The Star Wars Zero Company best Den upgrades order is not completely fixed, but the safest early plan is to unlock the Black Market, then buy the upgrade that solves your current bottleneck: Droid Repair Bay for droid-heavy squads, Medbay capacity for frequent Injuries, or the Networking branch and Persuasion upgrades if you want faster Influence progression. After that, roster-wide Crew upgrades such as extra Utility or Weapon Mod slots usually give broader value than spreading Credits across every weapon tree.
Best Den upgrade order at a glance
A practical general-purpose order is:
- Unlock Black Market so Weapon Mods and Utility Items become available for purchase.
- Droid Repair Bay if you plan to recruit and field Droids; otherwise prioritize the first useful Medbay upgrade.
- Networking / Persuasion if you are actively placing Contacts and chasing Influence rewards.
- Teamwork toward the Lounge if you rotate a larger roster and want benched Operators to keep gaining Bond XP.
- Additional Utility Slot and Additional Weapon Mod Slot because these improve every Operator rather than one weapon class.
- Combat Readiness when you want starting Advantage, and Crew Focus / Focus Point upgrades when you want more Focus Tree progression across the roster.
- Weapon upgrades for the weapon types your main squad actually uses.
This is a priority framework rather than a universal build. Community players disagree sharply on Black Market investment, Crew Quarters, Medbay spending, and early weapon upgrades, so your roster and current resource pressure should decide the final order.
How Den upgrades work
The Den is Zero Company's base between deployments. EA describes it as the place where you recruit and progress Operators, upgrade facilities, purchase equipment, and select missions from the Holotable.
The Upgrade Facility contains permanent improvements to facilities, the crew, and weapons. Construction also uses a Build Slot, so the real cost of an upgrade is not only Credits: it can occupy limited construction capacity while other upgrades wait.
That makes early priorities important. A strong upgrade is one that either removes a campaign bottleneck or provides value across many future Cycles.
Why the Black Market is useful — and why players disagree about it
Unlock Black Market is one of the easiest early upgrades to justify because it opens access to Weapon Mods and Utility Items at the Armory. The in-game data also lists later upgrades for better deals, improved item quality, extra inventory, refreshes, and secret items.
The disagreement starts after the unlock.
Some guides recommend pushing Black Market Quality early because higher-quality stock can improve the gear available on demand. Other experienced players argue that the Black Market becomes a Credit sink when mission rewards already provide enough equipment, especially if you spend heavily before stronger stock appears.
The safest recommendation is therefore:
- Unlock the Black Market early.
- Buy Quality or inventory upgrades when you are actually using the shop.
- Do not automatically max the whole Black Market branch while Credits are tight.
If you repeatedly finish Cycles with spare Credits and weak equipment, market investment becomes more attractive. If mission rewards already cover your loadouts, put those Credits into upgrades that affect the whole roster.
Is Droid Repair Bay worth it?
Droid Repair Bay is high priority if Droids are part of your plan. The upgrade unlocks Droid recruitment and allows injured Droids to be repaired through the Medbay system.
That makes it fundamentally different from a small numerical bonus: without it, a Droid-focused roster cannot use the full recruitment and recovery loop.
If you do not intend to use Droids, however, there is no reason to force it to the top of your list just because the game introduces it early. Spend around the squad you are actually building.
When should you upgrade the Medbay?
Medbay capacity becomes more valuable when Injuries are interrupting your roster. The facility can gain additional beds so more Operators recover at the same time, and there are upgrades that reduce treatment costs.
Prioritize it when:
- several Operators are injured at once;
- you are playing a higher-risk campaign where recovery matters more;
- injuries are forcing you to deploy weaker replacements.
Delay deeper Medbay investment when your core squad is staying healthy and extra recovery slots would sit unused.
The important rule is simple: Medbay is a bottleneck upgrade, not an automatic first purchase.
Networking and Influence upgrades
The Networking branch is easy to underestimate because it does not directly increase damage. Its value comes from accelerating the strategic layer.
The in-game data lists Persuasion upgrades that increase the Influence gained when placing a Contact, while other Influence upgrades improve rewards from Operations and Missions or immediately add Influence to Core, Mid, or Outer zones.
These upgrades are strongest when you are deliberately chasing zone rewards. An extra Upgrade Facility Slot, roster-wide slots, Focus, Credits, Intel, or unique items can be more valuable than a small direct combat stat, so reaching the right Influence tier earlier can compound across the campaign.
If you rarely use Contacts or are not targeting specific zone rewards, Networking can wait.
Teamwork, Lounge, and Crew Quarters
Crew progression is another area where player priorities differ.
Unlock Lounge allows Operators left at the Den during a mission to gain Bond XP, and Improved Lounge increases that passive Bond XP. This becomes particularly useful when you maintain a wider roster instead of fielding the same four characters every mission.
Crew Quarters increases maximum roster capacity. It is valuable when you actually want more Operators, but extra capacity alone does not make the current squad stronger. That is why some players delay Crew Quarters until they also have systems such as the Lounge that make a wider bench useful.
A practical rule is:
- small core roster → delay deep Crew Quarters investment;
- broad rotating roster → Crew Quarters + Lounge becomes much more valuable.
Best roster-wide Crew upgrades
The strongest Crew purchases are often the ones that affect every Operator.
Additional Utility Slot gives every Operator another Utility Item slot. Additional Weapon Mod Slot does the same for weapon modifications. These upgrades scale with the entire roster and remain useful regardless of which authored or custom Operator you deploy.
Crew Focus / Focus Point upgrades grant additional Focus Points to every Operator, which you spend in Focus Trees on abilities, passives, and stats. Combat Readiness is a separate tactical benefit that lets the squad begin combat with Advantage. Both are broadly useful, but they solve different problems: Crew Focus accelerates Operator progression, while Combat Readiness improves the opening resource state of battles.
If you are unsure where to spend after the essential facilities are covered, these roster-wide upgrades are usually safer than buying a small bonus for a weapon only one Operator carries.
When should you buy weapon upgrades?
Weapon upgrades are strongest when several members of your main squad share the same weapon family.
The Den can improve categories such as Pistols, Rifles, Repeaters, and Longarms with bonuses to damage, critical chance, movement, range, or Overwatch. Because these bonuses are weapon-specific, spreading Credits across every category can dilute your investment.
Prioritize the weapon types your actual squad uses most often.
Movement upgrades can be valuable because positioning affects cover, flanks, objectives, and retreat routes. Damage upgrades provide direct reliability. Range and Overwatch upgrades are more roster- and difficulty-dependent, while Critical Chance is strongest when the rest of the build already supports critical hits.
Avoid treating a generic weapon tier list as universal. A Rifle-heavy squad and a Droid-heavy or Pistol-heavy squad should not spend in the same order.
Is Black Market or weapon upgrading better first?
There is no universal winner.
Choose Black Market investment when your problem is equipment access: you need better Mods or Utilities and want more control over what you can buy.
Choose weapon upgrades when your core roster is stable, several Operators use the same weapon category, and you already have serviceable gear.
Choose Crew upgrades instead when the available purchase improves every Operator at once. In many campaigns, an extra Utility slot, extra Weapon Mod slot, additional Focus, or passive Bond progression can produce more total value than a small weapon-specific increase.
Best upgrade strategy for a first playthrough
For a first run, prioritize systems before specialization.
Unlock the Black Market, make sure the squad can recover from Injuries, enable Droid support if you actually use Droids, then invest in the strategic and roster-wide systems that keep paying you back across many missions.
Only after those systems are working smoothly should you spend heavily on a specific weapon branch or deep market upgrades.
This also keeps your build flexible. Zero Company introduces more Operators, secondary Specializations, Operations, Influence rewards, and new equipment as the campaign advances. Spending every early Credit on one narrow damage path can leave less room to react when your roster changes.
For broader campaign planning beyond the Upgrade Facility, see the Zero Company tips guide.
FAQ
What should I upgrade first in the Den?
Unlocking the Black Market is a strong general first step because it opens Weapon Mod and Utility purchases. After that, solve the problem currently slowing your campaign: Droid Repair Bay for Droids, Medbay for Injuries, or Networking/Persuasion for Influence progression.
Is the Black Market a trap?
Not automatically. The unlock itself provides useful access to equipment, but community players disagree about how aggressively to invest in Quality, inventory, and refresh upgrades. Avoid maxing the branch by habit when Credits are tight.
Is Crew Quarters worth upgrading early?
Only if you want a larger active roster. If you mostly use a small core team, additional capacity can wait. It becomes more attractive when combined with the Lounge and passive Bond XP for benched Operators.
Is Networking worth it?
Yes when you are placing Contacts and targeting Influence rewards. If you are not actively using that system, it can be delayed behind upgrades that solve an immediate squad problem.
Which weapon upgrade should I buy first?
Start with the weapon family used by the largest share of your main squad. Movement and reliable damage upgrades are generally easier to benefit from than spreading Credits across every weapon category.