Essential Guide #6: Zero Command (Faction In-Depth)

Zero Command holds Deep Core fortresses with a fleet of advanced Star Destroyers. Read on for a full preview of this NEW playable faction, and a special note about the 'Imperial Nebulon-B'.

Zero Command heavy Star Destroyers and support ships counter-attack at Endor.

What Is Zero Command?

One of the first warlords, Admiral Harrsk left central Imperial command immediately after the Battle of Endor – refusing to take orders from the lowly Captain of the Chimaera who had briefly assumed control of the Imperial fleet. Harrsk retreated to his holdings in the Deep Core and heavily fortified them, painstakingly constructed a small fleet of very high quality ships: including his flagship Shockwave and the Super Star Destroyers Dominion and Megador. There he fought a bitter, futile war against his rival: High Admiral Teradoc of Crimson Command. Zero Command focuses on quality over quantity, the complete opposite of its main enemy.

Tector Turtling: The Space Roster

Alpha-class Xg-1 Star Wing, Cygnus-class Missile Boat, Ye-4 gunship*, DP-12 Picket, Raider-class corvette*, Carrack-class (anti-fighter variant)*, Vigil-class gunship, Type-A Fleet Tender, Ludwick ECH/A*, Ludwick ECH/B*, Velox-class Star Frigate*, Imperial II, Tector II*, Dominator, Bellator, Mandator III

* = new unit in the mod

“AT-AT X-80 Here!”: Land Roster

Stormtroopers, Plex Stormtroopers, Engineers, Stormtrooper Sharpshooters*, E-Web, Reconnaissance Troop Transport*, 008 Heavy Landspeeder*, S-1 FireHawke, TX-130, Mobile Artillery Cannon, AT-AA, LAAV*, AT-AT X-80 (Turbo refit)*

* = new unit in the mod

The LAAV provides over-watch and close fire support to three RTTs carrying Stormtroopers.

Zero’s Heroes: Harrsk’s Hero Line-Up

Lt Commander Garath Agamar - 481st Experimental TIE Phantom Squadron

General Noils - AT-AT (X-80) (army bonus)

Warlord Harrsk - the Allegiance-class ‘Ithmar’s First’, or the Tector II-class ‘Shockwave’ (fleet bonus)

Some new heroes will be added in future releases as well.

Galactic Conquests – The Strategic Picture

Zero Command’s territory shrank into the Deep Core as the Galactic Civil War progressed. This is their early starting position in 4 ABY.

Overview:

Zero Command starts with small-ish numbers of excellent units, and a few very well-fortified worlds. Depending on the time period that will typically include Kalist VI, Abregado Rae and the shipyard system Deep III. You can fortify these worlds even further until the New Republic or the Empire come battering down your door, and hope to withstand their assault, or else you can expand your holdings and try and do better than Harrsk did in lore. Between the formidable Tector II-class Star Destroyer and the turbolaser-equipped AT-AT X-80 you’ll certainly have the tools at hand to succeed.

Playable Galactic Conquests:

Zero Command will initially be playable in the following Galactic Conquest (GC) scenarios:

4 ABY: Truce at Bakura

4-5 ABY: The Eriadu Authority

11 ABY: Crimson Empire

Zero Command have a stronger position in the first two of these scenarios than in the last. But for hardcore players who want to fight Crimson Command and the other warlords for scraps of resources in the Deep Core… ‘11 ABY: Crimson Empire’ is the scenario for you! New Galactic Conquests will feature Zero Command again, in later releases.

A Special Note About The Ludwick ECH-Class Frigate

The EC Henry Nebulon-B is wildly popular in the fan community, and rightly so. I've wanted to use this design for a long time, but the backstory he provides for the ship doesn't quite fit with the standard depiction of Nebulon-Bs/B2s in Legends - particularly the very widespread use of the supposedly 'stripped-down' looking Nebulon-B by Imperial forces in the ‘X-wing’ and TIE Fighter’ game series. In those games it is depicted as one of the most standard Imperial warship types in service.

Rather than replace the Imperials' Nebulon-B with this ship, I've decided to create some in-mod lore to describe it. Rather than this being the 'standard' Nebulon-B before the Rebels started stripping them down, this is going to be a new successor craft to the Nebulon-B, designed at the behest of Imperial officers fed up of fighting their own captured ships in battle.

There are two variants of this new KDY product, the Ludwick ECH/A (a pure combat model), and the Ludwick ECH/B (a carrier). They are up-armoured, in the case of the ECH/B carry more fighters than the Nebulon, and are generally far more versatile ships.

Their first use in Age of Legends will be for Zero Command. But they may well pop up elsewhere. The name Ludwick comes from the player's carrier ship in the ‘TIE Fighter’ game.

There’s a lot happening in the mod right now. So don’t miss another news post:

The excellent ‘Ludwick’ model was free released by Sly442 (and full credits will be included in the release notes).