Star Wars Zero Company Permadeath and Injury Guide
Status: Pre-release
Quick answer
Yes, Star Wars Zero Company has a Permadeath system, but you can turn it off. Permadeath is enabled by default according to the official developer Q&A.
On standard difficulty, an Operator who accumulates three Injuries dies permanently. Hawks is different: if Hawks dies in combat, the result is an automatic mission failure and you must restart the mission.
For a new player:
- Use Story difficulty if you mainly want the campaign and characters.
- Use Standard if you want the intended tactical pressure without immediately choosing the harshest experience.
- Keep Permadeath on if you want every squad decision to matter.
- Turn it off if losing a favourite authored character would make the campaign frustrating rather than meaningful.
The exact rules for every difficulty, special mission, save option, and injury exception are Retail verification required.
What happens when an Operator is injured?
Injuries are lasting consequences from combat and some dangerous activities. They negatively affect an Operator’s combat performance and need to be managed at The Den.
If an Operator is Downed during combat, they cannot act normally. An ally may be able to Rally them back into the fight, but getting a teammate back up does not mean the risk has disappeared.
The exact health values, Rally rules, and how many times an Operator can be Downed during one encounter are Retail verification required.
How does Permadeath work?
Permadeath removes a character from the campaign permanently after the relevant death condition is reached. On standard difficulty, the official gameplay overview confirms that accumulating three Injuries results in permanent death.
That can apply to both Custom Operators and named characters. Losing an authored character can also mean losing their future dialogue, side content, and personal story moments.
Permadeath is not the same as a mission failure for every character. Hawks is the key exception: Hawks’ death causes the current mission to fail and requires a restart rather than permanently ending the campaign.
Special mission rules and other exceptions are Retail verification required.
Can you turn Permadeath off?
Yes. The official Q&A confirms that Permadeath can be toggled off.
Turning it off is a legitimate way to customise the experience. It is especially useful if:
- You are new to tactical games.
- You want to focus on the story and character relationships.
- You do not want an unlucky mission to remove a favourite character.
- You are learning the combat system before starting a more demanding campaign.
Leaving it on is better if you want the campaign to retain the full pressure of squad decisions and irreversible losses.
Which difficulty should a beginner choose?
The developers have described multiple difficulty experiences, including a more forgiving Story difficulty and more demanding options beyond Normal.
Story difficulty
Choose Story if you want the cinematic campaign, characters, and Star Wars setting to be the main focus. It is designed to reduce the chance that the learning curve blocks progress.
Standard difficulty
Choose Standard if you want to learn the tactical systems while still accepting meaningful consequences. The official overview specifically confirms the three-Injury permanent-death rule on Standard difficulty.
Hard or Expert
Choose a higher difficulty after you understand AP, cover, Overwatch, Advantage, team roles, and the Den’s injury management. Limited saves and harsher consequences have been associated with higher difficulties.
The complete difficulty-by-difficulty Permadeath table is Retail verification required.
How do you treat Injuries?
The Medbay in The Den treats injuries sustained during Operations and Tactical Missions.
There are two confirmed recovery options:
- Standard bed: Requires one Cycle to heal an Operator.
- Bacta Tank: Provides instant recovery but costs Credits.
Use a standard bed when you can afford to wait and another Operator can cover the injured character’s role. Use the Bacta Tank when the next mission is urgent or the injured Operator is essential to your squad plan.
The exact Credit costs and treatment restrictions are Retail verification required.
When should you replace an injured Operator?
Replace an injured Operator when:
- Their role is essential and their combat penalty makes the mission unsafe.
- You have a Custom Operator or authored character who can cover the same job.
- The next Tactical Mission is not worth risking another Injury.
- You need to preserve the character for a personal or story mission.
Do not treat an injury as a reason to remove a character permanently. Check whether the character can recover within the next Cycle and whether the mission can be handled by a different squad.
How can you reduce the risk of death?
Protect the Operator who is already injured
An injured character is a poor choice for a high-risk frontline position. Keep them in safer cover or use a substitute until the injury is treated.
Do not leave the squad exposed for one extra attack
A small amount of extra damage is rarely worth allowing several enemies to attack an exposed Operator.
Focus fire on the most dangerous enemy
Removing one threat can prevent more damage than spreading small attacks across several targets.
Use support actions intentionally
Healing, Backup, Overwatch, cover, and Advantage can all help prevent a bad enemy turn. Do not save every defensive tool for a crisis that may never arrive.
Keep a backup role available
If the only Medic, Sharpshooter, or frontline Operator becomes injured, the squad can lose its ability to function. Recruit and develop at least one alternative role when possible.
Check The Den before advancing the Cycle
Heal essential characters, review Operations, adjust equipment, and choose the next squad before launching a Tactical Mission that will move the campaign forward.
What happens if an authored character dies?
An authored character can be vulnerable to Permadeath. If they die, the campaign may continue without them, but their personal story content and future interactions may be lost.
The exact replacement scenes, quest consequences, and character-specific exceptions are Retail verification required.
This is why Permadeath changes more than combat difficulty. It can change who is present in the Den, which Bonds are available, and which character moments you see.
What happens if Hawks dies?
Hawks is the player character. If Hawks dies in combat, it causes an automatic mission failure and requires a mission restart.
This is different from an authored or Custom Operator dying permanently. The campaign does not simply continue without Hawks.
The exact restart point and save behaviour at every difficulty are Retail verification required.
Does Permadeath affect Custom Operators?
Yes, Custom Operators should be treated as vulnerable squad members when Permadeath is active. Their customisation does not make them immune to campaign consequences.
That also means a Custom Operator can become important to your campaign through Bonds and shared missions. Losing a custom recruit may affect both your combat options and the relationships you built around them.
Is Permadeath worth using?
Use Permadeath if you want
- A campaign where every mission decision matters.
- Emotional consequences for losing squad members.
- A reason to rotate Operators and maintain backup roles.
- More tension from injuries, resources, and risky objectives.
Turn it off if you want
- A smoother first playthrough.
- To learn the systems without restarting missions.
- To see authored character stories without permanent loss.
- To focus on the Star Wars campaign rather than survival pressure.
There is no wrong choice. The developers explicitly support changing the setting to create the experience that suits you.
Common mistakes
Treating Downed as safe
Getting an Operator back into the fight does not remove the danger of another Injury.
Sending an injured character back immediately
Check the Medbay and the next mission before assuming the Operator must deploy again.
Spending all Credits on equipment
Credits may be more valuable for treatment, recruitment, or a Bacta Tank than for a small weapon improvement.
Refusing to rotate characters
Bond progress matters, but repeatedly using the same injured Operator can destroy the squad’s long-term stability.
Choosing the highest difficulty before learning the basics
Learn the combat loop first. Harder consequences are more meaningful when they result from a real decision rather than an unknown rule.
Safe beginner survival routine
Before every Tactical Mission:
- Check each deployed Operator’s Injury status.
- Identify who can safely fill each squad role.
- Treat or replace a character whose injury creates too much risk.
- Check cover, support, equipment, and Utilities.
- Decide which enemy must be removed first.
- Keep a defensive option for the enemy turn.
- Do not advance the Cycle until The Den has no urgent treatment or planning task.
- Permadeath can be turned off.
- Three Injuries cause permanent death on Standard difficulty.
- Hawks’ death causes mission failure and a restart.
- The Medbay and Bacta Tank help manage injuries.
- Named and Custom Operators can be at risk when Permadeath is active.
- Permadeath exists and can be toggled off.
- Three Injuries cause permanent death on Standard difficulty.
- Hawks’ death causes an automatic mission failure and restart.
- The Medbay treats injuries.
- Standard beds take one Cycle to heal.
- The Bacta Tank provides instant recovery for Credits.
- Higher difficulties can include harsher consequences and limited saves.
- Exact injury rules on every difficulty
- Downed and Rally details
- Treatment costs and timing after launch
- Special mission and story-character exceptions
- Save and restart behaviour
- Injury penalties by type
- How Permadeath affects every authored character quest
Bottom line
Star Wars Zero Company gives you control over how much Permadeath pressure you want:
For a first playthrough, Story or Standard difficulty is the safest starting point. If you keep Permadeath on, think of squad survival as a long-term resource problem: rotate injured characters, preserve Credits for treatment, and never assume one risky attack is worth losing a valuable Operator.