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Talent

Zero Company Cold Blooded Talent

Spend an Action Point for Vicious — the Operator's next attack is an automatic critical hit.

Confirmed
Confidence
Confirmed
Verified
14 August 2026
Version
pre-release (no retail build)

Quick answer

Costs 1 Action Point to apply Vicious to the Operator. Their next ranged or melee attack is an automatic critical hit.

Available to
Any Custom Operator
Cost
1 Action Point
First rank
Once per combat.
Max rank
Up to three times per combat, and it grants two stacks.
Tags
critical-setup

Build value

What this Talent is actually for

A guaranteed critical that needs no second Operator, which is the difference between this and the Scoundrel's Identify Weakness — same guarantee, no coordination, no slot spent on an enabler. That makes it the reason a squad can skip a dedicated crit-setter entirely. It is worth the most on whoever multiplies a critical furthest: a Sharpshooter at +50% critical damage, or anyone built into critical damage through Bonds.

Pairings

Specializations it combines with

A Talent is chosen separately from a class, so these are combinations you assemble yourself rather than anything the game groups for you.

  • Sharpshooter

    Precision Shot reaches +50% critical damage at max rank, so an automatic critical on a shot that cannot miss is the largest guaranteed hit available without a second Operator.

  • Soldier

    Rocket Strike is the biggest single attack in the game by area; a guaranteed critical on it converts a group clear into an overkill.

  • Scout

    Ambush is fired once a turn with the whole pool behind it, which is exactly the profile a once-per-combat critical wants.

What we don't know yet

The game has not been released. These are open questions we have chosen not to guess at.

  • Whether the two stacks at max rank can be spent on two separate attacks in the same turn.
  • Whether Vicious persists across turns if it is not used.
  • How critical damage is calculated, so how much a guaranteed critical is actually worth.

Other Talents

Sources