Star Wars Zero Company just got a lot more dangerous — by choice. Bit Reactor’s turn-based tactics game received update 1.2 on October 15, and its headline feature is a set of Campaign Modifiers that let players rebuild the game’s rules before a new run begins. Permadeath can now be instant. Assist shots can miss. Enemies can land critical hits. For players who found the base game too forgiving, the gloves are off.
The modifiers live in the Difficulty Settings menu and can only be switched on when starting a fresh campaign, on any difficulty level. They kick in once the tutorial is done. Bit Reactor says the options came straight from player feedback: people wanted harder campaigns, especially around injuries and permanent death.
What the new modifiers change
Injury Limits decide how many injuries an operator can take before a defeat becomes permanent — one, two, or three strikes. Risk of Death adds a flat 20% chance of losing an operator for good when they fall, or an escalating version where the risk climbs with every injury survived.
Health Progression slows or removes the bonus health operators earn from Focus Points. Bond Progression can hold back shared bonuses between operators who dislike each other until they reach Bond Level 4. Advantage Rules can stop area attacks and assists from generating Advantage, or cut the chance of gaining it from damaging attacks to 50%.
Tactical Modifiers let assist shots miss, give enemies a small chance to deal bonus critical damage, and cap operator ranged accuracy at 99%. Lockout Modifiers go further still, blocking mid-campaign respecs of talents, specializations, weapons, and recruits. The studio recommends a first run on Normal with the default rules before turning any of this on — and says more modifier options are planned for future updates.
Cheaper upgrades and balance fixes
The patch is not all punishment. Bit Reactor cut the price of many facility upgrades after its data showed players were barely engaging with the Upgrade Facility, mostly because they could not afford it. Recruiting new characters now costs a flat 100 credits instead of climbing as the campaign goes on, which should leave more room to experiment in the later acts.
On the balance side, the Mandalorian recruit Cly takes a hit: her jetpack is now once per turn, and her Electroweb Dart is limited to three uses per turn, closing down what the studio called exploitative strategies. Astromechs can no longer hand out healing and Access Points as freely, and Scouts can no longer stack guaranteed Advantage as easily. The patch also includes a wide round of bug fixes, including fixes for the glitchy Overwatch ability.
The update lands at a hopeful moment for the game. Zero Company passed 1 million copies sold in early October, and Bit Reactor has brought back some of the staff it furloughed before launch to support post-launch development. Update 1.2 is live now on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
Sources: EA – Star Wars Zero Company 1.2 Patch Notes, ComicBook – Star Wars Zero Company’s Big Update, Push Square – Star Wars Zero Company Adds Modifiers
