Star Wars™: Galaxy of Heroes Emperor Palpatine Unlock Guide

To unlock Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars™: Galaxy of Heroes, you must defeat the "Emperor's Demise" Legendary Event using a team of five Rebel characters. Palpatine unlocks at five stars after completing Tier 5, reaches six stars at Tier 6, and maxes out at seven stars upon clearing Tier 7. Each tier requires all five squad members to match or exceed that tier's star level.

A baseline investment of Gear 8 to Gear 9 equipped with 5-dot Level 15 mods provides sufficient stats to complete Tier 7.

Recommended Rebel Squads

Every unit deployed must possess the Rebel faction tag. Two main team compositions handle this encounter effectively:

• Phoenix Squadron (Recommended for Beginners): Hera Syndulla (Leader), Ezra Bridger, Kanan Jarrus, Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios, and Chopper. Under Hera's leadership, the entire squad shares each member's unique ability, granting passive counter chance, defense, health restoration, and bonus protection recovery. This squad also directly fulfills the prerequisites for the Grand Admiral Thrawn Legendary Event.
• Classic Rebel Squad: Wedge Antilles (Leader), Biggs Darklighter, Lando Calrissian, Princess Leia, and Stormtrooper Han. This configuration relies on heavy critical hit burst damage and Turn Meter generation to overwhelm the encounter.

Encounter Mechanics and Hazards

The final phase features Emperor Palpatine flanked by two Imperial Royal Guards:

• Emperor Palpatine: Opens with or quickly cycles into Power of the Dark Side, an area-of-effect special that can stun your entire squad. His basic attack, Force Lightning, inflicts Shock, which completely prevents afflicted targets from gaining bonus Turn Meter, health, or protection. His Let the Hate Flow ability drains health to empower his attacks.
• Imperial Royal Guards: Whenever Palpatine drops below 50% health, both Royal Guards automatically gain Taunt and defense buffs. Their basic attacks carry a high chance to inflict Stun and Speed Down. If left unchecked, they alternate taunts, forcing your squad to attack them while Palpatine freely shocks and stuns your units.

Combat Kill Order and Strategy

1. Survive the Opening Attack: Absorb Palpatine's initial ability rotation. Immediately use your control abilities, such as Turn Meter reduction or stuns, to delay his next special attack.
2. Control the Royal Guards: Avoid reducing Palpatine below 50% health early in the battle, as doing so triggers automatic guard taunts. Instead, target one Royal Guard first. Use dispel abilities—such as Ezra's Flourish or Chopper's Can Opener—whenever a guard activates Taunt.
3. Lock Down Guards with Debuffs: Use Zeb's basic attack against enemies that already have debuffs to inflict Stun or Stagger. Keeping the guards locked down prevents them from landing stuns on your primary attackers.
4. Defeat the First Guard, Then Palpatine: Eliminate the first Royal Guard to remove alternating taunts. Once one guard is down and the remaining guard is controlled or dispelled, redirect all heavy attacks onto Palpatine. Apply Daze, Stun, or Offense Down to neutralize his offensive turns.
5. Clean Up: Finish off the second Royal Guard after Palpatine falls.

Minimum Gear and Modding Targets

Equip Speed primary arrows on all characters to match enemy turn pacing. Equip a Potency primary cross on control units like Zeb so stuns and Daze land reliably through enemy tenacity checks. Stack Protection primaries across circles, crosses, and triangles on your tanks to absorb Palpatine's special attacks without losing members early.