STAR WARS Zero Company Difficulty & Trophy Guide

STAR WARS Zero Company difficulty levels are Story, Normal, Hard, and Expert. Choose the level, Permadeath setting, and optional Beskar Mode before selecting Start Campaign: EA's current post-launch guide says those choices cannot be changed for that campaign. The same page now includes the complete 53-trophy checklist because difficulty and trophy planning meet at Expert plus Beskar Mode. ^{[ea-combat-guide] [ea-accessibility]}

How STAR WARS Zero Company difficulty levels work

EA confirms four named levels but does not publish a numerical table for enemy health, accuracy, reinforcements, or resource changes. The practical choices below stay within the published trophy conditions and do not invent hidden modifiers.

Setting	Published completion condition	Practical use
Story	Hired Gun requires Story or higher.	Learn the campaign and combat systems with the lowest listed challenge.
Normal	Veteran requires Normal or higher.	A reasonable first campaign for players familiar with tactical games.
Hard	Operator requires Hard or higher.	A higher-pressure run before committing to Beskar's save restrictions.
Expert	Captain requires Expert; Legend requires Expert with Beskar Mode.	The required level for the two highest difficulty conditions.

The published wording supports stacking for Story, Normal, and Hard because each condition says “or higher.” Captain and Legend are written separately. A current launch-window roadmap reports that one Expert-plus-Beskar completion unlocks all five difficulty trophies, but that result has not yet been reproduced by multiple independent, platform-tracked runs. ^{[steam-achievements] [wehunt-roadmap]}

The official guidance changed at launch

An earlier StarWars.com beginner guide says the difficulty rating can be adjusted outside combat. EA's newer combat guide, updated after release, says every choice on the Difficulty Settings screen is locked once you select Start Campaign. It specifically instructs players to create another campaign for a different difficulty, Permadeath setting, or Beskar selection. This guide follows the newer and more specific rule as of August 30, 2026. ^{[starwars-guide] [ea-combat-guide]}

Until EA reconciles those two pages, do not start an Expert or Beskar run expecting to lower the setting later. Keep the first headquarters save for cleanup, and create a separate campaign when you want different rules.

Permadeath, injuries, and Beskar Mode

Permadeath is optional. If enabled, each time an Operator is downed they suffer an Injury; after three Injuries, that Operator is Killed in Action and permanently removed. Another squad member can Rally a downed Operator during the mission, and the Medbay helps injured Operators recover after returning to the Den. Your Permadeath choice remains fixed for the campaign. ^{[ea-combat-guide]}

Hawks is the exception. If Hawks is defeated, the mission fails immediately and must be restarted, regardless of the Permadeath setting. Hawks cannot be permanently removed from the roster through battle.

Beskar Mode adds a single persistent save and disables manual saving. EA describes choices and consequences as permanent under that rule. Beskar does not replace Story, Normal, Hard, or Expert; it is selected alongside a difficulty level. The Legend condition requires Expert with Beskar Mode enabled. ^{[ea-combat-guide] [steam-achievements]}

Campaign difficulty is not mission risk

Mission labels answer a different question from STAR WARS Zero Company difficulty levels. The official beginner guide uses labels such as Risky, Dangerous, and Extreme for individual assignments. These labels describe the current mission rather than changing the campaign setting.

Operations and Tactical Missions can expire. Story-critical work eventually becomes mandatory, while optional work can disappear if ignored. That matters for the Active Duty and Across the Stars trophies, so a low mission-risk label is not permission to postpone every optional assignment. ^{[starwars-guide] [ea-combat-guide]}

Trophy roadmap tied to the difficulty choice

The conservative launch plan uses two campaigns. Run the first on Normal with the Permadeath choice you want for learning, recruitment, bonds, optional missions, Zone Rewards, and Operator stories. Use a second campaign for Expert with Beskar Mode. One early guide estimates about 85 hours and classifies 20 trophies as missable; treat both figures as a launch estimate, not a settled consensus. ^{[wehunt-roadmap]}

EA's published summary of a Q&A held in the official EA Star Wars Discord adds several route constraints. Headquarters starts with capacity for seven Operators and can expand to 20, a standard squad has four slots, astromechs become recruitable early, optional Operations cost Intel and can expire, and New Game Plus was not available at launch. These facts explain why roster, bond, and optional-mission work should start early. They do not establish a complete Platinum route. ^{[ea-discord-qa]}

Social sources do not close the remaining gap. A YouTube series labeled as an Expert, Beskar, 100% Platinum walkthrough had only three parts available at this check; another playlist consisted mainly of short, single-trophy tips. Steam players discuss extra campaigns for bonds and later unlocks, but those posts do not include matched saves and full platform tracking. ^{[blacktorito-platinum] [trophy-guides-playlist] [steam-campaign-thread]}

Trophies that need early planning

• Full Roster: recruit 20 different Operators in one campaign. Headquarters begins below that capacity, so Den upgrades and recruitment opportunities matter.
• Active Duty: complete 50 optional missions in one campaign. Operations can expire and cost Intel.
• Across the Stars: unlock every Zone Reward in one campaign. Track each zone before major story gates.
• Thick as Thieves and Beep Boop: reach Very High Bond for the required custom-Operator and astromech pairs.
• Hutt Roulette Prize: win the prize three times during one campaign.
• Six Operator story trophies require Trick, Luco Bronc, Kabb Iroh, Jae Kir, Cly Kullervo, and Tel Vokkara to finish their personal arcs.

All 53 trophies and achievements

The tables combine the public Steam descriptions with the complete PS5 list. PS5 has 44 Bronze, 6 Silver, 2 Gold, and 1 Platinum trophy; 29 are marked secret. The grouping follows the action required, so story spoilers remain together while campaign-management tasks are easier to scan. ^{[steam-achievements] [ps-trophies] [allthings-list]}

Completion and difficulty

Trophy or achievement	Published condition
Hired Gun	Complete the story on Story difficulty or higher.
Veteran	Complete the story on Normal difficulty or higher.
Operator	Complete the story on Hard difficulty or higher.
Captain	Complete the story on Expert difficulty.
Legend	Complete the story on Expert difficulty with Beskar Mode enabled.
Zero Company Legend	Unlock every other trophy or achievement.

Story missions

Trophy or achievement	Published condition
In a galaxy far, far away...	Complete your first mission.
Scum	Complete Eavesdropping.
Fathom Revealed	Complete Dark Waters.
One Less Clanker	Complete Smugglers' Den.
Sky High	Complete Casualties of War.
A Way to Pass the Time	Complete Enemy Intelligence.
Luunata Reclaimed	Complete Behind Enemy Lines.
A New Order	Complete Stillwatch.
Jungle Warfare	Complete Deep Cover.
With Friends Like These	Complete Unfinished Business.
An End of Infinite	Complete Infinite Coil.

Operator stories

Trophy or achievement	Published condition
Trooper's Story	Complete Trick's Operator Story.
Umbaran's Story	Complete Luco Bronc's Operator Story.
Prizefighter's Story	Complete Kabb Iroh's Operator Story.
Baroness's Story	Complete Jae Kir's Operator Story.
Mandalorian's Story	Complete Cly Kullervo's Operator Story.
Padawan's Story	Complete Tel Vokkara's Operator Story.

Bonds

Trophy or achievement	Published condition
Old Friends	Reach Very High Bond with Hawks and Trick.
Sharpshooters	Reach Very High Bond with Hawks and Luco Bronc.
The Baroness and the Boxer	Reach Very High Bond with Hawks and Kabb Iroh.
Heroes, the Both of Them	Reach Very High Bond with Hawks and Jae Kir.
A Word of Honor	Reach Very High Bond with Hawks and Cly Kullervo.
A Class Distinction	Reach Very High Bond with Hawks and Tel Vokkara.
Lost Causes	Reach Very High Bond with Trick and Luco Bronc.
Mates to the Marrow	Reach Very High Bond with Kabb Iroh and Jae Kir.
Thick as Thieves	Reach Very High Bond with two custom Operators.
Beep Boop	Reach Very High Bond with two astromech Operators.

Combat challenges

Trophy or achievement	Published condition
Do or Do Not	Miss a shot with a 90% or higher hit chance.
Never Tell Me the Odds	Land a shot with a 10% or lower hit chance.
Forceful	Push or pull an enemy into another enemy.
Watch That First Step	Knock an enemy out of a combat space.
It's Over!	Defeat 10 enemies from high elevation.
See Your Own Demise	Defeat a Seer with one attack.
Angry Beeps	Complete a mission with four astromechs in the squad.
If You Know, You Know	Defeat 1,138 enemies.

Headquarters, roster, and equipment

Trophy or achievement	Published condition
Your Focus Determines Your Reality	Apply a Focus Point.
Dress Code	Customize a squad member.
Signature Flair	Customize a weapon.
Sign Here	Recruit an Operator.
To the Victor Go the Spoils	Unlock a Zone Reward.
Where Credit Is Due	Buy an item from the Black Market.
A Natural Part of Life	Lose a squad member.
Hutt Roulette Prize	Win the prize three times in one campaign.
Active Duty	Complete 50 optional missions in one campaign.
Full Roster	Recruit 20 different Operators in one campaign.
Across the Stars	Unlock every Zone Reward in one campaign.
Fully Geared	Equip a weapon with four mods.

Cleanup before the final sequence

Check Full Roster, Active Duty, Across the Stars, Hutt Roulette, bonds, and Operator stories before starting the final sequence. Low-probability shots, high-ground kills, and the four-astromech squad can be attempted during optional missions without tying them to a late story checkpoint.

Keep the final headquarters save and several earlier decision saves from the first campaign. Difficulty stacking, post-story access, and missed relationship choices still need broader platform verification. For a second campaign, STAR WARS Zero Company difficulty levels should be chosen only after confirming that you are ready for Expert, Beskar's single save, and the route's permanent consequences.

This combined difficulty and trophy guide was last verified on August 30, 2026. If campaign time is the deciding factor, check campaign length; for roster capacity and deployment limits, use the squad-size guide.