I'm not speaking about someone that tried them and saw that they were not to their liking, I'm speaking about people that chose a faction and never gave the other a chance or refused to play them because they are 'loyal' the the faction they chose at the start.

If you tried them both and didn't like what the rebels, or the empire, had to offer in term of gameplay so decided to specialise with the other faction, that's okay. You gave it a try and didn't like it, to each their own. But if you don't want to try the other faction because 'it makes you feel dirty inside', that's where you are willingly limiting your experience based on a loyalty feeling that you decided to extended pass the end of a fictional game. When I play the Empire, I will say 'Die you rebel scum' or 'for the glory of the Emperor!'; when I play rebels I'll feel like fighting for the freedom of the galaxie! That's how good the thematic feeling is in this game, you immerse yourself in and escape from reality for an hour or more. But once the game ends, so does these feelings of affiliation.

Yes but you're projecting a reason not to play them. It doesn't "make me feel dirty", it just doesn't look like my play style. In almost every game type I ever play, I tend to gravitate towards fast, agile characters. Mobility is a requirement for me. Rebel ships fly slow and clunky. That bores and irritates me. I like the idea of relying on white knuckle flying to stay alive, not shields. It's not loyalty, it's personal preference. This is a game. You do it for enjoyment. Stop telling me what I should and should not enjoy. To do so is foolish.

So curiosity got the better of me after reading through this entire thread ... for those of you who stake your life on not running anything other than the Imperials, I would like to know if you have actually invested money in purchasing Rebel ships?

If you have purchased Rebel ships, do you at least use them on your own to run simulations so that you can play Imperials at their best ... i.e. practice against Rebels so that you can learn what they can do, and prepare defenses, etc.

I've bought rebel ships for two reasons: for upgrade cards, and so that my cousin Kris could have an authentic experience when he came to visit me. Specifically, I bought a Y-Wing for that. Didn't have any cards I needed, but I knew he'd want to play Rebels and so I made sure to have on hand a ship that would give him dat feels (totally worked by the way). I did also use them to run some simulations after getting Imperial Aces to see how applicable their abilities were, especially to get used to Lorrir's movement. So that being said, yes, technically I have played with them in the sense that I picked maneuvers for them and took shots. But I've never used them in a real game against someone else. Just from using them that way I don't like them.

If you tried them both and didn't like what the rebels, or the empire, had to offer in term of gameplay so decided to specialise with the other faction, that's okay. You gave it a try and didn't like it, to each their own.

Stop telling me what I should and should not enjoy. To do so is foolish.

Yeah... that's exactly what I'm doing...

If you tried them both and didn't like what the rebels, or the empire, had to offer in term of gameplay so decided to specialise with the other faction, that's okay. You gave it a try and didn't like it, to each their own.

Stop telling me what I should and should not enjoy. To do so is foolish.

Yeah... that's exactly what I'm doing...

Sorry about that mate. Missed that line somehow. I just really don't feel like I'm missing out, and I'm sick of people telling me that I am (you're far from the first).

I play both sides, no way would I want to limit my fun... I must have all the toy spaceships I can afford!

I never fly swarms though, they bore me and I actually find them easy to beat (plus I can't formation fly to save my life). Plus... Formation flying is soooo predictable! LOL So I tend, more often than not, to fly lists which do not require ships to fly next to each other... and through either luck or judgement I seem to do okay!

I play both sides, no way would I want to limit my fun... I must have all the toy spaceships I can afford!

I never fly swarms though, they bore me and I actually find them easy to beat (plus I can't formation fly to save my life). Plus... Formation flying is soooo predictable! LOL So I tend, more often than not, to fly lists which do not require ships to fly next to each other... and through either luck or judgement I seem to do okay!

Yeah, it only took me about a month or two to get utterly sick of swarms. I much prefer small groups of ships that work well together in concert with one or two highly effective flankers. Or, just a squad of 3 that don't particularly mesh well or have a cohesive strategy, but independantly I can fly extremely effectively. The Defender and Phantom both sing out to me in this regard. I look forward to trying the Phantom, and continuing to use the Defender.

This should speak for itself

I collect and play ships from both factions. As I own most of the ships my local group plays with and am forced (for various reasons) to play the game solo, this is a necessity. I cannot imagine collecting/playing only one side... it seems so... limiting. I do a lot of wargaming and cannot imagine ever only collecting/playing one side, as this makes you dependent on someone else collecting the opposing force. Sure, it would be much more cost effective but, again, too limiting and too dependent on someone else's gaming/collecting choices/ability.

I cannot imagine collecting/playing only one side... it seems so... limiting. I do a lot of wargaming and cannot imagine ever only collecting/playing one side, as this makes you dependent on someone else collecting the opposing force. Sure, it would be much more cost effective but, again, too limiting and too dependent on someone else's gaming/collecting choices/ability.

I can understand it generally from the perspective that one of my biggest hobbies is playing fighting games (video games similar to street fighter) competitively. It's not unusual to have a game with a roster of 20-30 characters or more and still just specialize and spend the majority of your time playing and mastering a single character, or maybe a small pool of 3-5 characters, while simply learning how to play against the rest without ever really spending much time with them beyond learning and testing things in training/practice mode.

Personally, I have not found that X-Wing draws me into this kind of mindset in the same way, or that I feel as compelled to focus as much on the competitive aspect of the game as compared to creative squadbuilding and continually trying out new builds rather than practicing existing ones. Still, I can at least kind of understand the concept of only playing a single faction/character/whatever, even if it seems like a waste to me.

The amount of hardcore faction roleplaying on the forums is a little strange, but it's to be expected

This should speak for itself

Nobody ever seems to catch the small print at the bottom of this poster: "They were expendable."

Just saying...

I prefer to fly the Empire because they fit more my style but, quite frankly, I don't really understand the fanboyism of some people. Why limit yourself to only play half of the game? Only good reason I can see is if you're on a budget and can only afford one faction. But even then, you probably bought a couple rebel ship for upgrade cards *cough* A-Wing before Imperial Aces*cough* or a core set, so you technically already have a base.

One should always fly evil over good.

Because good is dumb.

I'm not committed to one faction or another. I've flown both Rebel and Imperial in the past. I will say this, for the past few tournaments, I've flown for the legitimate government. I'll fly one or the other to learn the maneuvers, and then see which I prefer for that time.

I prefer to fly the Empire because they fit more my style but, quite frankly, I don't really understand the fanboyism of some people. Why limit yourself to only play half of the game? Only good reason I can see is if you're on a budget and can only afford one faction. But even then, you probably bought a couple rebel ship for upgrade cards *cough* A-Wing before Imperial Aces*cough* or a core set, so you technically already have a base.

One should always fly evil over good.

Because good is dumb.

Good, bad. I'm the guy with the gun.

I prefer to fly the Empire because they fit more my style but, quite frankly, I don't really understand the fanboyism of some people. Why limit yourself to only play half of the game? Only good reason I can see is if you're on a budget and can only afford one faction. But even then, you probably bought a couple rebel ship for upgrade cards *cough* A-Wing before Imperial Aces*cough* or a core set, so you technically already have a base.

One should always fly evil over good.

Because good is dumb.

Amen to that, good makes me feel like I need to take some acid reflux meds.