It has been a year since Zero chose take a different path from Ciel...
He still fights against Neo Arcadia.
But these battles have lost meaning for him.
Zero knows that to find his purpose, he should find Ciel and the Resistance soldiers...
A year after defeating the ruthless Neo Arcadian known as Copy X, who was merely a clone of the real X, Zero wanders the desert, destroying vast numbers of Pantheons while searching for his purpose in life. After collapsing in the desert after a fierce, energy-draining battle with Mecha Scorpia, Zero is "rescued" by Harpuia, of all people, and dropped off outside the new Resistance base. He decides to continue to fight alongside Resistance soldiers by participating in Operation Righteous Strike, which is- in short- an assault on various Neo Arcadia bases, while Ciel searches for a way to end the energy crisis that triggered this conflict to begin with.
The Resistance commander at the new base, a Reploid named Elpizo, goes mad after a failed attack on Neo Arcadia and seeks the power of the Dark Elf that was sealed away in X's body at the end of the Elf Wars. In addition to fighting Neo Arcadia, Zero now has to worry about putting a stop to Elpizo before he unleashes the power of the Dark Elf on the world.
Ranking System
(needs to be ported to the wiki!)
After clearing each stage each stage in Mega Man Zero 2, you'll earn one of seven rankings based on your performance throughout that particular level. The factors that determine your ranking are titled Mission, Clear Time, Enemy, Damage, Retry, and Elf. Each category is worth fifteen to twenty points, and your overall ranking is totalled by adding the number of points you received in each category.
Rank
Points Needed
S
96 - 100
A
86 - 95
B
76 - 85
C
66 - 75
D
56 - 65
E
46 - 55
F
0 - 45
Mission: 20
To obtain the full twenty points in this category, you'll have to complete all of the assigned mission objectives; making it through the level safely isn't enough. This may include finding all of your comrades in a rescue mission or destroying all of the cooling units inside a factory.
Clear Time: 20
This category is simple enough to understand, even if it isn't always as easy to complete. To get the full twenty points here, you'll have to clear the stage in under a set amount of time. Time varies from stage to stage depending on the size of the level, but it's safe to say the faster your clear time, the higher your score.
Enemy: 15
The enemy category is another that varies from stage to stage. In short, killing more enemies will result in a better score, but you have to kill a set number of enemies to obtain the full score (this number varies from stage to stage). Taking too much time to defeat enemies can cause your clear time to increase, though, so kill swift and fast to get the points here.
Damage: 15
The damage category is determined by how much life you lost throughout the entire level. If you make it through the entire level unscathed, you'll obviously receive a full score, but that's a bit too much to ask. Defeating your enemies before they can lay a finger on you is usually a good strategy here,
Retry: 15
The retry category is based on the number of times you die. If you make it through the level without dying, the fifteen points will be yours, but you'll have to subtract three points for each death. That means dying five or more times in a stage will get you zero points in this category.
Elf: 15
The use of cyber-elves determines your score for this category. If you don't use any elves, you'll get the full score. Conversely, using elves to make things easier drops your score, even though you had to earn the elves in the first place.