Star Wars Zero Company Adds Optional Death Rules and Cheaper Upgrades

Star Wars Zero Company update 1.2 adds optional campaign modifiers for harsher death rules, less reliable attacks and slower health growth. Bit Reactor released the update on October 15, alongside lower upgrade costs and ability balance changes. Permanent death already exists under the default rules; the new options let you make it more punishing.

Select the modifiers through Difficulty Settings, then Additional Campaign Options, when starting a new campaign on any difficulty. They activate after the tutorial. These are not settings you can switch on halfway through an existing campaign.

Three Strikes, Two Strikes and Instant Death

Three Strikes is the default: an Operator defeated in tactical combat while carrying two injuries is permanently killed. Two Strikes lowers that threshold to one existing injury. Instant Death normally kills an Operator on a tactical defeat regardless of their injury count. Injuries from Galaxy Map Operations do not trigger these tactical death rules.

Trick has a specific exception under Instant Death. His altered For My Brothers ability lets him be downed and injured once during a Tactical Mission. A second defeat in that same mission kills him.

Death risk is a separate choice from the injury limit. Static Risk of Death adds a 20% chance of permanent death when defeated in tactical combat. Escalating Risk starts at 20%; surviving the first defeat raises it permanently to 40%, and surviving a second raises it to 80% for further defeats. Galaxy Map Operations do not apply or increase those risks.

Assist shots can miss and enemies can land critical hits

Assist Shots Can Miss replaces guaranteed assist hits with normal ranged attack rules. No Perfect Shots caps Operator ranged hit chances at 99%. Enemies Can Critically Hit gives enemy ranged and melee attacks a 5% critical chance for eight extra damage. These are optional restrictions, not changes everyone must use.

Other modifiers reduce or remove the health gained from Focus Points, limit Advantage generation, or lock talent, specialization and weapon changes. Reduced Health Increases grants one maximum health per six Focus Points instead of the default three; No Health Increases removes that source of growth entirely. You can choose the restrictions that interest you rather than treating the entire menu as a single difficulty preset.

Recruitment stays at 100 Credits per Operator

The regular update also changes spending, separately from the new-campaign options. Recruitment now costs 100 Credits per Operator instead of rising as the roster grows. Many Upgrade Facility prices fall: Rifle Damage III drops from 7,000 to 2,500 Credits, and Focus Point III from 6,500 to 2,000. Those are specific reductions, not a claim that every item is cheaper.

Bit Reactor says the changes respond to players lacking enough Credits to engage with upgrades. That is the developer's explanation, not a measured finding that the new economy solves every spending problem. Check which upgrades suit your squad before spending the difference.

Cly and Astromechs also receive ability limits

Cly's Combat Jump is now limited to once per turn, and Electroweb Dart to three uses per turn. At maximum rank, the Astromech's Built-In Comlink is limited to three uses per turn, while Self-Repair is limited to two uses per combat. These are general balance changes, not optional campaign modifiers.

For an existing run, review those ability limits and upgrade prices before relying on an old squad routine. Start fresh if you specifically want the added campaign restrictions. Our Zero Company review covers the broader game, while the game hub keeps its coverage together. The Steam page is the official PC purchase destination; none of these options requires buying a separate expansion.