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Best Starting Squad in Zero Company

A pre-launch hypothesis for a first squad, built only from confirmed mechanics — to be replaced with a tested guide after release.

Theorycraft
Confidence
Theorycraft
Verified
4 August 2026
Version
pre-release (no retail build)

Build summary

New players choosing a first squad and wanting to avoid early mistakes.

Campaign phase
early
Difficulty
Standard, permadeath enabled
Game version
pre-release (no retail build)
Strong against
mixed

This build has not been tested

The game has not been released. Every mechanic cited below is confirmed, but the combination of them is our reasoning rather than anything played. It will be re-tested and re-labelled after 27 August 2026.

Loadout

The four bays

Weapon choices are role-based. No weapon statistics have been published, so treat them as starting points rather than optimised picks.

  1. Bay 1

    Hawks

    Medicpistol

    Required for story missions. Building him as a Medic combines the mandatory slot with Injury prevention and Combat Stim, and his AP support Talent stays available regardless.

  2. Bay 2

    Custom Operator

    Gunslingerpistol

    The confirmed Combat Stim target, and the squad's source of Advantage generation through frequent attacks.

  3. Bay 3

    Custom Operator

    Heavyrepeater

    Absorbs attacks in the open so the squad's fragile Operators accrue fewer Injuries.

  4. Bay 4

    Custom Operator

    Sharpshooterlongarm

    One long-range option — but only one. Developers state that four long-range Operators is a mistake.

Reasoning

Why it works

Mechanic by mechanic. Anything stated as confirmed traces to a source listed at the bottom of this page.

  • It covers close, medium and long range, avoiding the sightline problems that come with an all-long-range squad.
  • It contains the one confirmed damage synergy available at launch: Combat Stim on a Gunslinger.
  • It has sustain and Injury prevention, which directly addresses permadeath being enabled by default.
  • It has exactly one Advantage spender besides Hawks, so the shared pool is not overcommitted.
  • It uses only base Specializations and no authored Operators beyond the mandatory one, so it is available from the first mission.

Execution

Example opening turn

An AP and Advantage plan. Costs are unpublished, so the order matters more than the exact budget.

  1. Step 1

    Turn 1 — Heavy: advance and take the exposed position.

  2. Step 2

    Turn 1 — Sharpshooter: take elevation if the map offers it.

  3. Step 3

    Turn 1 — Medic: apply Combat Stim to the Gunslinger.

  4. Step 4

    Turn 1 — Gunslinger: attack repeatedly to convert the buff into damage and build Advantage.

Strengths

  • No unlocks, no authored Operators beyond Hawks, no campaign-phase requirements.
  • Balanced across every evaluation dimension rather than optimised for one.
  • Avoids the two failure modes developers have explicitly warned about: four long-range Operators, and overcommitting the Advantage pool.
  • Every choice traces back to a confirmed mechanic.

Weaknesses

  • This is a hypothesis. Nothing here has been played.
  • Balanced squads are rarely optimal for any specific mission.
  • Whether Hawks can actually take the Medic Specialization is unconfirmed.
  • No displacement, so entrenched enemies are a genuine weakness.

Alternatives

Safer and more aggressive versions

Including what to do when an authored Operator in this squad is permanently lost.

Safer
Replace the Sharpshooter with a second frontline Operator if early missions turn out to be close-quarters.
More aggressive
Replace the Heavy with a Scoundrel to add the critical-hit setup, accepting more Injury risk in exchange for faster fights.
If displacement is available
Once Tel-Rea Vokoss or Kabb Uppercut joins, replacing the Heavy with either adds an anti-cover answer this squad lacks.

How this will be verified

Replace this page entirely after 27 August 2026. Play the opening missions on standard difficulty with permadeath enabled, compare at least three squad compositions, and publish the tested result — not an edit of this hypothesis.

Mechanics this build depends on

Other builds

Sources