New player with questions

By Crayon, in X-Wing

Hello fellow rebel pilots,

I was sitting in my flgs Saturday when someone offered to teach me this game, and now I'm addicted. I immediately bought the starter box, and traded my tie fighters for more x wings, and purchased a fourth xwing. Two more players showed up and we did a 2v2, in which the imperials had a raider (which I thought was just a star destroyer).

Needless to say, I am now addicted, and can't get this game out of my head. This has led to some questions.

Firstly, I keep seeing these threads or comments on the xwing not beign on par with other ships. Why is this? I know I'm a rookie pilot, but In my two games, I flew my wing of four in formation to great success. Ganging up on groups of weaker ships to thin ther numbers before moving on to the tougher targets seemed to work great for me. I'd love to get some more x wings but I don't think I want to buy a transport for the consolation prize that is porkins.

Secondly, what would be a good next buy for me? As I read more and more I think how I can use the ship to assist my current squadron. The problem has become that each ship has its merits and I want them all, I just don't want to buy them all at once. Now I'm looking at the CR-90 and got permission from the wife to get one. This could be nice to bring to the party next time the raider shows up and we do another 2v2, or am I jumping into the deep end too soon and need to stay in the shallows a bit longer?

Finally, what other (and correct me if in usjng the wrong term) epic sized ships could possibly be introduced into the game in future updates? I guess I'm also currious to know, but I'm sure no one knows yet, is it possible that even bigger ships get introduced? Perhaps massive space stations limited to a one square move? (I've seen some pictures of what look like scratch builds)

Thanks for the answers guys,

Viva La Resistance!

First off welcome to the game. :)

Firstly, I keep seeing these threads or comments on the xwing not beign on par with other ships.

The X-Wing is not on par with other ships. But this is only a big problem when you're flying in a serious competitive event like Regionals. It's not that the X-Wing is bad, it's just not as good as some other ships. So you can use it and do quite well with it, but typically you're at a slight disadvantage points wise.

Secondly, what would be a good next buy for me?

Right now it's tricky to say since we know FFG has some stuff for X-Wing that will tie into the new movie. So anything we could recommend now may change in a few weeks. We'll know more on Sept 4th.

But if you want some more stuff now, pretty much any rebel fighter is a great option, so A-Wings, B-Wings, Y-Wings would all be solid choices. Also Rebel Aces is a great choice.

is it possible that even bigger ships get introduced?

Highly unlikely. The whole point of the Raider was that FFG wants to limit Epic ships to 150m or smaller. There was nothing like that in the EU/Legends or Canon so FFG created the Raider themselves, and had it approved by LFL.

If you're looking for ISD's and MonCal's, you may want to look at Armada. That's FFG's Star Wars cap ship game. But since you're new you may find it hard to split your money between two games right now.

Edited by VanorDM

Thanks for the response, I understand that with the new stuff things are likely to change.

Is there perhaps a list of ship roles somewhere? Ie: xwing= fighter ywing= bomber ect.

Would getting the CR-90 as my next ship be too big a step?

If raiders are the largest ships that's fine, but will there be other large (epic?) ships to come?

Thanks again for the help.

Tie Swarms always seem competitive! Build up your swarm, get some Interceptors, Tie Advanced, Defender and Phantom, then you'll have some variety. My biggest recommendation, BUY WHAT CATCHES YOUR EYE! If you like looking at it, you'll like flying it'

I was sitting in my flgs Saturday when someone offered to teach me this game, and now I'm addicted. I immediately bought the starter box...

Congratulations! You've taken your first step into a larger world.

Firstly, I keep seeing these threads or comments on the xwing not beign on par with other ships. Why is this?

In comparison to the standards for efficiency on attack and defense put in place by the TIE Fighter and emphasized by the B-wing, the X-wing is too expensive for what it does.

It's not a lot too expensive--just 1-2 points. You might not even notice the difference in any given game, since the dice can easily swing things more than a fairly small pricing error would. But if you look over a history of a lot of games (like a year's worth of tournament results) you can see that X-wings don't quite hold up.

Secondly, what would be a good next buy for me? As I read more and more I think how I can use the ship to assist my current squadron. The problem has become that each ship has its merits and I want them all...

Again, welcome to the hobby. ;) Wanting all the things! is an occupational hazard here.

I just don't want to buy them all at once. Now I'm looking at the CR-90 and got permission from the wife to get one. This could be nice to bring to the party next time the raider shows up and we do another 2v2, or am I jumping into the deep end too soon and need to stay in the shallows a bit longer?

I don't think you're jumping into the deep end too soon, if a CR-90 is something you want. In your place I'd buy a couple of B-wings and the Millennium Falcon, and then take a step back and play with what you have for a little while.

If I were in your shoes, I'd go ahead and get the transport instead of the CR-90 Corvette. First, it saves you $30. Second, you get that extra sweet X-wing repaint with new pilots to play around with. Third, even though the Rebel Transport can't fire weapons, my brother assures me it is still really useful in epic games. For one thing, it can ram other fighters and blow them up!

With the extra $30 you have left over from not buying the Corvette, buy a Millennium Falcon. It has some good upgrades and is a very iconic ship. But if that's not your cup of tea, I think 2 B-wings would be a good buy. Or 1 B-wing and 1 Rebel Aces.

You don't buy the transport for pork insurance, you buy it for tarn mison. Of coarse then you need an Ewing for the r7 astromech...

Edit: Aparently my spell corrector believes Porkins needs insurance. How ironic.

Edited by father911

Yeah people say xwings are underpowered but i maimed a brobot list with wedge, luke and porkins last week and then won against guri and xizor and serissu in the second game with the same list with no changes.

I dont think my oponents that bad a player, i dont think xwings are that terrible either.

I prefer interceptor/a wing lists but the xwing is a fairly reliable jack of all trades. The key is using astromechs and pilots that work well together. Like Luke with r2d2 and a shield upgrade can be quite hard to kill as long as you disengage after taking a shield hit or two. Not as useful in timed tourny matches but ok in casual play.

Wedge is amazing too.

Is there perhaps a list of ship roles somewhere? Ie: xwing= fighter ywing= bomber ect.

Sure here's my opinion on the ships.

A-Wings are fast, nimble, and make great flankers. They don't do much damage though, so you often have to upgrade their fire power somehow.

B-Wings are great strike craft. They hit hard and have a ton of shields so they can take a pounding, although with their low agility they take a ton of pounding.

E-Wings are honestly only really useful with the named pilots. They're fun but I'd recommend more core ships first.

X-Wings are a lot like B-Wings, great firepower but don't move real well, so they tend to get beat by anything that can arc-dodge. But they have some great pilots in Wedge, Wes, Luke, Tarn and Biggs.

Y-Wings are best used as control craft. You put Ion's on them and use them to pin down other ships rather then blow them up, then let the B's, X's or A's come in and finish them.

The Z-95 is a great ship for the points, at only 12 for the lowest version you can swarm with them nearly as well as you can a Tie Fighter.

Would getting the CR-90 as my next ship be too big a step?

That all depends on how much money you have. :) But I'd suggest that you focus on the fighters for now and get the CR-90 later.

but will there be other large (epic?) ships to come?

There's another Imperial ship coming out, the Gozanti assault carrier, but other then that no hints about more epic ships.

A transport is a good purchase.

I use mine a lot as 'variant cover' , its a nice change from three rocks/debris on the field as 'scenery' and actually looks like your rebels are fighting to protect a disabled freighter rather than some random battle over a bunch of rocks :)

quick question... the boost given by R7?

Does that allow ships *without* an integral boost in their action bar to boost?

Or does it only do that for ewings, looking at it in squadron builder right now as my cards are all packed away so cant read the card text

Edited by Gadge

Welcome to the hobby! I see that some people have already posted, so I'll try to keep things brief or else someone will just post what I'm typing up before I hit SUBMIT. :)

First off, if you have an Android phone, look up for a free app called X-wing Companion. It details all the various cards and such that you can get in the game. You can look it up by what blister it comes in or whatever way you want to. It's a fantastic and free app that you can waste lots and lots of time on the throne looking up X-wing stuff.

Know the type of people you are going to play with. There are some people that are hyper competitive and go to all the tournaments and basically only play with a few ships out of all the ones that they can play with. Why? Because they only go for the cutting edge ships that are the most hyper efficient points spent ever. Or....your local group could be a bunch of regular guys who like to have fun playing with space ships. So, take what you read on these forums with care as you will find many more hard core types online.

One of the biggest complains with the X-wing is that you can't boost or barrel roll or do some other crazy maneuver after you move. There are a number of other ships that get to do so, especially Tie Interceptors. So, Soontir Fel can go at PS 9 and recover from making a bad move with all his special maneuvers. You can't do that with X-wings and some people need that crutch.

Also, FFG has stated that they costed the B-wing a little too cheap. So, if you want to go with a basic X-wing or a basic B-wing...which would you choose? The competitive player will say that you don't know how your green dice are going to roll and they would rather have more shields than more green dice. It's more efficient. Also, the B-wing is better at quick turns and such. When you are only playing 100 pt death matches, then the B-wing is usually better as the table space is small. So, B-wings for about the same price win out every time. Of course, if you are playing scenarios and Epic games, then you might want a ship that is actually faster than the B-wing. In games where speed matters, X-wings do better. Also, Single Turbo Lasers crush B-wings, but not X-wings as much.

The CR-90 isn't too big a step, but I might ask....do a lot of the local players already have one? If so, then you might not really need one right now. You might be best to just get other items. Also, the Rebel Transport is pretty cool. The other pilots you can get are great! There is more than just Porkins in there. It's also got some fantastic astromechs that can help you out. I recommend getting it if you love X-wings.

You will eventually want to buy ships just for the upgrade cards that come in the pack. It happens to all of us and we just swallow it up. This sometimes means you end up collecting more than one faction. Doing so also makes it easier to sucker your friends into the game when you can let them borrow your minis.

Y-wings are fun ships and there are a lot of recent upgrades to use with them.

Have fun! Remember that X-wings have won Store Championships and Regionals this very year. So, they aren't "broken". Just fly well and you can win with them. Ignore the haters.

quick question... the boost given by R7?

Does that allow ships *without* an integral boost in their action bar to boost?

Or does it only do that for ewings, looking at it in squadron builder right now as my cards are all packed away so cant read the card text

It's a free boost action so you can do it even if you don't have the boost icon in your action bar.

The X-wing is sub-par for two very simple reasons:

1.) it can only "joust" (i.e move and then take a dice modification action). Even the academy pilot has a more flexible maneuver dial and can barrel-roll, allowing it to block opponent movement and set-up for different approaches or even dodge firing arcs

2.) despite having no additional mobility, the X-wing's stat-cost ratio is strictly inferior to not only the Tie Fighter, but to existing rebel options such as the B-wing (which is a superior jouster, has superior upgrade options, and can barrel-roll)

Basically, the B-wing was FFG learning from the X-wing's failings.

it's a very simple concept of the ship simply not being able of much more than rolling dice, and dice rolling averages favoring even more mobile ships (Tie Fighter and B-wing) point for point.

Silver-lining:

None of the above means they're unplayable (just sub-par) and there are even certain named pilots that can transcend the X-wing's profile to be competitive

Two of these pilots come in the coreset :lol:

First is Biggs. Biggs has a game changing ability you will never find on another ship. He's a huge troll and a hilarious asset if you know how to fly formations.

Second is Luke. He has a very simple and often underestimated ability. Basically, what it translate into is an X-wing that's far more durable than it lets on; making for a Jouster that can actually joust (high PS to kill people before they shoot, great ability to not get mulched in two shots)

i.t.o upgrades, the only advantage X-wings have over B-wings is the astromech slot. Pair it with Biggs' or Luke's defensive ability to make the most out of astromechs such as R4-d6, R2-D2, and R5-P9

Edited by ficklegreendice

quick question... the boost given by R7?

Does that allow ships *without* an integral boost in their action bar to boost?

Or does it only do that for ewings, looking at it in squadron builder right now as my cards are all packed away so cant read the card text

It's a free boost action so you can do it even if you don't have the boost icon in your action bar.

Nice one, thanks. That makes him better than i thought, an xwing with boost... cant' believe i'd not noticed that, granted its situational but its still pretty cool.

I have the iPhone, is there a compainion app for that?

So I'll ask the store owner if he's sold many of them and if he sees them on the table much. From there I will make my decision.

Does the transport have any offensive options or is it purely supportive. How exactly does it do its supportive function?

Thanks guys. These replys come in really quick.

There's no iPhone app, but there's a few web pages that will work on it. Check out the useful links post that's at the top of the page.

The Transport is support only, it doesn't have any guns. Mostly what it does is give your other ships free actions, or blocks shots and the like.

Welcome to X-Wing!

If you wish to concentrate on Rebels, I think you'll need B-Wings, A-Wings and Y-Wings for sure. For the first two, the Rebel Aces pack offers the best value, but of course you'll also want the other named pilots (and upgrades) that comes with the single expansions. If you're interested in Epic play and love X-Wings, then you really should get the Transport. Like others have mentioned, the new pilots are very good (Porkins included!), the model looks great and the Transport itself is a strong and useful ship.

As you're already aware, some excellent/crucial upgrades are only included on certain ships so you might find it difficult to limit yourself to Rebels. One of everything is ultimately the way to go more often than not. If you take a look at my signature, you'll see that I'm way past that... hehe

The best advice remains to get the ships that you like the most first, then go from there.

Edited by admat

quick question... the boost given by R7?

Does that allow ships *without* an integral boost in their action bar to boost?

Or does it only do that for ewings, looking at it in squadron builder right now as my cards are all packed away so cant read the card text

It's a free boost action so you can do it even if you don't have the boost icon in your action bar.

Nice one, thanks. That makes him better than i thought, an xwing with boost... cant' believe i'd not noticed that, granted its situational but its still pretty cool.

On paper it sounds good but in practice it is perhaps even more situational than you are probably imagining. If memory serves it's limited to range 1-2 and you have to be in THEIR arc.

I have the iPhone, is there a compainion app for that?

So I'll ask the store owner if he's sold many of them and if he sees them on the table much. From there I will make my decision.

Does the transport have any offensive options or is it purely supportive. How exactly does it do its supportive function?

Thanks guys. These replys come in really quick.

There used to be, but Disney lawyers yanked it off the App Store.

The transport can assist friendly units like giving them focus tokens. It also can use an upgrade card to ion nearby enemy ships.

I have the iPhone, is there a compainion app for that?

So I'll ask the store owner if he's sold many of them and if he sees them on the table much. From there I will make my decision.

Does the transport have any offensive options or is it purely supportive. How exactly does it do its supportive function?

Thanks guys. These replys come in really quick.

There is one upgrade that makes it a bit offensive: Slicer Tools. Spend X energy to make X stressed ships at range 1-3 suffer 1 damage.

The Toryn Farr crew can remove evade, focus and target lock tokens from ships at range 1-2 (again, X energy = X ships). So while being mostly supportive, that can really boost the friendly ships' attacks.

Welcome to X-Wing crayon!

Up until the time Scum and Villainy were released I was predominantly a Rebel player and became extremely fond of my B-Wings. That being said I would highly recommend making a Rebel Aces pack your next purchase. You can then try out both A-Wings and B-Wings before deciding how many of the individual expansions you want (or perhaps a 2nd Aces). There are a ton of options our there but you can't go wrong with a Rebel Aces pack based upon the value and all the awesome stuff you get.

Welcome to X-Wing crayon!

Up until the time Scum and Villainy were released I was predominantly a Rebel player and became extremely fond of my B-Wings. That being said I would highly recommend making a Rebel Aces pack your next purchase. You can then try out both A-Wings and B-Wings before deciding how many of the individual expansions you want (or perhaps a 2nd Aces). There are a ton of options our there but you can't go wrong with a Rebel Aces pack based upon the value and all the awesome stuff you get.

Dissenting opinion here (but I mean no disrespect).

I find Rebel Aces to be a fun addition to the A-wing and B-wing, but without owning those craft already, the upgrades included in Rebel Aces are slightly underwhelming.

It depends on how you like to fly.

If you like tanky ships that can take a hit while plowing into the middle of the fray, B-Wings, Y-Wings, YT-1300, and, to a lesser extent, YT-2400 are the ships for you. Advantages: Can take a hit or two and keep on chugging, good firepower. Cons: Low Agility means they are susceptible to focus-fire and will wilt under heavy fire, can be expensive points-wise meaning fewer ships.

If you like nimble ships that dodge around, A-Wings and E-Wings are for you. Advantages: Nimble and hard to pin down to focus fire on. A-Wings are fairly cheap points-wise. Cons: Flying them can be unforgiving for new players. Low HP means they can die easily if their green dice fail.

I would avoid the HWK and Z-95 at first because they can be tricky to get the hang of.