I've been playing X-Wing about 1 month. I'm not here to be the best for as little time as I've been playing, but I hope to get really good one day.

I wouldn't consider myself terrible. I've been reading as much strategy about the game as I possibly can. I've been lurking these forums sometimes hours a day. I've been attending local X-Wing meetups. I've been playing daily on Vassal.

And yet...I lose WAY more than I win. Now, winning isn't everything. Sure, it's nice, but I feel my win/loss ratio is a bit ridiculous. I'd say in about the 40ish games of X-Wing I've played in the past 30 days, I've won 5 of them. One of those games was against a friend whom I was teaching the game.

The majority of those games I've played are on Vassal. I feel despite how good I move, how good my list is, how good I roll, I still manage to lose. So that raises some questions:

1) Do I need more time to get better? Obviously, yes.

2) Should I be losing this much for how much time/effort I've put into the game?

3) Are my lists REALLY that good?

4) Is my movement REALLY that good?

I feel I've done everything I possibly can to be better. However, I feel I get smashed (almost) every time I play.

My heavy defense builds get smashed against heavy defense builds.

My heavy defense builds get smashed against heavy offense builds.

My heavy offense builds get smashed against heavy defense builds.

My heavy offense builds get smashed against heavy offense builds.

My balanced builds get smashed against everything.

You get the picture.

I really don't know what to do other than keep playing and keep losing.

Would you all recommend finding ONE good list and sticking with that no matter what for several weeks? Or would you recommend trying many different lists all the time? So far, I have tried many, many different lists so I can get to know the game.

This is just a cry for help. Cheers.

What faction do you play?

Then what faction do you prefer? Start by getting a good idea for how it works at its best. Me, I prefer Imperial exclusively. Their dials are great and they have some heavy hitters, but they suffer if you don't know how to maneuver or you have crap luck.

But anyway, without watching you play I can only give some scant advice. Best thing i can think to say at the moment is focus down enemy fighters. Don't try to spread your damage around. Take one chump out first if you can. Try to look at your opponents ships and formation and see who the lynchpin of a squad is.

Also, kill HWKs first. They die easily and offer hugely beneficial abilities to their teammates (and are usually the center of some build).

And what lists are you flying?

When starting out, run everything. Both factions, all the ships, different combinations each game. The best way to beat a certain ship/build is to know it well, and the best way to know it is to fly it.

Most of the time it is very basic stuff that catches you, so to speak.

This is a dice game

Actions often improve the odds of the dice or eliminate your opponent's dice rolls (e.g. barrel roll/boost out of firing arcs)

Therefore,

-Try to maneuver so that you never lose your actions or you cannot attack

-In the beginning, plan your lists and try to get as many ships in your Squadron as you can, then use leftover points on upgrades

-Start with a few lists and let them evolve as you learn

-Check out the lists that are doing well at tourneys, analyze and break them down to see why and how they work vs. the various matchups

1. Are you losing actions (bumping ships, or stress) more often than you want to?
It's ok to bump, if it will give you a positional advantage, but more often than not, you are going to want your actions to modify your attack or defense. Many people say "Lucky dice" - and it can be true, but when you are firing with actions - your chances are better than when you're firing without them. It can be absolutely worth holding your target lock to fire again with TL + Focus if you can keep the opponent in arc.

Are you keeping the opponent in your arc?
No matter the build, if you're not getting shots on your opponent, while they are getting shots on you, you're not going to do well. How good is your positional game? Are you lining up shots and doing poorly still? (See Q1.)

Are you spreading your fire over multiple craft ?
You can damage multiple ships at once, and sometimes, it'll work out in your favor, but more often than not - you want to eliminate enemy guns quickly, the more you can concentrate your attacks against a single ship, the better off you'll be.

Are you being too aggressive?
If you're sending everything in, and praying to the luck gods - most of the time, you're just offering your own ship up for the same good shot that you're trying to get. For example, barrel rolling / boosting into range 1, wastes your action to get the extra die, while often giving your opponent the extra die. Pulling a K-turn can have the same effect, sometimes it's better to break off, save focus for defense or boost out of arc and try to line up a better exchange later.

Although it's fun to try out a variety of lists (since there are SOOO many combinations possible now), it CAN be best to focus on just one or two lists for awhile. It does make a difference when you've played a squad many times and know how it works and flies well.

I'd say maybe 10 games a squad would be a good sample size. Then if your win/loss ratio is poor and/or you don't feel you're improving with it, move on to a new squad.

EDIT:

And I should add that playing on vassal isn't always reflective of your skill level. There are a lot of VERY GOOD players on there, so it's not unlikely to lose more often than you would say with your friends, or at your local gaming store. For example at my store I usually win 80-90% of the time, whereas on vassal, it's more like 40-60%.

X-wing takes a while to build a feel for. Eventually you should work out a fell for where manuevers will take you, and where your opponent will move to hurt you most, allowing you to countermove. But it takes time and I feel like Vassal might feel very different compared to the real game, making that knowledge come slower. Keep playing. You'll get there.

Take my advice with a grain of salt... but I don't like sticking with the same list for 10+ games. While I prefer to have a similar list, I like to evaluate how a game went, and how I think I could have spent my points better. For example, my regional build started out as:

Hobbie w/ R3-A2

Biggs

Tarn w/ R5-P9

Green w/ PTL

But what I learned was that the without a way to hand out a second token, R3-A2 wasn't that useful... So I decided to dropp Tarn for a Gold w/ ICT:

Hobbie w/ R3-A2

Biggs

Green w/ PTL + HU

Gold w/ ICT

I couldn't decide who really wanted the HU (between Biggs, Hobbie, and the Green) but I know that the GSP is typically my closer, and can theoretically get the most out of an extra hit point due to his 3 agility. But I was still having issues in the opening salvo since my gold was often at R3 and couldn't ionize:

Hobbie w/ R3-A2 + Flechette

Biggs

Green w/ PTL

Gold w/ ICT + R5

So I redistributed the points to a flechette and an R5... But the R5 wasn't really ever useful. So I ended up dropping it for the actual regional, running at 99 points, controlling initiative. Which turned out to be a good use of a point. In one game, I gave init to the opponent because he was running Biggs, I wanted to be able to TL Biggs w/ Hobbie. And in another, he was flying 3 rookies, so I took init and ended up blocking his rookies with my gold, which lined up better shots for me.

So, all that was to illustrate how I like to evolve a squad as I play it in order to get the best result. I'm still evolving that squad today, trying to get it even better, and I gotta say, I'm excited about this latest iteration.

The other thing I often do is actually split my focus fire. Yea yeah yeah... a ship that can't shoot back is better than any other type of ship... but with the above list, I can effectively remove 2 ships from the game if I have Hobbie stress one, Gold ionize another, and then fly past them (preventing them from K turning)... so I might have Biggs + Green shoot at my actual kill target.

In general though, I might have my main squad targeting a firespray, but my flanker might have a R3 shot there, or a R1 on a shuttle... unless I feel confident that the flanker can kill the FS (read, it only has 1 hull) I'll take the shot on the shuttle. It's much better to put 2 damage through to it than 0 to the firespray (which is the most likely outcome 2F vs. 3), so IMO it's not worth gambling that I can put 1 extra damage, that could end up being meaningless as the rest of my squad closes to R1 the next turn...

I apply the same logic with TIE fighters... I prefer to take the best shot possible over focus firing on a single target. If I have 3 3 attack ships shooting, this often means 1 will have 1 hull, 1 will have 2 hull, and 1 will be dead, and while you could say that I could have killed 2, I could have just as easily done 2 damage to 1, and then roll 3 damage on the same one, and over kill it, and then my 3rd attack does 1 damage to a second. By spread the damage out, I allow more return shots, but I can clear the board quicker.

With that said, it is a balancing act, I recently made a mistake where a TIE had 1 hull and no tokens at R2 to my Green, and I chose to shoot at a R1 target instead... However, that first TIE was the only one that had a shot on Biggs, who was sitting at 1 hull, and the TIE ended up killing Biggs. I should have killed the first TIE, even though it wasn't as clean of a shot. That would be the situational awareness in the game.

things to consider:

> Always try to concentrate fire on 1 single target. Flying in formation helps a lot.
> Dice luck can be heavily influenced. Rebels does this best with TL+F, where getting strings of 3-4 hits is now a mathematical certainty and no longer up to luck
> ordinance sucks. ditch the missiles and torps until wave 4 comes about
> more ships > more upgrades.

A question for the other members (it's noobish I'm sure) - but what do you mean when you say you "Focus Down" an enemy ship? I'm assuming you mean focus fire, but maybe I'm missing something.

And a suggestion for the OP - get a feel for the ships you have. It would help if we knew WHAT you had to play with, and then we could offer up suggestions (there are no shortages of suggested list builds on these forums)

I had started a thread a while back, ( http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/102577-pilots-and-the-best-cards-to-pair-them-up-with/ ) asking players what upgrades they thought paired best with each ship/pilot. Take a look and see what you think. Many times, I notice players forget to pay attention to the abilities on their cards (specifically pilot cards) and forget that they have an option to do a certain action, or trigger a certain effect. Really pay attention to that when you play. I don't know how many times I've seen someone forget to mention that Wedge is taking a shot at their opponent, and that opponent is -1 agility. Doesn't sound like a big deal until he uses it against the Falcon or a B-wing with only 1 agility. In casual play, most people are forgiving, but in tournaments, if you snooze, you lose.

Lastly, have fun and fly casual. Try and look at positioning ahead of time. Think of the game like chess - anticipate your opponents movement.

things to consider:

> Always try to concentrate fire on 1 single target. Flying in formation helps a lot.

> Dice luck can be heavily influenced. Rebels does this best with TL+F, where getting strings of 3-4 hits is now a mathematical certainty and no longer up to luck

> ordinance sucks. ditch the missiles and torps until wave 4 comes about

> more ships > more upgrades.

This is pretty much what I'd say (mind you, I'm not very good). That and don't fly into things (unless you're doing it on purpose).

With Rebels if I'm at range three I take a Target Lock and generally don't spend it, I keep it for when I've got a focus as well. I haven't done the maths, I know other people have - is it definitely better?

Also remember that the dice add a level of randomness that you have to account for. I played a couple of games this past weekend, and the Force (i.e., the dice) wasn't with me. There's nothing like shooting Cluster Missiles and doing no damage because you only roll one hit each time, and the target rolled more than enough evasions each time.

things to consider:

> Always try to concentrate fire on 1 single target. Flying in formation helps a lot.

> Dice luck can be heavily influenced. Rebels does this best with TL+F, where getting strings of 3-4 hits is now a mathematical certainty and no longer up to luck

> ordinance sucks. ditch the missiles and torps until wave 4 comes about

> more ships > more upgrades.

This is pretty much what I'd say (mind you, I'm not very good). That and don't fly into things (unless you're doing it on purpose).

With Rebels if I'm at range three I take a Target Lock and generally don't spend it, I keep it for when I've got a focus as well. I haven't done the maths, I know other people have - is it definitely better?

Better is a comparative thing. I can say XW vs XW, at R3, and then closing to R1 the next turn, the following are the results

Naked + FTL = 3.67

TL + F = 3.48

So, math says that you'll do on average .19 damage more this way. Obviously if you roll 3 hits, you're not going to spend the lock. But what if you rolled 0 hits? Do you spend the lock and attempt to do 1 damage this turn? After you roll the dice you have a better idea of what you should do.

Without doing a complicated analysis, I will say that at R3 they have an extra die, and the TL at R1 adds an additional .75 hits to your result. Which means that I would be looking at spending the TL to get 1.125 additional hits in order to maximize my results. Note that the only time that will happen is if you get 3 blanks. (Rerolling 2 dice will give you 1 additional hit on average, and 1 die will give you .5 hits). This isn't hard math though since I'm talking hits and not damage.

1. Are you losing actions (bumping ships, or stress) more often than you want to?

It's ok to bump, if it will give you a positional advantage, but more often than not, you are going to want your actions to modify your attack or defense. Many people say "Lucky dice" - and it can be true, but when you are firing with actions - your chances are better than when you're firing without them. It can be absolutely worth holding your target lock to fire again with TL + Focus if you can keep the opponent in arc.

Are you keeping the opponent in your arc?

No matter the build, if you're not getting shots on your opponent, while they are getting shots on you, you're not going to do well. How good is your positional game? Are you lining up shots and doing poorly still? (See Q1.)

Are you spreading your fire over multiple craft ?

You can damage multiple ships at once, and sometimes, it'll work out in your favor, but more often than not - you want to eliminate enemy guns quickly, the more you can concentrate your attacks against a single ship, the better off you'll be.

Are you being too aggressive?

If you're sending everything in, and praying to the luck gods - most of the time, you're just offering your own ship up for the same good shot that you're trying to get. For example, barrel rolling / boosting into range 1, wastes your action to get the extra die, while often giving your opponent the extra die. Pulling a K-turn can have the same effect, sometimes it's better to break off, save focus for defense or boost out of arc and try to line up a better exchange later.

1) Yes, I must say I am not getting to take as many actions as I'd like because either I get outmaneuvered or I bump.

2) I'm pretty good about keeping someone in my firing arc. Though lately I have been running BBB builds and if I'm going up against Interceptors, as soon as they close in to me R1, I'm pretty much screwed for shots for a round or two. (Which then makes me want to fly interceptor lists, which get taken out by the Falcon...see the cycle?)

3) No, I always focus fire unless I'm caught out of position and cannot fire on one ship with all my ships.

4) Yes, I would say overall I'm flying headfirst into the enemy ships, not necessarily because I want to, but that's just the natural tendency of the game.

Ty for the advice.

One thing that you need to work on to get better is asteroid placement, ship placement, and opening moves (round 1-3). This is dependant on the list you are using and the list you are playing against. You should have a strategy worked out depending on if you are facing a swarm, 3 ship elite etc. Vassal is great for practicing this on your own.

The above is important because I feel the opening exchange is critical in this game. Generally, the goal in the first exchange will be for all your ships to have a shot (preferably on one target) while your opponet has some of his ships out of arc or out of range or has to shoot through asteroids to hit you. This will take lots of practice and planning. And obviously you will also need to learn to adapt if your opponent places his asteroids/ships in a way that messes up your plans.

Something I'll point out is that for every player who "wins most of the time" there is another player who "loses most of the time" or who "quit playing because I could never win." The danger of always crushing your opponents is that soon your opponents may all have moved on to something else so that they could win.

Losing isn't always about you being a "bad player" but usually has something to do with your opponents being better, or at least luckier" players. The B student doesn't look that smart compared to the A student but looks very smart compared to the D student.

Something I'll point out is that for every player who "wins most of the time" there is another player who "loses most of the time" or who "quit playing because I could never win." The danger of always crushing your opponents is that soon your opponents may all have moved on to something else so that they could win.

Losing isn't always about you being a "bad player" but usually has something to do with your opponents being better, or at least luckier" players. The B student doesn't look that smart compared to the A student but looks very smart compared to the D student.

Also, if you play predominantly with one other person then every time you get practice they do too, so it'll take a while for you to catch up, especially if they were quite experienced to start with. Experience counts for a lot in this game - you can make good plans and work out the mathematically optical way to use actions, but if you don't accurately judge movement positions and ranges etc you'll mess up those clever strategies with bad ship placement.

Just keep playing and looking at how your opponent beats you. I remember the first time I actually played against someone with a serious plan to win, and not just flying around the map, and it was quite eye opening. From there, it is just deciding how YOU are going to win each match.

You have to have a battle plan before every game, anything from rush into Range 1, keeping a unit to block a heavy hitter, evading arcs as much as possible, creating your ideal engagement area with asteroids, or just keeping as many guns pointed at your opponent at all times. Your game plan also has to be flexible for each opponent's squad and each type of asteroid setup.

To summarize:

Step 1 - learn to create a game plan that'll give you the edge and lead you to victory

Step 2 - learn the intricacies of dogfighting, such as blocking strategies, when and when not to k turn or use a barrel roll, etc.

Step 3 - have fun!

A few things I noticed from your screen shot.

First that final attack at range 3 through an asteroid really sucked, although with 1 ship left vs 4 you didn't have the best odds anyways to win at that point.

Second, as others have said about focus firing, it looks like you weren't able to do that effectively this game. I see 3 ships that are all heavily damaged, plus 1 that is unscathed. If that damage was more concentrated you'd have at least 1 ship dead, if not two.

I do think your asteroid mishap was the costliest mistake though. Landing on an asteroid is never good, but it's especially bad during the first round of combat in the game, even moreso when it's your heaviest hitter AND you don't have that many ships to fire with.

For me I've noticed that most folks tend to out maneuver me. (I'm starting to realize I'm focusing on where my opponents "are" and not on where they "will be") so one strategy I've embraced is ships with turrets. Sure my opponents TIE Fighter might juke me out of my boxer shorts, but since I can fire 360 degrees it doesn't matter if you're in front of me, behind me, or on either side. Y-wings, YTs, and HWKs can be interesting ships to experiment with.

For me I've noticed that most folks tend to out maneuver me. (I'm starting to realize I'm focusing on where my opponents "are" and not on where they "will be") so one strategy I've embraced is ships with turrets. Sure my opponents TIE Fighter might juke me out of my boxer shorts, but since I can fire 360 degrees it doesn't matter if you're in front of me, behind me, or on either side. Y-wings, YTs, and HWKs can be interesting ships to experiment with.

Although they can get you out of that problem, in the long run you would be better off just using regular ships to be more maneuverable. Plus it's not very fun for the imperial player who brought his decked out interceptors with only three hull, and their main advantage of maneuverability just being thrown out the window along with a lot of the fun of the game for him.