the easiest solution: bumping

an interceptor that bumps turns into a tie fighter at double or triple the cost

this is something you cannot do against phantoms (or miss target-lock, re-cloak, focus, specifically) so you should take full advantage of it

Why has no-one suggested Fat Han yet?

I mean, how about a Decivader? Or Oicunn. Or i dunno. Fly better?

Why has no-one suggested Fat Han yet?

Because we want his friend to get better not worse.

Besides at best han would get one hit through against autoceptors and thats if the imp player rolls all blanks.

Why has no-one suggested Fat Han yet?

Because we want his friend to get better not worse.

There was an interesting article on here a while back about people who deemed certain gameplay choices as lacking in skill in relation to their own preconceived ideas about what constitutes skillful play:

http://www.sirlin.net/articles/playing-to-win

Edit: found the article.

Why has no-one suggested Fat Han yet?

Because we want his friend to get better not worse.

There was an interesting article on here a while back about people who deemed certain gameplay choices as lacking in skill in relation to their own preconceived ideas about what constitutes skillful play:

http://www.sirlin.net/articles/playing-to-win

Edit: found the article.

I'm with the scrubs. I play to have fun: trying to win is a means to that end, but not the only means.

Why has no-one suggested Fat Han yet?

Because we want his friend to get better not worse.

Besides at best han would get one hit through against autoceptors and thats if the imp player rolls all blanks.

Well, Han can always try to get the Interceptor in arc to cancel Autothrusters. Then there is gunner that gives a second chance. Maybe the Interceptor burned a token or two during the first attack. And one hit is still a third of the health of an Interceptor.

Autothrusters force the turret player to try and get a line of sight, so his friend would actually get better by taking a turret against them.

Why has no-one suggested Fat Han yet?

Because we want his friend to get better not worse.

There was an interesting article on here a while back about people who deemed certain gameplay choices as lacking in skill in relation to their own preconceived ideas about what constitutes skillful play:

http://www.sirlin.net/articles/playing-to-win

Edit: found the article.

I always found that article LOL. It basically says " You should try to win by any means necessary, except for trying to table talk your opponent out of using a strategy that is working for them, that is off limits." I am amazed at the authors blinders in that area.

He also does not seem to get there is possible to say that X is bad for the game and be right about it.

STRESS THEM !!!

He had Scum Bobba with HLC and two cheapy StarThrusters, can't remember what else. Personally I'm not convinced Autothrusters is the best mod for a Star Viper.

HLC and Boba Fett is antisynergy right there. Black Sun Enforcer doesn't stand much of a chance against the TIE interceptor.

I wouldn't agree completely. You can use Boba's ability to get rerolls and shoot a target outside range 1. Perhaps the enemy in range 1 is touching bases, is out of arc, or trying to make Boba switch targets. I think that the HLC could be a defensible upgrade given that Boba in practice is not super great fighting other big ships 1 on 1 without a bit of an offensive bonus that can work outside range 1, but an argument could be made in favor of another pilot if PS 8/10 is not that desirable in your firespray.

Why has no-one suggested Fat Han yet?

Because we want his friend to get better not worse.

There was an interesting article on here a while back about people who deemed certain gameplay choices as lacking in skill in relation to their own preconceived ideas about what constitutes skillful play:

http://www.sirlin.net/articles/playing-to-win

Edit: found the article.

I always found that article LOL. It basically says " You should try to win by any means necessary, except for trying to table talk your opponent out of using a strategy that is working for them, that is off limits." I am amazed at the authors blinders in that area.

He also does not seem to get there is possible to say that X is bad for the game and be right about it.

He didn't say you can't try to do that, he's saying it's a poor strategy that is very unlikely to work because your opponent has no incentive to not use their best strategy against you unless you try to cheat by bribing or coercing them to not use it. In fact he specifically addresses mind games and table talk as being permissible but not worth the effort and less useful than just being good at the game.

He had Scum Bobba with HLC and two cheapy StarThrusters, can't remember what else. Personally I'm not convinced Autothrusters is the best mod for a Star Viper.

HLC and Boba Fett is antisynergy right there. Black Sun Enforcer doesn't stand much of a chance against the TIE interceptor.

I wouldn't agree completely. You can use Boba's ability to get rerolls and shoot a target outside range 1. Perhaps the enemy in range 1 is touching bases, is out of arc, or trying to make Boba switch targets. I think that the HLC could be a defensible upgrade given that Boba in practice is not super great fighting other big ships 1 on 1 without a bit of an offensive bonus that can work outside range 1, but an argument could be made in favor of another pilot if PS 8/10 is not that desirable in your firespray.

The problem with HLC is that so many people seem to regard it as a fantastically efficient upgrade, but it's not. It can be effective, but that's different and it's heavily dependent on context.

To put it another way, adding that extra die costs 7 points. But in any faction now, you can add another ship for 12 points; overall that extra shot will be just about as effective as the extra die on your first shot would be, and it also extends your durability and gives you additional chances to block.

If you need something to punch holes in targets you can't reliably damage with your primary, then go ahead with the HLC--it's a good choice. But adding an HLC just because it's cool to have a big gun doesn't really cut it...

...and it especially doesn't cut it on a Firespray. You can usually manage 1 HLC shot on the approach to the merge, but after that it's a toss-up. One of the ship's major drawbacks is the lack of repositioning attached to a Large base, because that leaves you overrunning your targets pretty quickly. Think about the Rule of 11: a Firespray's slowest approach speed is 3 base lengths, so you're certain to be in attack range on Round 2, but on Round 3 it's very possible to have no legal move that allows you to use your HLC.

Accordingly, in my experience Firesprays tend to take about 60% of their shots from the rear arc. If you have an Engine Upgrade you can typically do a bit better, but EU creates a different set of problems for HLCs.

***

It's not a black-and-white argument, but it really takes a lot of work to make an HLC worth its points on a Firespray. And on a Firespray that really likes to close anyway, why not take (for instance) K4 + Engine Upgrade for the same price?

have to throw myself behind Vorpal in this case, especially after flying super scum Kath (jesus that ability is relevant, almost every shot after the initial exchange comes out a die stronger)

I've flown HLC boba (imperial) to very poor effect in the past mostly because the upgrade did not really come into play. The rear arc is a huge advantage for the Firespray, and something that can easily be overlooked (until you start seeing stressed Aggressor try to draw arcs on you, anyway).

Without specific synergies (mangler imp kath, cannon krassis) I wouldn't recommend it

The best advice I would give anyone for how to beat [insert any ship type here] is play a list with that ship type. Nothing teaches you a ships weakness better than playing that ship. When you are playing against some ships/combos they can seem totally unbeatable. But when you play those ships/combos yourself you really feel how weak they really are. Invariably you will find yourself silently hoping your opponent will not do certain things. Those are the very things you need to do to beat that ship type.

The best advice I would give anyone for how to beat [insert any ship type here] is play a list with that ship type. Nothing teaches you a ships weakness better than playing that ship. When you are playing against some ships/combos they can seem totally unbeatable. But when you play those ships/combos yourself you really feel how weak they really are. Invariably you will find yourself silently hoping your opponent will not do certain things. Those are the very things you need to do to beat that ship type.

Bang on.