Star Wars Zero Company’s new campaign modifiers make replaying worthwhile

Star Wars Zero Company’s Patch 1.2 lets you start a campaign where a single defeat permanently kills an Operator and even your best ranged shot can miss. There’s a catch: you must select campaign modifiers before a new playthrough, and you currently can’t change them mid-campaign.

That makes this a replayability update, not just another difficulty adjustment. You can change the rules for death, health growth, squad relationships, accuracy, Advantage, and how freely you can rebuild your roster. The update is live on PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.

In Polygon’s coverage of Zero Company, the reviewer describes it as an excellent XCOM-like tactics game with little left to experiment with after finishing the campaign. Having beaten it in early September, the writer sees these modifiers as a reason to return, particularly with Instant Death and No Perfect Shots enabled. The appeal is specific: even standard difficulty can become much harder without switching to a higher difficulty preset.

Previously, players had to turn to mods for more detailed campaign settings. Post-launch updates were nearly nonexistent after Bit Reactor furloughed many developers before release. The studio brought back some furloughed workers earlier this month, then released Patch 1.2 with changes that go beyond bug fixes.

The biggest change is how much control you have over losing an Operator. Under the default rules, an Operator must be defeated in tactical combat while already carrying two Injuries to die permanently. Instant Death removes that buffer, while Two Strikes reduces it. Separate risk-of-death settings can add a 20% chance of permanent death on a tactical defeat, with an escalating option that can eventually raise that risk to 80%.

Other modifiers target the systems that make a squad increasingly dependable. You can slow or remove health gains from Focus Points, restrict Cross Training between disliked pairs, and reduce the Advantage earned from attacks. Assist shots can lose their guaranteed accuracy, while No Perfect Shots caps Operator ranged attacks at a 99% hit chance. Polygon singles out that last option as a favorite because of the uncertainty it adds.

Patch 1.2 also lowers many Upgrade Facility prices to encourage its use and reins in abilities, including Cly’s Combat Jump. In the official patch notes, Bit Reactor says it plans to “explore additional configurations in future updates” for campaign modifiers.

Star Wars Zero Company Patch 1.2 patch notes

The changes supplied by EA and Bit Reactor are detailed below, excluding developer notes.

New Features

Campaign Modifiers

These options are selected when starting a new campaign, not during an existing playthrough.

Modify Injury Limits

• Instant Death: An Operator defeated in a Tactical Mission is permanently killed, regardless of their current number of Injuries. Injuries received during Operations on the Galaxy Map do not kill Operators under this rule.
• Two Strikes: An Operator defeated in a Tactical Mission while carrying one or more Injuries is permanently killed. Injuries received during Operations do not kill Operators under this rule.
• Three Strikes: The default Zero Company rules. An Operator defeated in tactical combat while carrying two Injuries is permanently killed.

Add Risk of Death

• No Risk of Death: The default rules. Operators only die in Tactical Missions after receiving enough Injuries to be killed under the selected death rules.
• Static Risk of Death: Every Operator has a 20% chance of permanent death when defeated in tactical combat. Injuries received during Operations on the Holo-Table do not carry this risk.
• Escalating Risk of Death: Every Operator begins with a 20% chance of permanent death when defeated in tactical combat. Surviving a first tactical defeat permanently raises that Operator’s risk to 40%; surviving a second raises it to 80%. The risk stays at 80% for all subsequent combat defeats. Injuries received during Operations neither carry this risk nor increase it.

Health Progression

• Standard Health Increases: The default rules. Operators gain +1 Maximum Health for every 3 Focus Points received.
• Reduced Health Increases: Operators gain +1 Maximum Health for every 6 Focus Points received, significantly reducing their natural health growth across a campaign.
• No Health Increases: Operators gain no Maximum Health from Focus Points, dramatically reducing their total health by the end of a campaign.

Bond Progression

• No Cross Trainings Between Disliked Pairs: Operators do not receive Cross Training from Bond Level increases until they reach Bond Level 4.

Advantage Rules

• No Advantage from Area Attacks: Area Attacks, including grenades, scatterguns, and flamethrowers, do not generate Advantage when they damage enemies.
• No Advantage from Assist Attacks: Assist Attacks, including backup shots and the Easy Mark ability, do not generate Advantage when they damage enemies.
• Reduced Advantage from Damage: Damaging attacks that generate Advantage have only a 50% chance to increase it.

Tactical Modifiers

• Assist Shots Can Miss: Assist shots are no longer guaranteed to hit and instead follow standard ranged attack rules.
• Enemies Can Critically Hit: All enemy ranged and melee attacks gain a 5% chance to critically hit for +8 damage.
• No Perfect Shots: All Operator ranged attacks have a maximum hit chance of 99%.

Lockout Modifiers

• Locked Talent Respec: You cannot change any rostered Operator’s talent. Talents appear locked in the change specializations interface.
• Locked Tactical Respec: You cannot change any rostered Operator’s primary or secondary specialization. Both specializations appear locked in the change specializations interface.
• Locked Weapon Respec: You cannot change any rostered Operator’s weapon. Weapon changes cannot be confirmed in the Change Weapon interface.
• Locked Recruitment Refresh: The Refresh Recruits button is unavailable in the recruitment facility. Recruits still refresh automatically at the start of each cycle; this modifier does not change that behavior.

Feature Updates

Balance

• The Astromech’s Self-Repair ability is limited to two uses per combat. Healing now scales with AP spent at 30%/45%/60%.
• The Astromech’s Built-In Comlink ability is limited to three uses per turn at maximum rank.
• The Scout’s Tactical Timing passive progression changes from 20/40/60/80/100 to 30/40/50/65/80 across its tiers. Scouts now gain Advantage only from ranged and melee attacks, rather than all attacks.
• Cly’s Electroweb Dart is limited to 3 uses per turn.
• Cly’s Combat Jump is limited to 1 use per turn.

Upgrade Facility

The weapon upgrade price changes below are listed in Credits. The supplied notes include two Pistol Movement III entries with different previous prices; both are retained here.

• Longarm Critical Chance II: reduced from 4500 to 2000 Credits.
• Longarm Critical Chance III: reduced from 6500 to 2000 Credits.
• Longarm Damage II: reduced from 5500 to 2500 Credits.
• Longarm Range II: reduced from 5500 to 2000 Credits.
• Pistol Critical Chance II: reduced from 5000 to 3000 Credits.
• Pistol Damage II: reduced from 5500 to 2500 Credits.
• Pistol Movement II: reduced from 3500 to 2000 Credits.
• Pistol Movement III: reduced from 3500 to 2000 Credits.
• Pistol Movement III: reduced from 5000 to 2000 Credits.
• Repeater Movement II: reduced from 4500 to 2000 Credits.
• Repeater Damage II: reduced from 5500 to 2500 Credits.
• Repeater Overwatch II: reduced from 4000 to 2000 Credits.
• Repeater Overwatch III: reduced from 5500 to 2000 Credits.
• Rifle Movement II: reduced from 4500 to 2000 Credits.
• Rifle Range I: reduced from 3000 to 1500 Credits.
• Rifle Range II: reduced from 5500 to 1500 Credits.
• Rifle Damage II: reduced from 5500 to 2500 Credits.
• Rifle Damage III: reduced from 7000 to 2500 Credits.
• Crew Upgrades
  • Unlock Lounge: reduced from 3250 to 3000 Credits.
  • Improved Lounge: increased from 2750 to 3000 Credits.
  • Teamwork Assist Damage II: reduced from 3000 to 2500 Credits.
  • Additional Weapon Mod Slot: reduced from 4500 to 4000 Credits.
  • Additional Utility Slot: reduced from 5000 to 4000 Credits.
  • Combat Readiness I: reduced from 2500 to 2000 Credits.
  • Combat Readiness II: reduced from 3250 to 2000 Credits.
  • Combat Readiness III: reduced from 4000 to 2000 Credits.
  • Increased Crew Quarters I: reduced from 400 to 0 Credits.
  • Increased Crew Quarters II: reduced from 600 to 0 Credits.
  • Increased Crew Quarters III: reduced from 800 to 0 Credits.
  • Increased Crew Quarters IV: reduced from 1000 to 0 Credits.
  • Focus Point I: reduced from 3500 to 2000 Credits.
  • Focus Point II: reduced from 4750 to 2000 Credits.
  • Focus Point III: reduced from 6500 to 2000 Credits.
• Facility Upgrades
  • Medical Bed III: reduced from 600 to 500 Credits.
  • Medical Bed IV: reduced from 700 to 500 Credits.
  • Persuasion I: reduced from 2500 to 2000 Credits.
  • Persuasion II: reduced from 2750 to 2000 Credits.
  • Cautionary Intel: reduced from 2000 to 1500 Credits.
  • Core Influence I: reduced from 2000 to 1000 Credits.
  • Core Influence II: reduced from 2500 to 1000 Credits.
  • Mid Influence I: reduced from 2500 to 1000 Credits.
  • Mid Influence II: reduced from 3500 to 1000 Credits.
  • Outer Influence I: reduced from 3000 to 1000 Credits.
  • Outer Influence II: reduced from 4500 to 1000 Credits.
  • Increased Market Inventory I: reduced from 1250 to 1000 Credits.
  • Increased Market Inventory II: reduced from 2000 to 1000 Credits.
  • Expedited Delivery: reduced from 750 to 500 Credits.

Recruitment Facility

• Operators now always cost 100 Credits to recruit.

Call For Backup

You can now assign the Call For Backup ability to a hotkey of your choice.

Bug Fixes

Abilities

Visser’s Miasma now works correctly after loading an autosave at the start of a battle. Other ability fixes address Umbaran soldiers incorrectly having Droid Vendetta in “Umbara Rescue,” Courage Under Fire failing to prevent Overwatch damage after loading a save, and Cly’s Electro Web Surge being able to target and kill Mission VIPs.

Quick Draw no longer breaks hit-chance or damage previews for subsequent abilities, and the reaction-warning prompt no longer appears incorrectly when using abilities such as Quick Draw. Tel-Rea’s Deflection Chance calculation has also been corrected, and Cly can no longer Combat Jump into pits.

Reflected blaster bolts no longer incorrectly trigger Retaliation or Overwatch. The fixes also address unreliable Shared Suffering effects from Coil Guardians and Easy Mark’s Teamwork Assist Shot dealing damage even when it missed.

Downed Operators can now correctly trigger enemy Overwatch and use Noble Stance Deflection and Retaliation. Tel-Rea’s second lightsaber also stays on after the first Deflection in Noble Stance.

Customization

Clones no longer unintentionally revert to their default appearance, and customization slots no longer incorrectly display the overridden icon. On PlayStation 5, Profile names now save correctly.

Editing an Operator’s Dossier in the Customization facility no longer leaves the back button unresponsive. Other fixes stop Cly’s nose from clipping through some helmets and keep the preview in sync when players rapidly switch customization options.

Cinematics and Conversations

A duplicate Holocron has been removed from Tel’s hand during a cinematic, and Baker now carries the correct rifle in another. Fixes also address character models appearing during conversations when they shouldn’t, along with excessive movement in Kabb’s jacket during some cinematics.

Hawks should also no longer get stuck in their office chair or desk after the cinematic in which Bennic and Jae arrive at the Den.

Gameplay

Several fixes address campaign progression and mission outcomes. Some Operations previously ended without providing rewards or an outcome; that issue has been corrected. The “Speak with your Other Companions” epilogue mission no longer blocks progression, and Clev and Disha now spawn as intended during the epilogue. The “Speak with Kabb” objective also resolves correctly when its corresponding conversation isn’t available.

In the “Retake Lunata” tactical mission, the console can now be used during the third exploration phase. Players can no longer jettison themselves into space after the first encounter of the final Tactical Mission, and the final battle now correctly ends in failure if the mission-critical NPC dies.

Objective cleanup has received fixes, too. “Launch Operation for Luco Sullust Search” now expires properly, while Authored Operator objectives expire when the relevant Operator dies or is dismissed. Hostage objective NPCs no longer unintentionally display a health bar.

Multi-encounter Tactical Missions have fixes for Morale stacks being consumed two or three at a time and for Combat Readiness failing after loading a save made during an exploration segment. Two unwanted effects carrying into subsequent tactical combat have also been addressed: Stun Resistance appearing when an Operator ended the previous mission dazed, and an unremovable Lethargy effect appearing when an Operator ended it Drained.

Resonance stacks no longer transfer to a target that has already Surged. Instead, they move to a valid target, or the transfer is canceled if none remains. Stacks also no longer transfer to defeated units knocked out of the battlefield. Units knocked out of the battlefield now correctly lose Shared Suffering.

Several cross-training fixes should make their effects work as described. Tactical Offense, which grants Advantage when an Operator kills a full-health target, now works for Operators who aren’t Sharpshooters. Double Down’s Defense bonus survives saving and reloading. No Mercy no longer applies Vicious before the first turn only for it to expire immediately.

Unstoppable’s bonus damage to Retaliation shots is now correctly included in the damage notification. Previously, the missing information made it look as though the bonus wasn’t working.

Cly’s Combat Jump no longer gets blocked by nonexistent overhead obstructions, and a separate fix addresses the player’s view becoming obstructed while using it. Rapidly switching between Operators also no longer sends the camera to the wrong unit.

Enemy targeting and cover receive several corrections. Hit-chance information no longer disappears during targeting when an enemy is offscreen. B1 Battle Droids in high cover can now be flanked, and Retaliation works against enemies in high cover that previously couldn’t be seen. Enemy trooper and enforcer Overwatch shots also no longer frequently default to an 85% hit chance regardless of range.

Other combat fixes address unreliable enemy logic on certain maps and Overwatch blocking certain bosses’ actions. The final opponent in Tel’s story arc now moves their full distance to close the gap when attacking. Players can now see Coil Strikers’ transition into invisibility, rather than the units simply turning invisible without showing the action.

The final boss has several separate fixes. Trance Wave no longer keeps hitting Coil enemies after death. Fixes also address melee attacks that produced no result, moving in to prepare a kill twice against the same target, and generating huge numbers of kill-preparation status effects while setting up a kill.

Placing a Timed Mine on a unit no longer removes a stack of Evasion. Invulnerable also no longer gets incorrectly bypassed, an issue that often occurred when Area Attacks damaged multiple targets. Medpac and Surgeon’s Tools no longer throw two projectiles when used on allies.

Facility and campaign-management fixes address an Operator becoming impossible to recruit while simultaneously exiting the Recruitment Facility, and Operators remaining in the Medbay during solo assignments on Operations. The Operations tab no longer appears on the Galaxy Map when no Operations are available. Bacta Tanks also become available correctly after switching from hard to an easier difficulty.

Visual fixes correct the rotation of the holographic Imperial crest in the Den and some shadow artifacts on Fathom during cinematics. On PlayStation 5, creating enough Operators no longer causes the Character Databank to be deleted.

Performance and Stability

The update includes various performance fixes and resolves two softlocks: one during the Utility Tutorial and another caused by repeatedly pressing the inspection input while cycling between units.

Saving in the elevator during “Retake Luunata” no longer blocks progression. A crash when closing Star Wars Zero Company from the main menu has also been fixed.

Targeting and Overwatch

Geryon and Typhon’s Call for Protection has a target-validation fix. Their priority-target effect also no longer expires before enemies can use it to select targets.

Overwatch cones should more accurately represent where shots can actually fire. Fixes address cones showing coverage where a shot would be blocked, and enemies placing cones at the position they took cover from rather than the position they shoot from. Other corrections address cones failing to trigger and having invisible coverage zones, alongside various fixes to Overwatch activation and its UI.

Visser can now correctly shoot multiple times when only two targets are available. Open Fire’s second and third shots also no longer incorrectly give enemies a cover bonus when the shooter is flanking them.

The Rally UI no longer appears when targeting other abilities. Melee targeting has also been corrected for enemies that sit just outside movement range but remain reachable with the melee offset; those targets can now be clicked.

UI

The Radial Menu now correctly registers player inputs. In Hybrid Mode, the Linear Ability Bar automatically opens if the Radial moves offscreen, and inspecting a unit no longer makes the Linear Ability Bar disappear.

Warnings in the Upgrade Facility are more visible while it’s under construction. Specializations also no longer appear locked after selecting an Operator with limited Specialization options.

Sabotage now lists the correct range, and Bacta Stims correctly preview how much health they restore. The “New Customizations Unlocked” message no longer appears when no cosmetics have been unlocked, while the Tactical Mission complete screen now accurately reports the mission’s outcome.