Squad building
Is Hawks required on every mission?
On story missions, yes. Skirmish missions allow any combination.
- Confidence
- Confirmed
- Verified
- 15 August 2026
- Version
- pre-release (no retail build)
The short answer
On story missions, yes. Skirmish missions allow any combination.
In full
What that means when you are planning
This is the constraint that shapes every themed squad. A full clone team, a full astromech team, an all-Sharpshooter team — all of them are skirmish builds, because a story mission spends one of your four slots on Hawks before you choose anything.
It has a second consequence that is easy to miss. Hawks' fixed Talent, Fearless Leader, gives every Operator in the squad increased assist damage, Defense and chance to hit while he is in combat. Because he is present in every story fight, that bonus is a baseline rather than a choice — you are never building a story squad without it.
Hawks also cannot permanently die. His falling ends the mission instead of killing him.
What we don't know yet
The game has not been released. These are open questions we have chosen not to guess at.
- The size of Fearless Leader's three bonuses, and whether they apply to Hawks himself.
- Whether Fearless Leader has a range limit or covers the whole map.
- What proportion of missions are story missions.
Next
Related questions
- What happens if Hawks is downed?
- The mission ends. Hawks is the only Operator who cannot permanently die.
- Can you build a full squad of astromechs?
- Yes, on skirmish missions — but not on story missions, because Hawks is required there. A pre-release achievement requires completing a mission with four astromechs.
Where this is covered properly
Sources
- Answering the Internet's Biggest Questions about Star Wars Zero Company
Electronic Arts · Tier 1 — Official · accessed 6 August 2026
Supports: Squad limit of 4, with additional characters controllable in certain missions; roster starting at 7 and capped at 20, raised by Den upgrades, story progression and authored Operators joining; no species or faction weapon-proficiency advantage; Clone Trooper and astromech recruitment; permadeath default and toggleable; Hawks required on story missions. The headline itself is the evidence for the game's abbreviation: "Answering the Internet’s Biggest Questions about SWZC"
- 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 Star Wars Zero Company early — new gameplay and details
Star Wars HQ · Tier 3 — Hands-on preview · accessed 11 August 2026
Supports: 5:01–12:48 — one full combat mission per cycle; Hawks alone cannot permanently die; the exotic classes restricted to Cly, Tel-Rea and astromechs; recruitment refreshing each cycle with a name, Talent, Specialization and weapon type; Medbay bed and Bacta Tank costs; ignoring Operations granting enemies lasting upgrades