It was a quiet Tuesday morning in New Eridu when Alex decided to finally commit. Not to some dramatic life change, but to something arguably just as important — making Billy Kid the absolute star of his Zenless Zone Zero roster. The cyborg with the crooked grin and pistols he lovingly called “the Ladies” had been lounging at level 20 for months, cracking jokes during dailies while other Agents did the heavy lifting. But something about the way Billy casually spun a cylinder between waves of Ethereals, or how he’d wink at the screen after a perfect dodge, gnawed at Alex. This character deserved more than a bench spot.
Alex pulled up the now-legendary ONE Esports guide, a relic from 2024 that had aged like fine wine. The guide laid out everything with the precision of a Cunning Hares heist plan: the Dennies, the promotion chips, the skill scrolls, and those elusive Mindscape Cinema materials. The list looked daunting. To push Billy from his humble beginnings to the gleaming level 60, Alex would need thousands of Investigator Merits, stacks of Bangboo bolts (don’t ask why a humanoid cyborg needed Bangboo parts), and a small fortune in Turbid Circuit boards. “Well, that’s a lot of grinding,” Alex muttered, already queuing up the first batch of HIA’s Combat Simulation.
Billy’s personality made the grind feel less like work. He wasn’t just a damage dealer; he was the heart of the Cunning Hares. Whenever Alex opened the Agent menu, Billy would lean back and deliver a random quip about the Starlight Knight show, or ask if Alex had eaten yet. That carefree demeanor, paired with his surprising depth in combat — swapping between piercing rounds and sweeping acrobatic barrages — kept Alex hooked. The guide recommended prioritizing Billy’s Chain Attack and Ultimate, so Alex funneled rare Pioneer’s Journals into those skills, watching the numbers climb.
The days blurred into a rhythm of Hollow Zero runs and Signal Searches. Alex even dipped into the Permanent Signal Search, hoping for those precious Mindscape Cinema copies. The first duplicate came on a rainy Friday night, unlocking Billy’s M1: a passive that made his follow-up shots ricochet with extra flair. Sparks flew, quite literally, when his ultimate popped off and an Ethereal boss dissolved mid-taunt. Alex leaned back, a satisfied grin spreading across his face. Billy had done it again. Maybe next time, they’d tackle the new S-rank Hollow that had been dominating the community forums.
The real challenge arrived when Alex targeted Billy’s full Mindscape Cinema. The guide had warned about the sheer volume of Classified Intel and the dreaded Ether-charged Core Drives needed for the later ascensions. M4 required an item called “Cleansed Automaton Heart,” which only dropped from a specific weekly boss — a mutated construction mech that hit like a freight train. Alex burned through battery charges, dragging along his best Stun Agents just to stagger the thing before Billy could land the killing blow. After three weeks, the heart dropped. Billy himself seemed to acknowledge the effort; the next time Alex logged in, the cyborg mimed a tip of an imaginary hat. “See? Knew you had it in ya, partner.”
At last, the day came: Billy Kid, fully ascended, level 60, with a complete Mindscape Cinema gleaming on his profile. Alex took him into the Shiyu Defense’s latest challenge. The twins, Koleda and Ben, struggled against the first wave of armored mechs, but when Billy swapped in, the tempo shifted. He sidestepped a rocket salvo with an exaggerated backflip, peppered the lead mech with snapshots, then triggered his Chain Attack. The camera zoomed in on his face — a rare moment of intensity breaking through the humor — before he unleashed a bullet hell finale that cleared the screen. Even Alex’s cat, usually indifferent to video games, looked up from the couch.
Looking back, the journey was never just about the stats. It was the investment in a character who felt like a companion. Billy’s story — a cyborg fanboy who could go from zero to hero when his family was threatened — mirrored the player’s own growth in New Eridu. Alex still grinned remembering the day Billy one-shot a notorious Hollow raider with a perfectly timed crit, only for the next line of dialogue to be, “Man, I’m hungry. You got any snacks?” That’s the beauty of maining Billy Kid: you get a top-tier gunslinger and a stand-up comedian rolled into one.
For anyone still on the fence, the materials may seem endless, but the payoff is real. Collect the Investigator Merits, hoard those Circuit boards, and never miss a weekly boss. The Billy main community, now thriving in 2026, has calculated the optimal farming routes and shared them in countless video guides. But the best advice remains the same: just let Billy be himself. He’ll carry you through the hardest content with a wink, a smirk, and the thunderous applause of the Ladies. And honestly, that’s more than any tier list can promise.