- Star Wars Zero Company base building revolves around The Den, a converted freighter HQ on the Ring of Kafrene
- Holo table operations cover 12 zones and pay out intel, loot, and rare rewards
- Cycle timer: every mission advances time, and opportunities you skip expire
- Bonds and dilemmas unlock focus points and permanent cross-training bonuses between operators
- Med bay discipline: injured operators heal for one full cycle and miss the next mission
Star Wars Zero Company Base Building: Inside The Den
Star Wars Zero Company base building takes place at The Den, the headquarters of your independent outfit for hire, tucked inside a defunct bulk freighter hidden in a hangar on the Ring of Kafrene. After every mission, the camera drops from the tactical overview into third person, so you walk the decks yourself, speak with operators, and run the company between contracts. Set in 20 BBY during the twilight of the Clone Wars, the game treats headquarters management as a full gameplay layer rather than a menu screen, and the choices you make there feed directly into mission performance.
Video Highlights:
- A full tour of The Den and its stations between missions
- How operator conversations, bonds, and dilemmas shape squad chemistry
- Holo table operations across 12 zones and the mission cycle
- Custom operator recruitment through the full character creator
The Den also works as the game's social hub. Speaking with operators between missions is worth doing every time, both for the writing itself and because conversations are one of the main ways new missions open up. Side characters such as Cleve, the Den's technician, provide comic relief, and operators like Cab, with his rhyming dialect, reward repeat visits. Your answers in these exchanges feed the bond system covered later in this guide.
| The Den at a Glance | Details |
|---|---|
| Location | Defunct bulk freighter in a hangar, Ring of Kafrene |
| Exploration | Third-person walking between missions |
| Core stations | Holo table, recruitment facility, med bay, armory |
| Key resources | Intel, loot, and cycle time |
| Social layer | Operator dialogue, bonds, and dilemmas |
Details in this guide come from a pre-launch preview build shown ahead of the August 27, 2026 release. EA and Bit Reactor have flagged known bugs and ongoing tuning, so specific numbers and unlock timing may shift at launch.
Core Facilities and What They Unlock
Four stations anchor your base of operations. Each one converts a different resource, whether that is intel, cycle time, or loot earned in the field, into long-term squad strength.
Holo Table
- Mission control hub split into 12 zones
- Runs non-combat operations for intel and loot
- Gates rare rewards alongside tactical missions
Recruitment Facility
- Hires new operators for the roster
- Full character creator feeds custom recruits
- Clones join at certain story points
Med Bay
- Treats operators injured in the field
- Recovery takes one full cycle
- Forces healthy squad rotation
Armory
- Manages gear, loadouts, and outfits
- Deep appearance customization for most operators
- Supports eight standard and four exotic specializations
| Facility | Primary Function | Strategic Value |
|---|---|---|
| Holo Table | Launches missions and operations across 12 zones | Turns cycle time into intel, loot, and rare rewards |
| Recruitment Facility | Hires new and custom-created operators | Keeps the roster deep for rotation and squad comps |
| Med Bay | Heals operators injured on missions | Prevents stacked injuries from hollowing out the roster |
| Armory | Handles gear, loadouts, and appearance | Tailors each operator to your tactical plan |
You are not limited to the operators the story hands you. The recruitment facility includes a full character creator that feeds your own custom Star Wars characters into the recruit pool, and clones can be recruited at certain points in the campaign. A few fixed story operators keep preset appearances, but everyone else is yours to shape.
The Between-Mission Management Loop
Base management follows a repeatable loop after every mission. Run it in the same order each cycle and you will rarely lose an operator or an opportunity to poor planning.
Return and Walk the Den
After the mission wraps, take control in third person and move through the freighter. Learn the layout early so facility visits stay quick for the rest of the campaign.
Treat the Wounded
Send any downed or injured operators to the med bay first. Healing takes one full cycle, which means they miss the next mission, so start that clock immediately.
Work the Room
Speak with every operator. Conversations unlock new missions, advance personal storylines, and feed the bond system that drives combat synergies.
Plan at the Holo Table
Review all 12 zones, weigh tactical missions against non-combat operations, and check which opportunities expire when the cycle advances.
Deploy Your Four-Person Squad
Build the mission team around specialization synergy, bond pairs, and who is healthy, then launch and bank the rewards back at base.
Every mission advances the cycle, and opportunities expire if you do not reach them. During the preview, plenty of operations went unfinished purely because the clock ran out. Treat the holo table as a triage board, not a checklist you can clear.
Bonds, Dilemmas, and Informants
The bond system is the most distinctive part of headquarters life. Operators start out neutral or even disliking each other, and fighting together raises those bonds over time. Higher bonds grant focus points and permanent cross-training bonuses, which is where base socializing turns into raw combat value.
Dilemmas sharpen the stakes. At certain points, Hawks faces a choice where every operator weighs in, and how you resolve it can build or damage a bond. Reading your squad before you answer matters more than picking the "best" option on paper.
| Interaction | Effect on Bonds |
|---|---|
| Deploying operators together | Raises the bond between them over time |
| Call for backup assists | Increases the bond between the assisting pair |
| Dilemma resolved in an operator's favor | Builds the affected bond |
| Dilemma resolved against preferences | Damages the affected bond |
Beyond the freighter, the official EA features page confirms you deploy informants across the galaxy to help navigate the high stakes of the Clone Wars, extending your base network past the hangar walls.
Bonds feed directly into tactics. Attack a target, have a squadmate assist through the call for backup system, and drop the enemy's health low enough to trigger Jay's Final Shot, which eliminates the target outright. Every assist also raises the bond between the two operators involved.
Cycle Management and Priorities
Because the cycle advances with every mission, base building is really a prioritization game. Use this framework when the holo table offers more than you can possibly take.
| Priority | Action | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| High | Med bay treatment | Untreated injuries stack into roster holes |
| High | Expiring holo table operations | Missed windows are lost when the cycle moves on |
| Medium | Operator conversations | Unlocks missions and builds bonds |
| Medium | Recruitment | Keeps rotation options healthy |
| Flexible | Non-combat operations | Converts spare cycles into intel and loot |
Every-Cycle Checklist:
- Talk to every operator at least once
- Send all injured operators to the med bay
- Review all 12 holo table zones before deploying
- Check which opportunities expire this cycle
- Recruit or customize operators when the roster runs thin
Story, normal, hard, and expert modes are available, permanent death can be toggled on or off, and a dedicated mode removes manual saves so choices stick. With permadeath active, disciplined med bay use and a deep recruitment bench stop a single bad mission from ending a campaign.
Base Building FAQ
Q: What is the base in Star Wars Zero Company?
The Den, a defunct bulk freighter hidden in a hangar on the Ring of Kafrene. You explore it in third person between missions and use it to launch operations, treat injuries, recruit operators, and manage gear.
Q: Is base building freeform construction or management?
It is management-driven. Rather than placing structures, you run stations like the holo table, recruitment facility, med bay, and armory, and allocate limited cycle time across 12 zones of operations.
Q: What happens if I ignore the med bay?
Operators injured in a mission heal for one full cycle and miss the next mission regardless. Skipping treatment planning stacks absences, which forces weaker squad compositions on later contracts.
Q: Do base decisions affect combat performance?
Yes. Reconnaissance earns intel spent back at The Den, bonds unlock focus points and permanent cross-training bonuses, and dilemma outcomes shape squad chemistry heading into the next fight.
Star Wars Zero Company launches on August 27, 2026. Pre-orders are open on the EA app for Windows, Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation Store, and Xbox Store through the official EA features page.