Star Wars: Zero Company is finally here, giving us a long-awaited XCOM-like game within the Star Wars universe. Just like XCOM, this game has its fair share of complex mechanics, making for a challenging experience, especially if you’re unfamiliar with strategy games like it.
We’re talking unique classes, all with distinct synergies with different weapons and characters, permadeath on all operatives, resource management, and more. Like with any strategy game, the trial and error is the fun part! Learning what strategies work and don’t work is half the fun. That said, having that extra bit of information the game doesn’t always tell you is nice to have.
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That’s why we’ll be looking at 10 tips worth knowing before diving into Star Wars: Zero Company so you don’t feel too lost starting your campaign.
10
Always Look Around On Missions
During missions, you’ll get to go on the ground and explore the area. While it’s tempting to sprint past everything to get to the next battle, I’d recommend taking the time to look around and chat to the available NPCs. This can net you a small amount of Intel or Advantage points, which will be useful in completing extra operations, or for a powerful first turn during your next battle.
9
Don’t Be Afraid To Respec Your Characters
Experiment To Your Heart’s Content
Something the game doesn’t explain well is that you can respec your characters whenever you want in between missions. If you decide you don’t like your characters starting class and think something else would better suit them, you’re free to change them however you want.
For example, Jae’s special ability will execute enemies below a certain health for free once per turn. You could decide that this is an ability better suited for a sharpshooter, and therefore change her weapon and abilities around this. Similarly, Kragg sits a bit awkwardly on the team as a scoundrel, especially as his main ability involves getting into melee range. To make the most out of his ability, you might want to respec him into a heavy to take advantage of those melee damage upgrades. The world is your oyster!
8
Bring An Operative With Thievery Early
Stack up Early Credits
Credits can be tough to come by early. There’s only so much money you’ll have, that you’re going to find yourself empty-pocketed if you’re trying to pick up the best items on the black market, build your base, and recruit new operatives to your team. Especially if your squad is picking up injuries along the way and needs time to heal in the med bay.
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That’s why you’ll want to invest early in getting an operative with the Thievery talent at the start of the game. This perk will net your team up to an extra 300 credits per mission. While this doesn’t seem like a lot at the start, this can be enough to get you over the threshold for those much-needed upgrades, like if you’re hoping to pick up the best items on the black market, build your base, and recruit op
7
Don’t Forget About Your Astromech
Man’s Best Droid
The Astromech might seem underwhelming at first glance, but it only takes one mission to realise that this seemingly harmless droid is on a fast track to becoming your squad’s MVP.
While the Astromech can’t directly hurt enemies without specific utilities, its support abilities can enable you far better than another DPS could. The first droid you get will be able to help your team scan the battlefield, lowering enemies’ defence and chance to miss, making trickier shots more reliable. They’ll also be able to transfer AP to another teammate. If you’re rocking a weapon that takes two AP to hit, you can manage a second shot per turn, which might be enough to pick off an enemy you otherwise wouldn’t be able to.
You’ll also be able to bring in three utility items from the get-go. Meaning you can come stocked with medpacks, grenades, and smoke bombs if you’d like to help dish out extra damage and provide your squad with more coverage. The Astromech is by far the best support character in the game, so it’s worth not sleeping on them during your playthrough.
6
Talk To Your Squad Inbetween Missions
It’s Where The Story Happens
Star Wars: Zero Company is a lot like Mass Effect in many ways, but the best comparison I can draw is in how it makes talking to your squad in between important missions.
After finishing one mission, you’ll be able to quickly chat to your team who may have some fun dialogue to help flesh out their characters, or more likely, a side quest waiting to be completed. These can be fairly easy to miss, and have tight deadlines as is, so you’ll want to make sure you’re making your rounds after each mission just to be safe.
These conversations can also help to increase your bond, which will net passive bonuses for both yourself and the operative, so it’s always worth checking anyway.
5
Consider All Options Before Investing Your Turn
Use All The Tools At Your Disposal
Before you start going in guns blazing on your combat turn, it’s always a good idea to consider your options.
For example, if you’re calling for an ally to assist, it’s important to double-check that they also have line of sight of the enemy you’re attacking so they can actually line up a shot to hit as well. You can actually see your chances to hit and line of sight when moving a character, so make sure you’re checking this often instead of relying on what you think the line of sight actually is.
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Similarly, make sure you’re using your abilities in the right sequence. If you have Krabb on your team, who is a Scoundrel, you can line up an Identify Weakness, ensuring the next hit is a crit, along with his Easy Mark ability, calling him to assist on the next turn. Pair this with the Call For Backup ability, and in one turn, you can call yourself, Krabb, and a third squad mate to focus fire on one target, each dealing crit damage in the one turn. Which isn’t a bad idea, especially when you come across beefier targets in the later stages of the game.
4
Always Build Your Den
Help Your Team’s Power Grow
It’s easy to take the den’s upgrades for granted, but you’ll definitely want to take advantage of improving your facilities whenever possible. This is where you’ll go to start improving things like your med bay or your black market to net better results for cheap. But it’s also where you can invest in upgrades and facilities, such as a place for your crew to bond, roster expansions, and improvements to influence.
You’ll also be able to improve your weapons here as well, giving them better damage and chances to hit. I’d argue that upgrades that help your crew and weapons far outweigh anything like facility upgrades, as they’re the ones that will help you the most on the battlefield. In saying that, any upgrade is a good upgrade, so don’t go kicking yourself if you’ve put some points in the Black Market already.
3
Don’t Be Afraid to Sell off Extra Mods and Utility Items on the Black Market
Hoarding be Damned
As I mentioned before, credits are a scarce resource throughout the game, and it can be tough to come by more without prioritizing them in Operations, or sacrificing a squad slot or two to slot in operators with a thievery background.
If you’re looking between the couches for extra coins to cough up for your next den upgrade, you might want to consider selling off some mods and utilities on the black market. As a gear hoarder, I know, this is sacrilege, but trust me when I say you really don’t need that tier 1 item for your entire playthrough. If all of your operatives are kitted with items and mods, and you have stuff leftover gathering dust, it’s not a bad idea to sell some of those items off so you can buy your next weapon upgrade.
You’ll always get more gear from operations and zone tiers anyway, so it’s not the end of the world to sell some of the lesser-tier items off.
2
Pay Attention To Your Influence
One of the Best Resources In The Game
On top of Credits and Intel, you’ll also have access to Influence as a resource, which can open up some of the best rewards in the game.
Reaching influence milestones in each zone will unlock special perks, which can range from tame things like gaining extra den points to passive bonuses and powerful items. It’s always worth keeping an eye on which zones you’re influencing and how close they are to leveling up so you can get these upgrades sooner.
That’s also why I personally prioritise missions and outcomes involving operatives, which you can assign for a big boost to a zone’s next tier.
1
Don’t Worry Too Much About Making The Best Team
Enjoy The Ride
Despite Star Wars: Zero Company boasting a difficult tag, it can be fairly forgiving. Don’t get caught up trying to make the best team and save-scumming to net yourself the best outcome. It’s far better to enjoy the ride, take the team you want to bring, no matter the balance, and try different things out.
These tips will help you get on track for your first playthrough, though of course, don’t take them as gospel. Go in, experiment for yourself, find the right squads and specialties that work for how you want to play. Half the fun of playing these games is talking with other players and sharing your playstyle and having fierce debates defending it (then quietly trying them out later and realising they were far better than what you came up with).
And if you’re already halfway through your first playthrough, well, hopefully, these tips will help you out when you attempt a Beskar Mode on your second run.
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Released
August 27, 2026
Developer(s)
Bit Reactor
Franchise
Star Wars
PC Release Date
August 27, 2026