The Best Astromech Build in Star Wars Zero Company: A Droid That Controls Your Whole Squad

Astromechs are very easy to underestimate in Star Wars Zero Company. They're small, don't carry conventional weapons, and their combat animation language mostly consists of rolling around somewhere useful and making an insistent electronic sound. Compared to a Mandalorian with a jetpack or a sniper carrying an EE-3, this might look like the tactical equivalent of carrying office equipment to a gunfight.

The secret is that a properly assembled astromech does not compete with your damage-dealing units. He improves them all. The build shown here turns the droid into an action point source, battlefield scanner, defense coordinator, and walking stockpile of useful items. He can remove protection from groups, remove evasion from a priority target, transfer action points to an operator who can use them more efficiently, and then replenish the squad when the turn really needs to get incredibly difficult.

We've already used astromechs as armor-piercing batteries in our endless Mandalorian build with Cly Kullervo, and we previously confirmed that Zero Company will even allow you to field four astromechs for the Angry Beeps challenge. This guide is different. Here the droid does not support any one feature. He is the basis of a regular squad.

An astromech in combat, already positioned where his support means can influence the next exchange of blows.Screenshot: Wayfaring Nomad / Star Wars: Gaming

Best Astromech Build: A Brief Review

• Main specialization:Astromechics
• Second specialization:Analytics
• Talent: Built-in Comlink
• Passive kernel components:Extended storage
• Astromech Priorities:Enhanced VI scanners and coordinated VI support.
• Analytics priorities:Deep target scanning, predictive analytics and self-preservation.
• The optimal approach to useful items:one item for control, one item for defense and one item for damage/debuff; Flamethrower Mk. IV is a great option for the late game.
• Role on the battlefield: act early, identify targets, transfer action points to the right operator and spend advantage only when the whole squad can benefit from it.

If you're still deciding how to use additional classes, it's worth reading our Zero Company Build Flexibility Guide first. Analytics is relevant here because it expands on the Astromech's existing mission, rather than trying to turn him into a second-rate damage dealer.

Expanded storage is why useful features on Android matter more.

The first reason to take an astromech seriously isn't even the skill tree. Its built-in passive ability is Expanded Storage, and its effect is incredibly practical: each limited-life utility item the droid carries gains one additional use. A one-time use grenade becomes a two-time use grenade. A powerful emergency tool becomes something that can be planned ahead rather than saved for the end credits.

This changes the way you think about your arsenal. The Astromech doesn't have a normal weapon and starts the game with zero weapon damage, so there's no point in pretending to be a regular marksman.Auxiliary items are the droid's arsenal. Concussion grenades can push enemies out of cover or from a useful position, smoke bombs can create defensive space, impact bombs deal direct area damage, and later exotic tools can turn that small repair block into something the Geneva Convention would probably want to discuss.

The Astromech can carry practical utility items, such as a stun grenade, in place of a regular weapon. Screenshot: Wayfaring Nomad / Star Wars: Gaming

This is different from the shopping problem described in our Zero Company Black Market Guide . For most Operators, the question is whether upgrading a weapon improves the attack they're already using. For the Astromech, the question is whether the support item provides a more efficient move for the entire squad.

The built-in communications system turns the astromech into an autopilot battery.

The built-in communicator is a talent that makes this build perfect. It costs 1 AP, is a quick action, and gives one ally +1 AP. It can be used once per turn. The receiving operative cannot exceed the normal limit of 3 AP, and locked operatives cannot be replenished, so timing of use is important.

Moving one action point in itself seems insignificant. This is not the case in a tactical game. One action point can be used for another quick shot, a heal, a repositioning, a finishing move, or even to set up overwatch or just stand in cover looking thoughtful.The Astromech takes an action point that would often do very little damage and turns it into an action point for a character whose turn actually matters.

This is the same basic mechanic we used in the Kly Kullervo build but you don't need to build your entire squad around Kly to make Comlink great. Any AP needy and damage dealing operator or support operator can benefit from this. Our guide to the best units for the early game is a useful reminder that good moves usually happen in collaboration, rather than having four different people take turns using up their AP bars.

The built-in communicator costs 1 AP and gives one ally +1 AP once per turn. Screenshot: Wayfaring Nomad / Star Wars: Gaming

Rush Enhanced VI Scanners

If built-in communications move resources, enhanced scanners change the battlefield. At level six, the ability costs 1 AP, affects enemies within a radius of 24 meters and imposes a scanning effect, negating all defense. Each target hit also has a 35% chance of becoming vulnerable. That's an impressive amount of preparation in one cheap, quick action.

The order of actions is important. Use astromech before the main fighters. If you scan a group of targets first, each subsequent attack will be directed against weaker defensive lines, and some targets will also be primed for critical hits thanks to a vulnerability. The droid's own damage remains secondary. He improved the stats of the other three operatives before they could even do anything.

Our specialization rating is also useful here.The best utility skills in Zero Company often buff the entire squad rather than providing impressive results on a single character sheet. Improved scanners are almost a classic example.

Enhanced VI scanners scan enemies within a 24 meter radius, neutralizing defenses, and have a 35% chance of making each target vulnerable. Screenshot: Wayfaring Nomad / Star Wars: Gaming

VI Coordinated Support System is a direction change button.

Coordinated Support is initially expensive, but the sixth level pays off. The version shown in the video costs 6 advantage points and gives eligible operators +2 action points once per battle. No one can exceed 3 action points, and blocked operators are excluded, meaning the effectiveness of the ability depends on your timing.

Do not use this ability when two party members already have 3 action points. This will turn your impressive support ability into an expensive light show. Take out the squad first, then use coordinated support while multiple operatives can get a full ammo resupply. At this point, the astromech stops feeling like a single unit and starts feeling like a team that has quietly added an extra turn to the mission.

Because cost is determined by the overall meter, this build fits seamlessly with the principles outlined in our Zero Company Advantage Guide . Six Advantage is a serious purchase.The droid must spend it when the entire team benefits, and not just because the icon finally lights up.

Coordinated Support VI costs 6 Advantage Points and grants eligible Operators +2 Action Points once per battle. Screenshot: Wayfaring Nomad / Star Wars: Gaming

Analytics is the best second specialization.

Analytics is the best second major because it continues to serve the same purpose: gathering information, improving efficiency, and protecting. The passive skill Self-Preservation gives the Astromech +1 AP each time they are hit by return fire or a counterattack. This does not mean that you need to deliberately break through every fire zone in the galaxy. The droid, full of holes, remains a surprisingly weak support unit. But when the inevitable retaliatory attack occurs, the build can recover some of the lost resources.

Analytics adds the “Self-Preservation” ability: getting hit by return fire or a counterattack gives the astromech +1 AP. Screenshot: Wayfaring Nomad / Star Wars: Gaming

The most important analytical tool is deep target scanning. It costs 1 AP, works at a range of 14 meters, scans and detects one target and removes all evasion effects. Improved scanners are better against groups of enemies; deep target scanning is a highly accurate tool for combating one elite enemy whose defense system is currently causing problems for everyone.

Deep Target Scan costs 1 AP, scans and detects one target and removes all evasion effects.Screenshot: Wayfaring Nomad / Star Wars: Gaming

Predictive analytics solves the opposite problem. At the high level shown in the video, it costs 8 advantage points and gives all allies +6 defense until end of turn, with two uses per battle. This is expensive, but can be very useful before a risky offensive, target engagement, or move where multiple operatives must remain vulnerable. It's less exciting than another attack, and much more exciting than watching three squad members spend the next round wounded.

At the specified high level, the Predictive Analytics skill gives the entire squad +6 defense until the end of the turn. Screenshot: Wayfaring Nomad / Star Wars: Gaming

The flamethrower is no joke.

Late in the game, the flamethrower Mk. IV is one of the most interesting ways to use extended storage. The Exotic version shown in the video costs 2 AP, deals 12 Fire damage, causes 12 stacks of Burning, and reduces the defense of targets hit. This is both an area damage, a debuff, and a damage over time tool.

More importantly, this solves one obvious astromech problem: sometimes you actually need the droid to damage something. A regular astromech doesn't have a weapon, but the auxiliary item doesn't care. The flamethrower allows the droid to deal significant damage without changing the basic concept of the build. You still use equipment to improve subsequent attacks; there is simply more fire than the phrase “support” usually implies.

Flamethrower Mk. IV deals 12 damage, applies 12 stacks of the Burning effect and reduces the defense of affected targets.Screenshot: Wayfaring Nomad / Star Wars: Gaming

What to do with bonds?

Astromechs participate in Bonds in the same way as other fighters, which we discussed when we looked at how squad relationships are mechanically useful in Zero Company. For this build, the best partner is usually the one who appears in the same missions and often benefits from using a communicator or scanner. Consistency is more important than searching for a supposedly perfect match in the lore.

The High Comms tutorial screen shown in the video offers options such as +4 max health for both operators, +2 focus points for both, or extra comms experience. The extra Focus Points are especially attractive to a build that wants to invest heavily in both the Astromech and Analytics branches, and the maximum health is quite acceptable if your droid has developed a habit of detecting enemy surveillance mode through hands-on experimentation.

The “High Level of Connection” training can increase survivability or add additional concentration points to an astromech and his regular partner. Screenshot: Wayfaring Nomad / Star Wars: Gaming

How to play an astromech every turn

1. Act immediately if there is a useful group of targets on the battlefield.Improved scanners should make follow-up shots more effective, rather than appearing when everyone else is done.
2. Use deep target scanning on that one elusive or high-priority enemy that requires more than a simple scan.
3. Use the built-in communicator before your chosen ally is blocked, and do not waste a transfer on someone who has already reached the 3 action point limit.
4. Use auxiliary elements when they solve a positioning or control problem better than other data transmission through the access point. Expanded storage allows you to be more careful with them.
5. Save the Coordinated Support VI ability for when multiple operators can actually use +2 AP. This ability becomes absurd when the party is almost depleted, and mediocre when everyone already has enough AP.
6. Use predictive analytics before an incident occurs, not after the damage has already been done. +6 Protection is prevention, not apology.
7. Let the damage dealers do the most glamorous part of the job. If an astromech ends its turn without dealing any damage, but providing two additional kills to the squad, then it means it has completed its task perfectly.

Why this build is so strong

The best astromech build is strong because almost nothing in it depends on the droid winning the damage race. The built-in communicator improves the other operator's progress. Improved scanners improve the accuracy of the entire squad against defenses. Deep target scanning solves the problem of elite opponents evading. Predictive analytics makes dangerous turns safer. Expanded storage adds value to existing equipment. Coordinated support can restart the entire squad's action point economy.

This makes the astromech one of the purest examples of Zero Company's support technology. He's not the hero of the mission, and that's the point.For nearly fifty years, Star Wars has taught us that the little squeaking droid standing next to the heroes is probably doing something important while everyone else is busy posing. Zero Company simply added numbers to it.

For more options, combat system information, and campaign tips, keep our Complete Guide to Star Wars Zero Company handy. You can also compare this support-focused approach to our snowball progression option, which simplifies the campaign through credits, intel and survivability rather than through action points and field control battle.