I see a lot of negativity about balance on the forums - as a new player (recently purchased Slave 1, Most Wanted, Falcon, Star Viper, Imperial Aces and a single core set) what is the "state of the game?"

Units and builds to watch out for?

Units that are currently considered generally under-powered?

Builds that are considered top tier?

why do x-wing apparently suck?

Thanks in advance for the pro-tips!

Bwings, twin aggressors, a turret with an escort.

Xwing, defender, ewing

The things in question 1

Bwings only cost 1 more

You're welcome

Welcome to the game and forum!

The forum is always negativity and hyperbole. Don't take anything you read too seriously. Game's doing fine.

"Units and builds to watch out for?"

Anything not listed in the next question.

"Units that are currently considered generally under-powered?"

People will tell you TIE defender, E-wing and StarViper, but it's not by much. The only truly useless ship was the TIE advanced, and that's being fixed in the Imperial Raider expansion.

"Builds that are considered top tier?"

It's a well balanced game, so "top tier" doesn't mean much, just about anything well put together can succeed if played well. What gets played a lot is the Fat Falcon type (which is a turret ship kitted out for maximum durability) and Rebel Swarms are making a comeback. Dual IG-88 is also fairly common. That being said, really wild things enter tournaments and win with a good player at the helm, so don't feel you've got to stick to the crowd mentality to succeed. Someone won with six A-wings a couple of months back, and there was a list at Worlds based on TIE bombers with Proximity Mines.

TIE phantom used to be the borderline broken ship, but they changed its decloak rules to decloak before the Activation Phase, which made it much more interesting and fun to fly with and against, but also far, far less forgiving. It ceased to be a crutch.

"why do x-wing apparently suck?"

They don't, but they're quite easy to kill and the more basic ones don't have any tricks to make up for it, plus the B-wing is sitting in its niche and doing a better of job. Given it's the titular ship of the game people want it to be one of the best.

You will have a hard time making 100 point lists with those ships, good buys though lots of funt o be had. Get one more core for the ties the x and the dice. Then buy fun things, at least 1 y-wing pack.

Meta is in a bit of flux as we digest all that the scum have added to the game. Lots of things work from a few big fat ships to many smaller ones. How you fly is generally more important than what you fly.

At this exact moment the Tie Advanced is severely overcosted. When the imperial raider comes out that will change. Xwings are good, solid ships but their lack of reposition ability forces them to joust, fly straight at enemy and k-turn as they pass. They have some of the best pilots and when you add astromechs they can be very good. However other ships are more consistant. The xwing can outlast a b-wing if the dice are hot. The B wing is more consistently survivable, and consistant performance is a key of highly competitive play.

The game is very well balanced, most of the talk focuses on small differences in what you get for the points you spend.

from a veteran, with all my heart, welcome to hell

1.

Don't watch for any builds. If you're new, play what you're interested in and have fun!

2.

If you want to avoid UP units, Tie Advance (sans fix), the X-wing, Scyk, A-wing (outside of Rebel Aces). Defenders are fun, but can be janky. E-wings and Starvipers kind of suck outside of characters

The characters are boss, though

general stand-bys are Tie Fighters, Head hunters, and B-wings. They're very reliable.

As for X-wings, yeah nigel got it in that B-wings are 1 point more

Thing is, X-wings are very stiff units that aren't powerful enough to stand up to straight exchanges of dice, so they're kind of just wafting around there.

The core set X-wing pilots are pretty good, though. Luke's ability drastically improves the x-wing's survivability and Bigg's ability is almost THE most annoying in the game.

here is a great place to start for new players

https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/131310-new-player-quick-start-list-guide/

I would advise finding a pilot you like and trying multiple lists with him. That way at least part of your isn't brand-new every game.

On star viper - what is the major issue? Over costed for the stats? I see people agreeing hat 1 more shield would make it playable, is guri arguably better than xisor? I really like the ship, with push the limit and auto thrusters on guri I've been having some luck just killing off lower PS ships due to the excellent maneuverability, I assume the issue comes into play against beefy turret builds? I've onle faced a couple.

You have a Firespray, the Most Wanted pack, and a Viper...so you've made the right choice as far as faction is concerned!

But seriously, get an Interceptor expansion pack and you'll have plenty of fun 3 Interceptor builds. If you're really committed to the Scummers you'll get a HWK so you can show folks that you ain't just Mux'ing around.

You'll find arguments about almost any claim about this game, especially within the anonymity of a bunch of passionate nerds on the internet. For instance, I truly don't think X-Wings are that underpowered. There are 8 unique pilots, all with good skills - especially certain ones (Wedge, Luke, Wes, Biggs, Tarn). I think that with the right synergy and flying skills, they are far better than given credit. They are faster than B-Wings, and 2 green dice vs. 1 is - both statistically and through experience - far more effective, on average. They are cheap platforms for 3-dice attacks at range with easier maneuverability options and good pilot/upgrade options. Though as I said, most people will tell you they are useless garbage. So... try em out and see what you think.

Many people are hell-bent on flying one faction (i.e. they like to limit their experiences and miss out on a lot of fun). Personally, I think flying different combos within every faction gives you a much better understanding of the game, the strategies your opponents will be using, and a more holistic outlook on squadbuilding/maneuvering possibilities overall. That said, the moment I picked up Most Wanted, and ran a few squads with the new Z-95s, Y-Wing, and re-purposed Rebel/Imp ships, I new that it was my jam, so I have the most fun with Scum.

Oh speaking of jam, nigeltastic's post reminded me: Please always hyphenate the E-Wing. When I see people talking about the "under-powered Ewing," all I see is:

Welcome to the game!

spice runner swarm.. watch out for them!!

spice runner swarm.. watch out for them!!

They can kill a TIE Fighter in just one round of concentrated firing with perfect rolls if your opponent totally whiffs 3 times!

You have a Firespray, the Most Wanted pack, and a Viper...so you've made the right choice as far as faction is concerned!

But seriously, get an Interceptor expansion pack and you'll have plenty of fun 3 Interceptor builds. If you're really committed to the Scummers you'll get a HWK so you can show folks that you ain't just Mux'ing around.

I forgot to mention that I bought the HWK and the Imperial aces, I just picked them up yesterday. I tend to side with the empire in all situations, I'm a bit of an imperial nerd - so I think I may have to just bite the bullet and pick up the new raider and a Tie Advanced pack to make the Tie Advanced/Tie Interceptor combo work.

On star viper - what is the major issue? Over costed for the stats? I see people agreeing hat 1 more shield would make it playable, is guri arguably better than xisor? I really like the ship, with push the limit and auto thrusters on guri I've been having some luck just killing off lower PS ships due to the excellent maneuverability, I assume the issue comes into play against beefy turret builds? I've onle faced a couple.

People just plain don't seem to like it much. If it's working for you, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

On star viper - what is the major issue? Over costed for the stats? I see people agreeing hat 1 more shield would make it playable, is guri arguably better than xisor? I really like the ship, with push the limit and auto thrusters on guri I've been having some luck just killing off lower PS ships due to the excellent maneuverability, I assume the issue comes into play against beefy turret builds? I've onle faced a couple.

Starvipers are just fine. I just don't think some people have quite figured them out yet. I see many trying to fly them like Interceptors. Others I've seen fly into 3 B-wings and then complain about its survivablity!

I've flown them with great success (yes tournament success) and hope they continue to not be on the other side of the table!

On star viper - what is the major issue? Over costed for the stats? I see people agreeing hat 1 more shield would make it playable, is guri arguably better than xisor? I really like the ship, with push the limit and auto thrusters on guri I've been having some luck just killing off lower PS ships due to the excellent maneuverability, I assume the issue comes into play against beefy turret builds? I've onle faced a couple.

People just plain don't seem to like it much. If it's working for you, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

People don't seem to like it because it doesn't fit in a particular niche, so they come up with excuses like it's ugly or x does this job better, because they don't want to try and make it work.

In *my* personal experience, it is a very powerful fighter just like the Tie Defender.

On star viper - what is the major issue? Over costed for the stats? I see people agreeing hat 1 more shield would make it playable, is guri arguably better than xisor? I really like the ship, with push the limit and auto thrusters on guri I've been having some luck just killing off lower PS ships due to the excellent maneuverability, I assume the issue comes into play against beefy turret builds? I've onle faced a couple.

Argument on the generic Vipers is that they're too expensive for their stats

Now, the characters are beastly. Neither is "better," though, it depends more on how well you can enable Xizor's ability. If you can (i.e, lots of crappy ships to shunt damage to), go Xizor If not, Guri (girl can take care of herself).

Guri is a more self-sufficient and powerful little sledge hammer

Xizor is just incredibly durable while his ability is up, since it basically gives him a better version of an evade (minus the damage some no name, no importance pilot takes) against every attack no action required. It's so good, most people won't ever shoot him while his ability is active.

On star viper - what is the major issue? Over costed for the stats? I see people agreeing hat 1 more shield would make it playable, is guri arguably better than xisor? I really like the ship, with push the limit and auto thrusters on guri I've been having some luck just killing off lower PS ships due to the excellent maneuverability, I assume the issue comes into play against beefy turret builds? I've onle faced a couple.

People just plain don't seem to like it much. If it's working for you, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

People don't seem to like it because it doesn't fit in a particular niche, so they come up with excuses like it's ugly or x does this job better, because they don't want to try and make it work.

In *my* personal experience, it is a very powerful fighter just like the Tie Defender.

Only better because it cost 5 points less, can boost, and has an amazing dial!

I love the Defender too. Hoping it gets some love soon.

An important thing to note when people say things are too expensive is that they're almost exclusively talking generic pilots. The characters for most if not all ships are incredibly well suited for what their ship does and are good enough to take.

I agree with most that has already been said, and they did a good job answering most of your questions. So I am going to answer the question you didn't ask. "I'm new, what should I do?"

The answer to that question, my friend, is learn to fly. It is important to realize that in this game, your ability to play is more important than your ability to make lists. List composition dominate forum discussion for a couple of reasons. 1st, at the top level of play people usually fly pretty well. And 2nd, it is just a lot easier to discuss builds.

But let me make this very clear, flying skill is more important that list building!

No matter how decisively we prove that B-wings are a better value than X-wing, a list of well flown X-wings will beat a list of poorly flown B-wings.

Learning to fly takes practice, a good sense of what both yours and your opponents ships can do. You need to be able to read what the other guy is planning and do something effective that he didn't see coming.

A few things to consider.

-Jousting, this is when two ships just fly at each other trading shots. No ship really loves jousting, but some ships really don't like it. Sometimes you don't have a choice,

Arc-Dodging, this is actively not jousting. Their ace certain ships that live here, Soontir Fell w/PtL comes quickly to mind. So does Darth Vader with Engine Upgrades. When you arc dodge you use your superior mobility (usually mobility actions) and High PS to simply stay out of firing arcs. If you can shoot and the other guy can't then you will win. Arc Dodgers can be a ton of fun, but mistakes can be very costly.

Turrets- not so much the turret upgrades, but the ships with 360 firing arcs. Technically flown correctly these ships are arc dodgers since they are all about being able to shoot you when you can't shoot them. But they do it very differently. They can be very intimidating and they will always be popular in the meta. But everything dies if you shoot it enough, and they might have spent as much as 60 or more points for a ship with only one attack. However they are pretty good ships to get started on. I think I would recommend a Fat Han for anyone's first tournament. Unlike arc-dodgers ships with 360 degree firing, can be forgiving of mistakes.

And don't let the forums take the fun out of the game. Most of the talk is about tourney builds. If you fly casual play what ships you want. I have builds specifically focusing on ships that wouldn't be viable in tournaments. It's fun with friends and usually they have builds that wouldn't be as competetive in tourney. So it evens out. e.g. 3 ywings with ion turret and a heavy scyk with an ion cannon. My point was just to screw with his tie fleet, which worked great. But I still lost. However, fun was had.

And don't let the forums take the fun out of the game. Most of the talk is about tourney builds. If you fly casual play what ships you want. I have builds specifically focusing on ships that wouldn't be viable in tournaments. It's fun with friends and usually they have builds that wouldn't be as competetive in tourney. So it evens out. e.g. 3 ywings with ion turret and a heavy scyk with an ion cannon. My point was just to screw with his tie fleet, which worked great. But I still lost. However, fun was had.

AGREED!

What is your end goal? Is it to have fun with cool space ship toys? No worries then. Do you plan to go to tournaments and hope to make the ultra top tables with the best of the best in the nation? Well, then listen to the forum talk.

And don't let the forums take the fun out of the game. Most of the talk is about tourney builds. If you fly casual play what ships you want. I have builds specifically focusing on ships that wouldn't be viable in tournaments. It's fun with friends and usually they have builds that wouldn't be as competetive in tourney. So it evens out. e.g. 3 ywings with ion turret and a heavy scyk with an ion cannon. My point was just to screw with his tie fleet, which worked great. But I still lost. However, fun was had.

AGREED!

What is your end goal? Is it to have fun with cool space ship toys? No worries then. Do you plan to go to tournaments and hope to make the ultra top tables with the best of the best in the nation? Well, then listen to the forum talk.

I don't think "Forum talk" will help you get to the best of the best tables in the nation, or even at regionals

best it can do is suggest changes to lists and explain why certain options are more popular than others on a competitive level

Really I don't use the forums much to tell me what to fly. I might use them more if I was a real top tear competitor, but maybe not. What I find very useful on the forums is to get an idea of what I a likely to face.

Before any tournament I like to read the forums and come out with thoughts like this

Okay, I am likely to see a bunch of generic B's some Fat Han lists, and Auto-Thrusters. Then I plan accordingly.

There is a great scene in the "Lion in Winter" where the French king explains how he is going to defeat England (an Henry II). It is a great plan and as you are watching the play/movie you think it will totally work. The King Henry laughs and exclaims that he has just won. The French king has just told him what he is going to do, now Henry knows what he has to beat. This scene sums up a lot of my feelings about the meta. Sure Fat Han is really powerful. But that shear effectiveness of the list makes it predictable.

Every once in a while you will hear about a national tournament won by a guy with nothing but turretless Y-wings, or a swarm of Bombers and Howelrunner. Lists that no one has ever seen before. The fact that they are so far from the meta is one of the reason they were so good.

Sorry that disturbance was Taco Bell

My bad

I read the forums all the time and if I were you, I would try to learn and laugh about them. Fly what you like and fly casual for fun and tournaments. What got me into this game was how much fun it is to play no matter what u fly.