Yes, you can recruit clone troopers in Star Wars: Zero Company, but on a first campaign the Clone origin only unlocks after a main-story mission in the last third of the campaign. Until then, clone armour gets you the look: every Operator can wear it from the start, helmet voice filter included. Finish the campaign once and every later campaign lets you hire clones as soon as recruitment opens.
TL;DR
Clones are a custom Operator origin, hired for Credits at the Den's Recruitment facility. They unlock late in the story, around Cycle 30 by player reports, and only mods speed that up. The roster starts at 7 and tops out at 20; you still deploy 4, Hawks included on story missions.
When do clones unlock?
Bit Reactor's only official word is Greg Foertsch's from the July Q&A: "You will be able to unlock Clone Troopers after a certain point in the story." The game does not show a Cycle number, and neither has EA.
Players and guides narrow it to one main-story mission in the last third of the campaign. Reports put it between Cycle 23 and Cycle 33, with 30 to 32 quoted most. It is a critical mission, so you cannot miss it. Afterwards a message at the Holotable confirms clone recruitment, and Clone appears as an origin.
Which mission, and why it is that one
The mission is Deep Cover. During it, Rex reveals that some clones have had their inhibitor chips removed, which is the story's reason a clone can now sign on with a deniable outfit. Trick, who leaves the squad after Order 66 in Stillwatch, rejoins after Deep Cover as a regular Operator.
How do you recruit a clone?
The same way as any other recruit, once the origin is unlocked:
- Open the Recruitment facility in the Den and look for a clone in the pool of candidates.
- No clone? Re-roll the pool. PCGamesN says you can do it as many times as you like, and it also refreshes each Cycle.
- For a clone you designed, build it in the Databank from the main menu and mark it active; guides say only active entries reach the pool. Reports differ on whether the Databank offers the Clone origin before the unlock, but no clone shows up for hire until it fires.
- Pay in Credits, with a free roster slot.
Recruitment itself opens early, once the opening Hutt debt is cleared. Clones are the only origin held back this long.
How much does a clone cost?
Clones cost the same Credits as any other recruit, and guides agree the price climbs with every Operator you hire. We could not find a reliable per-recruit figure, so trust the number the Recruitment facility shows you.
Can you recruit more clones? The roster cap
Lead designer James Brawley gave the numbers before launch: "The current operator limit is 20, but players will start with a maximum of 7 operators." Space grows through Den upgrades (the Crew Quarters line in the Upgrade terminal) and through story progression. If you are full, dismissing an Operator frees a slot.
The squad you deploy stays at four. Hawks is mandatory on story missions, so the most you can field there is Hawks plus three clones; optional missions let you send four. Hawks can wear clone armour, so the lineup can still look like a full squad.
What do clones actually get?
Clones choose from the same eight specializations as any custom Operator, with no clone-only class. The Clone Commando exotic belongs to Trick, the named clone who arrives with your opening squad. Dee Bradley Baker voices Trick and the clone troopers, and any Operator in a clone helmet gets the modulated voice.
What replaces an Operator who dies?
Nothing replaces them automatically. When an Operator takes their third Injury, they are gone, and you hire someone new from the Recruitment facility, a clone once the origin is unlocked. PCGamesN found a replacement "already standing in the shadows".
Did a patch change any of this?
No. Patch 1.1 (September 9) fixed Databank bugs that could corrupt or rename custom characters, plus the voice preview when switching an Operator's origin to or from Clone, but the unlock point did not move. The September 28 PC hotfix only fixed a crash. Patch 1.2 was announced for "next week" on October 9 and had not shipped when we checked on October 15.
Is there a mod to recruit clones earlier?
Yes, on PC, though Bit Reactor has said there is "no official mod support planned," so a game update can break any of these.
- ZC Unlocked (Full Customization Mod), the biggest of them at nearly 70,000 downloads, adds a Race row that lets you set Clone or any species on any Operator, so you can turn the squad you already have into clones.
- All heroes are recruitable adds 120 named characters to the recruitment pool, 23 clone troopers in legion colours among them. Its last update predates patch 1.1, and its author warns against swapping recruitment mods mid-campaign.
- Custom Company Start opens recruitment on Cycle 2, but it does not touch the clone unlock.
Back up your saves first, and do not put a modded run in Beskar Mode until it has survived a few sessions.
What to do
On a first campaign, dress the Operators you have in clone armour now and let the late unlock refill your losses in the final act; buy Crew Quarters upgrades early if you want a big roster by then. If clones are why you bought the game, finish once and start a second campaign with them from the first hire (how long a run takes). New players should read the starter guide and difficulty settings first; the Zero Company hub has the rest, including our review.
How we checked
- The unlock wording, the 7 and 20 roster figures, the four-Operator squad, clone armour from the start and the modding stance are from Bit Reactor's Q&A on EA's site (July 21, 2026). The carry-over to later campaigns matches EA's launch FAQ (August 27) and TheGamer (August 27).
- Patch details are from the 1.1 notes on Steam (September 9) and the September 28 hotfix note; Steam's announcement feed showed no 1.2 notes on October 15.
- The Deep Cover trigger and the Cycle range are player and guide reports, not official. Gamers.Wiki (September 4) and SWTOR Strategies (September 13) tie the unlock to Deep Cover and its Rex scene, which TheGamer's Trick guide (September 1) places in that mission. Cycle numbers vary between players.
- Recruiting steps, the rising price and the Crew Quarters upgrades come from KeenGamer (August 31), AllThings.how (August 29), The Click (updated September 16) and PCGamesN's review (August 26).
- Mod details are from each mod's Nexus Mods page, read October 15. We have not tested them.
