Thesis: There is no "Best" build for the aggressor. However, there may be core-builds for individual IGs. What upgrades are shared between them may help us break the ship before hit hits shelves

IG88-A: A buffed offence turns into extra survivability.

• Upgrades like Predator, HLC, Hot-Shot Blaster, and FCS fill this role.

• Moreover, as we've seen with R2-D2, occasionally adding a Shield Upgrade could also fit here. Similarly, adding extra mobility helps to keep enemies in arcs, guaranteeing your shot, so Stay On Target, Daredevil, and Advanced Sensors would also help.

• Lastly, being able to regenerate yourself makes abilities that damage yourself a bit more attractive. Feedback Array might have a home here, though Inertial Dampeners or Hotshot Blaster might prove more effective.

IG88-B: Buffs offence with no action requirement.

• Requires a Cannon, preferably at all ranges so you'll always have it available.

• Anything that buffs secondary attacks (FCS, Marksmanship, et c) is also useful.

IG88-C: Boosting turns into extra survivability, beyond the usual.

• Wanting to Boost more often, you might equip Advanced Sensors to crank up your mobiilty.

• Bombs would also be useful with this build.

IG88-D: Gain extra mobility when Slooping.

• Stay on Target could really turn this deadly.

• Adrenaline Rush would let you perform actions one more time than usual, making this very useful with Proximity Mine

• The extra mobility from this ship's maneuvers allow Seismic Charges and Proton Bombs to be more useful than the norm, though you never really want for an enemy to be behind you.

• Having a more powerful Red maneuver than the norm, Advanced Sensors would maintain your action economy while you used it more often.

If there are any bullet-points I'm lacking, mention it in the comments.

Meanwhile, what does this mean for our fleet design?

AB : Cannon is definitely a necessity here. I would say that FCS is also core.

As to which cannon, A and B have a mild disagreement: A prefers HLC, as it's got the best chance of slaying a foe, while B doesn't like that it can't re-fire at Range 1, and would prefer the Mangler.

Still, the buzzsaw cannonade is a sufficient damage-boost for A, so Mobility and Survivability are what I'd boost after the initial Core.

AC : You want to boost. You want to kill. Both keep you alive.

I would say that the overclocking of your Boost action from Advanced Sensors lets you attack more often, so I'll consider it the most potent upgrade you can purchase for this combo.

As your action is going to be Boost a greater-than-average amount of the time, you'll want to use your EPT to improve your dice. PtL is probably the best option here, due to your brilliant Greens, though Predator is also attractive.

AD : Stay on Target and Adv S are core on D.

Improving your odds of killing a ship when you fire at it are going to be your next priority.

BC : If Boost's your action, taking the IG that buffs offense action-free is great!

Unfortunately, FCS and Adv S occupy the same slot, so you'll have to pick which playstyle suits you best. Alternatively, you could pick one of each, so that if one of your IGs dies, the other still has its ideal system.

The cannon is still core, but the Mangler doesn't compete with the HLC as it did in AB.

Push the Limit is probably the strongest EPT for this combination, but this time for boosting defense, rather than offense.

BD : FCS vs Adv S again.

A difficult combination to have a "Best", but if you're spending several turns stressing yourself, the free damage benefits to B help.

CD : Advanced Sensors and Stay On Target are definitely core, here.

Bombs are also very valuable here. With as high and cagey as your mobility is, it'l be fairly simple to plant them well.

Wow, no comments?

Thesis: There is no "Best" build for the aggressor. However, there may be core-builds for individual IGs. What upgrades are shared between them may help us break the ship before hit hits shelves

IG88-A: A buffed offence turns into extra survivability.

• Upgrades like Predator, HLC, Hot-Shot Blaster, and FCS fill this role.

• Moreover, as we've seen with R2-D2, occasionally adding a Shield Upgrade could also fit here. Similarly, adding extra mobility helps to keep enemies in arcs, guaranteeing your shot, so Stay On Target, Daredevil, and Advanced Sensors would also help.

• Lastly, being able to regenerate yourself makes abilities that damage yourself a bit more attractive. Feedback Array might have a home here, though Inertial Dampeners or Hotshot Blaster might prove more effective.

IG88-B: Buffs offence with no action requirement.

• Requires a Cannon, preferably at all ranges so you'll always have it available.

• Anything that buffs secondary attacks (FCS, Marksmanship, et c) is also useful.

IG88-C: Boosting turns into extra survivability, beyond the usual.

• Wanting to Boost more often, you might equip Advanced Sensors to crank up your mobiilty.

• Bombs would also be useful with this build.

IG88-D: Gain extra mobility when Slooping.

• Stay on Target could really turn this deadly.

• Adrenaline Rush would let you perform actions one more time than usual, making this very useful with Proximity Mine

• The extra mobility from this ship's maneuvers allow Seismic Charges and Proton Bombs to be more useful than the norm, though you never really want for an enemy to be behind you.

• Having a more powerful Red maneuver than the norm, Advanced Sensors would maintain your action economy while you used it more often.

If there are any bullet-points I'm lacking, mention it in the comments.

Meanwhile, what does this mean for our fleet design?

AB : Cannon is definitely a necessity here. I would say that FCS is also core.

As to which cannon, A and B have a mild disagreement: A prefers HLC, as it's got the best chance of slaying a foe, while B doesn't like that it can't re-fire at Range 1, and would prefer the Mangler.

Still, the buzzsaw cannonade is a sufficient damage-boost for A, so Mobility and Survivability are what I'd boost after the initial Core.

AC : You want to boost. You want to kill. Both keep you alive.

I would say that the overclocking of your Boost action from Advanced Sensors lets you attack more often, so I'll consider it the most potent upgrade you can purchase for this combo.

As your action is going to be Boost a greater-than-average amount of the time, you'll want to use your EPT to improve your dice. PtL is probably the best option here, due to your brilliant Greens, though Predator is also attractive.

AD : Stay on Target and Adv S are core on D.

Improving your odds of killing a ship when you fire at it are going to be your next priority.

BC : If Boost's your action, taking the IG that buffs offense action-free is great!

Unfortunately, FCS and Adv S occupy the same slot, so you'll have to pick which playstyle suits you best. Alternatively, you could pick one of each, so that if one of your IGs dies, the other still has its ideal system.

The cannon is still core, but the Mangler doesn't compete with the HLC as it did in AB.

Push the Limit is probably the strongest EPT for this combination, but this time for boosting defense, rather than offense.

BD : FCS vs Adv S again.

A difficult combination to have a "Best", but if you're spending several turns stressing yourself, the free damage benefits to B help.

CD : Advanced Sensors and Stay On Target are definitely core, here.

Bombs are also very valuable here. With as high and cagey as your mobility is, it'l be fairly simple to plant them well.

Good Job!

You pretty much said it all (so far). Good job! (x2)

wow, nice!

Wow, no comments?

Tuff to comment when you already covered it all!! I suppose I could, "pat you on the back," and say, "Good job!"

What you need a cookie?

*hands over large double choc cookie* here, but you can get yer own milk.

Great run down. For me, I think Advanced Sensors is hard to beat on any of them, due to the ship's size and single arc, but I'm most interested in CD.

So would you say AB and AC are the best two combinations to choose from?

So would you say AB and AC are the best two combinations to choose from?

I would say they're the easiest to theory-craft...

• A has good synergy with B and C. Moreover, their preferred upgrades don't disagree either.
• AD is actually a very good combo as well, natively boosting Survivability and Mobility.
• BC and BD may argue over which system to take, but if you go true Buzzsaw, you like the mobility, and if you go Hypermobile, you like the damage boost.
• CD without Adv Sensors has antisynergy, but flies like a dream with it.

There are no bad options, just options that lend themselves to easier discussion

You hinted at this in your original post, but I think that careful thought about what loadout you want on each ship if it's the last ship left will pay handsomely.

Personally, I think I'm most attracted to BC.

C wants to be boosting if it's getting shot, so PtL makes a lot of sense. HLC might be "too good" and hit before B's ability lets it strip tokens, but it's great once B is gone.

B doesn't need to boost in the endgame once it's solo, so I think PtL makes less sense. Most people are probably going to want to target it first to remove the offensive boost, so lone wolf and stealth device (I think that with a blank reroll and an evade, SD beats HU in expected HP).

Aside: I have a hard time imagining a loadout where I'd ever want A instead of C. Can anyone explain?

It seems to me that you get at most (enemy ships)-1 shields recovered (because the last ship wins you the game). With the prevalence of two-ship turret builds (and upcoming double-aggressor mirror matches , there's going to be a lot of times when it's only worth 1hp. Let's assume it averages 2hp per game.

How many rounds per game are you going to boost, then get shot at? Keep in mind that in a double build, both ships get to boost+evade each round. As long as you mitigate 2 damage and aren't boosting at inappropriate times, C works out to be better. That could happen on the first round of shooting.

I suppose A could be used for shoring up anti-swarm, if the rest of the loadout is focused on other things, but again a PS6 boost+evade does a lot to mitigate swarms too.

Am I missing something?

C wants to be boosting if it's getting shot, so PtL makes a lot of sense. HLC might be "too good" and hit before B's ability lets it strip tokens, but it's great once B is gone.

B really prefers the Mangler Cannon.

B doesn't need to boost in the endgame once it's solo, so I think PtL makes less sense. Most people are probably going to want to target it first to remove the offensive boost, so lone wolf and stealth device (I think that with a blank reroll and an evade, SD beats HU in expected HP).

I think PTL is generally solid, as you've got all speeds of Bank to clear stress with. Between Focus, Evade, and Boost, you've got a good amount of variety when choosing defensive actions, on top of your better-than-average damage.

Aside: I have a hard time imagining a loadout where I'd ever want A instead of C. Can anyone explain?

• A fully regenerates a shield, rewarding you permanently for doing something you want to do anyway (i.e. kill the enemy). That shield you've regenerated is sitting behind 3 agility, so it's substantially more powerful than a standard model.
• C gives a bonus evade token when you boost, rewarding you temporarily for doing something you don't necessarily need to do (or get to do, for that matter).

It seems to me that you get at most (enemy ships)-1 shields recovered (because the last ship wins you the game). With the prevalence of two-ship turret builds (and upcoming double-aggressor mirror matches , there's going to be a lot of times when it's only worth 1hp. Let's assume it averages 2hp per game.

I don't think this is going to be the case once Scum comes out. There are so many new toys that two-ships will be a rarity.

Am I missing something?

Regenerating 1 shield > receiving 1 evade token.

Both cancel out 1 hit, but the Shield sticks with you until the damage actually needs to be canceled, whereas the Evade fades at end of turn.

The difference is in the rarity, I suppose.

How often do you need to Boost and Evade, rather than simply Evade as your action?

How often will Boosting in a large ship simply be impossible due to collisions or stress?

How often will Boosting in a large ship leave you at a disadvantageous position?

vs

How often will you kill an enemy ship while already wounded?

You hinted at this in your original post, but I think that careful thought about what loadout you want on each ship if it's the last ship left will pay handsomely.

Personally, I think I'm most attracted to BC.

I should have made this more overt, but I am very glad you caught it!

Thanks for opening some dialogue with me. You had a very well crafted post!

I really like your post, but I have no idea what the title (A Modular 14) is supposed to mean.

Am I just missing something?

I really like your post, but I have no idea what the title (A Modular 14) is supposed to mean.

Am I just missing something?

Oh!

IG88s cost 36

36 + 14 = 50.

The 14 points of upgrades per ship is what would need to be determined to come up with a "Best" build.

It's modular because it's sectional, and depends on which pilots you're using.

And yes, I left it a little vague because I didn't want folks to skip my post amidst the 15,000 aggressor threads ;-)

Regenerating 1 shield > receiving 1 evade token.

Both cancel out 1 hit, but the Shield sticks with you until the damage actually needs to be canceled, whereas the Evade fades at end of turn.

I don't think I agree. A mitigated damage is a mitigated damage. Yes, some of the evades will be wasted, but I think that the number of boosts-per-game is going to vastly outnumber the number of enemy ships per game.

The difference is in the rarity, I suppose.

How often do you need to Boost and Evade, rather than simply Evade as your action?

How often will Boosting in a large ship simply be impossible due to collisions or stress?

How often will Boosting in a large ship leave you at a disadvantageous position?

vs

How often will you kill an enemy ship while already wounded?

I think of it as "how often will I want to boost, and will be in an enemy arc afterwards."

Anyway, I'm not sold on the B EPT, but I'm thinking:

IG-88B (36)

Elusiveness (2)

Fire-Control System (2)

"Mangler" Cannon (4)

Inertial Dampeners (1)

Autothrusters (2)

IG-88C (36)

Push the Limit (3)

Advanced Sensors (3)

Heavy Laser Cannon (7)

Inertial Dampeners (1)

Autothrusters (2)

Total: 99

View in Yet Another Squad Builder

Regenerating 1 shield > receiving 1 evade token.

Both cancel out 1 hit, but the Shield sticks with you until the damage actually needs to be canceled, whereas the Evade fades at end of turn.

I don't think I agree. A mitigated damage is a mitigated damage. Yes, some of the evades will be wasted, but I think that the number of boosts-per-game is going to vastly outnumber the number of enemy ships per game.

The difference is in the rarity, I suppose.

How often do you need to Boost and Evade, rather than simply Evade as your action?

How often will Boosting in a large ship simply be impossible due to collisions or stress?

How often will Boosting in a large ship leave you at a disadvantageous position?

vs

How often will you kill an enemy ship while already wounded?

I think of it as "how often will I want to boost, and will be in an enemy arc afterwards."

Anyway, I'm not sold on the B EPT, but I'm thinking:

IG-88B (36)

Elusiveness (2)

Fire-Control System (2)

"Mangler" Cannon (4)

Inertial Dampeners (1)

Autothrusters (2)

IG-88C (36)

Push the Limit (3)

Advanced Sensors (3)

Heavy Laser Cannon (7)

Inertial Dampeners (1)

Autothrusters (2)

Total: 99

View in Yet Another Squad Builder

Yeek! Elusiveness??

Dude, no.

Anyway, I'm not sold on the B EPT, but I'm thinking:

IG-88B (36)

Elusiveness (2)

Yeek! Elusiveness??

Dude, no.

Yeah, like I said, not sold. Gunnerish+FCS means that he doesn't need rerolls, so predator and lone wolf are out. Survivability enhancements are few and far between, beyond the obvious autothrusters.

Marks might work nicely with gunner, and would make B a crit machine (heh). Kinda anti-synergy with C's boost, though.

Anyway, I'm not sold on the B EPT, but I'm thinking:

IG-88B (36)

Elusiveness (2)

Yeek! Elusiveness??

Dude, no.

Yeah, like I said, not sold. Gunnerish+FCS means that he doesn't need rerolls, so predator and lone wolf are out. Survivability enhancements are few and far between, beyond the obvious autothrusters.

I'd say stick with PTL.

It's phenomenal while C's alive, and if C dies first, it's still pretty danged good. Hard to get a better defensive EPT than "Take a Focus Token, an Evade Token, and a Stress Token".

Just noticed two synergies I hadn't already considered:

Predator works with B just like FCS does. This clears up the synergy issue in BC quite nicely!

With CD, you're going to be boosting into the scrim quite often, making D's ability substantially more useful. With Advanced Sensors, you're a terrifying knife-fighter, and basically teleport.

Yeah, that's true. Predator would do most of the work of FCS, without the requirement to stick to a single target, and dropping one dampener would free up points for advanced sensors on B, which is pretty nice esp. when C is still alive.

I like it.

I still think it remains to be seen how a large ship with only a primary firing arc will fare. The lambda is the only other large ship without either a turret or auxiliary firing arc, and it's super limiting dial makes it a hard comparison. I foresee a steep learning curve with this ship, but those who master it will have a potent weapon. C&D will have the easiest time keeping ships in arc, while B will best maximize the shots it does get.

Anyway, I'm not sold on the B EPT, but I'm thinking:

IG-88B (36)

Elusiveness (2)

Yeek! Elusiveness??

Dude, no.

Yeah, like I said, not sold. Gunnerish+FCS means that he doesn't need rerolls, so predator and lone wolf are out. Survivability enhancements are few and far between, beyond the obvious autothrusters.

I'd say stick with PTL.

Push the Limit? Really? Maybe I'm missing something. Seems like Push the Limit on a ship that can't clear stress on the turn maneuvers is a bad call. Wouldn't it make it difficult to turn around and face the enemy? Or are you planning on dashing out of range, only taking one action, then Segnor's Loop to come around for another pass? I'm looking forward to seeing these droids in action because it's looking like they'll fly wildly differently than most other ships. I am still having a hard time seeing the value of PtL.

P.S. I am a die-hard TIE interceptor fan, and I am even becoming disillusioned with PtL on those agile ships!

One of the things that I have run into while playing is just how good bombs are when combined with Advanced Sensors. In one of my most recent games proxying IG88-C and IG88-B I was able to take out four (4) Scum Z-95s in one turn with only one Proton Bomb and an attack from IG88-B. I used advanced sensors to boost into a good position then dropped the bomb and executed my maneuver. His Zs moved into a great position to attack my IG from behind but they were right in range of my bomb. The bomb went off and all ships caught in the blast were dealt face up cards one was some pilot thing, second was a console fire, but the other two were direct hits. Turns out, due to the rules, the extra damage from receiving a direct hit goes right to the hull so both ships pooped activating their deadman's switches which forced the other two ships to take two more damage to their shields. My IG88-B pulled a Seg Loop and was able to pop one of the two remaining Z's which activated it's switch taking out the fourth.

My opponent and I were stunned. I mean, honestly, when is that EVER going to happen again.

Anyway, I'm not sold on the B EPT, but I'm thinking:

IG-88B (36)

Elusiveness (2)

Yeek! Elusiveness??

Dude, no.

Yeah, like I said, not sold. Gunnerish+FCS means that he doesn't need rerolls, so predator and lone wolf are out. Survivability enhancements are few and far between, beyond the obvious autothrusters.

I'd say stick with PTL.

Push the Limit? Really? Maybe I'm missing something. Seems like Push the Limit on a ship that can't clear stress on the turn maneuvers is a bad call.

Still a better call than Elusiveness, for one thing.

As far as it being a "Bad Call" in general, remember that any Bank or Forward move will clear the stress, and with IG-88c, you're going to be wanting to Boost anyway, to get 3 actions per turn with PTL.

It isn't using PTL to arc-dodge like an Interceptor. It's doing it to close distances astonishingly, and for offensive purposes.

Excellent first post, really consolidates your options with 2 IG88's. I've read this OP when it was posted and since then I've been thinking a lot about how to put a dual agressor list together. Since scum just released this weekend in The Netherlands and I don't play vassal and don't want to proxy entire models, I didn't get any yet. Tomorrow... If there are any left. .

First thing I'm trying is this;

IG-88B+C (36) (50x2)
Veteran Instincts (1)
Advanced Sensors (3)
Heavy Laser Cannon (7)
Inertial Dampeners (1)
Autothrusters (2)
IG-2000 (0)

B + HLC will give you steady fire power. You don't get another attack at range 1 but with a ship this fast you should be at R3 at all times. Especially since you also have a cannon and autothrusters The rest of the build focuses on maneuverability and survivability.

I also want to try this build with B+D and go crazy on those S loops.