Star Wars Zero Company ships with permadeath on by default, but it works differently from the XCOM games it evokes: operators don’t die to one bad turn, they die to their third Injury. On top of that sits Beskar Mode, the true ironman option. Here’s exactly how the death rules work, and which of them you can turn off.
The Three-Injury Rule
Non-Hawks operators track Injuries:
- Going down in a mission inflicts an Injury.
- Each untreated Injury also stacks a minus 10% hit penalty, so wounded operators shoot worse until treated.
- Injuries are treated back at the Den’s Medbay and Bacta Tank.
- The third Injury kills the operator permanently.
Two important asymmetries: Hawks cannot permanently die (the protagonist is story-protected), and the story continues even when operators die, so a death is a loss you play through rather than a fail state.
The Difficulty Interaction
Zero Company has four difficulties: Story, Normal, Hard, and Expert, and one of the meanest interactions lives here: the Bacta Tank is disabled on Hard and Expert, which makes Injury treatment scarcer exactly when missions inflict more of them. On those difficulties, injury management stops being housekeeping and becomes the campaign’s real resource game.
Permadeath itself is toggleable, independently of difficulty. You can run Expert combat with permadeath off, or Story with it on; the game treats lethality and tactical challenge as separate dials.
Beskar Mode: The Real Ironman
Beskar Mode is the ironman commitment: a single save, no manual saves, no reloading. Every decision stands. It’s named after Mandalorian steel for a reason, and it’s the mode where the three-injury rule gets its full weight, because the reload button was doing more lifesaving than the Medbay ever did.
Recommended only after a first campaign: Beskar plus Hard is the community’s “real Zero Company” configuration, and Beskar plus Expert is for content creators and the unwell.
Managing the Injury Economy
- Rotate before the third strike. An operator on two Injuries should sit until treated, full stop; a deep roster exists for this.
- Treat the hit penalty as damage. Stacked minus 10% penalties quietly lose fights before anyone dies; treat early, not just before death.
- Trick’s self-revive talent effectively refunds one down per mission, making him the safest frontliner in the injury economy.
- On Hard and Expert, plan missions around who can afford an Injury, since the Bacta Tank won’t bail you out.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can dead operators come back? No. Permadeath is permanent; their gear returns to the pool, their Bonds and story presence don’t.
Does Hawks going down fail the mission? Hawks is protected from permanent death; downs still cost you tactically in the moment.
Can I turn Beskar Mode off mid-campaign? Ironman modes are campaign commitments; decide at the start.
Do injuries heal over time without the Medbay? Treatment runs through the Den’s facilities; on difficulties with the Bacta Tank available, it’s your throughput for keeping the roster clean.