Star Wars Zero Company: classes, combat and builds

The game

• Action Points

  Every Operator gets three Action Points per turn, spent on movement, attacks, Utilities and Abilities in any order.

• Advantage

  A shared squad resource, earned one at a time by damaging enemies, that powers strong abilities without spending AP. Maximum: 10.

• Overwatch

  A directional cone that triggers reaction shots when enemies move or act, at the cost of ending the Operator's turn.

• Cover and flanking

  Partial and full cover reduce hit chance; flanking and high ground raise it. Some cover can be destroyed.

• High ground

  Elevation improves hit chance, making verticality a positioning goal for long-range Operators.

• Injuries and permadeath

  Downed Operators take Injuries; three Injuries cause permanent death on standard difficulty. Permadeath is on by default but can be turned off.

• Call for Backup

  A zero-AP support action that adds a teammate's assistance to the next attack and helps build Bonds.

• Bonds

  Relationships between paired Operators that unlock permanent combat bonuses, maximum-Bond passives and most of your Focus Points.

• Cross Training

  The progression system tied to Bonds that turns pair relationships into permanent shared bonuses.

• Focus Trees and Focus Points

  Focus Points, earned mainly from Bonds, upgrade Talents, Abilities and Passives through each Operator's Focus Tree.

• Dual Specializations

  A second Specialization unlocks around the middle of the campaign, creating dual-class Operators.

• Talents

  There are eleven Talents. Ten are open to any Custom Operator, one is astromech-only, and all of them are chosen separately from a Specialization.

• Status effects

  Defense, Burning, Spotted, Disoriented and invulnerability — the modifiers that decide whether an attack is worth making.

• Cycles

  The campaign clock. Completing a tactical mission advances the cycle, missions and Operations expire, and healing costs a cycle.

• What to do at the Den

  The between-mission routine: talk to everyone first, because conversations unlock missions that otherwise never appear.

• Operations

  Non-combat assignments launched with Intel from the HoloTable, returning Credits, mods, Utilities and Zone Influence.

• Dilemmas

  Authored story choices where the squad disagrees, Bonds move, and an Operator can be driven out of the company.

• Displacement

  Moving an enemy against its will — out of cover, into an ally's Overwatch, into another enemy, or off the map entirely.

• Chance to hit

  The percentage on every shot, what moves it, and the confirmed fact that neither 10% nor 90% guarantees anything.

• Difficulty and Beskar Mode

  The game's four difficulty settings, the ironman-style Beskar Mode that removes the ability to reload an earlier save, and the fact that you can change difficulty between missions.

• Weapon Mods

  Weapon Mods are sixteen effects at four strengths each, four competing for every one of a weapon's four slots. Choosing a mod means choosing a line, and this is how the lines work and which weapon each belongs on.

• Assaultclose · medium

  Mobile frontline fighter operating at medium-to-close range, built to cross the map in one action and punish enemies out of cover.

• Gunslingerclose · medium

  Fast multi-target blaster specialist that stacks many shots into a single turn and converts kills back into actions.

• Heavyclose · medium

  Armored frontline unit that redirects enemy fire onto itself and survives it through flat Defense and health.

• Medicclose · medium

  Healing, revival and buffing — physical and psychological — with a permanent med pack that costs no Utility slot.

• Scoundrelclose · medium

  Opportunistic support that penetrates armour, sets up guaranteed critical hits and assists whoever attacks its mark.

• Scoutclose · medium · long

  Reconnaissance specialist that generates the squad's Advantage, marks targets to remove hit-chance penalties, and cashes the pool for burst damage.

• Sharpshooterlong

  Long-range precision specialist built for consistency — the highest hit chance in the roster, and the best Overwatch in it.

• Soldierclose · medium

  General offense at close-to-medium range using melee, grenades, heavy fire and a rocket launcher.

• Combat Stim

  Medic✓Confirmed

  Throws a stim to a target ally — or uses it on the Medic — granting the Stimulant buff, which raises max health and damage for two turns. Each rank increases the duration and the values; at the final rank the buff lasts the whole fight and grants +3 damage and +12 health. The health arrives as temporary health added on top of current HP, so an Operator at 1 HP jumps to 13.

• Identify Weakness

  Scoundrel✓Confirmed

  A Fast Action costing 1 Action Point. Applies Vulnerable to a single enemy, and the next attack against that enemy critically hits. Each rank extends its range; the final rank applies Vulnerable twice, so the next two attacks both crit.

• Force Push

  Tel-Rea Vokoss✓Confirmed

  Launches a targeted enemy in a direction, dealing extra damage for every object they collide with on the way, or killing them outright if they go off a ledge. Ranks raise the base damage, and the final rank also Disorients the target, cutting its chance to hit by 20%.

• Uppercut

  Kabb Uppercut✓Confirmed

  Once per turn, for 1 Action Point plus more depending on the distance travelled, Kabb rushes an enemy, strikes them for melee damage and knocks them backwards. A kill refunds every Action Point the ability consumed, the travel included.

• Morale Boost

  Medic✓Confirmed

  Costs 7 Advantage and grants this Operator and nearby allies 4 stacks of Morale. At the start of an Operator's turn they heal for twice their remaining stacks and then lose one — 8, then 6, then 4, then 2, for 20 healing in total. At maximum rank it grants 10 stacks, healing 110 over ten turns. Morale also cancels the chance-to-hit penalty an injured Operator suffers.

• Rocket Strike

  Soldier✓Confirmed

  Costs 10 Advantage and no Action Points at all. It fires a rocket that detonates on impact, damaging all targets caught in the blast and destroying cover — and because it spends nothing from the turn, it can be fired after the Operator has already moved and attacked. Retail ability cards give its base damage as 12, 16, 20, 24 and 28 across the first five ranks, reaching 34 at the sixth, where survivors are also left Vulnerable so the next attack against each of them critically hits.

• Hawks AP support

  Hawks◉Preview-reported

  Spend 3 Advantage to grant an ally one additional Action Point for the turn. EA list the effect among the things Advantage buys without attributing it; a previewer used it as Hawks, naming the cost as he spent it.

• Sweeping Salvo

  Assault◈Retail-reported

  Costs 4 Advantage rather than an Action Point. Sweeps a large cone with blaster fire, damaging everything inside it and applying Disoriented, which imposes a 20% chance-to-hit penalty on the affected enemies. Usable three times per combat, with no limit on how many of those come in one turn. Retail ability cards give its base damage as 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 across the first five ranks, reaching 20 at the sixth, and its effective range as 12 metres widening to 18. It scales with blaster damage mods and effective range, and cannot critically hit until the sixth rank removes that restriction.

• Combat Recon

  Scout◈Retail-reported

  A Fast Action costing 1 Action Point, usable once per turn. Assesses an area, granting 1 Advantage for every enemy inside it and revealing hidden enemies. Its range and radius grow with rank, from 16 metres at the first to 24 metres and a 7-metre area at maximum.

• Shockwave

  Tel-Rea Vokoss◈Retail-reported

  For 6 Advantage, an area Force push that displaces all enemies around her simultaneously and throws them a long way back. One observed use scattered three droids and killed two more enemies outright by pushing them into hazards. Its final upgrade grants Harmony for every enemy hit.

• Noble Stance

  Tel-Rea Vokoss◉Preview-reported

  A directional deflection shield that you aim, like an Overwatch cone. It consumes all remaining Action Points and adds 10% deflection for each one spent, on top of the 30% base from Padawan Training and 4% per Harmony stack. Shots it deflects are reflected back at the enemy who fired them.

• Bulwark

  Heavy◉Preview-reported

  Taunts every enemy inside a large target area, compelling them to attack the Heavy, and raises the Heavy's Defense by 2 for the rest of the turn. Each rank widens the area and increases that Defense bonus, reaching 6 at maximum. The final rank also grants Impervious, which makes the Heavy immune to all status effects, and Immovable, which prevents it being pushed. Usable once per turn.

• Bull Rush

  Assault◉Preview-reported

  A melee charge that grants 2 metres of bonus movement at first rank, rising to 8 across five ranks, then slams into the target and pushes it backwards. A pushed enemy that collides with anything takes 4 impact damage. Being melee, it cannot miss, and it still receives the Assault's Strike the Flanks critical bonus.

• Quick Draw

  Gunslinger◈Retail-reported

  Costs one Action Point and fires a fast sidearm pistol shot, separate from the Operator’s primary blaster. At first rank it deals 8 base damage and applies a 25% chance-to-hit range penalty; the six ranks raise the damage to 14 and remove the penalty outright at the last of them. If the shot defeats its target the Action Point is refunded. It does not trigger enemy Overwatch or Retaliation, and as a sidearm attack it takes no benefit from Weapon Mods.

• Precision Shot

  Sharpshooter◈Retail-reported

  Spends Advantage to fire a shot that cannot miss. Each rank raises its base damage and its critical damage, reaching a 50% critical damage bonus at maximum. Usable once per turn.

• Astromech comm link

  Astromechs◉Preview-reported

  Transfers an Action Point to another Operator. Requires proximity — a previewer checks whether he is close enough before using it.

• Astromech enhanced scanner

  Astromechs◈Retail-reported

  Scans the battlefield, raising the squad's hit chance against the enemies it reveals.

• Electro Web Dart

  Cly Kullervo◈Retail-reported

  For 2 Advantage, shocks a single target. It halves that enemy's movement and ignores evasion, so it lands regardless of how hard the target is to hit. The target is then tagged for Electro Web Surge.

• Electro Web Surge

  Cly Kullervo◈Retail-reported

  Creates an electrical blast centred on Cly and a second blast around every enemy tagged with Electro Web Dart. The blasts ignore Defense. Where two blasts overlap, an enemy caught between them takes both.

• The Spotter

  Scout◉Preview-reported

  A passive. Any enemy the Scout damages with a blaster becomes Spotted, and Spotted removes the hit-chance penalties that distance and smoke would otherwise impose on attacks against that target — for every Operator, not just the Scout.

• Trick's explosive strike

  Trick⧗Outdated

  Kept as a record of how this attack was evidenced before it was identified, not as a separate ability. Two written previews described Trick charging a long-range explosive strike, one pricing it at 10 Advantage; two more described him firing a rocket launcher that destroys cover and hits clustered enemies. All four were watching the Soldier's Rocket Strike, on an Operator whose starting Specialization is Soldier.

• Open Fire

  Gunslinger✓Confirmed

  Costs 9 Advantage and fires two attacks, either at one target or split between two. Both shots carry whatever Onslaught damage the Gunslinger has stacked that turn. Five ranks raise it to three shots and add a 20% chance-to-hit bonus. It has no per-turn use limit.

• Keen Eye

  Gunslinger◈Retail-reported

  Increases this Operator’s Critical Chance for all Ranged Attacks by +6%. It costs nothing and cannot be switched off. Its Focus Tree row runs to five ranks; only the first rank’s figure is published.

• Onslaught

  Gunslinger◈Retail-reported

  Each attack within a single turn grants this Operator +1 Blaster Damage. The bonus applies only to attacks made with the Operator’s primary blaster.

• Easy Mark

  Scoundrel✓Confirmed

  Costs 7 Advantage to mark a single enemy. Whenever an ally attacks that target the Scoundrel assists, and if the attacker scores a critical hit the assist critically hits too. Each rank raises the assist's critical damage to a maximum of +6, and the final rank removes the once-per-turn restriction. The mark does not expire at the end of the turn.

• Ambush

  Scout✓Confirmed

  Costs 1 Action Point and consumes all banked Advantage, requiring at least 4. Damage scales with the amount spent — 2.5 bonus damage per Advantage, rising to 5 per Advantage at maximum rank, so a full pool of 10 becomes 50 bonus damage on top of the base hit. Usable once per turn.

• Zero In

  Sharpshooter✓Confirmed

  Cast on the Sharpshooter itself, granting 3 stacks of Lethal. Each stack is worth +5% chance to hit and +3% critical chance, so the opening rank gives +15% and +9%. Ranks raise it to 8 stacks, for +40% chance to hit and +24% critical chance. All stacks are lost if the Operator moves or is knocked out of place.

• Brutal Strike

  Soldier✓Confirmed

  A melee action costing 1 Action Point, usable once per turn. Deals melee damage and applies Dazed, which prevents the target attacking on its turn. Retail ability cards give its base damage as 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 across the first five ranks, reaching 18 at the sixth, where it applies Stunned instead of Dazed. Unlike Bull Rush it adds no movement of its own and does not push.

• Unstoppable

  Heavy✓Confirmed

  Grants 2 stacks of Retaliation. Each incoming attack burns a stack to counterattack the attacker. Ranks raise the counterattack damage to a maximum of +4, and the final rank allows it to be cast on an ally rather than the Heavy.

• Fleet of Foot

  Assault✓Confirmed

  Increases this Operator’s First Movement by 1.0m. Its Focus Tree ranks raise the figure; only the first is published.

• Strike the Flanks

  Assault✓Confirmed

  This Operator gains a +20% Critical Chance bonus against Exposed enemies.

• Conditioning

  Heavy✓Confirmed

  Increases this Operator’s Max Health by +4. Its Focus Tree ranks raise the figure; only the first is published.

• Heavy Armor Training

  Heavy✓Confirmed

  Increases this Operator’s Defense by +2. Its Focus Tree ranks raise the figure; only the first is published.

• Intimidating Posture

  Heavy✓Confirmed

  This Operator’s primary Blaster Attacks now taunt the target on a hit. It cannot be upgraded, so it has no Focus Tree row.

• Lifesaving Measures

  Medic✓Confirmed

  Medpacs used by this Operator restore an additional +5% Health. Its Focus Tree ranks raise the figure; only the first is published.

• First Responder

  Medic✓Confirmed

  This Operator is permanently equipped with a Medpac that does not use a utility slot. When this Operator rescues an ally with Rally, that ally is Fully Healed.

• Never Play Fair

  Scoundrel✓Confirmed

  Increases this Operator’s Assist Damage by +1. Its Focus Tree ranks raise the figure; only the first is published.

• Scoundrel’s Instinct

  Scoundrel✓Confirmed

  All of this Operator’s attacks Penetrate the target’s defenses, ignoring up to 4 points of Defense. Its Focus Tree ranks raise the figure; only the first is published.

• Tactical Timing

  Scout✓Confirmed

  Provides a 20% chance to gain +1 Advantage when this Operator defeats an enemy. Its Focus Tree ranks raise the figure; only the first is published.

• Pick Them Off

  Sharpshooter✓Confirmed

  Increases Overwatch Chance-To-Hit by +5% and Overwatch Damage by +2. Its Focus Tree ranks raise the figures; only the first is published.

• Sharpshooter Training

  Sharpshooter✓Confirmed

  This Operator has a +10% Chance-To-Hit bonus on all Blaster Attacks. Its Focus Tree ranks raise the figure; only the first is published.

• Strength

  Soldier✓Confirmed

  Increases Melee Damage by +2 and increases the throw range of all Grenades by +2.0m. Its Focus Tree ranks raise the figures; only the first is published.

• Armsmaster

  Soldier✓Confirmed

  Increases Blaster Damage and Grenade Damage by +2. Its Focus Tree ranks raise the figures; only the first is published.

• Padawan Training

  Tel-Rea Vokoss◈Retail-reported

  Allows Tel-Rea to deflect blaster attacks at all and sets the base chance she does it with — +30% at the first rank. Later ranks add +1.0m Movement, +10% Melee Critical Chance, and the second and third Meditation slots.

• Move With The Force

  Tel-Rea Vokoss◈Retail-reported

  Tel-Rea can execute Vertical Jumps without climbing or using a ladder. It has no Focus Tree row.

• Ruthless

  Cly Kullervo◈Retail-reported

  Increases Cly's Critical Damage, from +2 at the first rank to +6 at the fifth.

• Mandalorian Armor Training

  Cly Kullervo◈Retail-reported

  Cly gains a base Defense of 3 and a jetpack, which lets her execute free vertical transitions. It has no Focus Tree row.

• Coordinated Support

  Astromechs◈Retail-reported

  Grants all Operators 1 Action Point, up to the normal ceiling of three. It costs 10 Advantage at the first rank, falling to 6 by the fifth, and the sixth rank grants 2 Action Points instead of 1.

• Extended Storage

  Astromechs◈Retail-reported

  All Utility Items that have limited uses can be used +1 additional time. It has no Focus Tree row.

• Storage Optimization

  Astromechs◈Retail-reported

  All Utility Items that have limited uses can be used +1 additional time. The source states this effect stacks with Extended Storage's. It has no Focus Tree row.

• Improved Motors

  Astromechs◈Retail-reported

  Increases the astromech's Movement by +1.0m. The source states the bonus affects all movements. It has no Focus Tree row.

• Hardened Frame

  Astromechs◈Retail-reported

  Increases the astromech's Defense by +2. It has no Focus Tree row.

• Built-in Thrusters

  Astromechs◈Retail-reported

  Allows this Operator to jump vertically without restrictions. It has no Focus Tree row.

• Hawks

  A former Republic officer and the player's commander. Required in story missions.

• Trick

  Clone trooper CT-3301. A veteran soldier and a longtime companion of Hawks.

• Tel-Rea Vokoss

  A Tognath Jedi Padawan — the only Jedi Padawan Operator in the game.

• Cly Kullervo

  An infamous Mandalorian gunslinger of Clan Verminoth, seeking revenge.

• Luco Bronc

  An Umbaran sniper who fought against the Republic in the defence of Umbara.

• Jae Mordant

  Former Ore-Baroness of Luunata, and the key connection behind the Republic contract.

• Kabb Uppercut

  A Felshi former prizefighter with a cybernetic arm.

Where to go next

• Build a four-Operator squadtool
• The Medic and Gunslinger Combat Stim buildconfirmed synergy
• How the shared Advantage pool works
• All eight Specializations compared

Sources

• Star Wars Zero Company — official game page

  Electronic Arts · Tier 1 — Official · accessed 15 August 2026

  Supports: Release date of August 27; platforms given as PC, PlayStation and Xbox, without a console generation; "Turn-Based Tactics" in the page title; premise

• 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

• 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"

• Star Wars Zero Company game page

  StarWars.com · Tier 1 — Official · accessed 15 August 2026

  Supports: Setting, developer and publisher credits, authored Operators. Re-read 2026-08-15 for the genre line: "a single-player turn-based tactics game", "developed by Bit Reactor in collaboration with Respawn Entertainment and Lucasfilm Games". This is the only source on this site that states single-player in so many words — EA's own game page does not

• Star Wars Zero Company gameplay trailer article

  StarWars.com · Tier 1 — Official · accessed 11 August 2026

  Supports: Gameplay trailer breakdown; Greg Foertsch and Douglas Reilly quotes; names Anakin Skywalker as a Jedi General whose mission crosses the squad's

• 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

• SDCC 2026: Star Wars Zero Company Mobilizes at San Diego Comic-Con

  StarWars.com · Tier 1 — Official · accessed 6 August 2026

  Supports: Voice cast. Names Bennic Halloren, Neesh Renark, Runa Blask, M-3VO/Meevo, Typhon, Visser and Kundri Fathom — but gives a role description only for Runa Blask, who keeps Zero Company's lights on, and Kundri Fathom, who leads the cult. The rest are a name and an actor