The campaign
Do Bonds actually matter in Zero Company?
Yes — they are the main source of Focus Points, so who you field together shapes your whole progression.
- Confidence
- Confirmed
- Verified
- 15 August 2026
- Version
- pre-release (no retail build)
The short answer
Yes — they are the main source of Focus Points, so who you field together shapes your whole progression.
In full
What that means when you are planning
A Bond is a relationship between a pair of Operators. Every Bond level grants Focus Points to both of them and offers a choice of one of three Cross Training improvements, which both also receive: Timing Exercises for +5% Critical Chance, Reflex Fire Training for +1 Overwatch Damage, or Freeform Training for +2 Focus Points. At maximum Bond a special Cross Training grants a Passive Ability instead.
They rise from assists, heals, shared missions, shared Operations, Den time and dialogue choices an Operator approves of. Call for Backup costs nothing and builds them, which is why it is worth using in fights you are already winning.
They can also fall. Disagreeing with an Operator at a Dilemma weakens the Bond, and a companion pushed far enough can leave Zero Company entirely — a second way to lose someone that has nothing to do with permadeath.
The planning consequence is that squad selection compounds. Rotating your roster evenly spreads Bond progress thin; running a settled four builds it fast between the same pairs.
What we don't know yet
The game has not been released. These are open questions we have chosen not to guess at.
- How many Bond levels there are.
- How much each source raises a Bond.
Next
Related questions
- What is Cross Training?
- The menu where Bond progress is converted into permanent bonuses that both Operators in the pair receive.
- Can an Operator leave the squad?
- Yes. Bonds can fall, and a companion pushed far enough can leave Zero Company permanently.
- What are Focus Points and how do you earn them?
- The currency spent in Focus Trees to upgrade an Operator's Talents, Abilities and Passives. They come mainly from Bonds.
Where this is covered properly
Sources
- Star Wars Zero Company: How Some of the Greatest Minds in Tactics Games are Pushing the Genre, Again
Xbox Wire · Tier 2 — Developer interview · accessed 6 August 2026
Supports: Greg Foertsch and James Brawley on the eight Specializations, Combat Stim + Gunslinger synergy, Advantage, and Specialization changes on authored characters
- Lead Zero Company To Victory on August 27
Electronic Arts · Tier 1 — Official · accessed 6 August 2026
Supports: Operator introductions; 3 Action Points per turn; Advantage caps at 10; the eight Specializations; Bonds in the Personnel Facility; Hawks' species options
- I played 54 hours of Star Wars Zero Company
Dantics · Tier 3 — Hands-on preview · accessed 11 August 2026
Supports: 5:26–11:55 — an injury is taken only on being reduced to zero health; normal, hard and expert named, plus an Ironman-style toggle; crisis operations; weapon mods slotted freely before missions; a second Specialization after cycle 18; every Bond level granting Focus Points and one of three joint training bonuses; the Sharpshooter's unmissable shot and the Soldier's rocket barrage
- Star Wars Zero Company: turn-based tactics that aren't just for XCOM experts
IGN · Tier 3 — Hands-on preview · accessed 11 August 2026
Supports: 2:15–12:39 — Advantage earned from successful attacks; four difficulty settings; ringing a droideka with Overwatch cones; Bonds granting health and critical damage; changing Hawks' species at the Den; the Bespin guest mission; preview-build defects including shots passing through solid cover
- Star Wars Zero Company is full of (excellent) surprises
Skill Up · Tier 3 — Hands-on preview · accessed 11 August 2026
Supports: 2:09–15:14 — the Gunslinger's core ability refunding its point on a kill; half and full cover; Hawks' two voices sharing one personality; companions able to leave the squad entirely; a closed-doors developer briefing and the studio's Firaxis lineage