New Article: http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_news.asp?eidn=5116

Wow. A lot of new info today, and it is great. Dice values, Defence Tokens, Even a sample play PDF. This is what i've been waiting for.

Woo hoo! They threw us another bone!! Good info here, too.

Eh. Pretty much all of that was covered in GenCon demos. The vague dice descriptions are new though, telling us how many blanks. I had already figured out what was on the red dice based on video footage though.

http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/113796-consolidated-rules-and-ship-stats/?p=1235757

I wish they broke down the other dice completely. Blue has no blanks... But if 5 of the sides are accuracy, that isn't that great (I know its not the case, just making a point).

So, I'm not even planning on getting this game, but I might be compelled to eventually MathWing it once we have the full ruleset and dice revealed.

One thing I noticed in the fan was there is a Grand Moff Tarkin Card (only one I could make out the title of and I con't read the card text)

Also the more I look at it while it may be possible to hit the same ship from 2 of your firing arcs it appears that it can only happen at close range and more than likely two different opposing hull zones

I wish they broke down the other dice completely. Blue has no blanks... But if 5 of the sides are accuracy, that isn't that great (I know its not the case, just making a point).

1) If GenCon used the actual dice for the demos couldn't people that went just look at the dice and say what they saw? (Yes I understand looking at the dice probabilities would not be something that would come to mind demoing a brand new kick ass game, and even if they did it would be a long time ago)

2) My guess is blue is 3 hit 3 acc 2 crit, it just sorta feels right, I don't expect more than 2 crits on the blue and 4 hits seems high (possible but high) this also means that antisquadron fire you will have roughly a 5/8 chance at whiffing against generics (ones without tokens), or they could make it 4hit, 2 acc 2 crit and that would be a 50/50 antisquadron fire, I think I would still lean towards 3 3 2 though

One thing I noticed in the fan was there is a Grand Moff Tarkin Card (only one I could make out the title of and I con't read the card text)

Also the more I look at it while it may be possible to hit the same ship from 2 of your firing arcs it appears that it can only happen at close range and more than likely two different opposing hull zones

I wish they broke down the other dice completely. Blue has no blanks... But if 5 of the sides are accuracy, that isn't that great (I know its not the case, just making a point).

1) If GenCon used the actual dice for the demos couldn't people that went just look at the dice and say what they saw? (Yes I understand looking at the dice probabilities would not be something that would come to mind demoing a brand new kick ass game, and even if they did it would be a long time ago)

2) My guess is blue is 3 hit 3 acc 2 crit, it just sorta feels right, I don't expect more than 2 crits on the blue and 4 hits seems high (possible but high) this also means that antisquadron fire you will have roughly a 5/8 chance at whiffing against generics (ones without tokens), or they could make it 4hit, 2 acc 2 crit and that would be a 50/50 antisquadron fire, I think I would still lean towards 3 3 2 though

I was at GenCon. We used a mutual dice pool for 4 players. Also, at least when I was playing, no one really got a good chance to hold them and look at them. I mean I guess it was possible, but it was one of those things that just kinda slipped my mind because I was so excited to play.

I couldn't help but notice the crit card revealed in the PDF did not mention a "minimum of one." Not only is this absolutely brutal for Corvette's, but it also means that it's entirely possible for a ship to be rendered entirely incapable of moving until the crit is repaired.

Engineering only has to do with repairing your shields and hull, not movement, as far as we know. And since ships in Armada seem to have inertia, as you move the same speed you did the turn before unless you use the Navigate command, i doubt there will be any crits that "slow" you down. Maybe lock your engines up or something.

As far as dice go I'd wager a pretty good guess that red has 2 Hits, 1 Double Hit, 2 Crits, 1 Accuracy, and 2 Blanks. Blue I'll say 4 Hits, 2 Crits, and 2 Accuracy. Black is much harder as there arent as many pictures of them that i can find, but there seems to be the 2 Blanks mentioned, 2 Hits, 2 Crits, and 2 Hit/Crits since they said there were multiples on the black dice.

Whoops, you're right. I someone managed to read "engineering value" as "engine value."

That changes things, and if anything makes this crit even nastier. Not only does it half your ability to repair, but since you need a significant number of repair points to get rid of crits in the first place the crit makes itself worse.

I do already see the strategies popping up where the CR90a seems a more straightforward damage ship with the two reds, while the CR90b will be more of a mid range support. You'll want to activate it first to get those Accuracies negating their defense, then hammer them with your red/black dice ships.

Same with the Victory class ships. The 2's will want to keep at that midrange staying out of any black dice, while then 1's will want to barrel in blazing after defense tokens have been stripped/negated.

I believe the accuracy hits on a dice only disable defence tokens for the attack in question though, not the entire turn.

Hrmm that does seem to be the case. I hadn't noticed that in the PDF. But it does seem odd when they gave the example of the damaged Victory 1 deciding where to engage, since at range 1 the CR90b will be unable to use either of its evade tokens. With 3 Red and 3 Black the Vic1 stands an excellent chance at taking out the corvette in one go.

Hrmm that does seem to be the case. I hadn't noticed that in the PDF. But it does seem odd when they gave the example of the damaged Victory 1 deciding where to engage, since at range 1 the CR90b will be unable to use either of its evade tokens. With 3 Red and 3 Black the Vic1 stands an excellent chance at taking out the corvette in one go.

Sure, that's the risk part that part of the article is talking about. Do you stay safely at range and use less dice while risking the CR90 dodging? Or do you close in to increase your odds at killing the CR90 in one go at the risk of losing your own ship should you fail?

Also the more I look at it while it may be possible to hit the same ship from 2 of your firing arcs it appears that it can only happen at close range and more than likely two different opposing hull zones

I don't follow your reasoning there - why would it be easier to hit one section with two of your own at close range?

Because its harder to judge whether you are both arcs at Range 3 than it is at Range 1. How many times have you had a ship in Xwing kinda sorta maybe look like it was in arc at Range 3 only to turn out not to? Compare that to what it looks like at range 1. Its much easier to tell if you are in arc that close, while at Range 3 you almost always have to measure the arc to make sure.

Also the more I look at it while it may be possible to hit the same ship from 2 of your firing arcs it appears that it can only happen at close range and more than likely two different opposing hull zones

I don't follow your reasoning there - why would it be easier to hit one section with two of your own at close range?

Basic geometry, arcs get wider as the distance increases and if you are closer you have more precision, its also a matter of the varying arcs used on these ships.

I also never said hitting 1 hull zone with both of your arcs would be easier at close range, I said hitting 1 ship would be doable at close range and if it happens it would most likely be 2 different hull zones on the target ship

Because its harder to judge whether you are both arcs at Range 3 than it is at Range 1. How many times have you had a ship in Xwing kinda sorta maybe look like it was in arc at Range 3 only to turn out not to? Compare that to what it looks like at range 1. Its much easier to tell if you are in arc that close, while at Range 3 you almost always have to measure the arc to make sure.

That suggests that lining up targets on the corners is going to be an important tactic.

Basic geometry, arcs get wider as the distance increases and if you are closer you have more precision, its also a matter of the varying arcs used on these ships.

I also never said hitting 1 hull zone with both of your arcs would be easier at close range, I said hitting 1 ship would be doable at close range and if it happens it would most likely be 2 different hull zones on the target ship

Seems to me range doesn't matter, so long as you get the angle right (as Mr Sidious says, you want to point your corner at them). And given your momentum, lining her up may well be easier at long range when you've more leeway.

Because its harder to judge whether you are both arcs at Range 3 than it is at Range 1. How many times have you had a ship in Xwing kinda sorta maybe look like it was in arc at Range 3 only to turn out not to? Compare that to what it looks like at range 1. Its much easier to tell if you are in arc that close, while at Range 3 you almost always have to measure the arc to make sure.

That suggests that lining up targets on the corners is going to be an important tactic.

(I love quoting myself )

It also further suggests that attacking obliquely is almost always better than either a head-on or broadside attack. By lining up the target on your corner, you not only enable your ship to fire more weapons at a single target, you are able to concentrate that fire on a single location. You can then extend that even further by maneuvering your ships in such a way as to get multiple shots on a single location on a single ship.

Of course if you can bring two arcs to bare then so can the enemy ship unless your ship is smaller.

Of course if you can bring two arcs to bare then so can the enemy ship unless your ship is smaller.

Not necessarily, based on location, size, and distance to the target. In fact, I'd say that it's probably much easier to line your ship up for a two-arc shot than for the target (without moving) to do the same back to you.

Remember you attack first and move second. So unless you think ahead where your opponent may move for the next turn (best educated guess) it may be harder than you think to get lined up to get two attacks on one zone.

Perhaps though in a game like this I think all ships will be moving most of the time unless they are adrift or have to stay still for some purpose. Usually the only times I have fully functional mobile vessels at dead stop in a fleet game is if they are performing some kind of operation that requires them to stop.

Forgot that it is attack then move here though

Remember you attack first and move second. So unless you think ahead where your opponent may move for the next turn (best educated guess) it may be harder than you think to get lined up to get two attacks on one zone.

Not so much if they've already moved this turn, especially if you know you'll be moving first next turn.