Talents
Overview
Every operator has a Talent: a distinct layer from their class, carrying an ability that stays active regardless of which Specialization the operator is assigned to. Each operator starts with 1 Talent and 1 Specialization, and the two are chosen at separate steps of operator creation, so any Talent can be paired with any class.
- For authored story characters, the Talent is fixed and tied to their identity
- For custom operators, players select from the pool of Universal Talents
- Hawks has a unique talent, Fearless Leader, that persists through any specialization change
- Separately from that talent, Hawks can spend Advantage to refresh 1 AP for any squadmate, once per turn
Talents are upgraded in the Focus Tree alongside class abilities, and respecced on the same terms: freely, apart from a few specific heroes. A Talent respec swaps a custom operator’s Universal Talent the way a Specialization respec swaps their class, while an authored operator’s Talent stays with them whatever class they are moved to.
Universal Talents
Universal Talents are the pool custom operators pick from, and they are a separate set to the fixed talents carried by authored operators. Eleven are named, one of which is restricted to Astromechs; the remaining ten match the pool size visible in the loadout screen’s talent picker.
| Icon | Talent | Effect | Upgrading |
|---|---|---|---|
 | The Bigger They Are… | Powerful damage bonuses against the galaxy’s most dangerous targets. | Improves the bonus |
 | Anticipation | The operator anticipates and evades enemy attacks. | Loosens the usage limits, and ultimately lets the operator grant the bonus to allies as well |
 | Cold Blooded | The operator gains Vicious, letting them score Critical Hits easily. | Increases Critical Damage, and ultimately allows multiple critical hits |
 | Taunt | Forces enemies to attack this operator instead of allies. | Reduces the damage received while taunting |
 | A Life of Labor | Grants additional Health and Defense. | Improves both, and adds Melee Damage and Critical Damage |
 | Thievery | Steals additional Credits during missions. | Increases the amount gained per Tactical Mission |
 | Sabotage | Detonates a variety of objects commonly found on the battlefield. | Increases the number of uses per combat |
 | Espionage | Picks up additional Intel during missions. | Increases the amount gained per Tactical Mission |
 | Grit | The operator temporarily gains Invulnerable, ignoring damage from an incoming attack. | Increases health and Invulnerable stacks |
 | Fortitude | Grants additional Defense while injured. | Improves the bonus, and eventually lets the operator ignore injury penalties entirely |
 | Built-In Comlink (Astromech only) | An integrated comlink that provides additional AP to allies. | Increases the number of uses per turn |
Two of these are strategy-layer talents rather than combat ones: Thievery and Espionage pay out in Credits and Intel for taking part in a Tactical Mission, which makes squad selection a resource decision as well as a tactical one.
Two statuses come from this list rather than from any class ability: Vicious (Cold Blooded) and Invulnerable (Grit). A third, Evasion, comes from Anticipation. See Combat System.
Universal Talent ranks
Every Universal Talent runs to rank IV, a shorter track than the six ranks most class abilities reach. The upgrade paths differ in kind as well as degree: some raise the numbers, some loosen a usage limit (Sabotage IV removes its per-combat cap outright), and Anticipation IV changes the target, extending the buff from the operator to an ally.
The Bigger They Are… Passive
| Rank | Effect |
|---|---|
| I | Ranged and Melee Attacks deal +2 damage against Elite and Boss enemies |
| II | +3 damage against Elite and Boss enemies |
| III | +4 damage against Elite and Boss enemies |
| IV | +6 damage against Elite and Boss enemies |
Anticipation Fast Action
| Rank | Effect |
|---|---|
| I | Self, once per turn: gain 1 stack of Evasion |
| II | Self, twice per turn: gain 1 stack of Evasion |
| III | Self, 3 times per turn: gain 1 stack of Evasion |
| IV | Single ally, 3 times per turn: grant 1 stack of Evasion |
Cold Blooded Fast Action
| Rank | Effect |
|---|---|
| I | Self, once per combat: applies 1 stack of Vicious to this operator |
| II | Self, twice per combat: applies 1 stack of Vicious |
| III | Self, 3 times per combat: applies 1 stack of Vicious |
| IV | Self, 3 times per combat: applies 2 stacks of Vicious |
Taunt Fast Action
| Rank | Effect |
|---|---|
| I | Single enemy, once per turn: Taunt the selected enemy |
| II | Taunt the selected enemy and reduce its damage by 2 for the rest of the turn |
| III | Taunt the selected enemy and reduce its damage by 4 for the rest of the turn |
| IV | Taunt the selected enemy and reduce its damage by 6 for the rest of the turn |
A Life of Labor Passive
| Rank | Effect |
|---|---|
| I | +5 Health, +1 Defense |
| II | +5 Health, +1 Defense, +2 Melee Damage |
| III | +5 Health, +1 Defense, +2 Melee Damage, +2 Critical Hit Damage |
| IV | +7 Health, +2 Defense, +4 Melee Damage, +4 Critical Hit Damage |
Thievery Passive
| Rank | Effect |
|---|---|
| I | Earn +150 Credits on completing a combat mission. Does not stack |
| II | +200 Credits |
| III | +250 Credits |
| IV | +300 Credits |
Sabotage Special Action
| Rank | Effect |
|---|---|
| I | Single object, once per combat: trigger an explosive object on the battlefield to detonate, immediately affecting nearby units |
| II | Twice per combat |
| III | 3 times per combat |
| IV | No limit |
Espionage Passive
| Rank | Effect |
|---|---|
| I | Earn +5 Intel on completing a combat mission. Does not stack |
| II | +7 Intel |
| III | +9 Intel |
| IV | +12 Intel |
Grit Fast Action
| Rank | Effect |
|---|---|
| I | Self, once per turn: applies 1 stack of Invulnerable. Equipping the talent adds +2 Max Health |
| II | Same effect, and +4 Max Health |
| III | Same effect, and +8 Max Health |
| IV | Applies 2 stacks of Invulnerable, and +12 Max Health |
Fortitude Passive
| Rank | Effect |
|---|---|
| I | +2 Defense while this operator is Injured |
| II | +3 Defense while Injured |
| III | +4 Defense while Injured |
| IV | +6 Defense while Injured, and ignores the Chance-to-Hit penalty from Injury |
Built-In Comlink, the Astromech-only Talent, has no rank values recorded yet.
Authored Operator Talents
Each of the seven authored operators carries a unique talent. These are the fixed, identity-tied talents described above, and they are drawn from a separate set to the selectable pool: an authored talent belongs to one character and cannot be picked for a custom operator, while custom operators choose from the Universal Talents.
Fixed does not mean static. Every entry below is upgradeable, with the upgrade improving the talent’s own numbers rather than swapping it for another.
| Operator | Unique Talent | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Hawks | Fearless Leader | While Hawks is present, increases assist damage and defence for all operators. Upgrading improves the bonuses. |
| Trick | For My Brothers | Trick can withstand being Downed and automatically revives during the next turn. Upgrading improves the health recovered and injury resistance. |
| Tel-Rea Vokoss | Strong with the Force | Gains stacks of Harmony each turn, raising Lightsaber Deflection and attack damage. Upgrading increases the stacks gained. |
| Cly Kullervo | Combat Jump | Uses her jetpack to jump to a target location, pushing enemies out of position and inflicting Burn. Upgrading increases the range and Burning stacks. |
| Luco Bronc | Combat Gas | Gains stacks of Sharpened Senses, increasing percentage chance to hit. Upgrading increases the number of stacks. |
| Jae Mordant | Final Shot | Immediately assists and eliminates any low-health targets. Upgrading raises the health threshold. PC Gamer compared the behaviour to Fallout’s Mysterious Stranger. |
| Kabb Uppercut | Uppercut | Knockback melee attack against enemies that refunds the AP if it defeats the target. Upgrading improves the damage. |
Two mechanics named here appear nowhere else: Harmony, the stacking buff behind Tel-Rea’s Lightsaber Deflection, and Sharpened Senses, the stacking accuracy buff Luco builds. Both Hawks and Jae key off the assist mechanic.
Authored Talent ranks
Rank counts vary by operator, where the Universal pool is uniform at four: Hawks and Kabb Uppercut run to VI, Tel-Rea Vokoss to V, and the rest to IV.
Fearless Leader Passive Hawks
| Rank | Effect |
|---|---|
| I | While Hawks is present, all operators gain +1 Assist Damage |
| II | +1 Assist Damage and +1 Defense for all operators |
| III | +2 Assist Damage and +1 Defense for all operators |
| IV | +2 Assist Damage and +2 Defense for all operators |
| V | +3 Assist Damage and +2 Defense for all operators |
| VI | +4 Assist Damage and +3 Defense for all operators |
An earlier EA description of Fearless Leader also credited it with a chance-to-hit bonus; no rank in the ability data carries one.
Uppercut Melee Action Kabb Uppercut
| Rank | Effect |
|---|---|
| I | 1 AP, 10 base damage, once per turn. Rush an enemy and strike it, dealing Melee Damage and pushing it backwards. Defeating the target restores all AP used. +4 Impact Damage for each object struck |
| II | 11 base damage |
| III | 12 base damage |
| IV | 14 base damage |
| V | 16 base damage |
| VI | 18 base damage |
For My Brothers Passive Trick
| Rank | Effect |
|---|---|
| I | Once per combat: when Trick is Downed he automatically revives at the start of the next turn at half health |
| II | Revives at full health |
| III | Revives at full health, and takes no Injury the first time he is Downed |
| IV | If Downed on your turn, Trick revives immediately and recovers 1 AP, at full health and with no Injury the first time he is Downed |
Final Shot Passive Jae Mordant
| Rank | Effect |
|---|---|
| I | 999 base damage. Once per turn, Jae immediately fires her blaster and eliminates any enemy left with 4 health or less after an allied operator's attack |
| II | Eliminates enemies with 6 health or less |
| III | Eliminates enemies with 8 health or less |
| IV | Eliminates enemies with 10 health or less |
An earlier EA description said upgrades raise both the health threshold and the number of Final Shots per turn; every rank in the ability data stays at once per turn.
Strong with the Force Passive Tel-Rea Vokoss
| Rank | Effect |
|---|---|
| I | Begins each turn of battle with 2 stacks of Harmony. Harmony affects Deflection and Lightsaber Attacks |
| II | 3 stacks of Harmony |
| III | 4 stacks of Harmony |
| IV | 5 stacks of Harmony |
| V | 6 stacks of Harmony |
Combat Jump Special Action Cly Kullervo
| Rank | Effect |
|---|---|
| I | Jump to a target location in range, pushing nearby enemies out of position. Jump up to 14m |
| II | Jump up to 17m |
| III | Jump up to 20m |
| IV | Jump up to 23m, and inflicts 4 stacks of Burning |
Luco Bronc’s Combat Gas is the one authored Talent with no rank values recorded yet.
References
| # | Source | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Star Wars Zero Company in-game ability data: Talent rank tables | Aug 2026 |
| 2 | EA: Operators hub | Aug 2026 |
| 3 | EA Star Wars on X: loadout customisation video | Jul 2026 |
| 4 | EA: Answering the Internet’s Biggest Questions (community Q&A) | 21 Jul 2026 |
| 5 | EA Star Wars: gameplay clips (YouTube / X), Sabotage combat clip | Jul 2026 |
If information is missing, it has not been confirmed by an official or press source.