Star Wars Zero Company: best starting class and how to respec early
Star Wars Zero Company offers a handful of starting specialisations, and the choice matters for your opening missions. The good news is that you can change your class very early in the game, so the decision is not permanent.
The best starting class is the Scoundrel. This specialisation focuses on making enemies vulnerable, which guarantees critical hits, and it also boosts your ability to penetrate defences and increase assist damage. The Scoundrel's kit works especially well with the named character Hawk, whose Fearless Leader talent raises assist damage for the entire squad. Assists are free attacks that also generate advantage, making them a powerful tool in combat.
The first three companions you meet are a Scoundrel (Kabb), a Soldier (Trick), and an Assault (Jae). Running two Scoundrels in a party is not a problem because Hawk's buff applies to everyone's assists, and more assists are always beneficial. However, if you would rather not double up on the same class, there are several other viable options: Gunslinger, Medic, Heavy, Scout, and Sharpshooter.
The Gunslinger is a strong alternative early on. It can hit and finish off multiple enemies, which gives you more advantage, and it provides general buffs to ranged attacks. The Sharpshooter is more single-target focused, which can feel limiting when you are not fighting bosses or elite enemies. The Heavy has a more passive playstyle built around taking hits and retaliating, and it works best with an operator that has the Taunt or Anticipation talent to tank or avoid damage. The Medic is overkill in the early game because most combat encounters are not very tricky, and the Scout is a class entirely about farming advantage, which you will not need to worry about much in the initial missions.
How to respec your class and abilities
You unlock the ability to change your class once you reach Cycle 3, which happens very early in the game. The process is entirely free. To respec, interact with the Personnel console by the map table, cycle right to the Focus Tree tab, and select Change Specialization in the bottom right. You can then pick whichever class you want. Changing class refunds all of your Focus Points, letting you redistribute them entirely. The only exception is that respecing a story character does not refund the Focus Points you have put into that character's talent at the top of the tree.
When you unlock recruitable operators a little later on, you can also change their talents in the same menu. This means you can customise any hired operator completely. It is therefore better to recruit operators based on whether you like the character rather than their starting talent or specialisation, since you can change those at will. You can even change the specialisations of the initial story characters like Trick and Kabb Uppercut, so team composition is always flexible.
Tips for building Trick
Trick is one of the early companions, and his build can be tailored for different stages of the game. While specific builds for the early, mid, and late game are available, the key point is that you can respec him freely once you reach Cycle 3, so you are not locked into any one approach.
Gorga's Revenge choice
At one point in the game you will face a decision involving Gorga's Revenge: whether to let him disappear or hand him over. The choice has consequences, so you should consider your preferred approach before committing.
Overall, the respec system in Star Wars Zero Company encourages experimentation. Because there is no cost to changing class and you get all your Focus Points back, there is no drawback to trying different party compositions. The early game is forgiving enough that you can test out several specialisations before settling on the one that suits your playstyle. The Scoundrel remains the strongest starting pick, but the Gunslinger is a close second if you want variety in your initial squad. As you progress, you will find that many of the best talents for recruitable operators synergise more strongly with specific classes than Hawk's Fearless Leader, so do not be afraid to switch things up.