Ok so I ran the beginner box and I knew it would be scaled enough for PCs to own the adventure. I think through out I did 9 damage to a PC until the space combat. They owned every single encounter. They ran from the troopers and with a very smart triumph usage escape the the troopers. They talked the space port commander to death and pretty much skewered Trex...literally the marauder skewered him. The ship battle had them hurtin' as they went to 0 health and crit'd but repaired up due to beginner box adventure allows hull repairs and strain repairs.

Now the point: how does one formulate; if possible -- trash mobs for the group. I had talked with another about this but I'd love to hear other opinions. There are 4 in my group I GM and I don't want to underwhelm them into boredom with mobs that just die in a round.

4 players

One minion per player plus 2

Two rivals and 2 minions

One nemesis 3 minions

Something like that?

You really need to consider the make of your PCs - 4 combat dedicated PCs can easily deal with a group of minions per head, but what if there is a pilot with minimal ground combat skills? Or better - a 'face' character, or a 'mechanic'? Also equipment is important - a rival with a heavy rifle set on autofire can, with a good roll, eliminate a player in one round.

I'm afraid for the first couple of session you'll need to go through trial and error - but don't over do it! Or you'll wipe out the entire party only because you put a rival too many. If combat is not the main focus of your scenarios, usually for a starting party a group of 4 minions is enough to have some fun shooting. Throw in a rival and the PCs will have to work to win.

Another piece of advice - the FFG's scenarios usually are nicely balanced for starting parties, so have a look at them to see the composition of opposition

There was literally a couple posts here already and they seem to have been deleted or eaten...

There was literally a couple posts here already and they seem to have been deleted or eaten...

Check your other thread.

During your trial-and-error, if they are having a too easy time, just have another minion group come in as backup. If you over estimated your PCs and they are really hurting, start being more generous with triumph and advantage. Use them to cut off some NPCs for a few rounds.