I've said it before and I'll say it again, the greatest problem with the bomber is their ordnance. And the greatest problem with ordnance is the fact that a lot of it requires you to waste a target lock just to shoot it. Which is a design choice I still question to this day, as it inherently makes a torpedo or missile attack less accurate than a regular attack. You should not be spending up to 6 points on a single-use card and have it be less accurate than a regular round of shooting!

A title upgrade that lets bombers use the target locks they spend to reroll the dice would go a long way towards making ordnance on a bomber more viable.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the greatest problem with the bomber is their ordnance. And the greatest problem with ordnance is the fact that a lot of it requires you to waste a target lock just to shoot it. Which is a design choice I still question to this day, as it inherently makes a torpedo or missile attack less accurate than a regular attack. You should not be spending up to 6 points on a single-use card and have it be less accurate than a regular round of shooting!

A title upgrade that lets bombers use the target locks they spend to reroll the dice would go a long way towards making ordnance on a bomber more viable.

I guess the problem with that solution is that some ordnance DOES allow you to use the TL to reroll...

Further, I think we need a fix that goes beyond bombers; I'm not a rebel player, but I really WOULD like to see some sorta fix that makes it interesting for rebels to put torps on X-wings. So I agree, the problem is the ordnance more than it is the bombers.

I've got two ideas on how improve the bomber situation that haven't come up yet. They are both probably too loony too accept though. Allow me to press on:

1. Create a Ship Mod card that allows the firing ship to dump ALL of its ordinance of the same type. Limiting this to the same type ordinance dampens the loonyness a bit. With a mod like this costing 2-3 points you take a pair of Scims with Clusters and get some respect.

2. Change the rules to allow ordinance firing ships to make a normal primary attack as well. Ok, this would really benefit the 3 Attack Dice ships, but taking ord on those guys gets expensive. It could be a Bomber only Mod card too if the change is too drastic. But being able to make it's two dice attack after an ordinance strike could even things out a bit.

Oh heck, I'll add a third.

3. Make a ship mod that replicates Deadeye. Now you don't have to worry about the pesky Rule of Eleven. Just charge forward and focus. make sure to take Clusters in case your opponent wants to get bold.

The new (unreleased) proton rockets are a very good way to make ordnance more effective.

All you need is a focus token. A focus token you can use on the attack itself. Problem solved. (IMO)

[edit] ; link fixed

Dat range 1 tho.

Dat range 1 tho.

Err. The point was the *mechanic* of not needing a TL but a focus.

And not spending it.

And it's still a one shot.

Flak Torpedo

5 points, torpedo, 4 attack dice, Range 2-3

Attack:Target Lock

Spend your TL and discard this card.

If the defender is hit by your attack, the defender and each ship at range 1 of the defender receive one stress token.

Flak Torpedo

5 points, torpedo, 4 attack dice, Range 2-3

Attack:Target Lock

Spend your TL and discard this card.

If the defender is hit by your attack, the defender and each ship at range 1 of the defender receive one stress token.

Not sure if you are making a suggestion of a new card or something, but that is the new Ion Torpedoes you are describing there. Still only a one shot though.

Dat range 1 tho.

Err. The point was the *mechanic* of not needing a TL but a focus.

And not spending it.

Unfortunately, with the spoil on Ion Torpedoes it seems not spending tokens is not something FFG is going to be releasing a lot of.

My kids and I have been playing for about a month now (awesome game for some fun family time) and for us the Tie Bomber has been a dependable workhorse. My favourite list is:

CPT Jonus, Concussion missiles, Seismic Charge and Swarm tactics

2x Scimitar with Concussion missiles and Seismic charges

2x Obsidian Sqn Tie Fighters

Maybe for the hard core players out there the Tie Bomber is on the nose, but amongst our little group the Tie Bomber holds it own. Just wanted to give the Tie Bomber some positive waves, it is certainly my favourite Imperial ship.

And it's still a one shot.

This is the major problem with most ordnance. Not the spending of tokens, which is, combined with the expense and range restrictions, is a fair balance given the power of the attack. There's a reason you see cannons and turrets and you don't see torpedoes. One shot only is just awful.

One-shot isn't always awful (I mean, Chewie is one-shot, but he sees tons of use) it's the one-shot combined with the unreliability that's awful. Several points for a one-shot card should mean that the card in question has a very high chance of delivering its value. Chewie can always be relied on to work when he's needed. Torpedo's and missiles... don't. Cards like munitions failsafe don't really help in that regard, as scoring a single hit with a proton torpedo is still a lot of value wasted.

****, bombers are still one of my favorite ships; I went through a regular ordonance phase with different setup of missiles, but now I tend to just load them up with Proximity Mines and Bombs. Some practice and those can create quite the hawock.

This is when I love my bombers the most and this Scimitar pilot surely deserves a promotion after disabling this enemy Phantom that was the linch pin in my enemy's force at a local tournament.

I think that bombs and mines are underrated. I see them rarely in my area, however, I do benefit from that in a sense, as fewer opponents will be used to them when I bring them to the table.

.... How in the forty-seven blue blazes of hell did that Phantom manage to land smack-dab in the centre of that bomb?

.... How in the forty-seven blue blazes of hell did that Phantom manage to land smack-dab in the centre of that bomb?

It is not a bomb. It is a proximity mine.

Thus it is deployed at an action at the end of movement; in this case of my PS 2 Scimitar Bomber and eye-balling a perfect maneuver that put me in place to drop the mine so that it covered the front and both sides of the PS 8 Phantom, making it unable to move without detonating the mine when his turn came up. I had luck with the Proximity dice and planted 3 damage on the Phantom. Ka-boom.

Moving last might be great for flankers and phantoms; but so is moving first with a ship carrying mines.