7. Dead is Dead... what is your argument? How would having a hot shot "ace" pilot make their ship any less vulnerable to damage? Upgrades and Modifications (like Hull Upgrade, Shield Upgrade or Stealth) help, somewhat, here.

You can refer to my previous post for my answer but after rereading the OP's original post I think I'm somewhat digressing on this point here but for the sake of discussion I will elaborate.

Yes there is no difference between a ship piloted by a rookie and a ship piloted by an elite but since we're discussing this within the context of lore and not so much gameplay don't you agree that, at a base level, an elite pilot possesses a higher level of survival skill than a rookie/academy pilot. Wouldn't Wedge Antilles or Soontir Fel have a few tricks up their sleeves to get themselves out of trouble or possess the knowledge to keep themselves alive while mitigating the unpredictability of the battlefield? In my mind pilots like these shouldn't be so susceptible to unlucky dice rolls and should get a little more mileage out of the green dice as opposed to their inexperienced peers.

This is issue certainly bothered me initial when I was new to the game but I've learnt to accept it for what it is and instead rely on my own flying skills and PS advantage to keep them alive but its still something that remains at the back of my mind especially when I see pilots like Soontir dying on the 1 round of shooting at R3 due to unlucky dice or Wedge not being able to take more evasive maneuvers when being shot at despite him being the best pilot in the Rebel Alliance.

Wraithdt,

I do see where you are coming from... I just think that between Mods, Upgrades, Unique Abilities and good ol' Pilot Skill, this pretty much covers it.

One of the problems with XWM as a game, is the focus on "fair", balanced "tournament" play. I am not against tournaments, by any means. One thing missing in XWM that is present in most "serious" wargames (no insult intended), is Fog of War. For the sake of keeping tournament play fair and minimize cheating and rumors of cheating, all pilot cards and upgrades are known to your opponents. Which X-wing is Wedge (or Luke or Biggs) and which is merely a rookie, as well as what each TIE Bomber is carrying, (etc...), is instant, public knowledge... something that would not be likely in the "real" SW universe or in our "real" world (and not usually so in more "serious" wargames). Perhaps the reason your Hot Shot "Ace" pilots are seemingly more vulnerable is because everybody and their brother knows just which ship is piloted by (insert your favorite elite pilot) and just what a threat they pose and thus dedicate more attention (and Attack Dice) to eliminating that threat.

Just thinking out loud, here...

Yes, I've thought about that exact same thing. I've wondered if there is a way of implementing fog of war without making the game overly complicated. Maybe not but it would be cool if there was. Regardless this game is still awesome without it and what I've said so far are just my personal nit-picks.

Hehe. Give unique pilots fate points - just like in Talisman

A lot of these problems could be fixed with Title cards. Most ships don't have any, and the ones who do (other than the special case Corvette) have merely one. It would be my proposition that almost every "inaccurate ship" in this thread is actually a result of the designers using a different series of the ship in question on which to base the stats for the game.

I for one am looking forward to new title cards which will almost certainly eventually come out. Want an A-Wing who can fire backwards? Well the title that gives it that ability will be a few points but you can do it. Why you you want to spend points on such a thing is beyond me...

The 'Delta' title for the Lambda shuttle would give it a rear arc 2 dice range 1-2 attack, maybe cost 3 points or so? To give it a bit more character than the single-pilot Firespray perhaps the multi crew member 'Delta' shuttle could fire into both front and rear arcs in the same turn. That version should probably cost 5-6 points though.

TIE Fighters with Hull 2? Eh, I prefer the game the way it is. Such a change would have made a huge difference in the initial investment required to get into the game. One of the reasons I started playing is that you CAN play the game cheaply if you so desire. The fact that I shortly thereafter I spent tons of money anyways is merely testament to the excellent design choices otherwise. I could see 2/2/2/0 Vulture Droids being released in Wave 13 in 2016 though...

If the Defender was fixed to be as it was in TIE fighter, it'd cost at least 80 points... I'm happy with what they've done there.

I'm happier with TIE's being 3 hull. But it's still an inaccuracy .

The only other big inaccuracy is ordnance. I'm not even going there.

7. Most elite pilots die as easily as generic pilots..

That's down to the player, not the ship. Elite pilots have MANY advantages over generics which should ensure their survival.

A lot of these problems could be fixed with Title cards. Most ships don't have any, and the ones who do (other than the special case Corvette) have merely one. It would be my proposition that almost every "inaccurate ship" in this thread is actually a result of the designers using a different series of the ship in question on which to base the stats for the game.

I for one am looking forward to new title cards which will almost certainly eventually come out. Want an A-Wing who can fire backwards? Well the title that gives it that ability will be a few points but you can do it. Why you you want to spend points on such a thing is beyond me...

The 'Delta' title for the Lambda shuttle would give it a rear arc 2 dice range 1-2 attack, maybe cost 3 points or so? To give it a bit more character than the single-pilot Firespray perhaps the multi crew member 'Delta' shuttle could fire into both front and rear arcs in the same turn. That version should probably cost 5-6 points though.

TIE Fighters with Hull 2? Eh, I prefer the game the way it is. Such a change would have made a huge difference in the initial investment required to get into the game. One of the reasons I started playing is that you CAN play the game cheaply if you so desire. The fact that I shortly thereafter I spent tons of money anyways is merely testament to the excellent design choices otherwise. I could see 2/2/2/0 Vulture Droids being released in Wave 13 in 2016 though...

While a lot of what people want to see is possible, adding an auxiliary firing arc is not going to happen. Because then you would need to reprint all the ship templates, now and in the future, to add the firing arc. A firing arc isn't something you can just add with a card. At best, you can add turret capabilities.

Regarding the elite pilots, I think it comes down to game mechanics vs lore. In the lore, those ace pilots were rare and their abilities aren't so easily quantified.

In a dogfight, you're not able to analyze the intangible abilities of the enemy pilots and how they combo. I understand the desire for it (I've considered "red" focus and evades that carry over between rounds) but I feel it's more of a storytelling device than an effective game mechanic.

Its been bugging me for a bit but the three black smoke exhaust plumes on the Falcon are angled on the hull.

Should be straight back...

Couldn't point this out at work:

Notice how the "grime" goes off on the diagonal, instead of straight on.

Looks to me that the exhaust ports are set to vent in diagonal, but in space, there's no air friction/resistance to drive the exhaust directly backwards.

If we assume that those exhaust ports are used in atmospheric flight and that the falcon passes at least the same time in atmosphere as in space, at best, we could find 2 different grime trials overlapping.