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Turn-Based Combat
July 13, 2026 at 06:32 PM
Added the no-fog-of-war design note and how it and directional Overwatch reduce the overwatch-crawl tactic
Combat in STAR WARS Zero Company is turn-based and shown from an isometric, top-down camera. You control a squad of operators, moving and acting one character at a time, then handing the turn to the enemy. The goal of every encounter is to outmaneuver foes rather than simply outgun them. Your whole squad acts first, then the enemy takes its turn.
On a character's turn you spend Action Points to move, attack, or trigger abilities, with three points available each turn. Actions can be taken in any order. Positioning matters as much as firepower: you use Cover and Positioning to stay alive, flank enemies to strip their defenses, and control space so the enemy cannot get clean shots. A Chance-to-Hit value sits next to each target, shaped by range and cover, with a Shot Breakdown panel that spells out the details.
Action | What It Does |
|---|---|
Move | Reposition the Operator; the AP cost rises with the distance traveled |
Attack | Fire on an enemy in range and line of sight; AP cost varies by weapon type, and some shots use all remaining AP |
Overwatch | Set a firing cone that triggers when an enemy moves through or acts inside it; can interrupt enemy movement, but ends the Operator's turn |
Utility | Use an item such as a Medpac or Concussion Grenade, usually for one AP |
Ability | Activate a Specialization ability to buff the squad, expose a target, or strike |
Call for Backup | Costs no AP; one random Operator picks a teammate to add firepower to its next attack |
Beyond Action Points, the squad shares a resource called advantage. It builds up as you land attacks and is spent on powerful abilities without costing AP. Examples include granting an ally an extra AP, calling in a devastating rocket strike, briefly raising the whole squad's Chance-to-Hit, or taunting enemies into attacking a single Operator. Because advantage is shared, you decide which character spends it and when. The pool tops out at a maximum of 10 advantage at a time, so you cannot stockpile it indefinitely.
When an Operator loses all health it is Downed and takes an Injury. A Downed Operator cannot act but can be Rallied by an ally. Injuries hurt combat stats and stack: a third Injury means permanent death on standard difficulty. A reliable combination is to knock an enemy out of cover with Tel-Rea's Force Push or Kabb's Uppercut, then catch it in a waiting Overwatch.
Levels are built by hand, but enemy placement is procedurally arranged, so a mission is not memorized after one attempt. Combined with permadeath, that keeps each fight tense: a careless move can cost an Operator for good, and on the harder difficulties there is no reloading it away.
Star Wars Zero Company also drops one convention of the genre: there is no fog of war, so the whole enemy force is visible from the start of a fight. With no hidden foes waiting to appear and Overwatch limited to a set cone rather than every direction, the slow wait-and-watch approach common to tactics games is far less rewarding. The design pushes you to advance and take ground instead.
