Every Main Story Operative In Star Wars: Zero Company, Ranked

Star Wars: Zero Company is yet another fantastic Star Wars game, capturing what life outside the Clone Wars was like for people just trying to get by. It’s also another stellar licensed spin from the team at Firaxis, who, after knocking it out of the park with Marvel’s Midnight Suns, has done the same here but for Star Wars.

Much like Midnight Suns, Star Wars: Zero Company features an eccentric cast of characters who all have their very own unique specialties in combat, as well as a deep connection to the game’s main story. Although unlike in Midnight Suns, your character can die for good if you make too many bad moves, losing them for the rest of your playthrough without seeing how their story ends.

With such high stakes, it’s fair to want to know who is the best character to take with you in the game and to invest personally with. The good news is that everyone is viable, and if you don’t like them, you can freely respec them into units more useful to your specific playstyle. However, some are naturally going to be better than the others.

So, without further ado, here is my very subjective ranking of the best main story operatives in Star Wars: Zero Company.

9

Aurelio

The Jenkins of Star Wars: Zero Squad

Aurelio is a Rodian Assault unit with your party at the start of the game. After being made to move him into a dangerous position, Aurelio is quickly killed to demonstrate the games’ permadeath mechanic. The team will spend roughly two seconds mourning his loss before moving on, and he’ll be the first name in your den’s memorial throughout your playthrough.

Sadly, there isn’t much else to the character, but his assault skills sure do come in handy during that first mission.

8

Cly Kullervo

Not Bad, Just Not My Favorite

Cly is your typical Mandalorian Bounty Hunter who decides to join the party to gain access to your intel. She’s short spoken and doesn’t share much private information, making her one of the least memorable members of the party.

In terms of combat, she’s just fine. You’ll gain access to her jetpack, which can knock foes away and, at max rank, burn nearby enemies. She’ll also come equipped with electric darts which you can detonate for wide AoE damage. As a Gunslinger, she’ll prefer close-quarters combat, jumping into hard-to-reach areas with her jetpack to take out enemies hiding behind cover. Or alternatively, decimating groups of battle droids in a single turn.

Sadly, my Hawke was a gunslinger who filled her niche already. I also found the electro dart combo to be quite clunky, requiring too much valuable AP, when you could just Quick Draw to wipe out weaker mobs of enemies instead. If you’re willing to take the time to learn her kit, I could see an argument for her being one of the better operatives in the game. Sadly, I just couldn’t find a way to make her fit into my party.

7

Jae Mordant

Victim of Needing A Respec

Jae is the first character to join your team, and it’s her urging that lands the Zero Company with its major contract with the Republic. Outside of Hawke, it’s arguable she’s the most important main story operative, as her motivation is closely tied to the main villains of the game, who took over her home planet of Luunata.

Jae comes with the powerful Final Shot ability, which will have her automatically eliminate an enemy in her line of sight after reaching below a certain health threshold. As an Assault Class, she’ll also come equipped with the Bull Rush ability, letting her shove enemies off ledges to plummet to their demise. This makes her a fairly strong mid-range operative who wants to be close to her enemies to pick off stragglers while throwing hands with people up close.

While she’s great in the early game, I feel like Jae gets eclipsed by other squadmates quickly who can fill her niche better. While the execute trait is beneficial, everything else surrounding her kit can feel like a jack of all trades yet a master of none.

6

Trick

Your Best Man

In terms of character, Trick is absolutely your ride or die. Early on, he’s your best demolitions man, dishing out major damage onto enemies with his Rocket Strike ability. Coupled with a repeater, he can attempt to one-shot enemy units in a single turn as well.

His passive ability, For My Brothers, is also great if you plan on giving him a second specialization as a Heavy unit, directing enemy attention onto himself. This ability lets him revive at full health without sustaining an injury, meaning he can soak up tons of damage for your team without any drawbacks.

It’s fair to say he’ll be a staple of most teams, especially in the earlier sections of the game. However, as enemies became tougher, I found myself phasing Trick out of the party for heavier hitters, but make no mistake, he can be the rock you need to get you through missions if you need.

5

Luco Bronc

A Deadly Late-Comer

Luco is the last member to join your squad, and fills the sharpshooter niche in your party. He’s also an Umbaran, which adds some neat tension into the squad if you’re a fan of hostile squad mates who aren’t always buddy-buddy with everyone.

Despite being a late-comer to the party, Luco quickly makes himself a worthy addition. His special ability, Combat Gas, gives him stacks of Sharpened Sense, adding additional Ranged Attack Damage and Chance to Hit to himself. This pairs nicely with the Sharpshooters boosts to Critical Chance and Critical Damage as well. Position him on high ground overlooking combat, and he’ll quickly start picking off enemies in a single turn.

If you also pair him with a Scout and Astromech, you’ll be able to dish out an immense amount of damage per turn thanks to all of his bonuses to critical damage.

4

Kabbney “Kabb” Uppercut

A Controversial Favorite

I’m calling it now, but Kabb is going to be the most underrated operator for most people. Kabb is the only main Scoundrel operator of the team, giving him access to Identify Weakness, which guarantees the next attack to be a crit, and Easy Mark, letting him assist on the next turn for free. If set up with the Call For Backup ability, you can end up having Kabb and two other operatives hitting the same target for guaranteed crit damage in a single turn.

His other main ability, Uppercut, is a stronger version of the Assault’s Bull Rush. This ability not only does melee damage and knocks an enemy back, but also refunds the AP cost to cast it if it kills an enemy. So, you can use all 3 of your AP to pick off a low health target to reposition, get all your AP back, and continue your turn.

While this isn’t the strongest strategy at the start of the game where mobs go down quickly, Kabb becomes a powerful ally to have in your squad just in case.

3

Tel-Rea Vokoss

The Ultimate Heavy Hitter

It should come as no surprise that the Jedi character would end up becoming one of the most valuable squad members in the game. As a Padawan, Tel-Rea comes equipped with two lightsabers and the ability to use the force on the battlefield. This means she can get up close to swiftly take out targets, deflect enemy blaster fire back at them, and force push enemies off the ledge. If you loved Midnight Suns and feel comfortable with the combat cycle in that game, Tel-Rea will absolutely be a favorite for you.

I can’t understate how valuable her Force Push and Force Pull abilities are, especially in the early game. While a shove is naturally good at one-shotting enemies, Tel-Rea can do it half-way across the battlefield, so long as they’re in her line of sight.

The one downside is that she’ll usually end up being the one most in danger, as you do have to position her aggressively to get the most value out of her damage. But it’s a trade-off well worth it, as Tel-Rea often ran the battlefield in most combat missions I brought her on.

2

Astromech

The Ideal Support Character

The Astromech is everyone’s favorite supporting character to bring on a mission. While this unit can’t directly do damage to enemies without the use of utilities, its value comes from its ability to set up your team for success.

The Astromech’s main ability, Built-In-Commlink, allows it to grant another squad mate 1 AP. While this seems insignificant at first glance, this often means giving your ally an extra turn to deal combat, reposition on the map, or set up an Overwatch. This would be great on its own, but the droid also gets to scan enemies. This reduces enemies’ defense while also increasing their chance to be hit.

Additionally, it can already bring in three utility items, and it’s the ultimate character to help set up your team for success. Whether that’s by healing them with medkits in a pinch, throwing grenades into a group of stacked up enemies, or smoking them out to give you extra coverage. You can’t go wrong with bringing the Astromech with you on any mission, and is arguably best-in-slot alongside your own Hawke.

1

Anakin Skywalker

A One-Man Army

That’s right, for a very brief moment in the game, Anakin Skywalker himself will join your party for a single mission. Which is a relief, as it would be one of the tougher ones in the game.

In the mission “Casualties of War”, you’ll be asked to bring your lone Hawke to oversee a prisoner transfer on the Cloud City of Bespin. There, you’ll meet with Anakin Skywalker, who’s trading your future companion Luco for a captured clone trooper from the 501st. Fathom quickly interrupts this meeting, raining fire upon you from gunships. This kills everyone but yourself, Luco, and the Jedi, and you all reluctantly team up to escape Fathom’s attack.

Were it not for Anakin, this would be one of the toughest missions in the game. With him, however, it’s an absolute cakewalk. Anakin is able to one-shot most enemies here with his powerful melee attacks, but his real value comes from his lightsaber throw, which, if you line up just right, can decimate up to four bulky enemies in a single turn. Last but not least, Anakin takes next to no damage from blaster fire, and it’s easy to see why he earned his title as a general during the Clone Wars.

Sadly, he doesn’t join your party from here on, but it’s a standout moment in the game and a tease for Tel-Rea’s potential during the later stages of the game.

Released

August 27, 2026

Developer(s)

Bit Reactor

Franchise

Star Wars

PC Release Date

August 27, 2026