Short answer, it's a mediocre defensive ship in a game that heavily favors offense. It relies upon green dice and decent hull/shield, since it is not maneuverable enough to arc dodge, so it's not even that great as a defensive ship, and has very limited/inefficient offense, which typically means it will lose out in attrition against comparable costed ships (Xs, Bs, etc).

I'm still new to the X-Wing game in general but I've always enjoyed working towards designing things in games. Here, it would be the ability to design ships. So, one of the first things I did was look at point cost and tried to determine how the costs were decided. After looking at the ships I have, I believe that the designers have changed the way they assign point costs for their ships (and perhaps not consistently) and may be one of the reasons for the high cost of the TIE Advanced, and even the X-Wing compared to ships from newer waves. However, I've only been working from the ships that I currently own. There may be some changes with some of the newer ships.

After comparing several ships and different iterations of ships, I came up with a point formula that seemed to work for X-Wings, TIE Fighters, TIE Advanced, YT-1300 and even the Firespray-31.

This point cost system ties costs to the pilot skill level, the ship stats, actions, some upgrades and even the special abilities, as far as I can tell. Oh, and TIE Fighters beyond PS 1 have a 1 point discount.

However, it breaks on the Y-Wing, A-Wing and B-Wing, which are all far underpriced when using this point formula.

When looking at just those three ships, they seem to follow most of the formula, but they don't count upgrade slots as points. I had also been counting Target Lock as a 2 pt item as well ( the other actions are 1 point, except maybe boost).

Because of this change, it makes some of the earlier ships much more expensive than compared to the newer ships. The TIE fighter's cost actually doesn't change in either case. This may be one of the reasons that the TIE Advanced seems to be so costly.

Based on the newer apparent point system, the base TIE Advanced, with a PS of 2 would be 18 points instead of 21. (Target Lock would only count as a 1 point cost and the missile upgrade would not be counted in ship points, but would come from the cost of the upgrade itself). This would also mean that the base X-Wing (PS2) would have a point cost of 16 instead of 21.

If you want more information, I can attempt to make a separate post about it, but just from what I have observed, the TIE Advanced is not over-priced compared to the earliest ships (Both Imperial and Rebel), but is compared to the newer ships that I have looked at (although not many, I admit.)

Darth Vader. Expose. Engine Upgrade. 37 points. Nothing the rebels can field for these points stands a chance. Anybody who dares to fly Lord Vader's ship will end up in a cloud of debris, though. As it should be.

No, Vader with Expose is not a good idea. It turns him into an X-wing with a worse dial and no pilot ability; why would you pay 33 points for that? Adding Engine Upgrade just makes it worse.

Both sides have far more effective ships for 37 points.

I beg to differ. With barrel roll AND boost you can run rings around any X-wing, especially with PS 9. PTL without stress. No need to immelmann. You can turtle with focus and evade. You could even shoot a missile with target lock AND focus. You can shoot with target lock AND expose - with PS 9 you don't have to worry about losing an agility die.

You're arguing with the wrong person; I like Vader, and I'll even agree that it's better on him than on almost any other Imperial ship (prior to Wave 5, anyway). But Expose is still one of the least effective ways you can spend four points on Vader.

Almost everything you're describing works without Expose--maneuverability, turtling, and impressive effectiveness with ordnance. Vader is still too expensive for what he does, though, and then you make the problem worse by adding Expose. You have two four-point upgrades that can't (or, rather, can but shouldn't) be used together on a ship that's already overpriced. That's not a good plan, particularly when you compare Vader + Expose + Engine Upgrade to something like Soontir Fel + Push the Limit + Royal Guard TIE + Shield Upgrade + Hull Upgrade... or, perhaps more to the point, to two Alpha Squadron Pilots.

Expose is crucial for Vader, as he lacks punch. With only two attack dice alternatives like outmaneuver or predator are not that efficient. And he has the action to spare. But the best thing about him is being able to push the limit without stress, which makes him a lot harder to predict and to catch. Even Soontir Fel has do a green some time, Vader does not. So engine upgrade is indispensible as well. You don't have to take Proton Rockets, but nobody delivers them like Vader.

I'm still new to the X-Wing game in general but I've always enjoyed working towards designing things in games. Here, it would be the ability to design ships. So, one of the first things I did was look at point cost and tried to determine how the costs were decided.

Looking for a deterministic formula isn't going to be a successful effort. I doubt the process of determining a ship's overall cost has changed, although the relative value of various elements may have been refined; since both the designers and playtesters undoubtedly now know a lot more about the game than anyone knew two years ago, they can do a better job of determining costs and then adjusting them to fit the actual performance of game elements.

EDIT for crossposting:

Expose is crucial for Vader, as he lacks punch.

Expose is a critical mistake on Vader, as it is on almost every ship. Again, activating it turns him into a PS9 X-wing with no pilot ability (since his extra action is consumed by Expose). How much do you suppose it's worth to be a PS9 X-wing with no pilot ability? Certainly less than Wedge is worth, even if you figure that the expanded action bar of the Advanced makes up for a weaker dial.

Moreover, you're severely underestimating the value of Outmaneuver, Predator, and even Opportunist if you think they lack punch in comparison to Expose.

But the best thing about him is being able to push the limit without stress, which makes him a lot harder to predict and to catch... engine upgrade is indispensible as well.

I'm not arguing this point; Engine Upgrade is great on Vader. But Expose is still terrible, and together they're (literally) incoherent because you can't use them together.

You don't have to take Proton Rockets, but nobody delivers them like Vader.

Again--I've been happily running ordnance of various kinds on Vader since October 2012, so I don't need to be persuaded here.

Vader + Engine Upgrade is great. Vader + Proton Rockets + Engine Upgrade is great. Vader + Outmaneuver + Engine Upgrade is fun, and so on. But Expose is not a good upgrade for Vader, as it's not a good upgrade (and for many of the same reasons) for almost anyone else.

Outmaneuver, Predator and Opportunist (which Vader should never take, as he should avoid stress like the plague) on a ship with 2 attack dice is not as good as expose with target lock. Do the math and bear in mind, that you can't reroll a rerolled die. Your comparison with the X-Wing is beside the point, as the X-Wing is bad at arc dodging. The only imperial ship I can think of that the X-Wing has a chance to outmaneuver is the vanilla shuttle.

Vader has the extra action to spare, as he has three very good tactical options he shoud never mix:

1. Turtling on the approach. You do focus and evade, as Vader is always a priority target. Shooting is just a bonus.

2. Moving into position. You do boost and barrel roll. Anything less won't do the trick

3. Go for the kill. If someone can shoot at you, you just turtle. If you dodged all arcs, you have two actions with no need for a defensive action. With expose you have 3 attack dice and can target lock. Without expose you can only do target lock and focus, which is markedly less efficient, regardless if you have outmaneuver, predator or opportunist.

Outmaneuver, Predator and Opportunist (which Vader should never take, as he should avoid stress like the plague) on a ship with 2 attack dice is not as good as expose with target lock. Do the math and bear in mind, that you can't reroll a rerolled die. Your comparison with the X-Wing is beside the point, as the X-Wing is bad at arc dodging. The only imperial ship I can think of that the X-Wing has a chance to outmaneuver is the vanilla shuttle.

Vader has the extra action to spare, as he has three very good tactical options he shoud never mix:

1. Turtling on the approach. You do focus and evade, as Vader is always a priority target. Shooting is just a bonus.

2. Moving into position. You do boost and barrel roll. Anything less won't do the trick

3. Go for the kill. If someone can shoot at you, you just turtle. If you dodged all arcs, you have two actions with no need for a defensive action. With expose you have 3 attack dice and can target lock. Without expose you can only do target lock and focus, which is markedly less efficient, regardless if you have outmaneuver, predator or opportunist.

The problem is that this is a 37-point ship. Expose is a bad idea on Vader not because it can't give him a small mathematical edge on his attacks--you keep assuming I'm ignorant of his pilot ability, for some reason, just like you assumed I didn't know you couldn't reroll a die multiple times--but because it's too expensive for what it does, which is give you an attack buff only when you aren't using the other 4-point upgrade you bought.

Two of your three tactical options involve doing negligible damage (2 unmodified attack dice). The other one involves Expose. You're paying 4 points for an upgrade you won't use very often, and when you don't use it you're weaker than a Phantom or an Interceptor at the same price.

The other upgrades competing for Vader's slot are slightly weaker than Expose on the turns where you use Expose, but by your own admission you're not activating Expose very often. You can use Predator literally every round--combining nicely with your first two tactical options--and Outmaneuver both boosts your damage and constrains your opponent's maneuvering choices, while still activating in two of your three tactical scenarios rather than one.

And while I agree that Opportunist isn't a good option because Vader should be avoiding stress, as well as because he's on PS9, it's still a better choice than Expose.

Darth Vader. Expose. Engine Upgrade. 37 points. Nothing the rebels can field for these points stands a chance. Anybody who dares to fly Lord Vader's ship will end up in a cloud of debris, though. As it should be.

No, Vader with Expose is not a good idea. It turns him into an X-wing with a worse dial and no pilot ability; why would you pay 33 points for that? Adding Engine Upgrade just makes it worse.

Both sides have far more effective ships for 37 points.

I beg to differ. With barrel roll AND boost you can run rings around any X-wing, especially with PS 9. PTL without stress. No need to immelmann. You can turtle with focus and evade. You could even shoot a missile with target lock AND focus. You can shoot with target lock AND expose - with PS 9 you don't have to worry about losing an agility die.

You're arguing with the wrong person; I like Vader, and I'll even agree that it's better on him than on almost any other Imperial ship (prior to Wave 5, anyway). But Expose is still one of the least effective ways you can spend four points on Vader.

Almost everything you're describing works without Expose--maneuverability, turtling, and impressive effectiveness with ordnance. Vader is still too expensive for what he does, though, and then you make the problem worse by adding Expose. You have two four-point upgrades that can't (or, rather, can but shouldn't) be used together on a ship that's already overpriced. That's not a good plan, particularly when you compare Vader + Expose + Engine Upgrade to something like Soontir Fel + Push the Limit + Royal Guard TIE + Shield Upgrade + Hull Upgrade... or, perhaps more to the point, to two Alpha Squadron Pilots.

Expose is crucial for Vader, as he lacks punch. With only two attack dice alternatives like outmaneuver or predator are not that efficient. And he has the action to spare. But the best thing about him is being able to push the limit without stress, which makes him a lot harder to predict and to catch. Even Soontir Fel has do a green some time, Vader does not. So engine upgrade is indispensible as well. You don't have to take Proton Rockets, but nobody delivers them like Vader.

What. The. Shab. Is. Wrong. With. You? Expose is not crucial for Vader. Expose will remain horrible on any ship until Wave 5 is released. (For EI).

But, to the OP: Yes, it is so indescribably bad. Basically a TIE fighter with shields and a heck of lot worse maneuvering. But for a base 21 points.

Its ok to prevent to have 5 ships in a 100 point list.

The TIE Advanced is a rare ship, not a swarmer.

So best would be to add a System upgrade slot and a discount of about 3 points for upgrades.

Another idea is to equip some sort of laser battey in the ordnance slot, which allows to save 'one shot' in rounds you didn't attack and give you the chance to attack twice - this would of course deplete the laser battery.

In any game, whenever someone says that a unit / class sucks, my first reflex is always to see whether it really is the case or not. So in tonight's game, I will try:

Direct assault:

Vader with swarm tactics + concussion missiles (35 points)

2X academy Tie (24 points)

Flanking duty

Backstabber (16 points)

Royal guard with push the limit (25 points)

This will either be a glorious battle!... or the humbling defeat that will prove me wrong

Looking forward to hearing how you fare with that list.

Well, to give a brief summary, it was not bad, but I still lost in the end. I faced a pair of Tie defenders with heavy laser cannons and Captain Jonus with swarm tactics. My opponent had more experience than me and moved brilliantly, staying in a corner of the map and preventing my flankers from getting into an advantageous position. Add a pair of bad manoeuvers on my part which delayed Vader to the initial alpha strike and a bad roll on the concussion missile. I still killed Jonus and heavily damaged both defenders though. I may try that list again at another time, when I'm more experienced flying multiple ships

I think there is one clear reason why you will not see a system slot on the Advanced. That reason is Accuracy Corrector. It would break on the Advanced. 24 points for a PS1 ship which can evade or barrel roll every turn and still get 2 hits every turn? Yeah - I really don't see that happening.

What would everyone think about adding an Advanced only title or modification to allow actions to still be taken if you bump a ship?

Honestly that would immensely powerful on Vader, but probably not the greatest on most of the other pilots.