A tractor beam wouldn't be horrid, heck, adding a new element to the game would be nice. I like the idea of using it to move your allies, not your opponent's ships. I also like the idea if it affecting agility dice. It would have to be an on hit affect, I would think, just like Ion weapons and Flechettes are. I mean, there has to be a chance that you shoot poorly and your opponent can completely dodge it with graceful flying. At the least it should require an arc on the opposing ship.

Things that are game breaking

Forcing a ship to maneuver on the turn it is hit. Way to many scenarios where this could really screw stuff up one that comes to mind. Im going to push you into a rock (now you can't shoot and take damage) and into the arc of a ship you had arc dodged(now i can shoot you with 2 ships. Just seems a bit OP

Agree with this

Lowering green dice- Depending on the number of dice lowered you could pretty much see Ints, a-wings, Phantoms, zs, and any other high evade low hull ships vanish from play. That is not only bad for the game but bad for business.

Disagree, if the tractor beam were limited to the reduction of 1 green die and required spending either a Target Lock (my preference) or Focus to activate. One green won't break Interceptors and there are existing ways in the game to break Target Locks, so there are built in counters. What this would do would be to provide a great counter to C3P0 and provide a way to affect Fan Han's armor.

Takes up a cannon slot (i think most of us are sold on that being where it should go)

Concur

1-After you reveal a bank maneuver if there is a ship or obstacle within range one of your ship you may treat your maneuver as a white hard turn of the same speed and bearing.

I'd be OK with this.

2- At the start of the combat phase assign a tractor beam token to a ship inside your firing arc. You may spend this token to change 1 blank attack die to a hit or turn one of your opponents focus results to a blank(these dice can't be modified further).

OK effect, but I wouldn't create a new token mechanic. Use Target Lock or Focus and require the token to be spent. Why? First, it prevents powerful combos by stacking use of F or TL with a "tractor beam" token. Second, as mentioned above, it doesn't require inserting more counters into the game -- there are existing mechanics that serve as potential counters if you use the existing token mechanics (e.g. Expert Handling to break Target Locks).

1-Mod- Shroud- your ship can not be assigned tractor beam tokens.

2- EPT- Can't think of a name- On the turn you are assigned a tractor beam token you may fire a torpedo or missile at that ship ignoring said weapons range restrictions. This attack hits even if no damage is done and the defender flips their tractor beam card face down.

Unnecessary if the approach I suggest is taken.

Would not prefer modifiying dice at all, but there are some good ideas here concerning implementation in maneuvering (especially with obstacles)

That is also nice fact and could be implemented some way:

didn't the tie avenger and defender both have the option of using tractor beams. and one of the pilots would use it to steer missiles/torps with it? i think it was Maarek stele?? also was used to increase maneuverability of a ship by grabbing hold of nearby objects and using them to maintain a tighter turning circle etc.

Here fore example: "After maneuvering, when you are in range 1 of an obstacle (asteroid), perform a free boost or barrel roll action."

This would make it harder to end up in front of an asteroid when you can barrel roll away and would make sense

Although due to strategic reasons and game depth I would still prefer to drag a friendly ship

Hence my idea below: It could give you a stress, but you could go straight to pull away from it.

Cannon:

Tractor Beam

2 pts

Range 1-2. Attack 1 ship (Target must be Small or Large base size). Primary Arcs Only. 3 Attack. After rolling, if the enemy is hit, it receives 1 damage and ignores all other results. During the next activation phase any Banks, Turns or K-turns counts as Red.

Simple and effective. Limiting but still cool.

It's like the Flechette, but slightly different hence the cost.

I mostly like it. I have 2 issues with it, though.

1) Why is a tractor beam dealing damage? That seems thematically off to me. I think beam weapons should exchange damage for better positioning. In other words, they don't deal damage, but the benefit you get from limiting your opponent's maneuvers and getting better positioning makes it worth giving up an attack with one ship.

2) How will you remember who got beamed each round? I think you would need some kind of token to remind players that a particular ship has been caught in a tractor beam. In a two-ship squad, it may not be so bad. But in a 7- or 8-TIE swarm, you're gonna want something to keep track of beamed targets.

Just because it was part of an old video game, doesn't mean it needs to be part of XWM. For the EU ships that come from such games, lets just say that they have been... re-imagined... by FFG (ex.did Defenders ever mount a cannon other than Ion Cannons? Not that I recall, no HLCs then).

Let's face it, as good as those games were, there was some really "iffy" stuff in them, some of it having to do with tractor beams.

If tractor beams are going to be introduced, they will most likely be...

a. simple rules

b. very limited

c. 2 types: Capital (can actually "hold/pull" objects") and Small Ships (make small targets easier to hit by reducing their agility)

d. probably implemented as a System upgrade or as Title cards, limited to specific ship types (but this runs into a problem for future ships)

e. two ships tethered together by Tractor beams should probably affect both ships negatively (reduce BOTH ships Agility or be considered an Action)

f. would probably cause Stress

Really not a big fan of TB actually moving an opponent's ship, partly because this introduces a new mechanic to the game... and not a very good one at that. Perhaps this could be part of scenario specific rules. Perhaps, being able to re-set or otherwise influence an opponents dial (like selecting a speed or maneuver).

Yes, rules should be simply, but simultaneously allowing strategic implementations. We all know millions of cards manipulating dices in every way. Repeating that would be boring, should be something special (ideally independent from combat phase)

The only use for a Tractor beam in this game, would be in some sort of specific scenario. Not for general dogfighting gameplay.

i disagree. As long as its ability is not game breaking it would be fine.

Things that are game breaking

Forcing a ship to maneuver on the turn it is hit. Way to many scenarios where this could really screw stuff up one that comes to mind. Im going to push you into a rock (now you can't shoot and take damage) and into the arc of a ship you had arc dodged(now i can shoot you with 2 ships. Just seems a bit OP

Lowering green dice- Depending on the number of dice lowered you could pretty much see Ints, a-wings, Phantoms, zs, and any other high evade low hull ships vanish from play. That is not only bad for the game but bad for business.

After some thought and some light reading I have thought of a few things that could be use full for the Tractor beam.

Takes up a cannon slot (i think most of us are sold on that being where it should go)

1-After you reveal a bank maneuver if there is a ship or obstacle within range one of your ship you may treat your maneuver as a white hard turn of the same speed and bearing.

2- At the start of the combat phase assign a tractor beam token to a ship inside your firing arc. You may spend this token to change 1 blank attack die to a hit or turn one of your opponents focus results to a blank(these dice can't be modified further).

As well their should be counters that can be taken.

1-Mod- Shroud- your ship can not be assigned tractor beam tokens.

2- EPT- Can't think of a name- On the turn you are assigned a tractor beam token you may fire a torpedo or missile at that ship ignoring said weapons range restrictions. This attack hits even if no damage is done and the defender flips their tractor beam card face down.

So what do you guys think?

Firstly, I like where you are going with your line of thinking. That said, I don't think you are there yet. Specifically...

I don't think it should be a Cannon slot, I think it should be a System card or Title, restricting it to certain ships. The problem is how to limit it to those ships which "historically" should have it without restricting the ability of future additions to the game not getting it.

1-After you reveal a bank maneuver if there is a ship or obstacle within range one of your ship you may treat your maneuver as a white hard turn of the same speed and bearing.

Not a big fan of this as written. I always though that this was one of the "hokier" aspects of the computer games and don't really feel the need to reproduce it in XWM.

2- At the start of the combat phase assign a tractor beam token to a ship inside your firing arc. You may spend this token to change 1 blank attack die to a hit or turn one of your opponents focus results to a blank(these dice can't be modified further).

Again, I think it would be easier to do something like reduce the target Agility or force them to re-roll 1 or more Green dice.

1-Mod- Shroud- your ship can not be assigned tractor beam tokens.

Don't know what you are trying to say here; is "Mod Shroud" a typo or is it a "real" thing from the video games? Either way... not a fan.

2- EPT- Can't think of a name- On the turn you are assigned a tractor beam token you may fire a torpedo or missile at that ship ignoring said weapons range restrictions. This attack hits even if no damage is done and the defender flips their tractor beam card face down.

I think I get what you are trying to say here... The modern term would be something like "Wild Weasel", which is Air Force slang for air defense suppression missions, and frequently includes missiles that home in on the defending SAM radar, so... in essence... you get to fire back at whoever is declaring you as a target. Interesting possibility, if that is what you meant.

Keep working on it, you have some good ideas. Whatever FFG does will most likely be both subtle and simple and completely surprise most of (and disappoint a few) us. It won't be "just like in the video game" as both design teams will put their creative spin on things to make them a better fit for their respective games.

Two things.

It's does 1 damage to make it worth while in the game. Ion's never did any damage according to the fluff. They shut down all systems and leave the ship undamaged. In the game they do 1 damage.

It's a cannon so Tie Defenders can take it, which according to the Fluff, they were the first small ship to use it. If you make it a system upgrade, now Phantoms and others ships can have it which shouldn't. Plus the main ships that should have it won't.

Would not prefer modifiying dice at all, but there are some good ideas here concerning implementation in maneuvering (especially with obstacles)

That is also nice fact and could be implemented some way:

didn't the tie avenger and defender both have the option of using tractor beams. and one of the pilots would use it to steer missiles/torps with it? i think it was Maarek stele?? also was used to increase maneuverability of a ship by grabbing hold of nearby objects and using them to maintain a tighter turning circle etc.

Here fore example: "After maneuvering, when you are in range 1 of an obstacle (asteroid), perform a free boost or barrel roll action."

This would make it harder to end up in front of an asteroid when you can barrel roll away and would make sense

Although due to strategic reasons and game depth I would still prefer to drag a friendly ship

Tractor Beam. Cannon. 5 squad points. After executing a maneuver, if you end at Range 1 of another ship or an obstacle, you may perform a free boost or barrel roll action.

I still prefer using the Tractor Beam to make targets easier to hit, but this could work.

Maybe also the other way round and to follow an enemy ship after it has moved (when in range 1, use same maneuver (then maybe 1 stress))

See i do not think reducing the agility of the target ship is a good idea. Their is already an EPT that does that and i think the ability to turn most ships into a less resilient VT-49 with that combination is a bad plan. As well while using a target lock would be a simpler mechanic to put into effect i really think that if your going to put something in the game like a Tractor beam it ether needs to have its own token or be written in such a way that one is not needed at all for its effect. I am also a fan of using it for maneuverability but i can see where some would not like it as it would make things much harder to predict. As well doing so in the way i stated above would make B and Y wings much more maneuverable by eliminating some of their red and giving them another hard turn same goes for the Defender and lets not think about what it would do for an aggressors unpredictability. (so yea as i wright this lets scratch what i suggested earlier.) When it comes to combat their are any number of things you could do for a Tractor beam.

1-When firing at a ship you have target locked and in side your firing arc consider it one range closer.

2- When firing at a ship you have target locked and in side your firing arc that ship must re-roll one evade result.

3- A ship you have target locked and in side your firing arc cannot use evade or focus tokens for defense rolls this round.

4-When firing at a ship you have target locked and in side your firing arc you may change one crit to a hit and one blank to a hit.

I think those are my best 4 ideas that are short and fairly simple.

:

Here fore example: "After maneuvering, when you are in range 1 of an obstacle (asteroid), perform a free boost or barrel roll action."

This would make it harder to end up in front of an asteroid when you can barrel roll away and would make sense

Although due to strategic reasons and game depth I would still prefer to drag a friendly ship

Tractor Beam. Cannon. 5 squad points. After executing a maneuver, if you end at Range 1 of another ship or an obstacle, you may perform a free boost or barrel roll action.

I still prefer using the Tractor Beam to make targets easier to hit, but this could work.

IG-88C with tractor beam, Push the limit and Fire control system.

Move into range one barrel roll then boost get free evade push for a focus and shoot you with 4 dice and then get a target lock. And this just get worse if you throw a second cannon on him with IG-88B as your back up. In short this would end badly.