Picking your starting specialization in Star Wars Zero Company feels like a commitment, but it genuinely isn't. You can respec any time after Cycle 3, which arrives very early in the game, and switching refunds all your spent Focus Points. Still, getting the right class in your hands from the start makes those opening missions noticeably smoother, and some specializations just pull more weight than others before you've recruited a full roster.
What are all the starting class options in Star Wars Zero Company?
There are 8 specializations available when you create Hawks:
- Scoundrel
- Gunslinger
- Soldier
- Assault
- Scout
- Heavy
- Sharpshooter
- Medic
Your first three companions are locked into specific roles: Kabb starts as a Scoundrel, Trick as a Sharpshooter, and Jae as an Assault. You can change all of them after Cycle 3, but knowing what you're already getting helps you avoid redundancy or fill gaps in your squad.
What is the best starting class in Star Wars Zero Company?
The Scoundrel is the strongest starting pick for Hawks. Its kit is built around applying Vulnerable to enemies, which sets them up for guaranteed critical hits. Pair that with Hawk's personal Fearless Leader talent, which boosts assist damage for every squad member, and you have a feedback loop that generates free attacks and builds advantage fast. Assists are not just bonus damage either; they generate advantage, which fuels your most powerful skills.
Having two Scoundrels in the squad (Hawks and Kabb) isn't a problem given how well the class scales with assist-heavy compositions. More assists means more advantage, and more advantage means more high-cost abilities come online sooner.
Star Wars Zero Company Guide: Best Starting Class
How does each specialization compare?
Here's a quick breakdown of all 8 classes and how they perform in the early game:
Scoundrel vs. Gunslinger: which is actually better for Hawks?
Both are strong, but they reward different playstyles. The Scoundrel is better if you're leaning into Hawks' personal talent, since Fearless Leader specifically amplifies assists and the Scoundrel generates them constantly through Vulnerable procs. The Gunslinger pulls ahead if you'd rather not double up on a class Kabb already covers, and its ability to hit and eliminate multiple enemies per turn gives you more consistent advantage generation in crowded fights.
Sharpshooter sounds appealing but leans heavily single-target, which feels limiting outside of boss or elite encounters. Heavy is genuinely strong, but it needs the right operator talent (Taunt or Anticipation) to avoid eating damage it can't mitigate. Running Heavy on Hawks without those talents wastes the class's core identity.
What about Scout, Soldier, and Heavy?
Scout is more interesting than it looks. Its Combat Recon ability costs 1 advantage point and grants 1 AP for every enemy in a scanned area. In a fight with 4 enemies in range, that's 4 free action points, which can power an entire turn's worth of high-cost skills. It also marks enemies to increase your team's ranged hit chance and has a damage-reduction skill that lets it operate further from the squad without becoming a liability.
Soldier is the most flexible pick if you want a class that never feels useless regardless of enemy type. It handles ranged and melee competently, gets a rocket launcher that hits hard despite its high advantage cost, and its Daze mechanic (which prevents an enemy from acting even while they can still move) is one of the better soft-control tools in the early game. Hawks' personal talent also grants action points to allies, which stacks well with Soldier's grenade and blaster buffs.
Heavy brings a taunt, a counter-attack passive via Unstoppable (which stacks retaliation charges), and a blaster that applies taunt on hit. It can lock down large portions of a map and redirect enemy aggression away from squishier operators. The problem is that counter-attacks aren't big damage; they chip enemies down enough for allies to finish them cheaply. Without a talent that helps the Heavy avoid or absorb the damage it's drawing in, it becomes a liability more than an asset in the early campaign.
Star Wars Zero Company Guide: Best Starting Class
Why Scout underperforms as an opener despite its AP trick
Scout's Combat Recon is genuinely clever and the AP generation is real, but it requires enemies to be clustered for maximum value. Early missions don't consistently deliver that setup. You'll get turns where you scan two enemies instead of four and come away with a modest AP gain that a Gunslinger or Scoundrel would have converted into an elimination. Scout's mark mechanic also assumes your team is running ranged builds, which isn't guaranteed when you're still figuring out party composition.
That said, Scout becomes much stronger once you're recruiting operators and building squads with intention. If you want to respec Hawks into Scout later, the tools are there.
Can you change your class after picking it?
Yes, and you should feel free to experiment. After Cycle 3, every character including Hawks and hired operators can change specialization at any time. The only thing that doesn't reset is the named character talent (like Hawk's Fearless Leader), which is locked permanently. Everything else, including all Focus Point allocations in the specialization tree, refunds fully on a respec.
This means your starting pick is really just about which class makes the first few missions feel comfortable. Once you're recruiting operators and seeing what talents they bring, you'll likely want to reshuffle the whole squad anyway to match synergies.
Quick-start recommendations by playstyle
- Aggressive, combo-focused: Scoundrel (synergizes with Fearless Leader, maximizes assists)
- Flexible, no overlap with Kabb: Gunslinger (multi-target, strong advantage generation)
- Control-oriented: Soldier (Daze, rocket launcher, works with any squad composition)
- Tank fantasy: Heavy (requires Taunt or Anticipation talent to reach full potential)
- AP engine builds: Scout (stronger in mid-game with a built squad than at the start)
For everything else you need to know before and after launch, check the Star Wars Zero Company release date and start times guide to make sure you're ready to jump in. The full Star Wars Zero Company strategy guides collection covers everything from talent builds to squad optimization as you push deeper into the campaign.