triggers one of Billy’s Passive Skills.

Billy’s Team Starlight Ability increases the damage of his ultimate attack by a whopping 50% if it’s used after a Chain Attack. Keep in mind that this Passive Skill is team-dependent. You need at least one other team member of the matching faction (Cunning Hares) or Attribute (Physical).

Fortunately, both of our recommended teams fit this criteria.

Dash Attack to deal with multiple opponents

You can quickly input Dodge followed by Basic Attack to initiate Starlight Sanction. Billy shoots at all nearby targets during this ability, making it perfect for dealing with groups.

It’s a little awkward, but you can quickly chain multiple Starlight Sanctions together and deal a respectable amount of AoE damage.

Billy’s Dodge is called Risky Business, which briefly makes him invulnerable. You can use this to escape heavy attacks without taking damage.

Best Billy Build in Zenless Zone Zero

If you’re rocking a free-to-play account or a low-spender, you’ll be pleased to learn that most of Billy’s build is pretty inexpensive or completely free.

As Billy is a Physical damage dealer, a few items stand head and shoulders above the rest. I’ll explain what each part of the build does but don’t worry if you’ve not seen Drive Disks yet, as you’ll unlock them during the Story.

Best W-Engines for Billy in ZZZ

Starline Engine Replica

The best W-Engine for Billy, hands down, is the Starlight Engine Replica (pictured above). This W-Engine is perfect for Billy as it increases Physical Damage after hitting an enemy with a Basic or Dash attack from at least 6 meters away. The Starlight Engine Replica is available from the Eridu Welcome Gift if you want it immediately.

As Billy is a ranged character, you’ll trigger that damage bonus frequently. You don’t even have to do anything special, as you’ll earn the boost through your regular gameplay loop.

Honestly, the Starlight Engine Replica feels like it’s made for Billy, but a couple of other W-Engines come close. You can acquire both of these from the Signal Search.

Steel Cushion

The Steel Cushion increases Physical Damage and provides an even greater boost if you hit your opponents in the back. Naturally, the Physical Damage increase is excellent for Billy.

My issue with Steel Cushion is that we’d love the extra damage from back attacks. In my experience, it’s hard to consistently hit opponents from behind. As we constantly reposition, we lose the damage bonus from holding our Basic Attacks.

Street Superstar

In the playstyle section of this guide, I mentioned how easy it was to increase Billy’s Ultimate attack damage. If you want to lean into Starlight, Shine Bright even further, you may want to consider the Street Superstar W-Engine.

After a Chain Attack is activated, anyone equipped with Street Superstar gains a Charge Stack. The Charge Stack increases Ultimate Skill damage by 15%, and you can hold up to three for a respectable 45% boost.

The Street Superstar is a superb W-Engine on paper, but Ultimate Abilities aren’t usually live enough for me to recommend it over the Starlight Engine Replica.

Best Drive Discs for Billy in ZZZ

You can start collecting Drive Discs once you’ve progressed further into the Story and unlocked Routine Cleanup missions at the Scott Outpost. Drive Discs offer stat increases with extra bonuses for equipping two or four items from the set.

As we can equip six Drive Discs at a time, it makes sense to equip four from one set and two from the other. There are a couple of Drive Discs with set bonuses that really shine for Billy:

Woodpecker Electro Drive Disc

• 2PC Bonus: Increases Crit rate by 8%
• 4PC Bonus: Landing a Crit with a Basic Attack, Dodge Counter, or EX Special Attack increases ATK damage by 9% for 6 seconds.

The Woodpecker Electro Drive increases our Crit rate and then rewards us for landing those Crit hits. We try to improve Billy’s Crit Rate with our Stat Priorities, which I’ll explain in more detail in the following section.

I’m a big fan of this Drive Disc set because it requires zero effort to get value from it. Billy constantly lands hits with his Basic Attack, so we can usually enjoy a damage boost.

Puffer Electro Drive Disc

• 2PC Bonus: Increases PEN Ratio by 8%
• 4PC Bonus: Ultimate attack damage increased by 20%. Launching an Ultimate attack increases Attack damage by 15% for 12 seconds.

The Puffer Electro Drive Disc set is another solid choice for Billy. We don’t have exact numbers, but the PEN Ratio boost should let us ignore some enemy defenses, like armor. We’ve already gone over Billy’s Ultimate, and the Puffer Electro 4PC set is an easy way to squeeze even more value from it.

Billy Stat Priority

As Billy is a damage dealer, we want to give him stats to crank those numbers up. The best way to do this is with our W-Engines, as the 4th, 5th, and 6th Engines can all roll with impactful stats. Stats on your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Engines are still vital, but they are flat bonuses instead of percentages.

With this in mind, here are the stats you’re looking for on those last three engines:

• Crit Rate and Damage
• ATK%
• Physical ATK%

You should also be looking for these as your W-Engine substats wherever possible. It’s tempting to bolster Billy’s HP and defensive stats, but he’s agile enough to stay out of trouble. Use Billy’s range to your advantage in combat, and remember, he’s invincible while dodging.

Best Team Compositions for Billy in Zenless Zone Zero

Billy is part of the Cunning Hares Faction, which means he has a couple of obvious pairings. Best of all, Billy works best with units you unlock at the start of the game. We’ll talk about Bangboo next, but I’ve included the one I use below. I’ll recommend a couple of Team Comps here, starting with one you can enjoy regardless of where you are in the story:

Cunning Hares Team

• Billy
• Anby
• Nicole
• Amillion (Bangboo)

I’m not just recommending this squad because it’s free. Billy, Anby, and Nicole have tremendous synergies and make up a complete team. You can use Billy as your primary damage dealer, and he’s your go-to for dispatching multiple opponents.

Anby can inflict Shock debuffs on opponents, which comes up a lot against mechanical targets. Finally, Nicole is a superb debuffer, and your answer to foes with a weakness to Ether. Don’t sleep on Nicole’s kit, as she can pull enemies together with her Special.

Soukaku Support Team

• Billy
• Anby
• Soukaku
• Amillion (Bangboo)

Billy remains our primary damage dealer in this comp, and Anby provides valuable shock debuffs. We’ve swapped Nicole for Soukaku, who provides buffs for the team. Soukaku also deals Ice damage, which can come in clutch in specific battles.

The buffs include 20% bonus Ice damage for the team and flat damage boosts. I find Nicole’s kit satisfying to use, but Soukaku’s buffs are arguably better overall.

Best Bangboo for Billy in ZZZ

There’s a Bangboo to suit every occasion, and a couple work well with Billy and the team comps above. You’ll have to try your luck with the Signal Search for Amillion, but you can use Bagboo if you can’t get Amillion right away.

Amillion

Bangboo Abilities

• Portable Machine Gun – Debt-Clearer: Builds a machine gun and shoots enemies, dealing massive Physical Damage.
• Street Code: When there are two more Cunning Hares in your squad, Bangboo Chain Attack damage increases with fewer enemies in combat, up to 45%.
• Portable Machine Gun – Gatling Debt-Clearer: Bangboo Chain Attack deals massive Physical Damage.

As our team comps feature at least two units from the Cunning Hares faction, Amillion is the obvious choice for our Bangboo. The Street Code ability synergizes perfectly with our squad, and the Physical Damage output is a welcome bonus.

Bagboo

Bangboo Abilities

• Closer, Closer: Slashes with blades that deal Physical Damage.
• Swiftly Honed: Bangboo Chain attack damage is increased if you have at least one ATK character in your squad.
• That’s Close Enough!: Bangboo Chain Attack that constantly slashed the opponent, dealing massive Physical Damage.

Don’t worry if you don’t have Amillion, as Bagboo is a decent replacement until you do. Bagboo doesn’t have a Faction synergy, but still outputs Physical Damage. Honestly, Bagboo’s abilities are nothing to write home about, but they offer more damage nonetheless.

How to Farm Billy Materials in ZZZ

Finally, let’s cover how to strengthen Billy, as these upgrades significantly impact our damage potential. I’ll show you what items you need to farm, but there’s an easy way to figure it out in-game.

If you don’t have the materials you need for an upgrade, press the View Materials button (pictured above). This button will give a list of ways to obtain the required materials. You can even teleport to those activities directly from the menu.

• Certification Seals: Attack Drills in the Promotion Section of Combat Simulation.
• Physical Skill Chips: Rigidity Test in the Skill Section of Combat Simulation.
• Higher Dimensional Data: Notorious Hunt vs Armored Hati in the Expert Challenge section of Combat Simulation.
• Ferocious Grips: Notorious Hunts.

You’ll notice that all of these items are progression-gated, and you’ll usually hit a wall between story chapters. On top of that, all of these materials require Battery Charge to obtain. With this in mind, expect leveling up your characters to take a few sessions.

If you’re enjoying Zenless Zone Zero as much as I am, you’re likely wondering what the best value items are in the shop. The Inter-Knot Membership has my vote, but you should know about its limitations before purchasing it.