Star Wars Zero Company: Heavy Class Guide - Playstyle, Best Combinations, & More
Here's how to build the Heavy Class in SWZC!
Heavy is one of the eight class specs you can choose for your operators in Star Wars Zero Company. Unlike Gunslinger, the Heavy class trades raw damage for durability, letting you plant an operator in the thick of a fight and just not die. So, to help you get the most out of this class, this guide walks you through all the important builds, playstyle and everything you would need for the best Heavy class build in Star Wars Zero Company.
Star Wars Zero Company Heavy Class, Explained
The Heavy is your squad's frontline anchor. This class is built to soak up damage and hold ground rather than dish out damage. Compared to the Assault, that can create openings by charging in, or the Scoundrel, who works by inflicting debuffs, the Heavy plants itself in the open and taunts the enemies to focus on it.
Its whole skillset revolves around taunting enemies onto itself and punishing every attack that follows, so a well-built Heavy can tie down an entire enemy squad while your damage dealers work freely. If you want a tank with a massive HP pool and the ability to control who the enemy shoots, the Heavy spec should be your first choice.
Heavy Class Abilities
| Ability | Effects | Upgrades |
|---|---|---|
| Bulwark (Ultimate) | Taunts all enemies in the target area, forcing them to attack this Operator, and grants bonus Defense for the rest of the turn. Costs 4 Advantage | Tier 1: 16m Taunt, 4m Area, +2 Defense Tier 6: 24m Taunt, 8m Area, +6 Defense. Grants Impervious and Immovable |
| Unstoppable (Standard) | Gain 2 stacks of Retaliation. Each permits a counter against the next incoming attack | Tier 1: +2 Retaliation stacks Tier 6: +2 Retaliation stacks, +4 damage, can be cast on an ally |
| Conditioning (Passive) | Increases Max Health | Tier 1: +4 Max Health Tier 5: +20 Max Health |
| 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 |
How To Play Heavy Class in Star Wars Zero Company
The core playstyle of the Heavy class is all about claiming ground and making yourself the problem the enemy has to deal with, rather than shooting and getting kills like an Assault or Gunslinger would.
In general, when playing Heavy, you should push into the position you actually want to hold before committing anything else. Once you're there, Bulwark pulls the enemy cluster onto you and gives you the Defense boost to survive the attention.
Make sure you have Unstoppable passive's Retaliation stacks going into that position, since every attacker who takes the bait is also getting a free counter for their move. From there, your job for the rest of the turn is creating space for everyone else.
With the enemy locked onto you, your Sharpshooter or flankers can fire without worrying about return fire, and a Medic behind you can keep healing you to make sure you can hold the line turn after turn.
Best Build Combination for Heavy Class
Best Talent Specialization
The best talent for the Heavy is Taunt, which forces a single enemy to attack you without touching the Advantage pool the way Bulwark does. That makes it the better choice when you just need one specific high-threat enemy off your team's back rather than the whole group. At higher tiers it also cuts into that enemy's damage output.
Alternatively, you can choose Grit for more survivability. It stacks Invulnerable on you and grows your Max Health for a cheap 1 AP cost, which can make an already tanky Heavy companion borderline impossible to bring down in a single turn.
If your Heavy has taken a few too many injuries over the course of a campaign, Fortitude is worth switching to. It boosts your Defense specifically while injured and, at higher tiers, it also removes the accuracy penalty from injuries.
Best Secondary Specialization
For the Heavy Class, we recommend the Soldier as your Secondary Specialization. Soldier brings Melee Damage and a Daze effect that keeps enemies from hitting back, plus strong AOE from the Rocket Strike skill and extra damage from grenades.
| Ability | Effects |
|---|---|
| Rocket Strike (Ultimate) | Fire a powerful rocket that explodes on impact, damaging all targets in the blast |
| Brutal Strike (Standard) | Rush and strike a target, dealing Melee Damage and Dazing |
| Strength (Passive) | Increases Melee Damage and increases the throw range of all Grenades |
| Armsmaster (Passive) | Increases Blaster Damage and Grenade Damage by +2 |
NOTE: If you want your Heavy to close distance instead of just holding a line, you can alternatively pick the Assault specialization for extra mobility, or Scout if you want to generate Advantage for the rest of the squad.
Best Weapon for Heavy Class
The Repeater is the best weapon for the Heavy because it spends your whole AP pool for a big point-blank payoff, which fits an operator that's meant to plant itself rather than reposition every turn. Since Bulwark and Unstoppable already do the work of taunting enemies in, you don't need a weapon for mobility. The Blaster Rifle is a viable alternative if want to keep some room to move around and still get a shot off.
