STAR WARS Zero Company Beginner Guide: Combat, AP & Permadeath

Build the campaign around irreversible choices

Before starting, decide whether Permadeath and Beskar Mode fit the run you want. EA's combat guide says campaign difficulty choices, including Permadeath, cannot be changed after the campaign begins. Beskar Mode also limits saving, so it is better treated as a deliberate challenge run than a default first playthrough.

Spend Action Points in the right order

Each Operator normally receives three Action Points. Movement, attacks, abilities, utility items, and Overwatch compete for those points. The efficient sequence depends on the situation, but a reliable first-pass routine is: inspect hit chance, improve position if needed, take the most important action, and only then commit the Operator's final action.

Overwatch immediately ends that Operator's turn, so use it after movement, healing, or setup rather than as the first click. A high-percentage attack from a bad square can also leave the Operator exposed for the enemy turn; the best action is not always the one with the highest immediate damage.

Use cover, flanks, and range together

EA distinguishes partial and full cover. Both reduce enemy accuracy, but neither is permanent protection: some cover can be destroyed, and an enemy can make the position ineffective by flanking it. Check weapon range and the Shot Breakdown before firing. Moving closer may raise hit chance, while moving too far can spend the AP you needed for the attack.

A practical beginner rule is to end most exposed Operators behind cover unless they are built to absorb attacks. Use melee units, forced movement, grenades, and flanking angles to remove enemy cover rather than repeatedly accepting weak shots.

Generate and save Advantage

Every successful damaging hit generates Advantage for the squad, up to the current cap described by EA. Advantage powers special actions without consuming AP, which means a coordinated sequence of reliable attacks can create an extra tactical option later in the same turn.

Do not spend Advantage automatically. Save it when the current enemies are already controlled, and spend it when an elite target, mission timer, rescue objective, or collapsing position demands a swing turn.

Treat injuries as a campaign resource

A Downed Operator can be Rallied, but the Injury remains. With Permadeath enabled, EA says an Operator who reaches three injuries is permanently killed; Hawks is handled differently because Hawks being defeated fails the mission. Rotate injured Operators through the Medbay rather than repeatedly fielding a weakened favorite.

Build a balanced first squad

A safe early squad covers four jobs: dependable damage, frontline survival, control or scouting, and recovery. You do not need one specific named Operator for each job. The important part is that the squad can create good shots, survive a bad enemy turn, and recover from an unexpected Down without losing all offensive pressure.

Use The Den before every major mission

Between missions, review equipment, injuries, Specializations, available recruits, facility upgrades, and expiring Operations. Some Operations and Tactical Missions can expire, so check the Holotable before spending a cycle on optional work. A brief pre-mission review is cheaper than discovering mid-battle that an injured Operator, wrong weapon class, or missing utility item has limited the squad.