Quick start checklist
For a first campaign, decide difficulty, Permadeath, and Beskar Mode before you start; create Hawks around a role you want to use often; learn Action Points, cover, flanking, Advantage, Overwatch, Rally, and injuries; then use the Den and Galaxy Map to choose missions without assuming every activity can be cleared in one pass.
Choose safe campaign rules first
EA confirms four difficulty levels: Story, Normal, Hard, and Expert. Permadeath and Beskar Mode are separate campaign pressure settings, with Beskar Mode limiting saving to one save and removing manual saves. Because official wording differs on whether the base difficulty can change later, treat Permadeath and Beskar as locked campaign decisions until you check the current build; use the dedicated difficulty page for the full caution note.
Create Hawks with role first, cosmetics second
Hawks is the former Republic officer who leads Zero Company, not a blank character outside the story. EA's Hawks creation guide confirms that Origin controls species and appearance options, while Specialization and Weapon Class define combat style. Origin does not define combat role, and many Hawks appearance choices can be adjusted later after the Den unlocks.
Understand classes before chasing builds
Zero Company calls its class system Specializations. EA's official class guide lists eight standard Specializations: Assault, Gunslinger, Heavy, Medic, Scoundrel, Scout, Sharpshooter, and Soldier. New players should read the canonical classes page for the full role breakdown, then use the best-class page for a role-based choice instead of treating any one class as universally strongest.
Start with a forgiving role
EA recommends Soldier with Blaster Rifle for a versatile starter and Assault with Blaster Rifle for players who want high mobility and frontline pressure. That makes Soldier or Assault the safest first Hawks picks, while Medic, Scout, Scoundrel, Sharpshooter, Gunslinger, and Heavy make more sense once you know how your squad covers support, range, mobility, and damage.
Learn the combat language
EA's combat basics explain that Operators use Action Points on movement, attacks, abilities, items, and Overwatch. Cover reduces damage, flanking can bypass cover, high ground improves accuracy, Advantage is earned by damaging enemies and spent on stronger abilities, and Rally can bring a downed squadmate back into the fight. Keep early advice at this level until exact mission and enemy data can be checked in-game.
Use the Den between missions
Official sources describe the Den as the base between missions, with facilities for recruitment, specialization changes, equipment, upgrades, customization, recovery, and memorial tracking. The Galaxy Map offers Critical Missions, Tactical Missions, and Operations; Steam's official overview says Tactical Missions and Operations can expire, so a beginner guide should not promise a perfect one-run route through every activity.
Weapons are separate from classes
Weapon Class is a separate choice from Specialization. EA lists Blaster Rifle, Repeater, Blaster Pistol, and Longarm Blaster as the currently confirmed starting weapon classes for Hawks. Blaster Rifle is the official all-purpose recommendation, Repeater focuses on big damage at a higher Action Point commitment, Blaster Pistol supports mobile low-cost attacks, and Longarm Blaster is built for longer-range accuracy.
Plan around a 30-40 hour main story
Bit Reactor's official Q&A estimate is 30-40 hours for the average player to finish the main story campaign, depending on difficulty and strategy experience. Do not use that as a completionist estimate yet, and do not publish trophy, hidden-class, or best-route claims until player data and in-game verification are stronger.
What not to assume yet
Do not assume species changes combat stats, that Jedi or Mandalorian characters are freely reproducible custom classes, that there is a secret or exotic class system, or that early review hour counts prove completion time. Keep those questions routed to the canonical classes, character creation, difficulty, weapons, base-building, and playtime pages until verified.