Alex Davy Interview from Team Covenant is up

By Texx, in X-Wing

Just started watching so no comments just yet:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pydWPf8Uc0E

Edit:

Very insightful. Alex speaks well by giving info that is somewhere between 'hints' and 'spoilers'.

Some thoughts on Nationals at Gencon, state of the game, wave 7 thoughts + upcoming wave 8, and even some armada info. I definitely enjoyed it.

Edited by Texx

I wasn't sure they had gotten an interview. Enjoyed the one last year. Definitely looking forward to this.

Internet slow here and can't watch it.

Can somebody please list the main points or comments. Thank you many much.

He recognizes the X-Wing needs some help. Right about 11:20 mark.

Can somebody please list the main points or comments.

As of 12 minutes in...

Alex is happy with the change to the Phantom. Also thinks that the X-Wing needs some help, not huge amounts not like the Advanced. But is off by a couple points, but can't say anything about a update to it yet.

Also said the Defender, generic E-Wing and Scyk need a little help.

A bit troubled by criticism of the Scyk?

I mean, that thing basically just came out. If you put something out that has a balance problem on release...uhhhh....guys? Maybe test better next time?? I mean, this isn't really a 'over the years the meta changed in a way we didn't expect and it doesn't work as well anymore'...this IS from the latest wave of the game.

Concerning...

"I cant talk much about the future, but (the Xwing) is a ship that we know needs a bit of help, and we will absolutely help it."

Episode 7 Xwing fix confirmed.

A bit troubled by criticism of the Scyk?

I mean, that thing basically just came out. If you put something out that has a balance problem on release...uhhhh....guys? Maybe test better next time?? I mean, this isn't really a 'over the years the meta changed in a way we didn't expect and it doesn't work as well anymore'...this IS from the latest wave of the game.

Concerning...

All in all not a ton of crunchy info there. A lot of talk about how the meta is going, what he likes to see, what he's happy with, what needs work, ect...

He recognizes the X-Wing needs some help. Right about 11:20 mark.

we've known this since the Cartel Marauder was spoiled for 20 points, 2 k-turns and white 1-turns :P

Edited by ficklegreendice

A bit troubled by criticism of the Scyk?

I mean, that thing basically just came out. If you put something out that has a balance problem on release...uhhhh....guys? Maybe test better next time?? I mean, this isn't really a 'over the years the meta changed in a way we didn't expect and it doesn't work as well anymore'...this IS from the latest wave of the game.

Concerning...

Well they were designing an entire faction that included 7 ships (3 of which were entirely new) and a total of what, 28 different pilots including the generics?

There were a lot of moving parts. From a design standpoint it's better to be conservative and give something a bump later rather than have to errata something to tone it down after the fact.

One other thought... Hearing how excited he is about this game, and how well he knows the terms we use and all, how in touch he is with the X-Wing community I guess. Really gives me a lot of hope for the future of X-Wing and Armada.

He recognizes the X-Wing needs some help. Right about 11:20 mark.

we've known this since the Cartel Marauder was spoiled for 20 points, 2 k-turns and white 1-turns :P

The Marauder and the X-Wing are separate beasts, though. Their faction roles are similar, but not the same.

The most notable part of the Marauder to me is how its dial is nearly an exact mirror for the Scyk. The only difference is in the 4K vs the 5K. I'm excited to try a list that actually pairs two Mangler Scyks with three Marauders. I think they'll complement each other well.

Edited by PhantomFO

A bit troubled by criticism of the Scyk?

I mean, that thing basically just came out. If you put something out that has a balance problem on release...uhhhh....guys? Maybe test better next time?? I mean, this isn't really a 'over the years the meta changed in a way we didn't expect and it doesn't work as well anymore'...this IS from the latest wave of the game.

Concerning...

Scum was six months back. Caution beats breaking the game.

The Marauder and the Rookie Pilot are basically the same thing, apart from the dial. Hell, they even make comparisons to it in the "Lightning Reflexes" spoiler article

faction role is nice and all, but there's only so much to differentiate two 5 health, 3 offense, 2 agility ships with no manuevering actions whatsoever

there's nothing at all to suggest that the Marauder isn't anything but straight superior to the rookie pilot (Apart from 1 shield--> hull lack of 1-foward and 3-turns? more than fair price for the one hard, additional greens and k-turns imo for one point less)

well, it doesn't look as good :P

this is nothing but a good thing, as it demonstrates an understanding about the generic X-wing's horribly underwhelming performance and has shown us that it will not limit design space

Edited by ficklegreendice

A bit troubled by criticism of the Scyk?

I mean, that thing basically just came out. If you put something out that has a balance problem on release...uhhhh....guys? Maybe test better next time?? I mean, this isn't really a 'over the years the meta changed in a way we didn't expect and it doesn't work as well anymore'...this IS from the latest wave of the game.

Concerning...

Think about the date when the scyk was actually designed and sent to the printer. And then imagine trying to predict this meta more than a year from now.

It's not an issue of the meta changing, because it was predictable from wave 2 data points (HLC introduction). But they would have needed tools that were not even publicly available yet at that point.

Remember the design latency cycle is quite long. The wave 6 ships were spoiled at GenCon last year, if I recall correctly. They were designed and locked in well before then - so the M3-A was probably designed about a year and a half ago, if not more. To put it in perspective, I published v1.0 of my MathWing analysis in March 2014. So when wave 6 was being designed the term "jousting efficiency" didn't even exist.

I do have (unpublished) House Rules for the M3-A. Think I can sell them to FFG? :P

Are the Scyk's problems somehow meta-related? It's basically a TIE Fighter that costs 16% more and gives you no real benefit for the cost except the potential to waste a lot of points on a super-fragile cannon carrier. It's not like that was somehow great when they designed it but the meta ran away from it between design and release. Even if it was, is there some meta shift that will make that somehow better? If all of a sudden the two-fat meta vanished, does anyone really think the Scyk is just waiting in the wings to jump in as the new best of the best?

Scyks' problems are both meta and cost related

meta related because maneuver-dependent ships simply don't survive in a game with PWTs in them (not as they're implemented in X-wing, anyway) unless they have thrusters.

cost related because jousting efficiency is in the pits, even with cannons

The M3-A is decidedly not a maneuvering ship like the TIE Interceptor or even IG88. All the M3-A can do is plod along and shoot stuff with its cannon. It is very nearly the exact definition of a jousting ship, it just wants to be at long range.

So in the background, is that Black Widow playing a game with the wicked witch of the west?

Because that's pretty great

So in the background, is that Black Widow playing a game with the wicked witch of the west?

Because that's pretty great

Yes, yes it is.

No offense to the guys at FFG, but pretty much everyone recognized the Scyk as a dud (or at least significantly overpriced) the second it was fully spoiled. Base ship too expensive and the title is too expensive. It needs at least a 2 point deduction across the board.

Alex Davy casually mentions Vader equipping the X1 title + ATC for the Season 2 finale of Rebels. So, title compatibility confirmed?

I would like to see a Syck fix come out with one of the bounty hunters in wave 8.