If you have just started Zenless Zone Zero, build Billy, Anby, and Nicole first. They give a new account a complete Physical Attack, Electric Stun, and Ether Support team without asking you to wait for a specific banner. They are not the final answer to every endgame mode, but they are a reliable answer to the question that matters on day one: who should receive your first materials?
Vague advice is not enough when every Agent, W-Engine, and Drive Disc seems to need the same limited resources. Learn one functioning team, then expand when your account has a real reason to do so.
Build These Three First: Billy, Anby, and Nicole
The Cunning Hares work because each Agent has a clear job. That is more valuable to a new player than a collection of characters who all want field time.
| Agent | Job | Build first | What they teach you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billy Kid | On-field Physical Attack | Character level, Attack W-Engine, Basic Attack, Dodge, Core Skill | Positioning and sustained damage |
| Anby Demara | Electric Stun | Character level, Stun W-Engine, Basic Attack, Special Attack, Core Skill | Daze, Stun windows, Chain Attacks |
| Nicole Demara | Ether Support | Character level, enough to keep her alive, Support W-Engine, Special Attack, Core Skill | Grouping, debuffs, Quick Assists |
Billy should receive the largest share of early resources because he spends the most time dealing damage. Build Anby next: better Daze creates the Stun windows the team needs. Nicole can stay behind Billy's investment on day one; her value is in grouping enemies and setting up damage.
A simple rotation you can use immediately
Use this as a clean combat loop while you learn the game, not as a strict endgame rotation.
- Start with Anby against an unstunned enemy. Use her Basic Attacks and Special Attack to build Daze.
- When the enemy is Stunned, bring in Nicole through a Chain Attack or swap. Use her EX Special Attack when you have the Energy for it, then take the Quick Assist into Billy.
- Use Billy during the Stun window. Stay at a comfortable range, keep attacking, and dodge rather than forcing a risky finish.
- When the opening ends, return to Anby and repeat.
This is the core ZZZ rhythm: build Daze, open a Stun window, apply support value, then let the damage dealer use that opening.
What if you pull an S-Rank Agent early?
Do not bench the Cunning Hares automatically. Ask one practical question: does the new Agent replace Billy's damage role, Anby's Stun role, or Nicole's Support role?
If the new Agent is an on-field damage dealer you enjoy, replace Billy and keep Anby plus Nicole while that team has sensible role coverage. If the new Agent is a Stun or Support character, compare the kit with the job Anby or Nicole already performs. If the new Agent needs a very specific partner you do not own, keep using the starter team for story and materials while you wait for a coherent roster.
Your First Week: Exact Account Priorities
The main story should lead your first week. It unlocks features in context, raises Inter-Knot Level, and gives you enough normal combat to learn whether Billy's playstyle feels right. Do not stop story progress to farm a perfect set of Drive Discs or to level every Agent you receive.
Use this route instead.
| Account stage | Do this | Leave it alone for now |
|---|---|---|
| First session | Finish the opening story, learn dodge prompts and Defensive Assists, use the Cunning Hares together | Rerolling, Drive Disc farming, endgame videos |
| Inter-Knot Lv. 5 to 15 | Keep story progress moving, collect beginner rewards, level Billy, Anby, and Nicole | A second full team, Signature W-Engines |
| Inter-Knot Lv. 20 to 30 | Improve their core upgrades and start learning modes as they unlock | Perfect substats, three-team endgame targets |
| After one stable team | Decide whether your next need is another damage type, a new favourite Agent, or stronger gear | Pulling only because a banner is leaving |
Claim the permanent Inter-Knot rewards
The permanent Road to Proxy Greatness reward track is worth checking once the Event feature is available. It gives concrete early account value, not vague "free pulls" marketing.
| Inter-Knot Level | Reward on the permanent track |
|---|---|
| 5 | 10 Master Tapes and 10 Boopons |
| 15 | 10 Master Tapes and 10 Boopons |
| 20 | 10 Master Tapes and 15 Boopons |
| 25 | 10 Master Tapes and 10 Boopons |
| 30 | 1,600 Polychromes and 20 Boopons |
Open the Event panel whenever you unlock a new account feature. Limited events and version rewards can add useful materials, but their dates and requirements change. The permanent track is the part you can plan around. Treat any current login campaign as extra value, not as the foundation of your pull budget.
Spend Battery Charge in a Concrete Order
Before spending Battery Charge, name the upgrade it is intended to complete. If you cannot name one, improve the team already carrying your account.
Use this order for the starter team:
- Billy's Agent level and Attack W-Engine. These are the fastest direct improvements to the damage you use most often.
- Anby's Agent level and Stun W-Engine. Better Daze generation means more Stun windows for Billy.
- Nicole's character level, enough to keep her alive, and Support W-Engine. She does not need to be your most expensive Agent to make the team work.
- Core Skill and promotion materials for all three. Keep the trio close enough in level that Anby and Nicole do not become liabilities.
- The active skills each Agent uses. Billy's Basic Attack and Dodge, Anby's Daze-building actions, and Nicole's Special Attack are sensible early priorities.
- Drive Discs after the basic build is online. Equip useful pieces as you get them, but do not farm random substats as your main first-week plan.
Named W-Engines are not a first-week shopping list
Billy's signature W-Engine is Starlight Engine Replica, Anby's is Demara Battery Mark II, and Nicole's is The Vault. Knowing those names is useful when you see them, but a new account should not chase them before it has a working team.
Equip a W-Engine that matches an Agent's specialty, level it, and keep the team moving. A properly upgraded compatible W-Engine you already own is more useful early than an untouched premium item waiting for the perfect owner.
If the signatures do not appear, use practical alternatives instead of waiting. Starlight Engine is a craftable Attack option for Billy. Steam Oven is a craftable Stun option for Anby. For Nicole, Slice of Time is a free Support option, while [Reverb] Mark II is a workable lower-rarity fallback. Level the best compatible option already in your inventory, then replace it only when a clear upgrade arrives.
Give your Bangboo one clear job
Bangboo are a supporting part of the squad, not a reason to interrupt Agent upgrades. For Billy, Anby, and Nicole, Amillion is the natural long-term choice: its Additional Ability activates with at least two Cunning Hares in the squad. If you do not have Amillion, use a Bangboo whose Additional Ability is active for the team you are actually running, or keep a useful general option until your roster changes.
Spend Boopons, not Polychromes, on Bangboo Signal Search. Raise one Bangboo after the three Agents and their W-Engines are in a comfortable place. A new account gains more from a properly levelled Billy or Anby than from spreading materials across several Bangboo.
The Drive Disc trap
Drive Discs matter later because their sets, main stats, and substats can transform a finished build. Early on, equip useful main stats as you find them, then return to Agent levels, W-Engines, promotions, and Core Skills. Start serious farming when you know which stat each Agent needs and why.
Polychromes: Pull With a Plan, Not a Panic
Early rewards can look like permanent income. Keep your currency categories separate.
- Polychromes are the flexible premium currency.
- Encrypted Master Tapes are for limited Signal Search channels.
- Master Tapes are for the Stable Channel.
- Boopons are for Bangboo Signal Search.
The beginner rule is simple: keep Polychromes for Encrypted Master Tapes and a limited Agent you want to play. Do not turn Polychromes into Master Tapes simply because the Stable Channel is available. The permanent reward track already supplies Master Tapes, while limited banners are where a planned account decision matters most.
Use this three-question test before pulling
Before you spend, answer all three questions.
- Who will this Agent replace or support on my current account?
- Do I like the playstyle enough to build the Agent after the banner ends?
- Will this spend prevent me from reaching the next Agent I genuinely want?
If you cannot answer the first question, the pull is probably not an account need. If you cannot answer the second, use the trial content first. If the third answer is yes, saving is the stronger choice.
Do not feel forced to pull a signature W-Engine before you have an Agent and team worth building around it. A first limited Agent that improves your roster is usually a clearer account decision than a weapon for a character you may not even own.
Build With Purpose, Then Expand
When Billy, Anby, and Nicole are comfortably clearing the content in front of you, choose one direction:
- Replace Billy with a limited damage dealer whose playstyle you enjoy.
- Add a second team for a different attribute or a mode that asks for more than one group.
- Improve Drive Discs and skill levels for this team before widening the roster.
Your account needs one team that can clear the next commission without draining materials into characters you are not using. Billy, Anby, and Nicole provide that foundation.
Keep improving them until you can name the next problem you want to solve: a different attribute, a favourite limited Agent, or stronger gear for a team you already understand. That is the point to expand. Until then, every deliberate Battery spend and every saved Polychrome gives your account more options, not fewer.