Combat in STAR WARS Zero Company is built around squad-wide turns, three action points per operator and a shared Advantage resource. The essential loop is to read the objective, inspect hit chance and action costs, remove the most dangerous threat, and finish in positions that can survive the enemy turn.
Action points and turn order
The player’s team acts, then the enemy team acts. Each operator begins with three AP, but three AP does not mean three identical attacks. Movement distance, weapons and abilities affect the cost, and some attacks consume the operator’s remaining AP.
Before committing, check the action preview and the destination’s firing angle. A move that leaves the wrong amount of AP can prevent the attack you intended. Most utilities cost 1 AP, while weapon behavior differs: for example, a Longarm shot costs 2 AP and a Blaster Pistol shot costs 1 AP. Because you control the whole squad turn, another operator may be able to disrupt cover or mark a target before the main attack.
Read hit chance before firing
Hit chance depends on distance, the weapon’s range, line of sight, cover and positioning. Select Shot Breakdown when the displayed percentage needs an explanation. Repositioning can improve the angle, but compare the benefit with its AP cost and the exposure created at the destination.
A low percentage is not corrected by firing more confidently. Look for a better angle, remove or bypass cover, use a utility, or choose a different target. Conversely, a high hit chance is still a probability rather than guaranteed damage, so avoid a plan that collapses after a single miss when another safer sequence is available.
Cover, elevation and sightlines
Partial and full cover, attack angles, elevation and line of sight affect combat. Some cover can be destroyed. A safe-looking object is therefore not an unconditional shield: the direction of the enemy’s attack still matters, and the battlefield can change during the turn.
Use cover as part of a firing plan. Check what your next position lets you see and what can see you. Destroying cover can expose a target for the operators who act later in the same squad turn. EA also demonstrates knockback moving an enemy into a teammate’s Overwatch cone, a useful example of positioning and squad abilities working together.
How Overwatch works
Overwatch covers a chosen cone and can react to enemy movement or actions inside it. The AP committed affects the number of shots, while distance in the cone affects accuracy. Entering Overwatch ends that operator’s turn, so resolve other intended actions before setting it.
In EcksToo’s gameplay explanation, an exposed operator can lose an Overwatch setup after being hit. That is an attributed gameplay observation, not a promise about every ability or difficulty. The practical lesson is to assess exposure before investing the operator’s remaining turn in reaction fire.
Advantage and Call for Backup
Advantage belongs to the squad and caps at ten. Each damaging hit generates one point. Spending Advantage enables abilities without an additional AP charge, but those options compete for the same pool. Examples in EA’s explanation include support that grants an ally an AP and offensive abilities such as a rocket attack; read the actual ability cost before choosing.
Once each turn, one randomly selected operator can Call for Backup, asking a teammate to assist their next attack. The setup costs no AP and cooperation develops Bonds. Look for this option while planning the team’s attacks rather than remembering it after everybody has finished.
For an approachable sequence, inspect costs and angles, arrange cooperative opportunities, take the actions you need, then settle into your intended end-of-turn positions. It is a checklist, not an unbreakable combo: the enemies and objective determine the priorities.
End-turn and objective checklist
You do not always need to eliminate every enemy. Use the mission objective—such as reaching, interacting with or protecting something—to decide whether another attack is worth the risk. When several enemies must be controlled, EA’s tactics guide recommends concentrating on the largest threat instead of distributing damage without removing an enemy action.
Before selecting End Turn, check four things:
- Is each operator protected from the enemies most likely to attack them?
- Does anyone still have AP that could improve their position or use a utility?
- Is the priority threat defeated, controlled or covered by a reaction?
- Does the squad still satisfy the actual objective rather than chasing unnecessary kills?
The game can warn when you try to end the turn early; the option is under Options → Gameplay → General. If a mission goes wrong, the pause menu provides Restart Mission.