Question. Imperials are known for being both the monolithic and innumerable force, utilizing more, bigger ships than the Rebels. Rebels, on the other hand, are known for being the smaller, quick reaction force. True to fluff, I feel like you'd sooner see Imperial fleets/task groups featuring a few large ships and a bajillion fighters. Rebel fleets I can see with more small-medium ships. That seems to create the odd scenario where Rebel fleets will outnumber Imperials by numbers alone.

So if I'm going 1:1 for MC/ISDs, at what ratio should the other ships be? I imagine the CR90s would outnumber the Raiders since they're ubiquitous and the Raiders seem like they went to the squaeky new Imperial task groups.

ANy idea on the ratio in-universe for Gladiators, Vics, Neb-Bs, and MC Frigates?

Oh, especially with the Rebels having the Assault Frigate Mk II, they oddly outnumber Imperial ships. Weird.

LoL. This game obviously doesn't show the real balance of the Imperial Fleet to the Rebel Fleet. But just for fun.

You do have to take into account the Rebels never attack where the Empire is strong and mostly avoids the Imperial Fleet. In fact most f the Rebel activity is in the Outer Rim where the Imperial presence is the weakest. It is not like the Clone Wars where the Seperatists had a fleet that matched the Republic. Is this what you are talking about?

I think the idea is that while the Empire had more ships galaxy wide, the Rebellion had fewer, typically smaller ships. They simply didn't have the crews and resource to maintain many ships of the line. So when there were fleet engagements, Rebel cells would come together to face the much larger and individually more dangerous Imperial ships.

I think the idea is that while the Empire had more ships galaxy wide, the Rebellion had fewer, typically smaller ships. They simply didn't have the crews and resource to maintain many ships of the line. So when there were fleet engagements, Rebel cells would come together to face the much larger and individually more dangerous Imperial ships.

The Rebels relied on being unseen and a large ship is hard to hide for long. In fact at the end of the Empire Strikes Back we see a fleet gathered with some larger ships but if you will notice they are out past the Outer Rim in deep space, the only real place to gather in real numbers, that or in the Wild Space. In fact Endor was on the very edge of the Empire in the Wild Space on the South Westener edge of the Empire, so getting the Rebel Fleet there would have been a much easier task than to say attack a station in the Core.

I understand that. It's just funny because Armada by definition will see capital ship combat as the norm and yet the Rebels will outnumber the Imps.

With that being the case, I guess it just makes me curious. How common were these secondary ships we don't see in the OT? Vics, Gladiators, MC Frigates, Assault Frigate MkII?

Well.... Going off the US navy during WWII as a guide. The Navy had about 20 battleships, 4 or 5 times that in cruisers (both heavy and light) and hundreds of destroyers, escorts and smaller ships. Im not going to try to count various types of carriers. There were doezens, at least.

Now, extrapolating that out for the Imperial fleet. I read somewhere in the old cannon there were 40,000 ISDs. Say 5 times that for various cruiser types (Victories, Gladiators, etc) gives you 200,000 of that type. Escorts would number several times that, perhaps upwards of 300,000. This doesnt include support ships like tugs, cargo etc. I know these numbers sound wild, but when you consider the Empire is supposed to be "a thousand thousand worlds" it averages out to .54 of a ship per world. Now, of course they would be grouped into fleets, undergoing refit or repair, training excersizes, patrol duties and actively engaging pirates, rebels and exploration and expansion efforts.

In the end, my guess-timate might be on the low side.

I understand that. It's just funny because Armada by definition will see capital ship combat as the norm and yet the Rebels will outnumber the Imps.

With that being the case, I guess it just makes me curious. How common were these secondary ships we don't see in the OT? Vics, Gladiators, MC Frigates, Assault Frigate MkII?

Well.... Going off the US navy during WWII as a guide. The Navy had about 20 battleships, 4 or 5 times that in cruisers (both heavy and light) and hundreds of destroyers, escorts and smaller ships. Im not going to try to count various types of carriers. There were doezens, at least.

Now, extrapolating that out for the Imperial fleet. I read somewhere in the old cannon there were 40,000 ISDs. Say 5 times that for various cruiser types (Victories, Gladiators, etc) gives you 200,000 of that type. Escorts would number several times that, perhaps upwards of 300,000. This doesnt include support ships like tugs, cargo etc. I know these numbers sound wild, but when you consider the Empire is supposed to be "a thousand thousand worlds" it averages out to .54 of a ship per world. Now, of course they would be grouped into fleets, undergoing refit or repair, training excersizes, patrol duties and actively engaging pirates, rebels and exploration and expansion efforts.

In the end, my guess-timate might be on the low side.

Actually the Empire is made up of millions of known worlds, not thousands. Most of those worlds are not heavily populated but you get the idea. More worlds to control than Star Destroyers. Luckly the local governors had stationed bases and troops to protect the Empire's assets, they didn't rely on SD presence.

"A thousand thousand worlds" was a quote from one of the movies or maybe one of the early EU books. It was a poetic way to say a million.

1,000 x 1,000 = 1,000,000. Although it was always unclear if that refered to all the worlds, or just the inhabited ones.

Now, if the Empire was composed of more than 1,000,000 inhabited worlds that would make my estimate even lower than the true potentail size of a galactic navy. Even if many systems were left undefended by ships, there would still be a major deficit of naval forces.

That works out great for the Rebel Alliance. Lots of empty space and systems to maintain thier own ships and support network.

Ah, sorry about that. I get it now.

I know they will be putting out new books, like a lot, covering the Star Wars universe before the movies, maybe they will revisit that topic in them. But yes, a Galaxy is Huge and would be impossible to control the whole thing, that's why you focus on strategic points.

But yes, I agree where you are going with this.