Star Wars Zero Company Revamps Campaign Experience for New Players

I’ve been itching for a reason to dive back into Star Wars Zero Company since I wrapped up my first playthrough in early September. Well, EA and Bit Reactor have finally delivered with Patch 1.2, which introduces a host of new gameplay settings that let me customize the difficulty for my next run.

Star Wars Zero Company was a fantastic XCOM-style tactics game, but after completing it once, there wasn’t much left to explore. Players often turned to mods for more in-depth campaign options, especially since post-launch updates were sparse after Bit Reactor had to furlough many developers before the game’s release. Fortunately, Bit Reactor has brought back some of those furloughed workers and rolled out Patch 1.2, which offers more than just bug fixes.

This update includes gameplay adjustments that promote the use of the Upgrade Facility and tone down Cly’s Combat Jump ability, which was a bit too powerful. The standout features are a variety of campaign modifiers that allow players to fine-tune the difficulty of their campaigns. Just remember, these settings need to be activated before starting a new playthrough, as they can’t be altered mid-campaign.

In Zero Company, it was usually tough for units to die since they had to be injured three times in a single mission. Now, you can enable “Instant Death,” where units perish after just one injury, or “Two Strikes,” which means they go down after two injuries. For those who prefer the original three-injury rule, there’s an option to introduce a static or escalating “risk of death,” adding a chance for units to die upon being injured.

You can also opt to remove or disable health boosts from earning Focus Points, turn off cross-training for pairs you don’t like, or lessen the benefits from various attack types. One of my favorite new options is “No Perfect Shots,” which amps up the unpredictability by capping the maximum hit chance for any attack at 99%.

These new settings can significantly ramp up the challenge in Star Wars Zero Company, even on standard difficulty, and they’re exactly the kind of modifiers that entice me to replay a tactics game. I’m definitely looking forward to a new playthrough with the Instant Death and No Perfect Shots options activated soon.

Star Wars Zero Company Update 1.2 is now available on PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X. Bit Reactor has also hinted at plans to “explore additional configurations in future updates” for campaign modifiers.

For those interested in a detailed breakdown of the patch notes, including all the new campaign settings, character adjustments, and bug fixes, here’s what was shared, minus any developer commentary:

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

The new Star Wars tactics game is all about the little guys.