The Clone Wars era is getting a massive tactical shake-up with Star Wars: Zero Company, the highly anticipated turn-based strategy game from Bit Reactor and Respawn Entertainment (published by EA).

Whether you are an XCOM veteran or a Star Wars fan dipping your toes into grid-based tactical combat for the first time, Zero Company drops you into the boots of Hawks—a former Republic officer leading a crew of ragtag mercenaries, misfits, and specialists against a terrifying new galactic threat known as the Infinite Coil.

Before you assemble your squad and jump into the fray, here is your ultimate breakdown of everything you need to know about combat, strategy, customisation, and base operations!

1. Character Creation & Deep Customisation

Unlike traditional tactical games with voiceless commanders, you take active control of Hawks, a fully voiced protagonist who takes centre stage in cinematic cutscenes and field operations.

• Protagonist Customisation: You can customise Hawks’ appearance, gender, voice, and combat specialisation right from the start.
• Squad Diversity: Build a roster from a mix of hand-crafted story characters (including Mandalorian commandos, Umbaran soldiers, and clone troopers) and custom-generated mercenaries.
• Build Your Own Astromech: You can even design custom astromech droids focused on explosive firepower, hacking, and squad support.
• Class-Free Weapon Kits: Weapons and loadouts aren’t locked to hard classes. Mix and match weapon kits, utility gear, and special abilities to build the exact team composition that suits your playstyle.

2. Fast-Paced Tactical Combat

Combat is top-down, turn-based, and built to reward clever positioning and synergy.

• Action Points (AP): Each unit gets 3 Action Points per turn to move, attack, interact with the environment, or set up Overwatch cones to catch enemies moving on their turn.
• Advantage Points System: Landing successful attacks earns shared Advantage Points. These can be spent on high-impact abilities, such as launching rocket rounds or unleashing heavy blaster barrages to disorient entire squads.
• Synergy & Squad Bonds: Fighting together builds bonds between team members. High-bond pairings unlock powerful cooperative manoeuvres, like Call for Backup, where a teammate automatically follows up your attack with a strike of their own.
• Cinematic Exploration: Between firefights, explore mission zones from a third-person perspective to scout ahead, gather intel, and set up your ambush before initiative is rolled.

3. High Stakes: Injuries, Permadeath & Threat Management

Zero Company doesn’t pull its punches—every decision on the battlefield carries weight.

• Permadeath: Operators can be downed and revived in combat, but falling three times in a single battle means they are gone for good.
• Procedural Placements: While maps are handcrafted across iconic worlds like Lothal and Dantooine, enemy layouts and elite squads are procedurally generated, keeping every deployment fresh.
• Sabotage & Escalation: Progression works both ways. Between cycles, you can launch targeted sabotage ops to deny permanent upgrades to your enemies before they can bring them to the field.

4. Base Operations: Managing “The Den”

When you aren’t dodging blaster fire, you’ll manage your headquarters, known as The Den.

• Operations & Intel: Run text-based non-combat Operations to gather credits, influence, and salvage without risking full combat deployments.
• Squad Dynamics: Talk with squad members at base to resolve conflicts, manage morale, and learn their backstories. Unhappy crew members won’t desert you, but their dissatisfaction triggers unique narrative events and dialogue.
• Tech & Upgrades: Upgrade your team’s arsenal, expand your Medbay to speed up injury recovery, and research new tactical options.

Final Thoughts

Star Wars: Zero Company blends cinematic storytelling, deep tactical depth, and rich squad customisation into one of the most exciting strategy games of the year. Mark your calendars—the galaxy needs its squad commander!

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