Not sure I see a huge benefit to initiative. The Simultaneous Combat rule applies for ships with equal PS so no advantage to having initiative in combat. In the activation phase, the player with initiative moves first. Don't see that as being an advantage since moving second usually is better since you can barrel roll, advance sensor, or decloak based on where you see your opponent move.

So why would I want to spend less than 100 pts to gain initiative?

Thanks!

When you move after the enemy it is much easier to avoid their firing arcs with actions like boost and barrel roll.

When moving after the enemy you are more likely to be able to target lock them as you are now much closer than they were when they moved ahead of you (and therfor couldn't target lock you).

When moving before the enemy you can move to where his ships might be moving, forcing bumps that deny the enemy his actions.

When firing before the enemy you can kill their ship before they get to return fire.

And with the latest addition of Echo and Whisper and their Advanced Cloaking devices they REALLY want to shoot before the enemy to cloak before being fired upon.

Moving first is a pretty big advantage if you can predict where your opponent is going you can get there first blocking his moves denying him actions etc.

Of course shooting first is an advantage but it can be somewhat neutered by smart blocking.

That makes sense.

In combat, if two ships have the same pilot skill but player 1 has initiative, both ships still technically fire at the same time due to the Simultaneous Combat rule, correct?

That makes sense.

In combat, if two ships have the same pilot skill but player 1 has initiative, both ships still technically fire at the same time due to the Simultaneous Combat rule, correct?

Yes. However, any effects from abilities and critical hits as the result of the first shot will effect the later shot.

It depends on your build. Some ship is meant to fire first, like the Phantom with ACD or Turr Phennir. Some ship is meant to move last, like Soontir Fel. So you take or leave initiative depending on your build. Crit is effective even if you still get to shoot at the same PS so, if you get blinded pilot or lower attack value, it sucks to shoot last.

Now with the new rules, you don't automatically have initiative if you have a lower team vlue than your opponent. You choose if you want it or not. So if you don,t want it, that's a good reason to go below 100pts.

Ok. Now it's all making sense.

So I DID get screwed last night when the player w/ initiative shot and killed my ship with the same PS as his without me being able to return fire.

Probably would have lost anyway but this was bugging me.

Thanks everyone!!

IMO it boils down to:

A) Your preferred play style/side

and

B) Your build type.

ad A) For some people moving/shooting first is a big (mental) thing and certainly it makes parts of B) a lot easier. Inflicting that (rarely) Blinded Pilot prior to the opponents simultaneous fire can be important

ad B) For instance if you are flying a 4 x Royal TIE Guard Interceptors (PS6) with PTL you really REALLY want to have the maximum advantage of being able to position yourself against <PS7 ships. So in that instance you do NOT want to have intitiative, since if you move last then your ships will have the benefit of being able to react on the end positions of your opponents <PS7 ships and can thus Barrel Roll and/or Boost out of arcs or (if already outside arcs) simply take a Focus and not need to PTL that round.

Another example if you are facing an opponent with similar PS ships as yours, so you might actually want him to have initiative if you have the TL able ships (he will move first and be in range when you ships advance) and likewise if your ships do not have TL ability then it will also be preferable to you if your opponent moves first.

This is what it all comes down to IMO
(sry if it became a bit too condensed/confusing. Much of the confusion usually clears up as you play a lot of games)

I often prefer to move and shoot last as I run ships that reposition and like to see where my opponent goes first. However, facing a phantom with ACD, having initiative may be beneficial.