Surprised to not see any discussion on this today. From the new FAQ:

"A ship with a stress token cannot perform actions, and therefore cannot perform the free cloak action provided by Advanced Cloaking Device."

It's not a rules-change but pretty huge. Pretty sure our local group has been playing it wrong. A K-turn or any ability that can give out stress is a massive loss for a Phantom with ACD.

Thoughts?

Surprised to not see any discussion on this today. From the new FAQ:

"A ship with a stress token cannot perform actions, and therefore cannot perform the free cloak action provided by Advanced Cloaking Device."

It's not a rules-change but pretty huge. Pretty sure our local group has been playing it wrong. A K-turn or any ability that can give out stress is a massive loss for a Phantom with ACD.

Thoughts?

The rules are, and have always been, pretty clear on whether or not you can take free actions while you have a stress token. Sorry to hear that your group has been playing it wrong, but yeah--Rebel Captive, R3-A2, Flechette Torpedoes, etc. are all potential stumbling blocks for ACD Phantoms, and have been on a number of people's lists of (non-turret) ways to counter Phantoms for quite a while.

This is already in the original rule book under "Stress". This FAQ entry just re-emphasizes that you can not perform free actions if you have a stress token. It's nothing new.

Edit: Ninja'd by Vorpal Sword...

Never in this game can you take an action while stressed (I know I know, except Tycho!) - this should come as no surprise that a cloak *action* cannot be taken while stressed.

It all comes down to the wording, which is why Whisper is still allowed to receive a focus token after a hit on an enemy ship, even while stressed.

Yeah, this is nothing new. Hobbie with a certain R2 that I can't remember right now has been my phantom-harasser

Doublestress Echo or Whisper and you've pretty much got them. Throw in an ion and kaputt.

Easier said than done though.