Pre-release
Getting Started with Star Wars Zero Company
Five practical answers for players who want to begin with the setting, the tactics, and the first campaign decisions.
§Do I need Star Wars background?#
You can begin with a short setting primer and pick up deeper lore when a character, faction, or location catches your attention.
- The campaign is set during the twilight of the Clone Wars and follows Hawks, a former Republic officer.
- The official game material gives enough setting context to identify the conflict, the crew, and the campaign premise.
- Community questions from players new to Star Wars show that a compact background guide is useful. They are demand signals, not a final tutorial promise.
§Do I need XCOM experience?#
XCOM can make turn-based tactics vocabulary feel familiar, though it is optional. Start by learning how movement, cover, actions, and objectives work together.
- Zero Company is a single-player turn-based tactics game, so prior experience with the genre may help with the general rhythm.
- A new player can begin without another game as a prerequisite. The key ideas to learn first are cover, line of sight, action points, and objective movement.
- The exact tutorial flow and available beginner assists should be checked against the launch build.
§What settings should I choose first?#
Use a forgiving first campaign setup while you learn the tactical loop, then raise the pressure when the risks feel clear.
- The official Q&A says Permadeath is enabled by default and can be toggled off.
- Turning Permadeath off for a learning run is an editorial recommendation for players new to the genre.
- Difficulty options, assist settings, and the full first-run setup should be verified in the launch version.
§What tactics matter first?#
Think about the next safe position before spending the current turn. Cover, line of sight, action points, and the mission objective should guide each move.
- Preview material consistently describes three action points per Operator per turn. Exact action costs should be confirmed in the launch interface.
- Cover, positioning, line of sight, flanking, and directional Overwatch are recurring parts of the combat presentation.
- Advantage is a shared squad resource. Save it for a moment that changes the outcome of an attack, defense, or emergency turn.
- There is no need to memorize unconfirmed percentage penalties before the launch build provides the final numbers.
§What happens in the first mission?#
Expect the campaign to introduce its tactical battle through objectives, squad decisions, and the wider Operations loop rather than a single damage test.
- Official material describes Tactical Missions with objectives that can include combat, sabotage, rescue, retrieval, and extraction.
- The official Q&A describes a small third-person exploration phase before some story battles, with opportunities connected to Intel and Advantage.
- After the first mission, the next useful stops are The Den, squad Bonds, Operations, and the full Gameplay reference.
- The final tutorial order and mission specific rewards need launch-build verification.
Continue reading
§Choose your next reference#
Gameplay and Systems
Read the full combat, resource, Bonds, Den, Cycles, and Operations reference.
Classes and Specializations
Compare the current class framework before planning a squad.
Choose Your First Squad
Use playstyle and role guidance to plan a beginner friendly team.
Characters and Operators
Meet the authored Operators, custom Operators, and Den crew.