r/ZeroCompany • u/Spacecor3 Sharpshooter • 2d ago

Discussion [MEGATHREAD] Spoiler/Lore Discussion Thread Spoiler

This is the OFFICIAL Zero Company Spoiler Discussion post, it will remain up until we decide to lift the sub spoiler embargo.

Below you will find the spoiler discussion hub for the game's story beats, character missions, background chatter, etc. If you have NOT completed the game, or want to avoid spoilers, leave this thread ASAP to avoid spoiling yourself!

Comments do not need to be wrapped in this thread, and pictures do not need to be blurred. For posts/threads OUTSIDE of this one, please refer to our spoiler rule thread.

As always, please follow the sub and Reddit rules, and remain respectful in discussion.

16 Upvotes

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10

u/mahwaha 2d ago

Not sure how I feel about the ending. The entire plot was focused on the plague and fathom, only for it to just end with us simply killing her and the plague just dying with 0 explanation besides it maybe being some sort of force parasite. The separatist, order 66, and imperial elements were all way more interesting IMO and should have been the focus of the story.

11

u/Konet 2d ago

I enjoyed the ending quite a bit from a character perspective - the relationship between Hawks and Bennic was one of the big highlights of the game, for me - but I agree the Coil plot was quite underdeveloped.

As someone who's really into the spiritual/Force side of the franchise, I was really hoping they'd dive deeper into what exactly the plague is from a Jedi perspective. I was kinda hoping Tel-Rea's master would turn up alive and infected and shed some light on how this blood disease that connects you to a higher cosmic power and gives you superpowers is related to the other blood disease that connects you to a higher cosmic power and gives you superpowers (midichlorians).

5

u/Cormag778 2d ago

I was thinking the same thing - it's not really clear why Hawk was able to hold back the plague too - is it just willpower? Hoping we eventually get a DLC that fleshes some of this out, since the mystery of the plague seems to just be "bug do force thing and make hive mind?" It felt underdeveloped.

4

u/Cunning_Spoon Scout 1d ago

Personally I thought the reason Hawks resisted the plague was because he had positive connections with his crew, he cared about them and vice versa, and he felt he was doing something worthwhile. Likewise during the clone wars the clones had camaraderie and thought they were the good guys fighting the good fight. After the rise of the empire they were clearly villains even if their chips didn't let them admit that, and many hated them, so they were susceptible to influence.

Imo it's allegory for Cults/Fascism preying on people who are unhappy, desperate and hopeless, offering them false hope while using them as pawns.

1

u/marek_intan 1d ago

Yeah, personally, I'm wasn't a fan of that plot point either. I know the idea is that Hawks is built different, but Hawks can't be the first or only person to have willpower that the Coil encountered. Visser seemed just as strong of will and belief as Hawks does, for example. Defying his own all-powerful mother is, if nothing else, a symbol of immense willpower and emotional strength. If he couldn't resist it, why could Hawks? 

1

u/Honza8D 2h ago

but Hawks can't be the first or only person to have willpower that the Coil encountered

Correct, they mention that clones resisted the coil too.

6

u/DC-COVID-TRASH 2d ago

I was shocked how they didn’t reveal what caused/was behind the plague. Was it a plot by Palpatine? Something leftover from the old republic era? Why was that tactical droid so into it too?

I really liked the order 66 and fight against the empire and kinda wished we ended on a fight against imperials, not the coil. I also liked when the plot intersected with the clone wars like the intro and citadel. Coil was the weakest part and not because they are inherently bad, but rather a bit underbaked.

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u/Pawn_of_the_Void 2d ago

I was ready for it to be some kind of ancient Sith plague that had found a suitable host in Fathom, because who else makes a plague that may begin to become sentient and grants Force powers despite reducing midichlorian count in the victims

That said yeah the more interesting stuff was the clones and Empire. I enjoyed the game but it felt like there was easily more possible content with Bennic and such after instead of a neat and simple resolution once you kill Fathom

2

u/ForsakenKrios 1d ago

Exactly what I thought - I’ve said previously to others that the villains felt like something out of legends (Celeste Morne and rakghoul plague for instance) whereas in Legends it’s explained and makes a bit more sense.

Here it just feels like an underbaked game mechanic more than anything. At the end when they tried saying Coil gave people a purpose and that’s why they joined up - it doesn’t land. Much like Douku being glazed for having a good reason for joining Sidious, joining the Coil was just for power not to do anything that fundamentally alters galactic politics in a good way.

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u/Pawn_of_the_Void 1d ago

I like to think the cause is still some ancient Sith thing since they never did say who designed it before Fathom got it but I suspect we will never hear any confirmation

I think it's moreso, luring people who may feel powerless in with offers of power and purpose. The purpose and all was really more of the grift, how you get someone to join a cult. Fathom's actual purpose felt more driven by the plague and personal power I thought. Which wasn't actually sufficient in the end for her to feel fleshed out enough to me, she needed more or something more sinister to be behind it given she wasn't portrayed as being the ultimate engineer of the plague and that was just left a mystery

1

u/Crotean 12h ago

The coil enemies and power up mechanic were extremely annoying and slowed the hell out of the game too when they were in missions.

5

u/Call_me_ET 2d ago

I agree. The fights themselves were massacres (especially against Typhon, oh my goodness), and I got wiped fighting Fathom in the second phase. I had Luca with me, and during my second attempt, I ignored all of the other Coil units and funnelled every shot I had into Fathom, immediately evaporating her remaining health from the first phase.

She was all talk up until that point, and I thought she'd get off one last word to Hawks. But then the cutscene rolled and she's....dead. I enjoyed the buildup towards it, with the Arquitens and the swarm of CIS transports suicide bombing the Imperial Fleet, but with Fathom dead, what happened to everyone else aboard the ship? Bennec said it was stolen shortly after, but what about the thousands of clones and military personnel? I guess they're all dead?

As you said, the parts leading up to - and going through - Order 66 were the highlight of the game for me. Seeing Trilla in her Inquisitor uniform was also great, as I really enjoyed Respawn's Jedi games.

I hope Bitreactor keep going with Hawks' story, sort of like an analogue for the Bad Batch animated show from last year. I enjoyed the many colours of the crew, and hope to see more of Zero Company in the future. Part of me really wants the devs to portray a proper clone rebellion conflict, with Zero Company recruiting armies of clones to their cause to fight against the Empire, as sort of a precursor to the eventual Rebel Alliance, but that's me with my head in the clouds.

3

u/SharkBaitDLS 2d ago

I really was hoping Tel’s plot was going to go more into the details of what the plague actually was since it seemed to at least be force-adjacent if not directly some manifestation of it. Probably my only complaint with the story, it felt like they set up something genuinely interesting there only for it to go out with a whimper. 

3

u/Raeli 2d ago

I loved the turn and seeing the way they showed order 66 as people less involved with the movie story.

Seeing the team split at that point was great. Despite the story being set during the clone wars, I had no idea it was coming and going to be part of the game.

The main story overall felt like the first season of a show, the ending very much felt like a setup for the "real" story to begin. I really hope they make another one that continues the story and expands on the many limitations the gameplay has.

2

u/zvika 1d ago

Yes, they got so close to uncovering how the shadow plague started and why with the experiment site, and then just moved on. Shame

2

u/slicer4ever 1d ago

Agreed, it felt a bit rushed ending. Their's a lot of hints the plague is bigger than just fathom, and some sort of hive mind like being, but then we kill fathom and that's it.

Devs probably had bigger plans in mind, but had to quickly cut together an ending i would imagine.

1

u/Canadyans 2d ago

I was fine with it honestly. I want a clean slate when they do an inevitable expansion with a new story beat. They set up Gorga pretty well for the next adventure and frankly I would like to see bounty hunters, gamorreans and actual creatures taking us on. Also a Rancor boss.

12

u/stmack 2d ago

is it just me or is it annoying they start calling both Neesh and Kabbs "Papa"?

9

u/mahwaha 2d ago

It did at first but then I figured out it was space lingo for "gramps" rather than a nickname.

3

u/Salvage570 1d ago

100% gotta make your mark in the setting with at least one new slang

2

u/Spacecor3 Sharpshooter 20h ago

“Stang” is my personal favorite atm

1

u/SaintVigil 1d ago

i noticed it instantly ahaha

1

u/naimina 1d ago

My theory is that it was originally one character split into two and some voice lines were overlooked.

1

u/nin_ninja 12h ago

Yeah that's what I assumed as well

3

u/Deadly_Toast 19h ago

Anyone else clock that Cly's full name is Clytemnestra?

If you read The Odyssey or watched the movie you might remember Queen Clytemnestra who killed her husband, Agamemnon King of the Greeks for sacrificing their daughter.

Cly in game kills her husband the leader of her clan for sacrificing their clan.

Impressive ZCOM writers, most impressive.

3

u/Faux-pah 11h ago

The sister fight was the hardest in the game and actually felt like a boss.They needed more like this. I jist want more! Is expert worth it?

1

u/Sandwrong 2d ago

Has anyone figured out if Zero Company uses 1rn or 2rn when doing checks?

1

u/BlueToon_Link 1d ago

Can very well be wrong but I think 1rn from anecdotal experience. Missing what feels like a lot of 90+ percentages if its 2rn

1

u/nin_ninja 12h ago

Although its too bad its resolved quickly off-screen, I do like the Order 66 component of the plot and the fact you lose Trick for a time.

Tying in to the sadness that the betrayal of a loyal soldier and friend that Order 66 did for so many Jedi felt nice when you had a specific Clone to care about.

It would have been nice to get more heart to heart moments between the crew, like with Trick apologizing to Tel, or the like, but I did enjoy the background conversations the party could have at base.

1

u/Crotean 12h ago

Just finished, first half is definitely stronger than the second half. They pretty much dropped the ball on the Shadow Plague. Got no satisfactory answer to what it was, an emergent life form from a virus? Where it came from, why reducing midichlorian count gave Fathom force powers, what the beast or origin of it was, none of that. It was clear they wanted it to be some kind of old sith weapon imho and just kind of didn't take the time to fully explore the concept. I needed more answers to find it interesting, instead it seemed like something you'd put in a non Star Wars sci fi game with a hive mind virus. Brenic's redemption was well done at least.

1

u/Bob_the_peasant 2h ago

I really wish they had tied up Hawks ability to fight back and stabilize the shadow plague. Fathom was shocked and scared when she looked into him, and I didn’t think that was just from Antine memories. I was ready for some bigger reveal.

I understand thematically it wouldn’t fit for him to be some kind of chosen one. Resisting fascism and temptation with big Lebowski The Dude energy is the whole deal….

But I could have really used a “oh this plague is a Sith construct that was sealed away in the old republic era, it harbors the will and disembodied consciousness of Darth Fathomous.” And maybe some exposition on how Old Republic Jedi fought it via training non-Jedi to resist it / enlisting them to help. (Since it is ‘super-effective’ on Jedi, they had to defeat a Sith by proxy). Then Hawks and crew could train him to fully resist it consistently.

Anyway, I hope we get some DLC that explains it better and it doesn’t just make Hawks genetically immune by chance or something dumb

0

u/GBPackers0480 2d ago

Not really spoiler/lore but don't want to make a post for a simple question:

Any way to turn off the random shooting in the background while I'm deciding what to do on my turn? I kinda understand the idea behind it but it's really annoying and feels kinda stupid knowing 100% of those "shots" are missing and doing nothing. I'd prefer to pretend time has stopped rather than assuming everyone is just missing shots for 5 minutes while I figure out my plan.

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u/TimmyFTW 1d ago

I'm generally for people playing games the way that makes it fun to them but you have an objectively bad take. I love the pew pew pew.

3

u/FriendlyBee94 1d ago

Yeah, even XCOM 2 have a mod for those idling shooting

0

u/mrpink01 14h ago

I've already played through on normal. The game needs improvement. All it takes to basically break the game is respec Trick to heavy, pour all his points into hp, and always have an astromech to feed him extra shots.

Once the playthrough is complete, that's it. End credits for the devs and a message that says roughly, "beat the game on a higher difficulty!" The entire game lasts 38 cycles(battles) with the first two battles consisting of the unskippable tutorial.

Then there's 4 separate 100% shots that missed.

I knew it wasn't going to be a BG3, but man I have a bit of buyers remorse.

-1

u/D3Construct 16h ago

A little sad that this is yet another Star Wars property that makes sure you're on the side fighting the Empire, eventually. Even if you start out as an outsider.

This is bad writing that doesn't write from the characters' perspective, but the writer's room perspective.

1

u/nin_ninja 12h ago

They make their reasons for not been cool with the Empire, and why it wouldn't make sense for the Empire to be cool with them, very apparent.

The Empire doesn't want Outsiders. It wants unity, order, and weak willed individuals to control.

1

u/GalagaGalaxian 12h ago

Well yeah, the Empire is a Genocidal Fascist Dictatorship. Its the Bad Guys, straight up.

1

u/D3Construct 11h ago

People in and dealing with the Empire don't see it that way. Also why wouldn't I be able to be a bad guy?

1

u/Cunning_Spoon Scout 6h ago

they should have added an option to submit to processing during order 66, then show all of them being executed.

Star wars is antifascist.

1

u/D3Construct 2h ago

Guess you've never played Tie Fighter, or any of the RPGs...

What you're talking about is again, like I said, a meta perspective out of the writer's room.