Campaign Prologue Guide
Walk through ZeroSpace campaign prologue missions: narrative choices, hero introductions, economy tutorials, and how story decisions affect later missions and allies.
Story setup and what the prologue teaches
The ZeroSpace campaign prologue introduces your commander, core factions in conflict, and the RPG systems that persist into multiplayer. Early missions act as extended tutorials: workers, production, hero abilities, and basic control tower contests appear with forgiving pacing. Narrative dialogue presents Mass Effect-style choices—alliances gained or burned here echo in later acts.
You meet key heroes such as Nero, whose political decisions can alter unit availability in story missions. Compare hero roles on the heroes page while playing. The prologue also showcases Protectorate discipline versus insurgent factions, foreshadowing mercenary recruitment covered on the mercenaries overview.
Even story-focused players should note mechanical lessons—the economy rhythm mirrors skirmish and Galactic War. Finish prologue objectives before rushing optional side missions so your hero level tracks recommended power for mission two and three.
Dialogue-heavy scenes still hide UI tutorials—watch for control prompts teaching ping markers and objective tracking that Galactic War alliances expect you to know.
Key choices and recommended approaches
Dialogue branches typically offer pragmatic, aggressive, or diplomatic responses. Pragmatic choices often unlock flexible tactical support; aggressive paths may grant early combat bonuses at the cost of future diplomacy; diplomatic routes preserve allies for coordinated mission assists. No single branch is “wrong,—but consistency helps—mixing extreme choices can lock content until replays.
Combat approach: prioritize objective markers over total base destruction when timers exist. Use hero abilities on priority targets the mission highlights—tutorial bosses telegraph weaknesses. If a mission introduces flying units, immediately add anti-air to your production queue; the main faction units guide lists counters per roster.
Side objectives reward XP and sometimes gear modules for your loadout. They are worth clearing before the final prologue mission if you plan to jump into skirmish immediately after—the levels smooth the difficulty spike.
When stuck on a prologue objective, check whether you are ignoring a highlighted optional task that grants anti-air or detection—tutorial missions rarely require perfect micro if you complete side tutorials first.
Loadouts and mercenary introductions
Prologue missions unlock mercenary slots gradually. Experiment with one defensive and one aggressive mercenary to feel differences—Marran tanks versus Valkaru shock troops, for example. Use the loadout builder after each unlock to preview synergies before spending campaign resources.
Hero gear drops appear as mission rewards. Equip upgrades that match your intended multiplayer faction if you already chose a main—campaign gear often transfers or informs which stats matter. Read best loadouts for meta pairings that overlap campaign rewards.
The embedded video shows optimal prologue routing for Early Access build 1.0, including optional dialogue that unlocks early scouting tools useful in later campaign missions and co-op.
If a prologue mission feels abrupt, lower difficulty temporarily to learn ability combos—mechanics matter more than bragging rights during tutorial hours.
After the prologue: where to go next
Once prologue credits roll, you enter the broader 13-mission Early Access campaign. Continue with the full campaign walkthrough for mission-by-mission tactics. Players itching for PvP should run two skirmish custom games practicing tower control, then read the Galactic War beginner guide before Season Zero queues open.
Review keybindings and QoL controls if prologue exposed friction—remap before harder missions. Co-op partners can replay prologue together via co-op mode for shared hero XP.
Campaign choices remain replayable on subsequent playthroughs for alternate story states—document your first-run decisions if you care about lore completeness. The wiki walkthrough notes major branch locks as they are verified in Early Access patches.
Prologue completion also unlocks skirmish faction selection you may have seen only in cutscenes—use that freedom to test a backup faction before committing to a Galactic War main.
Take notes on which prologue missions introduce anti-air and detection—those lessons prevent repeat losses when flyers appear in mission six and beyond.