Star Wars Zero Company Missions Guide: Operations, Tactical Missions and Objectives
Status: Pre-release
Quick answer
Star Wars Zero Company has two main activity types:
- Operations: strategic assignments handled through the Galaxy Map and Holotable. They do not use normal tactical combat and can provide resources, story developments, Bonds, or new opportunities.
- Tactical Missions: direct squad deployments with turn-based combat and an objective to complete.
Both can expire. Story-critical missions eventually become mandatory, but optional Operations and missions may disappear if you wait too long.
The most important planning rule is: read the objective before choosing the squad. A team built to hold a position may be poorly suited to sabotage, rescue, or extraction.
Operations vs Tactical Missions
Operations cost Intel. Tactical Missions can provide Intel along with Credits, Weapon Mods, Utilities, Focus Points, and Zone Influence.
The exact costs and reward values are Retail verification required.
What happens during an Operation?
Operations take place through the Galaxy Map and Holotable. They can represent information gathering, investigations, assignments, contacts, dead drops, or other work that does not fit a normal firefight.
Some Operations ask you to make a choice. That decision may affect:
- Character Bonds
- Side missions
- Available future Operations
- Story developments
- How the enemy develops
- Resources or regional Influence
Operations are not automatically “free rewards.” They use Intel, can expire, and may force you to choose between opportunities you cannot all complete in one campaign.
What happens during a Tactical Mission?
Tactical Missions are the direct combat layer. You deploy a squad to a planet, fight enemy forces, and complete an objective.
Story missions can include a short third-person exploration section before the tactical encounter. This can provide Intel and Advantage Points before combat.
Tactical Missions can award Credits, Weapon Mods, Utilities, Focus Points, Intel, and Zone Influence. They also advance the campaign Cycle after completion.
Mission type: Sabotage
Sabotage missions involve planting explosives or damaging an objective, then escaping before the situation becomes unmanageable.
What matters most
- Movement and timing
- A safe route to the objective
- A plan for the escape route
- Enough firepower to stop enemies without spending every action on unnecessary fights
Beginner approach
Do not treat Sabotage as a normal elimination mission. You may not need to defeat every enemy. Position the squad so the objective action and evacuation do not leave a key Operator stranded.
Overwatch can help protect a route, but an Overwatch-heavy “move slowly and hold position” plan may be less useful when the mission requires planting explosives and leaving quickly.
Exact objective timers, reinforcement rules, and extraction conditions are Retail verification required.
Mission type: Combat
Combat missions focus on defeating enemy forces or controlling a battlefield under direct pressure.
What matters most
- Target priority
- Cover
- Focus fire
- A plan for the enemy’s next turn
Beginner approach
Use the combat fundamentals from the beginner guide: identify the most dangerous enemy, remove threats efficiently, and end the turn in a position that does not expose the squad.
Do not assume every Combat mission is simply “defeat all enemies.” Read the briefing for secondary objectives, reinforcements, or movement requirements.
The exact objective variations and enemy waves are Retail verification required.
Mission type: Rescue
Rescue missions involve reaching and protecting a hostage or other vulnerable target.
What matters most
- Speed without abandoning cover
- A route to the hostage
- Protection against reinforcements
- A plan for extraction after the rescue
Beginner approach
Do not spend every turn eliminating enemies before moving toward the objective. The mission may punish delays or trigger more pressure around the hostage.
Bring at least one Operator who can control space or protect the route. Keep a support option available in case the rescue creates a dangerous retreat.
The exact hostage rules, rescue timer, and failure conditions are Retail verification required.
Mission type: Retrieval
Retrieval missions focus on recovering an item, person, or piece of information and then surviving the return route.
What matters most
- Reaching the objective safely
- Carrying or protecting the retrieved target
- Saving enough resources for the return trip
- Avoiding a squad split during extraction
Beginner approach
Plan the mission backwards from the extraction point. A route that is safe on the way in may become dangerous after reinforcements appear or the squad’s position changes.
Do not spend all Advantage and Utilities before the objective is secured unless doing so prevents a serious loss.
Exact item handling, extraction conditions, and reinforcement patterns are Retail verification required.
Hero and narrative missions
The game includes narrative missions with unique stories centred around a particular hero. These missions may be especially important for players who want to see an authored Operator’s personal content.
Bring the relevant character when the mission requires or strongly suggests it, but do not assume that every character quest has identical deployment rules.
The exact hero mission order, required Operators, failure conditions, and rewards are Retail verification required.
Can you complete every mission?
Probably not in one campaign. Official materials state that Operations and Tactical Missions have limited time frames and can disappear.
This means missing a mission is part of the campaign structure, not necessarily a sign that you played incorrectly. You must choose which opportunities matter most to your current squad and story goals.
Prioritise a mission when
- It is story-critical.
- It is about to expire.
- It unlocks a needed character, facility, or mission.
- It gives a reward that solves an immediate squad weakness.
- It directly affects a region or enemy threat you are trying to manage.
- It advances a Bond you care about without putting the squad at unreasonable risk.
Delay a mission when
- The reward is less useful than another expiring opportunity.
- Your best Operators are injured.
- You need to recruit, heal, or change equipment first.
- The current squad lacks the role the objective demands.
Do not delay a critical mission indefinitely. Story-critical content can become obligatory after a period of time.
How does a Tactical Mission advance the Cycle?
The Holotable displays the current Cycle’s Operations and Tactical Missions. You can handle available Operations and prepare at The Den before selecting a Tactical Mission.
Completing the selected Tactical Mission advances the campaign to the next Cycle. Before launching it, check:
- Which Operations are about to expire?
- Which Operators are injured?
- Which reward is most useful?
- Which Bond or Focus upgrade matters for the next fight?
- Does the squad match the mission objective?
- Do you have enough Credits for emergency treatment?
- A resource reward
- A new mission or story opportunity
- Bond progress
- Regional Influence
- An enemy development trade-off
- Separate story-critical, expiring, and optional activities.
- Check what each activity costs and rewards.
- Identify the mission objective, not just the enemy faction.
- Check injuries and the available roster.
- Match the squad to movement, range, protection, and control needs.
- Handle urgent Operations before launching combat.
- Confirm equipment, Utilities, and Credits.
- Launch the Tactical Mission only when you are ready to advance the Cycle.
- Operations and Tactical Missions are separate activity types.
- Both can expire.
- Story-critical missions become obligatory after a period of time.
- Operations use Intel and can affect story, Bonds, side missions, and enemy development.
- Tactical Missions use direct turn-based combat and advance the Cycle.
- Publicly described mission types include Sabotage, Combat, Rescue, Retrieval, and hero-focused narrative missions.
- Operations and Tactical Missions can award resources and Zone Influence.
- Complete mission list and order
- Exact expiration timers
- Mission-specific rewards and difficulty
- Reinforcement and extraction rules
- Objective failure conditions
- Zone Influence thresholds and rewards
- Which Operators are required for each hero mission
- Whether mission types or rewards change after launch updates
The exact expiration display and Cycle timing are Retail verification required.
How should you choose a squad for different objectives?
These are planning priorities, not fixed class requirements. The best squad depends on the map, enemy composition, difficulty, available Operators, and current injuries.
How do Operations affect Bonds and the enemy?
Operations may improve Bonds or create choices that influence side content. Some choices can also affect how the enemy develops.
This makes Operations useful for more than collecting Credits. Before selecting one, consider whether you want:
The exact hidden consequences of individual Operations are Retail verification required.
What is Zone Influence?
Completing Operations and Tactical Missions awards Zone Influence in the relevant region. Collecting enough Influence can unlock Zone Rewards, including Upgrades, Utilities, and Contacts.
Contacts can be used to gain large amounts of Influence. This gives you another reason to consider regional progress when choosing between missions.
Exact thresholds, rewards, Contact requirements, and region priorities are Retail verification required.
Common mission-planning mistakes
Treating every mission like an elimination mission
Sabotage, Rescue, Retrieval, and Extraction objectives reward different movement and timing decisions.
Starting the Tactical Mission too soon
The next Cycle may make an expiring Operation disappear. Finish urgent Den management first.
Choosing the highest reward without reading the objective
A large reward is not useful if the mission exposes an injured squad or requires a role you do not have.
Spending all resources before the objective is complete
Keep some Advantage, Utilities, and safe positioning options for the second half of the mission.
Assuming you must save every mission
The campaign is built around choices. Missing an optional opportunity is different from failing the entire campaign.
A safe mission-selection routine
Use this routine at the Holotable:
Bottom line
The right mission choice is not always the one with the biggest reward. It is the one that matches your current squad, resources, injuries, story goals, and the time left in the Cycle.
Read the objective first. Treat Operations as strategic choices rather than filler. Treat Tactical Missions as the action that advances time. If you follow that distinction, Sabotage, Rescue, Retrieval, and Combat missions become easier to plan even before the retail game reveals every detail.