I'm curious if somebody may has already done this, but it would be really interesting to know how and when to use Han's reroll ability to get the best use out of it. So in case there's already a thread about this issue, it would be great if yomeone could share the link.

Especially when considering Gunner/Luke and Predator into the calculation things get a bit complicated.

One of the most common points situations for me is having no focus token and rolling hit, blank, blank. Is it better to reroll a blank with Predator, or reroll them all with Han? Or assuming we have Luke as crew, would it be best to whiff the attack and try again with Luke?

In general, if you have Gunner/Luke and only roll 1 hit, I'd recommend re-rolling, using Han.

One of the most common points situations for me is having no focus token and rolling hit, blank, blank. Is it better to reroll a blank with Predator, or reroll them all with Han? Or assuming we have Luke as crew, would it be best to whiff the attack and try again with Luke?

If you have Luke as crew I'd use Pred on the first attack, to increase the chances of damage getting through.

(against low agi you often wont be using Luke anyway).

My take is to reroll all with Han in the above example.

If you only have 1 hit and use the Han reroll, you have a:

12% chance of rolling worse

38% chance of rolling the same

50% chance of rolling better (with 12% of that being 3 hits)

That gives a 88% chance of rolling the same or better.

Rerolling just one die gives you a 50/50 chance to increase damage by 1.

My take is to reroll all with Han in the above example.

If you only have 1 hit and use the Han reroll, you have a:

12% chance of rolling worse

38% chance of rolling the same

50% chance of rolling better (with 12% of that being 3 hits)

That gives a 88% chance of rolling the same or better.

Rerolling just one die gives you a 50/50 chance to increase damage by 1.

50% 1 damage

50% 2 damage

Using Han gives you

12% no damage

38% 1 damage

38% 2 damage

12% 3 damage

So it's the same average damage, and which of the two you go for depends on how risk-averse you are, what you're shooting at, the state of the game at that point, whether you've got Gunner/Luke, what side of the bed you got up on, how tight your underwear is and so on.

^ Han's underwear is, given his nature and profession, very tight.

But it's actually even trickier than that. If you use predator and get a blank, do you then use Han on the other two dice?

Han's ability first:

12.5% 0 boom

37.5% 1 boom

37.5% 2 boom

12.5% 3 boom

Average = 1.5 boom

Predator first w/o Han:

50% 1 boom

50% 2 boom

Average = 1.5 boom

If Predator fails, then Han

25% 0 boom

50% 1 boom

25% 2 boom

Average = 1.5 boom

So, that changes the Predator Math overall to be:

Predator:

12.5% 0 boom

25% 1 boom

62.5% 2 boom

Average = 1.5 boom

So whadder ya know, they all have the same average damage regardless of the order, but the distribution is different. If you need 3 booms, then Han is the way to go. However, if 2 booms is enough, then you're better off Predator and then Han, as it gives you a 62.5% success rate (but prevents 3 booms from being a result).

So, use your best judgement on the board situation whether to Han for the attempt at 3, or Pred->Han for the better chance at 2.

Or, you could do what I've seen done before and Predator the blank to force the gunner, especially if it's Luke.

To get the most out of Han's ability? Gunner, Marksmanship & Experimental Interface.

Not saying it's the most efficient combination, but it reliably churns out a lot of damage...

Wait, you can Predator and then Han?

Wait, you can Predator and then Han?

Yup. You just can't reroll the die (or dice) that were rerolled by Predator using Han's ability.

Wait, you can Predator and then Han?

You could even spend a TL in there to reroll dice as well if you really wanted to. Any given die can only be rerolled once but you could use all three ways to do it.

I know this question has been statistically analyzed somewhere although I can't say where or what the specific results were. Using Han may just come down to how much you trust averages.

3 dice attack with one [boom] you reroll everything with Han you should average 1.5 "good" results. Using Predator in this situation doesn't change the net result UNLESS you are getting to reroll both of the blanks.

If you get one [kaboom] instead things may be a little more complicated. If the [kaboom] is likely to be cancelled or just take out a Shield then it is just like the previous situation. If it is likely to deal a face-up damage card to the target you have a harder decision to make as you consider what the critical could be and how debilitating it could be to the target.

When you have the ability to "attack again" if your initial attack misses then you can gamble a lot more with that first attack. Normally I wouldn't suggest using Han with a [boom] [boom] [blank] but if you are worried you could try to better that result and if it misses you use the second attack.

Thanks a lot for the very detailed information!

One more question though - does having a focus token change anything of that? The chances to get a Focus -> Hit will go up for sure, but will this change anything on the decision if its better to use Predator or Han (or Predator, then Han)?

Assuming you get hit, blank, blank again, because having hit, focus, blank for example would be an obvious case for Predator imo.

Having a focus does indeed change it. If you roll hit blank blank, my gut says to Han all three, but let's take a look at the math.

Han

1.5% 0 boom

14% 1 boom

42% 2 boom

42% 3 boom

Average = 2.25

Predator

0% 0 boom

25% 1 boom

75% 2 boom

0% 3 boom

Average = 1.75

Predator -> Han

1.5% 0 boom

9% 1 boom

89% 2 boom

0% 3 boom

Average = 1.87

Clearly the math shows you're best to Han in that case (assuming you don't mind spending the focus token for a single boom). The MINOR advantage to 2+ booms (5% more likely) doesn't outweigh the 42% of 3 booms from just rerolling.

Having Focus certainly changes some of the math. With Focus you're looking at each die producing an average of .75 "good" results instead of just .5 good results. While I think the [boom] [blank] [blank] example is still the same and you reroll with Han looking at the [boom] [eye] [blank] example is more complex.

Just spend Focus you get 2 hits.

Reroll all with Han and spending focus should average 2.25 hit.

Use Predator on [blank] before spending Focus should take average to 2.75 hits.

Here having the Predator option is clearly best although it does mean spending the Focus.

Now can someone quantify at what point you're sinking too many points in to get a marginal improvement? Is Predator the sweet spot, do you want PtL? Is Gunner overkill with certain other upgrades? Han math makes my head 'splode.

Now can someone quantify at what point you're sinking too many points in to get a marginal improvement? Is Predator the sweet spot, do you want PtL? Is Gunner overkill with certain other upgrades? Han math makes my head 'splode.

There, there. We'll take care of the pesky maths for you.

(And yes, I'm using it as a plural of 'math', rather than assuming that mathematics are, themselves, plural).

Personally I feel it is a waste to take Predator on Han it feels like you aren't going to even use his ability at that point unless you really whiff an attack. If you are running Luke/Gunner I would suggest being more risky on the first attack because then gunner can make up for it, (basically giving you 4 rolls at the same target)