Star Wars Zero Company drops you into a Clone Wars-era turn-based tactics game with a 30-40 hour campaign, a roster that grows to 20 operators, and a home base that needs constant attention between missions. The combat borrows from the XCOM school of thought but adds its own wrinkles, including an Advantage resource, destructible cover, and a permadeath system that can permanently erase characters you've invested hours into. This guide breaks down every major system so you're not learning the hard way on your first Tactical Mission.
How does combat work in Zero Company?
Every Tactical Mission plays out from an isometric perspective in a strict turn order: your entire squad acts, then the enemy acts. Each operator gets 3 Action Points (AP) per turn, and almost everything costs AP.
Star Wars Zero Company Ultimate Beginner's Guide
Here's what you can spend AP on:
- Move to a new position. Distance determines cost, so short repositions are cheap and long sprints eat through AP fast.
- Attack a target in range and line of sight. Cost varies by weapon type, and some weapons consume all remaining AP in one shot. The Shot Breakdown panel shows your exact Chance-to-Hit before you commit.
- Overwatch lets an operator fire during the enemy turn. You place an adjustable cone, and any enemy that moves through it or acts inside it triggers a shot. Investing more AP widens the number of potential targets but shortens the cone's accuracy. Overwatch ends that operator's turn immediately, so it works best as a final action.
- Use a Utility item like a Medkit or Concussion Grenade. Most cost 1 AP.
- Activate an Ability specific to that operator's specialization.
Some actions cost zero AP. Call for Backup is the notable one: once per turn, a random operator can tag a teammate to assist with their next attack, adding extra firepower to bring down a target faster.
The Advantage resource
Every hit your squad lands builds Advantage, capped at 10 points. Advantage abilities don't cost AP, which makes them genuinely powerful. Examples include granting a bonus AP to an ally mid-turn, calling in a rocket strike, temporarily boosting Chance-to-Hit across the whole squad, or forcing nearby enemies to focus on a single operator. Save Advantage for moments when your AP is already spent or when a single well-timed ability can flip the outcome of a turn.
Cover, flanking, and destructible terrain
Partial cover reduces incoming hit chance. Full cover reduces it further. The problem is that cover can be destroyed by sustained fire, so sitting in the same spot for multiple turns is risky. Flanking an enemy or attacking from higher ground increases your Chance-to-Hit significantly. When your odds look bad from the front, move before shooting rather than gambling on a low percentage.
Star Wars Zero Company Ultimate Beginner's Guide
Injuries and permadeath
When an operator's health hits zero, they go Downed. Downed operators can't act but can be Rallied by an ally to return to the fight. The catch: every time an operator goes down, they gain an Injury. Injuries reduce combat stats, and three Injuries on standard difficulty means permanent death. That operator goes to the Memorial and doesn't come back.
Hawks is the one operator you cannot afford to lose at all. If Hawks dies, the mission restarts. Everyone else is expendable in the mechanics, though losing a well-developed operator mid-campaign hurts. Permadeath can be disabled if you'd rather focus on the story.
Who are the starting operators?
You begin with 7 operators and can expand the roster to a maximum of 20 through the Recruitment Facility. Your squad in any given mission is capped at 4, though specific missions let you control additional characters.
Star Wars Zero Company Ultimate Beginner's Guide
Hawks is your customizable protagonist, a former Grand Army of the Republic captain. Hawks' species, appearance, and specialization are fully adjustable. The passive talent boosts assist damage, defense, and Chance-to-Hit for the whole squad whenever Hawks is present.
Trick (CT-3301) is a Clone Trooper who was discharged after an injury. His talent lets him self-revive once after being Downed on the following turn, recovering health and gaining injury resistance. Good insurance against losing a key operator slot.
Tel-Rea Vokoss is a Tognath Jedi Padawan and the only Force user in the starting roster. She accumulates stacks of Harmony each turn, which raises her Lightsaber Deflection and attack damage. She gets stronger the longer she stays in a fight.
Cly Kullervo is the last surviving member of Clan Verminoth and the only operator who can wear Mandalorian armor. Her jetpack ability lets her jump to a target location, displace enemies, and inflict Burn. Upgrading increases range and Burning stacks.
Luco Bronc is an Umbaran sniper who fought against the Republic during the Clone Wars. His Sharpened Senses talent stacks up over time, steadily increasing his Chance-to-Hit. Upgrading adds more stacks. Worth noting: Luco's history means his Bond development with Trick will be slower than Trick pairing with another Clone Trooper.
Jae Mordant is a former noble house ruler removed from power by the Infinite Coil. Her talent triggers automatic assist attacks to finish off low-health targets. Upgrading raises the damage threshold and adds more Final Shots per turn.
Kabb Uppercut is an original species created specifically for Zero Company. His melee knockback attack refunds the AP cost if it kills the target, making him efficient at cleaning up wounded enemies.
Recruiting custom operators
The Recruitment Facility lets you hire custom operators using Credits. Each Cycle refreshes the available pool. Custom operators arrive with a preset name, talent, specialization, weapon type, and backstory, all of which you can adjust in the Den. There are no faction restrictions on squad composition: a full Clone Trooper squad or an all-Astromech build are both valid.
What are the eight operator specializations?
Most operators belong to one of eight standard classes. Each class has three abilities: an Ultimate, a Standard, and a Passive. You can change any operator's specialization from the Focus Tree menu under "change specialization," including Hawks and the starting crew.
Star Wars Zero Company Ultimate Beginner's Guide
A few class synergies worth knowing: Scoundrels ignore up to 4 points of enemy defense on any attack and get AP refunded when they finish a target with melee. Use them for assist strikes and cleanup. Sharpshooters can dump all AP into a single strike for amplified damage and self-buff for critical hit chances, making them ideal for eliminating priority targets once per round. Scouts marking enemies removes the Chance-to-Hit penalty for long-range attacks, which pairs cleanly with a Sharpshooter or a second Scout.
Astromech droids are a separate category. They don't attack but provide extra AP to allies, hold multiple utility items, self-heal, and strip enemy defenses. If you unlock the Droid Bay through the Upgrade Facility, Astromechs become a genuine force multiplier.
How does the Den work?
The Den is Zero Company's base of operations, housed in a hangar on the Ring of Kafrene. The camera shifts from isometric to third-person when you're here. Always have at least one upgrade under construction. Higher-level unlocks gate behind overall Den level, which rises naturally as you complete operations and main missions.
Star Wars Zero Company Ultimate Beginner's Guide
Key facilities
Holotable: Command hub for launching Tactical Missions and Operations. Shows everything available in the current Cycle. Operations and Tactical Missions have deadlines. Miss them and they're gone permanently, along with any rewards or story beats attached.
Armory: Equip weapons and slot Weapon Modifications to alter stats and apply effects. Four weapon types exist: Longarm, Repeater, Rifle, and Pistol. Modification Slots per weapon can be increased during the campaign. The Black Market inside the Armory sells Weapon Mods and Utilities for Credits between missions.
Upgrade Facility: Fund infrastructure improvements. The Droid Bay (unlocks Astromech recruitment), expanded roster slots, and roster-wide weapon upgrades all live here. Each upgrade takes at least one Cycle and requires a Build Slot. More Build Slots unlock over time.
Medbay: Standard recovery beds take one Cycle to heal an Injury. The Bacta Tank heals instantly but costs more Credits. Triage carefully, especially if multiple operators are injured heading into a deadline mission.
Personnel: Talk to your operators here after missions. Some conversations unlock new quests. Check the hologram outside Hawks' office for news broadcasts after every main mission.
Memorial: Where permanently dead operators end up. Hopefully a short list.
Operations and Intel
Operations are short non-combat assignments that generate Credits, Weapon Mods, Utilities, and Zone Influence. They cost Intel to run, which you earn by completing Tactical Missions. Some Operations have branching choices that affect Squad Bonds or change how enemy factions develop. Reaching Influence milestones in each zone unlocks Zone Rewards including upgrades and new utilities, so don't ignore side operations just because they're not combat.
Star Wars Zero Company Ultimate Beginner's Guide
Who is the Infinite Coil?
The main enemy faction is the Infinite Coil, a Separatist-aligned paramilitary cult. Every member is infected with the Shadow Plague, a disease that grants unnatural resilience and enhanced combat abilities. As the Coil conquers Republic worlds, the plague spreads and their numbers grow.
Kundri Fathom leads the Coil. Whether she actually wields the Force or just convincingly pretends to is deliberately left ambiguous. What's confirmed: she carries the Shadow Plague and commands absolute loyalty from her followers.
Vissier is Fathom's most capable lieutenant and a skilled tactician. He has a personal code of honor and has been known to spare prisoners, which makes him unusual among Coil commanders.
Typhon is a super tactical droid who specializes in asymmetrical warfare and precision strikes rather than conventional army command. Republic Intelligence flagged something unusual: Typhon has developed a fixation on the Shadow Plague and on Fathom specifically.
Infected cult members have superior movement and strength compared to standard enemies, so don't assume the tactics that worked in early missions will hold up once the Coil starts deploying plague-enhanced fighters.
Quick facts worth knowing
- Campaign length: 30-40 hours
- Squad size per mission: up to 4 operators (more in specific missions)
- Weapon classes: 4 types, each with 4-6 cosmetic models
- Mission types: Sabotage, combat, rescue, retrieval, and narrative
- No New Game+, no microtransactions, no romance systems
- Outfits are cosmetic only and don't affect stats
- Weather effects don't impact visibility or accuracy
- Music composed by Gordy Haab, who scored Star Wars: The Old Republic and the Jedi series
If you're aiming for full completion, the Star Wars Zero Company trophy and achievement list covers all 53 trophies including the hidden ones. For everything else, the full Star Wars Zero Company strategy guides collection has you covered as more content drops post-launch.