It is too late now, but I think it would have been cool for each expansion to have had one extra card with a chart on it that listed the pilots from the expansion and listed what additional ships that they could fly but only in casual non tournament play. Each pilot could have had different PS for each ship. For example: Wedge Antilles X wing - PS 9, Y wing - PS 6, A wing - PS 7, B wing - PS 5. That would have been a cool way to allow it and also keep it fairly balanced at least in competitive play.

You always could treat it the same way they do pilot/crew versions of the same character. Give us alternate cards; for instance, Corran in an E-Wing has a certain ability, but in an X-Wing he has a different one.

Call it wave 6.25, and release it as a print on demand card pack.

I think they should put pilots on different ships where it makes sense (in the EU like Wedge on a Y-wing). But release it as an extra card, Y-wing Wedge and point appropriately.

The way I'd deal with the problem is by creating extra cards with the same pilot, but in a different ship.

Keep in mind that just because a given pilot has a certain flying style in one ship doesn't mean that that they'll fly a different ship in the same way, and even if they do it may not be to the same level of effectiveness. This means that the same pilot may have a different skill depending on which ship they're flying, and even if they have the same overall skill, it may differ in effectiveness (so a different number of dice rerolled for example).

I think we've seen with Fett that FFG is open to the idea of multiple versions of pilots. I do hope we'll see more appropriately thematic alternate pilot/ship combinations in the future, almost certainly with new abilities.

But at-will interchangeable pilot/ships would be a very, VERY bad idea. As already mentioned, the balance issues are problematic - Tycho is decent in an A-wing, put him in an X-wing or even B-wing and he'd be a holy terror. Vader would make any ship better, and a truly durable Fel would be terrifying.

But that's also kinda the problem right there - most of the pilot abilities in X-wing are pretty much crap. Many of the ships are crap. In at least some cases (Tycho, Vader) a good pilot ability on a bad ship can make a decently competitive whole. But if you break that, you end up with the best in the best - all the time. Figure one in three pilots would ever see the light of day. It would do nothing but compress the viable builds.

I wonder if FF would be willing to release pilots on different ships with the proper cost on them depending on the ship, maybe their ability could stay the same or have a slight variation suited to the different ship. I think from the business perspective, it will be a good decision for them since they are not making a new ship, but only having to create new pilot cards. Packaging could just read new pilots or something similar, or maybe a different paint job as well. I think that could work

I wouldn't mind Stele in a Defender with a different ability for balance's sake.

As i said i was ill in bed so it wasnt a massively well thought out idea.

Ok i think you're right seperate pilot chits is a bad and hard to balance idea but i think FFG should do a pilot card with ship (liek they are now) for things like 'e wing luke' and i'd like to see 'howlrunner' get a better ride (no sniggering at the back there) than she does currently....