Start with the rules the official sources publish: story missions require Hawks, standard squads have up to four Operators, healing uses Credits, and Standard permadeath ends an Operator's campaign after three Injuries. These 15 tips point to the confirmed systems without turning unverified numbers into advice.
15 essential starting tips
- Choose the Permadeath setting deliberately. It is enabled by default and can be disabled.
- Respect the Standard threshold. Three accumulated Injuries cause permanent death on Standard difficulty.
- Use Rally when an Operator is Downed. A Downed Operator cannot act, but a teammate can Rally them.
- Protect Hawks in story missions. Hawks is required, and Hawks' death fails the mission and requires a restart.
- Budget healing Credits. Official sources confirm that recovery costs Credits.
- Know the Medbay timing. A standard bed takes one Cycle; a Bacta Tank provides instant recovery.
- Do not invent a Bacta Tank price. Official sources do not currently publish an exact value.
- Plan for a four-Operator standard squad. Some missions can include extra controlled characters, but four is the regular limit.
- Use Custom Operators to expand the company. They are recruited from the Recruitment Facility for Credits.
- Check the recruitment selection each Cycle. A new Custom Operator selection appears each Cycle and can also be refreshed at will.
- Plan around company capacity. Headquarters starts with room for seven Operators and can reach 20 through upgrades, story progress, and Authored Operators.
- Match the weapon class to the published baseline. Rifle, Repeater, Pistol, and Longarm have different confirmed damage, range, and Action Point rules in the weapons guide.
- Use Mods as campaign progress allows. Weapon Modifications alter stats and effects, and Mod Slots can increase during the campaign.
- Spend Black Market Credits with purpose. Weapon Mods and Utilities are purchased there; Impact Bombs and Concussion Grenades are confirmed Utility examples.
- Schedule Den construction. An upgrade takes at least one Cycle and consumes an available Build Slot; more Build Slots unlock over time.
First company choices
Hawks has six published species options; Custom Operators have ten. Read the character creation guide before making those choices, then use the Operators guide for the confirmed recruitment rules and the Den upgrades guide for Droid Bay, capacity, and construction facts.
The official evidence package does not publish a full best-class ranking, exact ability values, complete Den costs, named weapon unlocks, or authored recruitment chapters. Treat those items as information to verify in the released game rather than fixed beginner rules.
Sources
These tips are limited to the supplied official evidence package, including EA's gameplay overview, the community Q&A, and EA Help's weapon class guide.