I admit that I was mainly talking about the combination of Boba with Navigator and that using this crew upgrade makes a huge difference to a naked Boba. Apparently your gaming experience with Boba was wholly different to mine too. So far I didn't have the problem of constantly crashing into asteroids or not being able to choose sensible maneuver alternatives.

I like to fly Boba with Navigator, Engine Upgrade or Expert Handling and Push the limit. If you're unsure about Boba I'd suggest to just give that combination a try while focusing on using Navigator and/or Boba's ability as often as possible. It's not only great fun but can also be highly effective and worth every point. I don't even see the large base as a disadvantage since it makes the ship faster.

http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/76218-obstacle-course-practice-run/

I believe I speak with some experience regarding the matter; I have more than 1 year worth of flying the Firespray, and whilst I do not always field Boba Fett nor the Firespray, I do play Xwing every weekend since then. Out of all these hours of gameplay, there is only exactly 1 instance in 1 match where I actually used Boba's ability as intended. Even when I use the Fettigator, every time I reveal my maneuver dial, there's no need to change it because it is already the maneuver that I want, and also the maneuver I consider to be the best under that circumstance even after ships on the board has moved and/or not moved yet.

There are many problems with the Firespray, none of which Boba's ability really addresses. Mainly, you will realize that as you are circling around your target, the blind spots are always pointed towards the turning point of your maneuvering, hence you would find it very very difficult to point yourself at the target. Experthandling solves this issue directly, and Engine Upgrade to a lesser extent, but you do not get a stress token. Furthermore, the presence of asteroids severely limits the available useable maneuver routes your large ship can take, even if you include the possibility of flying through asteroids. Add in other ships that are trying to kill you, and it gets a lot worse

Moreover,

http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/100813-store-championship-results/
http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/100813-store-championship-results/#entry1006907

Here, you can see the store championship winning lists across the entire world, spanning hundreds of players on a global scale. Out of all these hundreds of lists, Boba Fett did not appear even once. Not even once. If Boba's effect is even marginally of any use, wouldnt at least 1 person attempt to bring it to a tournament, out of all the hundreds of players, even after considering repeat players who are there simply to have a fun time and play less viable lists? I dont think your argument of "people don't know how to use him properly" holds any water here, when we consider the sheer amount of players as well as the skill level of the top players in their respective regions


My message is simple. Boba's ability is useless. You can still use him for his stats, which are honestly not that bad for the point cost, and Boba is pretty much the only option left if you are already using Kath and need another Firespray with an EPT slot.

Out of all these hundreds of lists, Boba Fett did not appear even once. Not even once. If Boba's effect is even marginally of any use, wouldnt at least 1 person attempt to bring it to a tournament, out of all the hundreds of players, even after considering repeat players who are there simply to have a fun time and play less viable lists?

Basically you pay 1 point more for Boba over Kath for an even less useful ability but +1PS.

Sounds like a challenge.

(I do think Kath is 'better for the points' . A bit of a shame; Boba Fett should be more useful in-game IMO)

Boba should have switched effects with Kath or Krassis

or even Bounty Hunter. At least if Boba Fett has no effects printed on him, I'd be all like "wow this guy really is a badass, no effects and he's the highest PS Firespray pilot in the game"

http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/76218-obstacle-course-practice-run/

I believe I speak with some experience regarding the matter; I have more than 1 year worth of flying the Firespray, and whilst I do not always field Boba Fett nor the Firespray, I do play Xwing every weekend since then. Out of all these hours of gameplay, there is only exactly 1 instance in 1 match where I actually used Boba's ability as intended. Even when I use the Fettigator, every time I reveal my maneuver dial, there's no need to change it because it is already the maneuver that I want, and also the maneuver I consider to be the best under that circumstance even after ships on the board has moved and/or not moved yet.

There are many problems with the Firespray, none of which Boba's ability really addresses. Mainly, you will realize that as you are circling around your target, the blind spots are always pointed towards the turning point of your maneuvering, hence you would find it very very difficult to point yourself at the target. Experthandling solves this issue directly, and Engine Upgrade to a lesser extent, but you do not get a stress token. Furthermore, the presence of asteroids severely limits the available useable maneuver routes your large ship can take, even if you include the possibility of flying through asteroids. Add in other ships that are trying to kill you, and it gets a lot worse

Moreover, http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/100813-store-championship-results/ http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/100813-store-championship-results/#entry1006907

Here, you can see the store championship winning lists across the entire world, spanning hundreds of players on a global scale. Out of all these hundreds of lists, Boba Fett did not appear even once. Not even once. If Boba's effect is even marginally of any use, wouldnt at least 1 person attempt to bring it to a tournament, out of all the hundreds of players, even after considering repeat players who are there simply to have a fun time and play less viable lists? I dont think your argument of "people don't know how to use him properly" holds any water here, when we consider the sheer amount of players as well as the skill level of the top players in their respective regions

My message is simple. Boba's ability is useless. You can still use him for his stats, which are honestly not that bad for the point cost, and Boba is pretty much the only option left if you are already using Kath and need another Firespray with an EPT slot.

I was going to throw in my two cents, but I don't think you left anything for me to say.

I think we can only agree to disagree about Boba. That he doesn't appear in competitive lists doesn't mean that Boba is a bad pilot, it only means that he's not suitable for every opponent or too expensive for a competitive list. That also applies e.g. to Jan Ors, Tycho Celchu or Captain Kagi and I wouldn't say those are useless pilots just because they almost never appear in tournament lists or would you?

I have also been playing X-Wing for more than a year now so our experience is comparable but even so we can come to different conclusions obviously. If you're so good at reading your opponents and planning maneuvers or your opponents are so bad at this that you always choose the right maneuver for Boba right away that's one thing. If in addition to that you choose not to make use of Boba's ability while choosing maneuvers and combine it with Navigator then I'm inclined to agree that Boba's ability is useless - for you.

As I've written before - everybody else who is unsure about Boba should just give it a try and come to his own conclusions. I'll leave it at that.

I'm looking to purchase a Slave-I and try out the following list soon, should it fare well?

Kath Scarlet (38)
Expert Handling (2)
Gunner (5)

Royal Guard Pilot (22)
Push the Limit (3)

Soontir Fel (27)
Push the Limit (3)

Total: 100

View in Yet Another Squad Builder

Honestly, I find Boba Fett to be a good pilot. As good as Kath. Her ability is better IF it happens, but thats a big if. I have been playing Xwing since last May, and I used the Fettigator almost exclusively for a few months and I found that the ability to change direction and speed of banks is very good. While I can usually predict where my opponent is going to move, I am able to admit that I am not 100% accurate, Im maybe right 60-70% of the time. People surprise you. Kturns out of no where. Boosting an maneuvering where you didnt think theyd go. Fettigator fixes that.

As for asteroids being in the way, you do realize that you are responsible for placing 1/2 of the asteroids in the game? Place 1 on a corner and the other 2 in an equilateral triangle from it. That opens the table up a lot. Especially if your opponent placed the first asteroid on your side. Imho its always best to place asteroids where they are best for you, rather than a nuisance for your opponent.

As for Boba Fett not being used in tournaments? Well one explanation is that the internet, and gaming forums, are festering pools of group think. Net lists exacerbate this. Everyone tries to use the list that one the last tournament. And then there are the vocal community members with a bit of online clout that blast a ship, and suddenly its reviled publicly. And then not used because the internet said it sucked. Finally the fact that it was not used in tournaments, due in part to the internet saying it sucked, is then used as a reinforcing argument that it sucks.

You know why Boba Fett isnt used in tournaments? Because the current meta values quantity over quality. Why pay 39 points for PS and a situational ability when I can pay 33 points for the same ship a be half an academy tie ahead? When the meta rebalances to valuing higher PS pilots, then Boba will be a better bet. As you say there are too many ships blocking him now, well when people start flying PS4 swarms vs PS1 ones, thats a ship or two less on the table. And then there will be those that fly the PS6+ squads to out shoot the PS4 squads, and they will have even less ships. Which means less stuff to block Fett with. The Meta is constantly changing and wave four is a portent of things to come.

Very well put Zoccola - thanks for the covering fire!

@Duraham: Sorry to say it so bluntly and there's no offence meant but what you wrote just seems comparable to me to owning a Ferrari but only ever using it to drop your kids off at school while never doing more than 40. And then saying it's a bad and too expensive car while trying to prove your point by pointing out that it has never ever been used in a demolition derby. This just seems to me to be a lack of understanding of what it was designed for.

I think there's a hugely different approach between the two of us to how to fly Boba / the Fettigator and that leads to contrary conclusions.

But anyway - the arguments are all out on the table so everybody can make of that what he thinks best and thank you all for the enjoyable discussion.

Boba is so bad I consider a slap in the face to any Fett fans. He should have had an offensive ability. Instead he gets some weedy, "whoa, tricked ya!" move. What he really should have gotten was an ability that boosts the effectiveness of Ion Cannons. It would make sense since he's the baddest BH in the galaxy.

@Duraham: Sorry to say it so bluntly and there's no offence meant but what you wrote just seems comparable to me to owning a Ferrari but only ever using it to drop your kids off at school while never doing more than 40.

Actually, it's more like owning a Ferrari and still respecting the speed limits.

Fettigator can choose any of 6 possible banks. Fine. The idea that your opponent somehow can't react to that is ludicrous. THAT bank lands you on an asteroid, and THAT bank puts you facing right into the corner of the board, and THESE TWO banks will land on your own ship because it's ionized and you've got a big base. Guess what? I know where you're going.

And that's the problem. In most real situations, you don't actually have all those choices. It'll narrow down to "I reveal a 2 bank, so I'll change it to... uhm.... hm. Well, ****, guess I'll just stick with the 2 bank because everything else will overlap anyway, so I might as well go where I intended to in the first place."

Can you drive your Ferrari 120 in the school zone? Sure. Doesn't make it a good idea, or a good choice for taking the kids to school.

Boba is so bad I consider a slap in the face to any Fett fans.

Meh. Fett's such a loser his fans deserve a slap in the face

Does nothing but follow Solo and call Vader (instead of the entire Imperial fleet), miss a bunch of shots, play FedEx boy, stand around in Jabba's throne room looking cool, tries to take a guy with a lightsaber using A ROPE, and then screams like a little girl after a blind guy with a stick takes him out by accident.

The fandom that grew up around such an incompetent character is one of the most baffling things in all of SF/F. Honestly, his ability is perfectly appropriate for such a useless schlub.

@Buhallin: So you're telling me that most of the time the Fettigator can't make any use of the 6 possible positions where he could end up? I find that highly unlikely - or should I say.....ludicrous?

Usually you wouldn't fly him in a cluster with the rest of your ships since that just doesn't make any sense for this combination and there's only 6 asteroids in play.

If you also equip him with an Engine Upgrade that makes 18 (!) possible positions to choose from. With Expert Handling it's a similar situation. Is there any other ship or pilot in the game that can do that and fly circles around the opponent while blasting ships fore and aft?

To be honest I'm starting to get the impression that some people here are determined to find Boba useless regardless of contrary facts. Well, I've added my two cents and this discussion doesn't seem to evolve any further so I'm outta here.

@Buhallin: So you're telling me that most of the time the Fettigator can't make any use of the 6 possible positions where he could end up? I find that highly unlikely - or should I say.....ludicrous?

I'm pretty sure he can manage to make use of 1, which is the one I choose on my dial when I'm flying Krassis.

<shrug> I guess it's possible you've found the key that pretty much every single other competitive player of the game has missed, and you've got the answer to rolling over anyone who gets in your way thanks to Fett. Color me skeptical, but at the very least you're a long way from "contrary facts". What you have are assertions in a vacuum that provide zero context. Do you keep Fett as far away as possible and accept R3 shots every other turn? Do your opponents run 3-ship Rebels with a high-value HWK that stays out of range, or TIE swarms? Do people in your play area tend to place asteroids well out of the way so they're rarely a problem, or cluster them in the middle and make you fly through them?

You're making a lot of sounds-great-on-paper arguments that the vast majority of players have watched evaporate in live play. Everyone else's experience hasn't matched up to the theorycrafting. Declaring your experience as fact doesn't make it so.

Boba is so bad I consider a slap in the face to any Fett fans.

Meh. Fett's such a loser his fans deserve a slap in the face

Does nothing but follow Solo and call Vader (instead of the entire Imperial fleet), miss a bunch of shots, play FedEx boy, stand around in Jabba's throne room looking cool, tries to take a guy with a lightsaber using A ROPE, and then screams like a little girl after a blind guy with a stick takes him out by accident.

The fandom that grew up around such an incompetent character is one of the most baffling things in all of SF/F. Honestly, his ability is perfectly appropriate for such a useless schlub.

From what I recall, Fett had a cult following before he even hit the screen. Besides, if his popularity can survive the travesty that was the Christmas Special, there's no reason to hold that whole Sarlacc incident against him.

Thread necromancy! I just read through all this, and there are a lot of good and experienced comments here. I wanted to get a sense of what people thought of a couple of ideas for house rules.

Idea 1:

When you reveal a bank or turn maneuver, you may rotate your dial to the other bank or turn maneuver of the same speed.

Idea 2:

When you reveal a maneuver other than a K-turn, you may rotate your dial to any other maneuver of the same speed that is not a K-turn.

#1 lets him do the same thing with turns as he can with banks. So it is better than what he has now, but it still may not be useful enough to really matter. Compared with other PS8 abilities this is still slightly underwhelming.

#2 Is amazing, but I'm worried it could actually be too powerful. Paired with Navigator he could select any non K-turn maneuver each round.

Just brainstorming. Thoughts?

I require a detailed mathematical analysis before I can pass judgment.

Keeping with his actual (limited) role in the movies, his ability could have been:

NO DISINTEGRATIONS: After making an attack where 1 or more [CRITS] have been rolled, convert all [CRITS] to [HITS]. Then, add one additional [HIT].

Opening his ability up to other bearings doesn't really change the core reason his ability is underwhelming - the big base just takes up too much space to reliably have multiple places it can go.

Keeping with his actual (limited) role in the movies, his ability could have been:

NO DISINTEGRATIONS: After making an attack where 1 or more [CRITS] have been rolled, convert all [CRITS] to [HITS]. Then, add one additional [HIT].

Marksmanship would suddenly be terrifying!

Edit: Unless you mean that he has to only perform this on unmodified dice.

Keeping with his actual (limited) role in the movies, his ability could have been:

NO DISINTEGRATIONS: After making an attack where 1 or more [CRITS] have been rolled, convert all [CRITS] to [HITS]. Then, add one additional [HIT].

Marksmanship would suddenly be terrifying!

Edit: Unless you mean that he has to only perform this on unmodified dice.

Might be safer to tie it to unmodified dice, but for the price you're paying for Fett, I could see it either way. Marksmanship still doesn't guarantee crits, so it's not that overpowering to make it a universal ability.

Keeping with his actual (limited) role in the movies, his ability could have been:

NO DISINTEGRATIONS: After making an attack where 1 or more [CRITS] have been rolled, convert all [CRITS] to [HITS]. Then, add one additional [HIT].

I like it, but it might be too similar to HLC. You're basically trading crits for an extra red die, though in this case it's a guaranteed hit. That would be an arguably better version of a 7 point upgrade that you're getting (almost) for free.

Keeping with his actual (limited) role in the movies, his ability could have been:

NO DISINTEGRATIONS: After making an attack where 1 or more [CRITS] have been rolled, convert all [CRITS] to [HITS]. Then, add one additional [HIT].

I like it, but it might be too similar to HLC. You're basically trading crits for an extra red die, though in this case it's a guaranteed hit. That would be an arguably better version of a 7 point upgrade that you're getting (almost) for free.

To keep it different from HLC (beyond just the 4 dice and denial of R3 bonus Defense die from secondary weapon), you could rewrite it as follows: "After making an attack with 1 or more [CRITS], you may convert all [CRITS] to [HITS], and may then convert one [bLANK] to [HIT]."

Same basic effect, but the total hits are capped (can't exceed the dice rolled) and only triggers when you roll a crit AND a blank.

Honestly, I'd be content with something extremely simple. Being able to fire secondary weapons out of your rear arc would be a nice place to start, either as a pilot ability or the weapon itself. Preferably the former, so I could actually get some use out of Autoblaster. Come to think of it, maybe that should have been the Slave-1 title. Kath + Autoblaster + EH + rear arc secondaries? Yes please.

FFG: it's not too late to redeem yourselves. Surely there are other titled Firesprays out there...

Would a Fettigator build be viable with something like Outmaneuver?

Outmaneuver granted Wedge's ability when you are outside of the enemy's arc. It doesn't specify forward arc, so it should work with the Firespray's rear arc.

Unfortunately, the huge base of the Firespray, along with the fact that you won't have many supporting ships after spending 44 points on Boba, may hurt your chances of actually finding yourself clear of enemy arcs.