Ultimate Star Wars Zero Company Heavy Build and Class Guide

Latest Update: August 31, 2026 – Categories: Star Wars Zero Company

This Ultimate Heavy build guide for Star Wars Zero Company covers the best weapon, secondary class, talent, and squad for the game’s armored frontline anchor.

Related SWZC

• All Story Characters
• Complete Classes Guide
• Character Creation
• All Focus Trees/Skills
• The Den Facilities & Upgrades
• Weapons & Mods Guide

Star Wars Zero Company is a turn-based tactics game set in the final days of the Clone Wars. The protagonist, Hawks, leads a group of mercenaries through cinematic missions and manages a base of operations between fights. Developed by Bit Reactor and published by Electronic Arts, this is a gritty XCOM-meets-Star Wars game.

In Star Wars Zero Company, builds are shaped by decisions you make from character creation. Your operator picks a class (Specialization), a weapon type, a talent, a secondary class (Secondary Specialization) that unlocks later, and a Focus Tree path. This guide walks you through all the important decisions, choices, and companions you want to select for the Ultimate Heavy build.

Actively updating: we’re refreshing this build right now, including adding more details like a Focus Tree progression, weapon mods, and more.

Star Wars Zero Company Heavy Build & Class Summary

The Heavy is a frontline combatant, thickly armored and tough as nails. These Operators specialize in survivability and soaking up enemy attacks while out in the open.

If you want a frontline tank that can taunt, soak up damage, and retaliate against enemies, the Heavy Class is for you.  Where the Assault creates openings by charging in and the Scoundrel by guile, the Heavy focuses on survivability and counterattacks.  It can taunt enemies, forcing them to attack your heavy unit, counterattack when hit, and soak the fire that would otherwise land on your damage dealers. You want to play a Heavy if you value survivability, a tank playstyle, and need a character that has a huge pool of HP.

Here’s what you can expect from the Heavy Class Build:

Heavy Class Abilities

The Heavy’s class abilities focus on being the ultimate tank build in combat. You’ll be able to easily taunt all enemies to draw their fire, and bolster your own defenses while debuffing your enemies attacks. The Heavy specialization is the ultimate defensive juggernaut.

Specialization abilities can be further upgraded by earning Focus and spending it on the Operator’s Focus Tree.

Ability	Effect	Upgrades
Bulwark (Ultimate)	Taunts all enemies in the target area, forcing them to attack this Operator, and grants +2 Defense for the rest of the turn Costs 4 Advantage	Tier 1: 16m Taunt. Area Effect 4m. +2 Defense for the turn. Tier 2: 17m Taunt. Area Effect 5m. +3 Defense for the turn. Tier 3: 18m Taunt. Area Effect 6m. +4 Defense for the turn. Tier 4: 20m Taunt. Area Effect 7m. +5 Defense for the turn. Tier 5: 22m Taunt. Area Effect 8m. +6 Defense for the turn. Tier 6: 24m Taunt. Area Effect 8m. +6 Defense for the turn. Grants Impervious and Immovable.
Unstoppable (Standard)	Gain 2 stacks of Retaliation; each permits a counter against the next incoming attack	Tier 1: +2 Stacks of Retaliation Tier 2: +2 Stacks of Retaliation. Retaliation attack damage +1 Tier 3: +2 Stacks of Retaliation. Retaliation attack damage +2 Tier 4: +2 Stacks of Retaliation. Retaliation attack damage +3 Tier 5: +2 Stacks of Retaliation. Retaliation attack damage +4 Tier 6: +2 Stacks of Retaliation. Retaliation attack damage +4. Can be cast on an ally.
Conditioning (Passive)	Increases Max Health	Tier 1: Max Health +4 Tier 2: Max Health +8 Tier 3: Max Health +12 Tier 4: Max Health +16 Tier 5: Max Health +20
Heavy Armor Training (Passive)	Increases Defense by +2	Cannot Upgrade
Intimidating Posture (Passive)	This Operator’s primary Blaster Attacks now taunt the target on a hit.	Cannot Upgrade

Heavy Class Abilities Explained

Bulwark is the Heavy’s Ultimate which costs Advantage points rather than AP. With Bulwark, you target an area and force every enemy inside it to redirect their attacks onto the Heavy for the rest of that turn, while also gaining plus 2 Defense to reduce the incoming damage from every hit that follows. Because Advantage abilities do not cost Action Points, you can drop Bulwark to redirect enemy fire and still spend your full AP on primary weapon attacks or other abilities in the same turn, letting you still combo in more damage or utility.

Unstoppable is the Heavy’s standard ability that grants 2 stacks of Retaliation, each of which triggers a free counterattack against the next incoming hit before the stack is consumed. In combination with Bulwark, heavies can force enemies to attack them, then have Unstoppable fire back twice before those attacks resolve. Against grouped enemies all shooting the same target in a single turn, Unstoppable converts the Heavy’s role from passive damage sponge into an operator that actively punishes enemies.

Conditioning is a passive that increases the Heavy’s maximum health by plus 4. In a permadeath system where an operator dies permanently after accumulating three injuries, and each injury is triggered by hitting zero HP, those four extra health points are going to be a huge help! On higher difficulty settings where enemy damage numbers are larger and a single concentrated volley can threaten your unit down, Conditioning’s flat health increase is one of the best passives you can select.

Heavy Armor Training is a passive that adds plus 2 Defense, which in Zero Company translates to a flat reduction of 2 points from every incoming hit. Stacked on top of the plus 2 Defense that Bulwark grants for the remainder of the turn it is used, the Heavy can reach plus 4 Defense during Bulwark turns, meaning every enemy attack in that window deals even less damage. Against enemies firing multiple times per turn or dealing moderate damage per hit, that reduction can be even more useful.

Intimidating Posture is a passive ability that simply makes your primary blaster attack taunt enemies to hit you. This gives you a useful single-target taunt ability with low AP cost for emergencies where you absolutely need to grab an enemy’s attention fast. In most cases, Bulwark is the better taunt, but as it costs Advantage to use you may not be able to cast it when needed.

Best Heavy Talent Specialization

The best talent for the Heavy class is Taunt, which forces enemies to attack you. While this might seem redundant with the Bulwark ultimate, it doesn’t use Advantage and is more specific. Meaning, if you just need the attention of one high-threat enemy, Taunt is what you want to use rather than your squad’s shared Advantage pool. At higher Tiers, Taunt is also a significant debuff, reducing enemy damage by up to 6 at Tier 4.

Taunt

Taunts the selected enemy and reduces its Damage for the rest of the turn at higher tiers.Costs 1 AP per use.

Tier 1: 1 Taunt per turn Tier 2: 1 Taunt per turn; reduces Damage by 2 Tier 3: 1 Taunt per turn; reduces Damage by 4 Tier 4: 1 Taunt per turn; reduces Damage by 6

For a more selfish approach to Combat, consider using the Grit Talent. Grit applies stacks of Invulnerable to this Operator and increases their Max Health for the low cost of 1 AP per turn. This will make your Heavy essentially Immortal.

Grit

Applies stacks of Invulnerable to this Operator and increases their Max Health.Costs 1 AP per use.

Tier 1: 1 stack per 1 turn, +2 Max Health Tier 2: 1 stack per 1 turn, +4 Max Health Tier 3: 1 stack per 1 turn, +8 Max Health Tier 4: 2 stacks per 1 turn, +12 Max Health

Once you get deep into the campaign your Heavy may suffer some injuries. If you cannot fully heal them then Fortitude is a good talent to swap to. This talent increases Defense while this Operator is injured, plus ignores the Chance-to-hit penalty of Injured at higher Tiers.

Fortitude

Increases Defense while this Operator is injured.

Tier 1: +2 Defense Tier 2: +3 Defense Tier 3: +4 Defense Tier 4: +6 Defense; ignore the chance-to-hit penalty for injury

For more information, check out our full list of Star Wars Zero Company Talents.

Best Heavy Secondary Specialization: Soldier

Operators can unlock a Secondary Specialization once you hit Cycle 18 in game. Most custom Operators and some Story Companions can choose from any of the other 10 Classes in Zero Company to use as their Secondary Specialization (you can’t double up). The exception to this is the Astromech class and Tel-Rea, your Jedi Padawan. Secondary Specializations allow you to use all the abilities for that class but their Focus Tree upgrades cannot go past Tier 5, so a Secondary Spec will always be slightly weaker than if you had used it as your Primary Specialization.

For the Heavy Class we recommend the Soldier as your Secondary Specialization. The Soldier class adds Melee Damage and the ability to Daze your enemies so they cannot attack you along with strong AOE damage potential via Rocket Strike and bonus damage to Grenades.

Soldier abilities

Ability	Effect	Upgrades
Rocket Strike (Ultimate)	Fire a powerful rocket that explodes on impact, damaging all targets in the blast.	Tier 1: 12 Base DMG Tier 2: 16 Base DMG Tier 3: 20 Base DMG Tier 4: 24 Base DMG Tier 5: 28 Base DMG Tier 6: 34 Base DMG; applies Vulnerable
Brutal Strike (Standard)	Rush and strike a target, dealing Melee Damage and Dazing.	Tier 1: 12 Base DMG Tier 2: 13 Base DMG Tier 3: 14 Base DMG Tier 4: 15 Base DMG Tier 5: 16 Base DMG Tier 6: 18 Base DMG
Strength (Passive)	Increases Melee Damage and increases the throw range of all Grenades.	Tier 1: +2 Melee Damage; +2m throw range Tier 2: +3 Melee Damage; +3m throw range Tier 3: +4 Melee Damage; +4m throw range Tier 4: +5 Melee Damage; +5m throw range Tier 5: +6 Melee Damage; +6m throw range
Armsmaster (Passive)	Increases Blaster Damage and Grenade Damage by +2.	Cannot Upgrade

Alternative pairings

• Assault: adds mobility to reposition and initiate when you need to close the distance.
• Scout: Generate massive Advantage by Scanning groups of enemies and lower their defenses.

The Advantage System

Advantage is a shared, squad-wide pool: you gain +1 each time the squad damages an enemy, and it caps at 10. Ultimates are the biggest spends, so managing the pool is central to every turn. Outside that base income, only the Scout’s Combat Recon and Tactical Timing generate extra Advantage.

Hawks can spend Advantage to refresh one squadmate’s Action Point once per turn, and the Soldier’s Sabotage talent costs Advantage too.

Best Weapon for the Heavy: Repeater

The Heavy is a close-range class, so a Repeater fits best: it consumes all remaining Action Points for heavy point-blank output, ideal for an operator that plants itself and holds ground rather than repositioning. A Blaster Rifle is the alternative if you want to move and still fire. A Longarm does not suit the Heavy’s close-range band.

• Repeater (Consumes all remaining AP): Firing uses the whole remaining AP pool, with damage bonuses at 2 AP and 3 AP.
• Blaster Rifle (Fast Weapon): 1 AP for the first shot each turn, 2 AP for every shot after.

Against the Separatist Alliance’s droid armies, swap to an Ion variant, the confirmed counter to droids.

Weapon modifications

The four best weapon mods for the Heavy are listed below:

Note: You start with one weapon mod upgrade, but can obtain four slots. You can do this through Den upgrades, campaign choice, and Zone Forn influence Tier 3. You must pick between a utility slot or a weapon mod. We will include four in our guide for your convenience, in priority order.

Best Heavy Utility Items

The four best utility items for the Heavy are listed below:

Note: you start with one utility item, but can obtain four slots. You can do this through Den upgrades, campaign choices, and Zone Dorn influence Tier 3. You must pick between a utility slot or a weapon mod. We will include four in our guide for your convenience, in priority order.

Heavy Focus Tree priority (progression order)

A custom operator can respec freely at the Personnel facility in The Den, and can slot any Universal Talent (check the recommended Universal Talents above), so build the Focus Tree to fit the role. You earn Focus Points as the operator levels and builds Bonds, and every ability starts at Rank I when you pick the spec. Below is the Talent to take, then the order to spend your points. Story Companions (Authored Operators) and Hawks will have their own specific Talent locked and won’t be able to change with a respec.

The obvious focus for the Heavy (tank) build is taunting, forcing enemies to attack you. Therefore, you should upgrade Unstoppable and Bulwark for a one-two punch. Charge in, taunt, then gain stacks of Retaliate, returning damage to enemies as they are forced to attack you. You may want some Conditioning passives sprinkled in to increase your HP pool but this can also be done with cross training for free.

Take the below Focus upgrades in this order as you start earning points:

Best Party Composition and Squad Synergy

Squads deploy four operators, and Hawks is mandatory in story missions. The Heavy’s job is to draw fire so the rest of the squad operates safely, so surround it with damage dealers who capitalize on the aggro you pull, plus a healer to extend how long you can hold. Here’s a sample with the companion operators and their known classes:

• Long-range DPS: Luco Bronc (Sharpshooter). While Bulwark forces enemies onto you, Luco deletes priority targets from safety.
• Melee or flanker: Tel-Rea Vokoss (Jedi Padawan). With enemies taunted onto the Heavy, her lightsaber gets free flanking angles.
• Healer: a Medic, built as a custom recruit or added to Hawks specialization. Keeps the anchor standing through sustained fire.

Avoid: a second frontline tank. One Heavy already controls the ground, and a second just competes for the aggro you want funneled onto a single durable body.

Best Heavy Bonds/Cross Training

Bonds in Star Wars Zero Company are created when Operators work closely together in missions, particularly when Calling For Backup and dealing assist damage. Bonds are also built when Operators work on the same Operations together. Increasing your Bonds with other characters awards you Cross Training which are specfic stat boosts that both characters benefit from at the same time. We recommend prioritizing the following Cross Training upgrades for the Heavy Class:

1. Fitness Work: Increases Max Health by +4 for both Operators.
2. Speed Training: Increases first movement by +0.50 m for both operators.
3. Agility Drills: Reduces enemy ranged chance to hit by 5% for both operators.
4. Free Form Training: both operators gain an additional +2 focus points

How to play the Heavy (turn-by-turn)

We will update this section upon launch. However, you get three AP per turn (Action Points). This can be used for all of your activities, including movement. Your goal will be to spend AP wisely by moving into position, firing, and using consumables when appropriate.

Push to the position you need to hold, then use Bulwark to taunt the enemy cluster onto you. You also gain +4 Defense for the turn between Bulwark, Conditioning, and Heavy Armor Training. Keep Unstoppable’s Retaliation stacks up so every attacker eats a counter, while your Sharpshooter and flankers fire freely on the enemies locked onto you. Spend your three Action Points anchoring the line rather than chasing kills.

Star Wars Zero Company Heavy Build FAQ

1. Is the Heavy good in Star Wars Zero Company?

Yes. The Heavy is the most durable class in Star Wars Zero Company and the backbone of a stable squad. Its strength is control: Bulwark forces enemies to attack you, Unstoppable punishes them for it, and Conditioning keeps you on your feet. Its weakness is offense; on its own it deals less damage than a dedicated DPS, so it works best anchoring a team that does the killing.

2. Can you respec or change class in Star Wars Zero Company?

Yes. Any operator can respec into any standard class at any time from the Personnel facility in the Den. The exotic classes are the exception: the Jedi Padawan (locked to Tel-Rea Vokoss) and Mandalorian Warrior (locked to Cly Kullervo) cannot be reassigned. Character signature abilities persist through a respec.

3. What weapon should a Heavy use?

A Repeater is great for a tank with an aggressive playstyle. The Longarm is better if you want longer range and counterattacks.  Swap to Ion weapons against droid forces.

4. What is the best secondary class for a Heavy?

Medic is the strongest pairing for a self-sustaining, near-unkillable tank. Soldier adds offense while Assault adds mobility.

Change log and updates

• v1.5 – August 31, 2026 – Updated weapons and utility sections.
• v1.4 – August 28, 2026 – Added focus tree progression.
• v1.3 – August 27, 2026 – Actively updating build, focus progression, and cross-training.
• v1.2 – August 20, 2026 – Updated Abilities and best talents section.
• v1.1 – August 12, 2026 – Added full skills list, talents, and weapons details.
• v1.0 – August 6, 2026 – Created pre-launch with all 8 class build guides and 6 companion build guides.

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