Star Wars Zero Company Finally Gives You a Reason to Start a New Campaign

Star Wars Zero Company Patch 1.2: New Campaign Modifiers and Full Patch Notes

Ever since I finished Star Wars Zero Company in early September, I’ve been hunting for an excuse to jump back in. EA and Bit Reactor have now handed me one. Patch 1.2 introduces a wide range of new gameplay settings, so I can tune my next run to the level of challenge I want.

Star Wars Zero Company is a superb XCOM-style tactics game, yet it offered little to explore once the credits rolled. Anyone craving finer control over campaign rules had to rely on mods, since post-launch support was practically nonexistent after Bit Reactor furloughed a large part of its team ahead of release. Earlier this month, the studio welcomed back some of those developers and followed up with Patch 1.2, which does far more than squash bugs.

The update tweaks gameplay to make the Upgrade Facility more appealing and to rein in Cly’s overly strong Combat Jump movement ability. The real highlight, though, is a generous selection of campaign modifiers that let you reshape how punishing a run will be. Note that these options must be enabled before you begin a new campaign, as they can’t currently be altered partway through.

Units rarely perish in Zero Company, because a character needed to be injured three times within a single mission before dying. You can now switch on “Instant Death,” where a unit dies after a single injury, or “Two Strikes,” where two injuries are fatal. If you’d rather keep the three-injury rule, you can add a static or escalating “risk of death,” which gives injured units a chance of dying outright.

Other options let you scale back or eliminate the health boosts earned through Focus Points, block cross-training between operators who dislike each other, or weaken the Advantage gained from certain attack types. My personal favorite is “No Perfect Shots,” which injects a little extra chaos by capping every attack’s chance to hit at 99%.

Together, these settings can make Star Wars Zero Company considerably tougher, even on its standard difficulty, and they’re precisely the kind of tools that tempt me back into a tactics game. I fully intend to start a run soon with Instant Death and No Perfect Shots both enabled.

Update 1.2 is available now on PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X. Bit Reactor has also hinted that it intends to “explore additional configurations in future updates” for campaign modifiers.

Star Wars Zero Company Patch 1.2 Patch Notes

For a closer look at every adjustable campaign setting, along with the character nerfs, buffs, and bug fixes, here are the notes shared by EA and Bit Reactor, minus the developer commentary:

New Features

Campaign Modifiers

Modify Injury Limits

• Instant Death: Any Operator defeated in a Tactical Mission is killed permanently, no matter how many Injuries they already carry. Operators injured during Operations on the Galaxy Map are not killed this way.
• Two Strikes: An Operator defeated in a Tactical Mission while already holding one or more Injuries is killed permanently. Operators injured during Operations are not killed this way.
• Three Strikes: The standard rules of Star Wars Zero Company. An Operator defeated in tactical combat while holding two Injuries is killed permanently.

Add Risk of Death

• No Risk of Death: The standard rules of Star Wars Zero Company. Operators die in Tactical Missions only once they have accumulated enough Injuries to be killed under the selected death rules.
• Static Risk of Death: Every Operator has a 20% chance of being killed permanently when defeated in tactical combat. Operators injured during Operations on the Holo-Table face no such risk.
• Escalating Risk of Death: Every Operator has a 20% chance of being killed permanently when defeated in tactical combat. The first time an Operator is defeated and survives, their risk permanently rises to 40%, then to 80% after the second defeat. Any further defeats remain at 80%. Operators injured during Operations face no such risk, and those injuries do not raise the risk of death.

Health Progression

• Standard Health Increases: The standard rules of Star Wars Zero Company. 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, which substantially slows their natural health growth throughout the campaign.
• No Health Increases: Operators receive no Maximum Health increases from Focus Points, sharply lowering their total health by the end of a campaign.

Bond Progression

• No Cross Trainings Between Disliked Pairs: When enabled, Operators receive no Cross Training from Bond Level increases until they reach Bond Level 4.

Advantage Rules

• No Advantage from Area Attacks: When enabled, Area Attacks such as grenades, scatterguns, and flamethrowers do not generate Advantage when they damage enemies.
• No Advantage from Assist Attacks: When enabled, Assist Attacks such as backup shots and the Easy Mark ability do not generate Advantage when they damage enemies.
• Reduced Advantage from Damage: When enabled, damaging attacks that generate Advantage have only a 50% chance of increasing it.

Tactical Modifiers

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

Lockout Modifiers

• Locked Talent Respec: When enabled, you cannot change the talent of any Operator on your roster. Every Operator’s talent appears locked in the change specializations interface.
• Locked Tactical Respec: When enabled, you cannot change the primary or secondary specialization of any Operator on your roster. These specializations appear locked in the change specializations interface.
• Locked Weapon Respec: When enabled, you cannot change the weapon of any Operator on your roster. Weapon changes cannot be confirmed in the Change Weapon interface.
• Locked Recruitment Refresh: When enabled, the Refresh Recruits button is no longer available in the recruitment facility. Recruits still refresh automatically at the start of each cycle, and this option does not alter that.

Feature Updates

Balance

• The Astromech’s Self-Repair ability is now limited to two uses per combat. The amount healed now equals the AP spent × 30%/45%/60%.
• The Astromech’s Built-In Comlink ability is now limited to three uses per turn at maximum rank.
• The Scout’s Tactical Timing passive progression per tier has been rebalanced from 20/40/60/80/100 to 30/40/50/65/80. Scouts also no longer gain Advantage from every attack, only from ranged and melee attacks.
• Cly’s Electroweb Dart is now limited to 3 uses per turn.
• Cly’s Combat Jump is now limited to 1 use per turn.

Upgrade Facility

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

Recruitment Facility

• Recruiting an Operator now always costs 100 Credits.

Call For Backup

The Call For Backup ability can now be bound to a hotkey of your choosing.

Bug Fixes

Abilities

• Fixed a problem that caused Visser’s Miasma ability to malfunction after loading an autosave at the start of a battle.
• Fixed an issue in which Umbaran soldiers in the “Umbara Rescue” mission wrongly had the Droid Vendetta ability.
• Fixed Courage Under Fire failing to prevent Overwatch damage after loading from a save.
• Fixed an issue that allowed Cly’s Electro Web Surge to target and kill Mission VIPs.
• Fixed an issue where using Quick Draw could corrupt hit chance or damage previews on subsequent abilities.
• Fixed an issue where the reaction warning prompt appeared even when using abilities like Quick Draw.
• Fixed an issue where Tel-Rea’s Deflection Chance was calculated incorrectly.
• Fixed an issue that allowed Cly to Combat Jump into pits.
• Reflected blaster bolts no longer wrongly trigger Retaliation or Overwatch.
• Improved the reliability of the Shared Suffering effect provided by Coil Guardians.
• Fixed an issue where the Teamwork Assist Shot from the Easy Mark ability dealt damage even when it missed.
• Fixed an issue where downed Operators couldn’t trigger enemy Overwatch or use the Noble Stance Deflection and Retaliation abilities.
• Tel-Rea’s second lightsaber no longer switches off after the first Deflection in Noble Stance.

Customization

• Fixed an issue where Clones would unintentionally revert to their default appearance.
• Fixed customization slots that unintentionally displayed the overridden icon.
• Fixed an issue where Profile names weren’t saved on PlayStation 5.
• Fixed the back button not working while editing an Operator’s Dossier in the Customization facility.
• Fixed an issue where Cly’s nose clipped through some helmets in the Customization Facility.
• Fixed an issue where rapidly switching between customization options in the Customization Facility desynchronized the preview.

Cinematics and Conversations

• Removed a duplicate Holocron from Tel’s hand during a cinematic.
• Fixed an issue where Baker used the wrong rifle during a cinematic.
• Fixed an issue where some character models were unintentionally visible during conversations.
• Fixed Kabb’s jacket moving excessively in some cinematics.
• Fixed an issue where Hawks could become stuck in their office chair or desk after the cinematic in which Bennic & Jae arrive at the Den.

Gameplay

• Fixed an issue where the displayed chance to hit for enemies vanished during targeting if the enemy was offscreen.
• Fixed an issue where some Operations provided no rewards or outcome after completion.
• Fixed an issue that occasionally blocked Cly’s Combat Jump because of non-existent overhead obstructions.
• Fixed the Speak with your Other Companions epilogue mission blocking progression.
• Fixed some shadowing artifacts that appeared on Fathom during cinematics.
• Fixed an issue where you couldn’t interact with the console during the third exploration phase of the “Retake Lunata” tactical mission.
• Fixed an issue where you could jettison yourself into space after completing the first encounter of the final Tactical Mission.
• The final battle now correctly ends in failure when the mission-critical NPC is killed.
• Fixed an issue in multi-encounter Tactical Missions where Morale stacks could be consumed two or three at a time.
• Fixed an issue where the “Launch Operation for Luco Sullust Search” objective didn’t expire properly.
• Fixed an issue where Stun Resistance carried into the next tactical combat if an Operator was dazed when the previous mission ended.
• Fixed an issue where an unremovable Lethargy effect carried into the next tactical combat if an Operator was Drained when the previous mission ended.
• Fixed the rotation of the holographic Imperial crest in the Den.
• Fixed an issue where Clev and Disha didn’t spawn as intended during the epilogue.
• Fixed an issue where the “Speak with Kabb” objective didn’t resolve if the corresponding conversation wasn’t available.
• Fixed an issue where hostage objective NPCs unintentionally displayed a health bar.
• Fixed an issue where Coil Strikers would turn invisible without the player being able to see it happen.
• Fixed an issue where units did not lose the effect of Shared Suffering when knocked off the battlefield.
• Fixed an issue where the Combat Readiness upgrade did not work in multi-encounter Tactical Missions after loading a save during the exploration segment.
• Fixed an issue where Resonance stacks transferred to a target that had already Surged, rather than moving to a legal target or canceling the transfer if none remained.
• Fixed an issue where Resonance would transfer to defeated units knocked off the battlefield.
• The Tactical Offense cross training that grants Advantage when an Operator kills a full-health target now works correctly even if the Operator is not a Sharpshooter.
• Fixed an issue where Authored Operator objectives didn’t expire upon the death or dismissal of the Operator.
• Fixed an issue that prevented an Operator from being recruited while simultaneously exiting the Recruitment Facility.
• Fixed an issue where the Operations tab still appeared on the Galaxy Map even when no Operations were available.
• Fixed an issue where B1 Battle Droids could not be flanked while in high cover.
• Fixed an issue where the damage bonus to Retaliation shots from Unstoppable wasn’t included in the damage notification, making it look as though the bonus didn’t work.
• Fixed an issue where the Defense bonus from the Double Down cross training was lost if the player saved and reloaded.
• Fixed an issue where the player’s viewpoint was obstructed while using Cly’s Combat Jump ability.
• Fixed an issue where the final boss’s Trance Wave kept hitting Coil enemies after their death.
• Fixed an issue with enemy logic that caused unreliable behavior on certain maps.
• Fixed an issue where certain bosses could have their actions blocked by Overwatch.
• Fixed an issue where Retaliation wouldn’t work against enemies in high cover because they couldn’t be seen.
• Fixed an issue where the No Mercy cross training applied the Vicious ability before the first turn began, causing it to expire immediately.
• Fixed an issue where the camera shifted to the wrong unit when rapidly switching between Operators.
• Fixed an issue where the final opponent of Tel’s story arc wouldn’t move its full distance to close the range gap when attacking.
• Fixed an issue where a unit lost a stack of Evasion when a Timed Mine was placed on it.
• Fixed an issue that caused Invulnerable to be wrongly bypassed, often when Area Attacks damaged multiple targets.
• Medpac and Surgeon’s Tools no longer throw two projectiles when targeting allies.
• Fixed an issue where Operators in the Medbay were not removed from it during solo assignments on Operations.
• Fixed an issue where the final boss would sometimes melee a target and nothing would happen.
• Fixed an issue where the final boss would move in and set up a kill twice against the same target.
• Fixed an issue where the final boss would move in to set up a kill and wrongly generate huge numbers of kill preparation status effects.
• Fixed an issue where Bacta Tanks were not made available when the player switched from hard to an easier difficulty.
• Fixed an issue that caused enemy trooper and enforcer overwatch shots to often have an 85% chance to hit, regardless of range.
• Fixed an issue on PlayStation 5 where the Character Databank would be deleted if enough Operators were created.

Performance and Stability

• Fixed various performance issues.
• Fixed a softlock that occurred during the Utility Tutorial.
• Fixed an issue where the player could be softlocked by spamming the inspection input while cycling between units.
• Fixed an issue where progression could be blocked in the “Retake Luunata” mission if the player saved in the elevator.
• Fixed a crash that occurred when closing Star Wars Zero Company from the main menu.

Targeting and Overwatch

• Fixed a target validation issue with Geryon and Typhon’s Call for Protection ability.
• Fixed an issue where Geryon and Typhon’s priority target effect expired before enemies could use it to select targets.
• Fixed an issue where Overwatch cones indicated coverage that actually blocks the shot.
• Fixed an issue where enemies placed the Overwatch cone at the location they took cover from, rather than the position they shoot from.
• Fixed an issue that prevented Visser from shooting multiple times if only two targets were available.
• Fixed an issue with the Open Fire ability where enemies targeted by the second or third shot in the chain wrongly received their cover bonus even when flanked by the shooter.
• Fixed an issue that stopped Overwatch cones from triggering and gave some cones an invisible coverage zone.
• Fixed an issue where the Rally UI displayed when trying to target other abilities.
• Fixed a melee targeting issue in which some enemies weren’t clickable when just outside movement range but reachable with the melee offset.
• Fixed various issues with activating Overwatch and its UI.

UI

• Fixed an issue where player inputs were not registering on the Radial Menu.
• Fixed an issue with the visibility of some warnings in the Upgrade Facility while under construction.
• In Hybrid Mode, the Linear Ability Bar now opens automatically if the Radial is moved off-screen.
• Fixed an issue where the Linear Ability Bar went missing after inspecting a unit.
• Fixed an issue where Specializations appeared locked after selecting an Operator with limited Specialization options.
• Fixed an issue where the wrong range value was listed for the Sabotage ability.
• Bacta Stims now correctly preview the amount of health they restore.
• Fixed an issue where the “New Customizations Unlocked” message appeared when no cosmetics had been unlocked.
• The Tactical Mission complete screen now accurately reflects the mission’s outcome.

Source: Polygon