I am a new player with just a few matches under my belt (that ended up being decided mostly by luck rather than skills due to my current inexperience).

I have noticed that most of my games last longer than an hour, sometimes two. This is a pretty big obstacle since me and the people I play with don't have that much time to spare, so I was looking to find the best solutions to speed up gameplay. What would your advice be?

Use mostly offensive upgrades to increase firepower? Or not use upgrades at all?

Play with more ships to increase attack chances during combat phase or less, so there's fewer ships to destroy?

Do more team points equal longer gaming sessions?

I am baffled by some competitive matches taking only 45 minutes. How does THAT happen?

Even on the homepage of the game it says it takes 30-45 minutes...

Competative matches have the benefit of players expediting, so a single round's main time-sink is thinking. Moreover, they're well practiced at that, so even that doesn't take very long.

How to make games last less than an hour: Play with fewer points!

30-45 minutes is fine for the starter box worth of points, competitive matches are between 60 and 90 minutes for 100 points.

Play with 30 or 60 points until you get more familiar with ship dials and the rules, speed comes with familiarity!

My tips to speed up gameplay:

• Players create their lists prior to the session
• Players put their list into an online editor such as http://xwing-builder.co.uk and print their list, not bothering with the actual cards (finding all those upgrade cards can be time consuming)
• Players set their dials in order of lowest to highest pilot skill, to minimise time spent adjusting dials once set
• (Optional) Once a dial is set and placed face-down, it can no longer be changed or looked at
• When a player moves, the other player stands ready to help them with the template or moving other ships (using the 1 straight template as a marker)
• Don't allow mistakes - if a player forgets a action, then he wastes it. If a player is about to fly through an asteroid then he rolls for damage, don't let him change the dial
• Set a time limit, whoever has the most points left on the board wins

I am a new player with just a few matches under my belt (that ended up being decided mostly by luck rather than skills due to my current inexperience).

I have noticed that most of my games last longer than an hour, sometimes two. This is a pretty big obstacle since me and the people I play with don't have that much time to spare, so I was looking to find the best solutions to speed up gameplay. What would your advice be?

Use mostly offensive upgrades to increase firepower? Or not use upgrades at all?

Play with more ships to increase attack chances during combat phase or less, so there's fewer ships to destroy?

Do more team points equal longer gaming sessions?

I am baffled by some competitive matches taking only 45 minutes. How does THAT happen?

Even on the homepage of the game it says it takes 30-45 minutes...

More ships and different ships, especially for newer players, increases game time. So, lowering the point limit is a good way to start and using ships that you are familiar with will also help. Incorporate new ships one at a time and avoid running lists with multiple ships you haven't flown before.

Other than that, just call a game "over" at 60 or 75 minutes, whatever makes the most sense for the time you have.

A chess clock could help. Every player is allowed 45 minutes. If you run out of time, you will have one minute per turn, or two. The clock is your friend...or your worst enemy

A chess clock for this game is not the answer.

Just get comfortable with lower points.

My friends usually cap it at a certain time and see how far we get. Add up points destroyed to see who won after time expires. Sometimes it's fun to play a 30 minute match with a smaller board

Agree with the list vs actual cards thing - a good chunk of your time might just be getting the play area ready - a printout with everything you need can reduce that greatly