Star Wars Zero Company The Den Upgrades
The Den is Zero Company's home base, tucked into a hangar on the Ring of Kafrene. Between missions, it is where you plan Operations, recruit and equip Operators, manage Injuries, improve the company, and prepare for the next Tactical Mission. The combat view is isometric; the Den uses a third-person perspective.
This is a pre-release upgrade guide. EA confirms the upgrade framework, Droid Bay, roster-wide weapon improvements, Build Slots, and construction time, but has not published a complete upgrade tree, costs, prerequisites, or final level-by-level effects. This page keeps those unknowns visible instead of inventing a database before launch.
What is The Den and how do you unlock it?
The Den is the campaign management hub. EA's public overview places it between missions, where players can recruit, outfit, treat, and speak with Operators. It does not publish an exact tutorial-completion requirement or precise unlock step, so treat the Den's first availability as a launch-build detail to verify rather than a hard pre-release milestone.
What is confirmed is its role: the Holotable shows the current Cycle's Operations and Tactical Missions, while the other Facilities turn campaign resources into a healthier, better-equipped, more flexible company.
All Den Facilities
| Facility | Confirmed purpose | | --- | --- | | Holotable | Start Tactical Missions and Operations; review Influence. | | Recruitment | Hire or create a pool of Custom Operators for Credits. | | Personnel | Review stats, Focus Tree, Bonds, Cross Training, and change most Specializations. | | Armory | Change weapons, install Weapon Mods, equip or buy Utilities, and customize weapon looks. | | Upgrade | Build Den infrastructure and roster-wide improvements. | | Medbay | Treat Injuries from Operations and Tactical Missions. | | Customization | Change appearances, outfits, and available species for Hawks and Custom Operators. | | Memorial | Review fallen Operators' legacy, stats, and accomplishments. |
How the upgrade system works
Every construction project takes at least one Cycle and requires an available Build Slot. As the campaign advances, additional Build Slots unlock, allowing multiple upgrades to be built at the same time.
That creates the central Den decision: an upgrade is not just a Credit or resource choice. It also reserves construction capacity while Operations and Tactical Missions have limited windows. Start a project that answers the next few Cycles, rather than treating every newly available upgrade as automatically urgent.
All confirmed Den upgrades
| Upgrade or progression area | Confirmed effect | What is not yet public | | --- | --- | --- | | Droid Bay | Lets the company recruit Astromech Custom Operators. | Exact cost, prerequisite, and unlock timing. | | Roster-wide weapon upgrades | Improve the combat stats of all Operators. | Upgrade names, stat values, ranks, and prices. | | Additional Build Slots | More slots unlock over time, enabling parallel construction. | Exact milestones and slot count. | | Roster Capacity | The Den has limited capacity, with opportunities to increase it as the campaign progresses. | Exact upgrade path, costs, and capacity thresholds. |
EA does not currently publish a complete list of Facility projects. A table with guessed names, tiers, or costs would be less useful than this confirmed-framework table; expand it after the release build exposes the full upgrade screen.
Upgrade costs and requirements
Costs, prerequisites, build duration beyond the one-Cycle minimum, and individual upgrade ranks are not officially published. Keep Credits available for more than construction: Recruitment, the Armory's Black Market, and Medbay healing also spend Credits.
When the final values are known, compare three costs before building: the resource price, the occupied Build Slot, and the Cycle you give up while the project completes. Until then, choose upgrades by the bottleneck they solve.
Best first upgrades
There is no official universal first-upgrade order. Use a need-based priority instead:
- Roster capacity when an important recruit would otherwise be unavailable or Injuries leave the company too thin.
- Roster-wide weapon improvement when the core squad is stable and every mission benefits from broader combat power.
- Droid Bay when Astromech Custom Operators fill a real role in your intended team, rather than only for novelty.
- Additional Build Slots when two useful projects compete for the same schedule and the campaign can support parallel work.
This is a planning framework, not a claim that the game exposes these projects in this exact order.
Best early-, mid-, and late-game upgrade order
| Campaign situation | Sensible upgrade focus | | --- | --- | | Early game | Protect roster depth, recovery capacity, and the squad's basic ability to win Tactical Missions. | | Mid game | Add flexibility: a role the roster lacks, broader weapon strength, or more construction capacity. | | Late game | Fund parallel projects and roster-wide improvements that still help every deployment. |
Choose around the next mission window, current Injuries, available Operators, and Credits. Tactical Missions advance the Cycle; do not commit a Build Slot to a long-term luxury when the current map urgently needs healing, a recruit, or a safer weapon setup.
Droid Bay and Astromech Operators
The Droid Bay is the clearest named Den expansion. EA confirms that building it lets players recruit Astromech Custom Operators. It is therefore a team-composition unlock, not merely a cosmetic workshop.
Build it when the extra roster type has a concrete purpose in your campaign. The official overview does not publish the Droid Bay's exact price, required prior upgrades, or Astromech recruitment details, so do not delay a necessary Medbay, recruitment, or combat investment based on assumed values.
Roster capacity and roster-wide weapon upgrades
Recruitment starts with limited Roster Capacity. EA says the Den offers opportunities to increase that allotment as the campaign grows; the official Q&A also says capacity can increase through upgrades, story progression, and new Authored Operators. Capacity matters most when Injuries, permanent losses, or mission roles make a four-person core too fragile.
Roster-wide weapon upgrades improve every Operator's combat stats. They are efficient when you regularly deploy different story and Custom Operators, because their value is not tied to one class or one favorite unit. Exact weapon stat changes remain unreleased.
How to unlock more Build Slots
EA confirms that more Build Slots unlock over time. It does not confirm the required story milestones, Den projects, number of slots, or cost. Plan around the slot you have: begin a project before its benefit is urgently needed, and reserve the next free slot for a campaign-wide answer rather than an unverified luxury.
Medbay, Armory, and Weapon Mod upgrades
The Medbay's standard bed heals an Injury in one Cycle; the Bacta Tank gives instant recovery. Both healing choices cost Credits. These are confirmed recovery tools, but EA has not presented them as a published upgrade tree with known ranks or prices.
At the Armory, Weapon Mods change weapon stats and effects. Weapons have a set number of Mod Slots that can increase during the campaign. Treat exact Mod Slot increases, Armory project names, and upgrade thresholds as release-build data until EA publishes them.
Best mid- and late-game choices, and upgrades to avoid
At mid game, favor the upgrade that removes the current bottleneck: roster space after several Injuries, weapon strength for a settled squad, or another Build Slot when two confirmed projects compete. At late game, prioritize benefits that help the full company and allow multiple projects to complete in parallel.
No confirmed Den upgrade is inherently bad. The upgrade to avoid is the one that consumes a Build Slot and Cycle without helping the next stretch of missions—for example, rushing an unneeded roster type while your only capable team needs healing or a safe equipment solution.
The Den Upgrades FAQ
How long does an upgrade take?
EA says construction takes at least one Cycle.
Can I build several upgrades at once?
Only when you have multiple Build Slots. More slots unlock as the campaign progresses.
What does the Droid Bay do?
It enables recruitment of Astromech Custom Operators.
Are upgrade costs and prerequisites known?
Not fully. EA has not published a complete table of costs, prerequisites, ranks, or names.
Does Roster Capacity increase?
Yes. The company starts with limited capacity, and EA says it can grow through upgrades, story progression, and new Authored Operators.
Should I always build the Droid Bay first?
No. Build it when Astromechs solve a real team need; otherwise, protect the roster, recovery, and current mission plan first.
Sources and release status
Facility functions, Operations, recruitment, Personnel, Armory, Upgrade Facility, Droid Bay, Build Slots, Medbay, Customization, and Memorial details are based on EA's Lead Zero Company to Victory. Roster-capacity growth is cross-checked against EA's Answering the Internet’s Biggest Questions. Confirm the complete upgrade database after launch.