Ordnance Fixes

By konradkurze, in X-Wing

So we've heard loose rumors that something is planned for the TIE Bomber, the common idea is that this will be a fix for Ordnance. Without errata-ing Ordnance in general this probably means some type of upgrade. Modifications seem the most likely as that can be used everywhere, but something that goes in Missile or Torpedo would work as well.

Here's my ideas:

Back-up Munitions - Torpedo/Missile 1pt (May go in either Torpedo or Missile slot)

When a missile or torpedo instructs you to discard that upgrade, you may instead discard this card.

this would have the effect of allowing something like a TIE Bomber or B-wing to have access to up to 4 one-off weapons without having to spend 20 points on Ordnance. It also keeps all current ordnance appropriately costed (4 pts for Proton Torpedos + 3 pts for 3 Back-Ups is 7 Pts for 4 turns of 4 Die attacks, each requiring a TL)

Ordnance Synthesizer - Modification 3pt

When a missile or torpedo weapon instructs you to discard it instead you may roll a Green Dice. On a blank result discard this upgrade.

This is potentially overpowered as it allows ships like the A-Wing to fire Prockets multiple times, but is a more general fix for ordnance (X-Wing for example wouldn't benefit off the Back-Up Munitions idea).

Targeting Computer - Modification 3pt

When an attack instructs you to spend a Target Lock as a requirement to attack ignore that.

This is better than a Fire Control System upgrade because 1) it doesn't need a system slot, and 2) you can use the Target Lock as part of the attack.

Targeting Computer (v2) - Modification 3pt

After attacking with a secondary missile or torpedo weapon you may gain a Target Lock.

This would work like Fire Control, except you can choose what to Target Lock (allowing you to set up for next turns attack on target 2).

Advanced Guidance System - Modification 5pt

When attacking with a Missile or Torpedo secondary weapon inside your firing arc you may roll two additional attack Dice.

Adds a lot of damage potential to missiles, but it is really only workable on Bombers, Y-wing and B-wing. It is balanced by its high cost, 5pts for the Mod + 4 or more points for a single missile is a lot, but a decked out Bomber with 3 missiles/torpedos + this would be death on Ion Engines.

Thoughts?

Edited by konradkurze

Back-up Munitions would be OP on Corran Horn. FCS and Marksmanship would let him shoot 2 APTs in one round with 10 hits over 90% of the time.

Targeting Computer as a name is already taken and suddenly you're paying 7p for a PT just to get to reroll that one or two blanks in a 4 dice attack. Doesn't make sense.

On the Advanced Guidance System I don't see the problem with taking a Green sqdr. with PTL, PR and that. 30p ship that can deliver 7 hits just like that at Range 1. It could one-shot every small ship in the game without relying on crits to do it.

Ooh, What rumors did you hear?

In all honesty, I just want to see ordnance errata'd in some way. I already own 3 TIE Bombers and I don't wish to buy a fourth to fix ordnance. I'm also not a fan of having to wheel out a series of upgrade cards to make other upgrade cards work. Perhaps I'm just lazy, but I don't bother to bring out my Chardaan Refits anymore. I don't want stacks of little cards clogging up valuable space.

How about:

Scimitar Targeting Module (1pt)

Title. Tie Bomber.

Once per round, when attacking with a [Missile] or [Torpedo], if you have no focus tokens, you may receive 1 stress to convert all [Eye] to [Hit].

Gives bombers a PtL like effect for their secondary weapons. Makes running say Jonus/Rhymer interesting in that you could run Deadeye + this for open shooting.

Or could have it as a mod. Since then it would work on B-wing/Y-wing/X-wing/E-wing/Adv which all want their Ordnance slot buffed. Note it doesn't really fix the issue with ordnance being an expensive discard if you roll a hand of blanks and can't reroll and it would block munitions failsafe which is the natural couter to that..

Guided Weapons Pod (3pt)

Modification. Small Ship Only.

Once per round, when attacking with a [Missile] or [Torpedo], you may receive 1 stress token to either convert all [Eye] to [Hit], or cancel all attack dice and immediately end your attack without discarding the secondary weapon card.

Fluffwise - this gives stress to the ship to get a hit, or the guidance pod overrides the pilot's choice to fire the weapon. The immediately end attack wording is there to stop Flechette Torpedoes from causing stress but allowing the shooter to keep the weapon which would be OP versus Phantoms. I would be open to having a no stress requirement on this, to stop K-Turning ships from firing with effective PtL, if people think that would be better.

So we've heard loose rumors that something is planned for the TIE Bomber

We have?

Is ordnance over powered in Epic? If not then when you 'fix' them will they become over powered in Epic. Maybe it's the right tool for the job. Maybe ordnance simply works best in Epic.

Don't get me wrong, I play both sides but tend to play Imperial considerably more; so hey I won't complain but! An upgrade (what you call fix) to ordnance or Bombers may affect more things than we realize. I'm okay with some ships being situational. Me, I've never been fond of fixing fixes that didn't need fixing to begin with.

Edited by Ken at Sunrise

P.S. I'm also leery of auto include cards. Refit for the A-Wing and soon the TIE Advanced X1. You can't grab your ship and play. You NEED to be more familiar with the game. Soon everything will have multiple levels in interruptions; multiple actions on everything; the X-Wing will be the fastest most maneuverable ship in the game; every ship you play will have at least 3 or 4 upgrades/modification/title cards. This game won't be for young players but rather deck builders. And people will laugh when they hear that X-Wing is won not by playing well but by knowing the rules better. Kind of like another space Sci-Fi game.

P.P.S. Don't get me wrong, I realize that some ships needed a fix or upgrade but I hope this isn't the new norm for all ships.

Edited by Ken at Sunrise

Lol I suggested this one before.

What rumors are out there? I've not heard anything but wishful thinking.

Personally, I would want ordinance errata'd so it does a fixed amount of damage, if it hits.

This makes it a distinctive weapon system.

As opposed to a really poor replacement for an HLC, that costs a target lock to use.

Oh, and I thought I would add, a 4 point, one shot, one die upgrade that costs a target lock to use. (Looking at you proton torpedoes) I haven't used them since my first game.

Oh, and I thought I would add, a 4 point, one shot, one die upgrade that costs a target lock to use. (Looking at you proton torpedoes) I haven't used them since my first game.

Then you are missing out. They do horrible nasty things to large ships.

Well, don't suggest that X-Wing needs a version 2.0 to fix some game-wide issues and remove those fix upgrades or else people will lose their f-ing minds.

1.) Ban ACD. Half the reason why you don't see ordnance is because you can roll 4-5 dice already on a phantom with a TL and/or focus without having to jump through hoops with ordnance.

2.) Now that the phantom is actually balanced, swarms dominate the meta again.

3.) Make assault missiles 3 points. Other munitions besides for ion pulse and flechettes and procketa get point reductions too. All of a sudden you have a meta where missile boats are actually viable and it would keep swarms in check without being an auto win against them like the current super phantom vs. Swarm matchup.

4.) Introduce some sort of chaff mod so that your pricey unique pilot isn't blown out of the water by an a wing with homing missiles every game

Ban ACD? Maybe. But I'd just as soon ban hyper-mobile turreted ships.

Add a pair of new rule cards (like the Boost, Proximity Mine, etc. cards).

1 - Missiles

When you make an attack with a Missile secondary weapon, the defender's Agility value is capped at 2.

2 - Torpedoes

When you make an attack with a Torpedo secondary weapon, Small ships gain 2 defensive dice, while Larger ships gain 1 defensive die. If the attack hits, any uncanceled Hit or Critical Hit results are doubled.

The missile change make them far better at hitting more evasive targets, which is really the role that missiles should serve. It doesn't do much against larger, slower ships, but then, missiles aren't usually for going after big targets - that's what torpedoes are for.

Speaking of torpedoes, the change in (2) above makes them far less effective against small targets, but it makes them hit like trucks. They'll absolutly trash bit, slow ships, but won't be likely to hit small, nimble ships at all. Huge ships will get stomped by a torpedo run, which is as it should be.

One benefit of doing things this way is that all the card text for all the missile and torpedo secondary weapons can stay as it is now.

1.) Ban ACD. Half the reason why you don't see ordnance is because you can roll 4-5 dice already on a phantom with a TL and/or focus without having to jump through hoops with ordnance.

2.) Now that the phantom is actually balanced, swarms dominate the meta again.

3.) Make assault missiles 3 points. Other munitions besides for ion pulse and flechettes and procketa get point reductions too. All of a sudden you have a meta where missile boats are actually viable and it would keep swarms in check without being an auto win against them like the current super phantom vs. Swarm matchup.

4.) Introduce some sort of chaff mod so that your pricey unique pilot isn't blown out of the water by an a wing with homing missiles every game

According to Hothie swarms can beat Phantoms

http://teamcovenant.com/hothie/2014/10/05/the-death-blossom/

It's all in how you play.

There are two simple fixes that I think would make the game a much more interesting place

It involves removing two upgrade cards from the game and instead incorporating them into the core rules

1.) the out of arc portion of Auto-thrusters, no boost restriction

2.) DEADEYE

Add a pair of new rule cards (like the Boost, Proximity Mine, etc. cards).

[...]

2 - Torpedoes

When you make an attack with a Torpedo secondary weapon, Small ships gain 2 defensive dice, while Larger ships gain 1 defensive die. If the attack hits, any uncanceled Hit or Critical Hit results are doubled.

The missile change make them far better at hitting more evasive targets, which is really the role that missiles should serve. It doesn't do much against larger, slower ships, but then, missiles aren't usually for going after big targets - that's what torpedoes are for.

Speaking of torpedoes, the change in (2) above makes them far less effective against small targets, but it makes them hit like trucks. They'll absolutly trash bit, slow ships, but won't be likely to hit small, nimble ships at all. Huge ships will get stomped by a torpedo run, which is as it should be.

One benefit of doing things this way is that all the card text for all the missile and torpedo secondary weapons can stay as it is now.

Wouldn't that mean a single hit from a Proton torpedo (advanced would be worse) could destroy/one shot a large ship and possible destroy a section on an Epic/Huge? Wouldn't that be a bit over powered. Just think of an Epic flight of four bombers. You only need one bomber to actually take out the Epic ship.

Add a pair of new rule cards (like the Boost, Proximity Mine, etc. cards).

[...]

2 - Torpedoes

When you make an attack with a Torpedo secondary weapon, Small ships gain 2 defensive dice, while Larger ships gain 1 defensive die. If the attack hits, any uncanceled Hit or Critical Hit results are doubled.

The missile change make them far better at hitting more evasive targets, which is really the role that missiles should serve. It doesn't do much against larger, slower ships, but then, missiles aren't usually for going after big targets - that's what torpedoes are for.

Speaking of torpedoes, the change in (2) above makes them far less effective against small targets, but it makes them hit like trucks. They'll absolutly trash bit, slow ships, but won't be likely to hit small, nimble ships at all. Huge ships will get stomped by a torpedo run, which is as it should be.

One benefit of doing things this way is that all the card text for all the missile and torpedo secondary weapons can stay as it is now.

Wouldn't that mean a single hit from a Proton torpedo (advanced would be worse) could destroy/one shot a large ship and possible destroy a section on an Epic/Huge? Wouldn't that be a bit over powered. Just think of an Epic flight of four bombers. You only need one bomber to actually take out the Epic ship.

It makes taking out those bombers a huge deal.

Running a Decimator? Gotta kill the ordnance carrier.

Running a Fat Han? Gotta kill the guy with the Torpedo before he gets that shot off.

Suddenly, ordnance becomes worth the many sacrifices you make - squad points, action economy, loss of the weapon after you fire it, etc. It also gives Interceptors their proper role back. You bring them to murder the bombers before they in turn can kill the big targets.

Ban ACD? Maybe. But I'd just as soon ban hyper-mobile turreted ships.

I think we just need a bonus for shooting from the front arc, just a thought, I don't claim to be a meta thinker or anything.

Add a pair of new rule cards (like the Boost, Proximity Mine, etc. cards).

1 - Missiles

When you make an attack with a Missile secondary weapon, the defender's Agility value is capped at 2.

2 - Torpedoes

When you make an attack with a Torpedo secondary weapon, Small ships gain 2 defensive dice, while Larger ships gain 1 defensive die. If the attack hits, any uncanceled Hit or Critical Hit results are doubled.

The missile change make them far better at hitting more evasive targets, which is really the role that missiles should serve. It doesn't do much against larger, slower ships, but then, missiles aren't usually for going after big targets - that's what torpedoes are for.

Speaking of torpedoes, the change in (2) above makes them far less effective against small targets, but it makes them hit like trucks. They'll absolutly trash bit, slow ships, but won't be likely to hit small, nimble ships at all. Huge ships will get stomped by a torpedo run, which is as it should be.

One benefit of doing things this way is that all the card text for all the missile and torpedo secondary weapons can stay as it is now.

I'm curious, where do you get this information that missiles were made for the small targets and torpedoes for the big ones?

From all the movie, the only time I remember that an ordnance have been shot at something else than a Death Star, is Jango launching a Homing Missile vs Obi-Wan in the Asteroid field, and it actually miss.

And that missile has been made for the fighters, that's why it cancel the target evade token and you keep your TL so you can modify your roll.

Under the right circumstances, any ordnance can be deadly, so I don't think boosting the damage they do would help, it would even make it even more a game of dice. With your idea, just 2 Proton Torpedo could be enough to destroy a 60+point ship in one turn... that doesn't sound right to me.

The only thing going against them is that they are unreliable for their cost. Quite frankly, the only thing I would change about them is making them reusable. When you use an ordnance, you place the card facedown, with an action you can put the card back face-up. Simple and effective.

Torpedoes should be a major threat to epic ships that's after all their whole point giving fighters a way to take on cap ships.

Conversely they are poor against fighters because they turn slower and are not that fast.

Missiles should receive a bonus against fighters at close range same as cannons do, torpedoes should lose an attack dice against fighters but get a bonus against epic ships.

Needing a TL to fire is fine but you should not lose it, the whole reason ordnance sucks is because it's an unmodified roll unless your putting two turns into setting up the attack which is easier said than done.

I'm curious, where do you get this information that missiles were made for the small targets and torpedoes for the big ones?

That idea might come from the PC games. Missiles are faster and harder to dodge; torpedoes are slower and do more damage. Therefore, missiles are better on small targets and torpedoes are better on large targets. Personally, I think the abilities on missiles and torpedoes already lend themselves to this idea, but perhaps not as much as they should.