Character Creation & Squad Customisation

Character creation happens twice in Zero Company. Hawks, the player character, is built once at the start of the campaign. Custom Operators are created throughout it, whenever the roster has room. Almost none of it is permanent, and the choices that are permanent are made on a different screen entirely, before creation begins.

Creating Hawks

Hawks’ six species are a narrower list than custom Operators get. Completing the campaign once adds Weequay and Ovissian, taking it to eight: see New Game Plus.

Hawks can be re-customised at any time at the character terminal in the Den, so the opening choice is not a commitment.

Hawks is the only Operator exempt from permadeath, but not from failure: if Hawks is defeated in battle the mission ends immediately and has to be restarted, whatever the Permadeath setting.

Creating Custom Operators

Recruits are built from scratch with a wider pool than Hawks. They are designed in the Character Database on the main menu and hired at the recruitment terminal in the Den, which are two separate screens.

Custom recruits are subject to permadeath in the same way as story companions.

Recruiting Clone Operators

Yes, clone troopers can be recruited as Operators, and a full four-clone squad is possible. They are not open from the start: Clone unlocks as an origin after a point in the story, so the species pool begins at ten and reaches eleven. On a campaign started after completing one, clones are available immediately.

Clone armour cosmetics are a separate thing and are available from the very start, before clone Operators themselves unlock: a selection of paint jobs and patterns for helmets and armour. Clone Trooper helmets also apply a voice modulation effect to whoever wears one, clone or not.

Mandalorian armour is the exception to the cosmetic wardrobe: only Cly Kullervo can wear it. See Clone Troopers for the 100th Clone Company and Trick.

Astromech Droids

Astromechs are built separately, through the droid builder rather than the species list, and need the Droid Repair Bay bought at the Den’s Upgrade Facility. Available models include the familiar R2 and R3 series, and BR-1, a new Astromech model designed for Zero Company by Bit Reactor. See Exotic Classes.

Story Companions

The six story companions have fixed appearances but can be re-customised between missions. Outfits can be changed freely, and class or specialisation can be changed, with one exception: Tel-Rea Vokoss always remains a Jedi Padawan.

See Companions for each one’s unique Talent and how they can be lost.

What Is Permanent and What Is Not

This is the part worth knowing before spending time on a build.

Fixed for the campaign, set on the Difficulty Settings screen before creation:

• Permadeath, on or off
• Beskar Mode, which commits the run to a single save with no manual saving

Changeable at any time, at no cost:

• Specializations, Talents, weapons, and Focus Point distribution, from the Personnel facility
• Species and appearance for Hawks and custom Operators, at the Den’s Customization Facility, not only at creation
• Difficulty level, from the menu outside combat

Fixed once chosen: Cross Trainings from the Bond System, and the Talents of authored characters. The unique Specializations, Astromech and Jedi Padawan, cannot be assigned to or taken from anyone else.

Utility items refresh at the start of every battle, including consecutive battles inside a single story mission, so a loadout that never gets spent is a sign to swap it for one that will.

Species and Class Do Not Change Your Stats

Bit Reactor has confirmed that no species or faction has better weapon proficiencies, so no origin is mechanically stronger than another. Outfits do not affect gameplay either. Species and appearance are presentation; Specialization and Weapon Class are the decisions that change how an Operator plays.

Any weapon can be paired with any Specialization, so a Sharpshooter is not tied to a Longarm nor a Soldier to a Repeater.

Choosing a Specialization

EA’s official Specialization and Weapon guide, published 28 August 2026, suggests pairings by playstyle. This is the publisher’s guidance, reproduced as published:

Because Specializations can be changed freely afterwards, this is a starting point rather than a commitment. Every Operator also gains a second Specialization after Cycle 18. There are 12 classes in total, 8 standard and 4 exotic: see Classes for the full ability kits and Exotic Classes for the four that cannot be freely assigned.

Roster Limits

Players start with a maximum of 7 Operators and can grow the roster to a cap of 20, expanded through Crew Quarters upgrades at the Den, story progression, and Authored Operators joining the squad. An Operator can be dismissed from the recruitment terminal to free a slot.

Related

• Classes for the full ability kits
• Species & Races for every species in the game
• Weapons for the four Weapon Classes and their stats
• Permadeath and Difficulty for the settings fixed at creation

References

If information is missing, it has not yet been confirmed. Corrections are welcome.