The new Tech Upgrade slot is a cool concept, and opens a lot of doors for further customizability of ships as the Modifications slot was starting to get a bit crowded. As most people are I'm presuming that we will see SOME method for gaining access to the Tech Slot for older ships, either via a modification, title, or just an FAQ stating that all ships now have the slot.

So in that vein, what ideas do people have for cool Tech Upgrades? Here is my first idea:

Targeting Datalink
Type: Tech Cost: 1 point
"You may perform a secondary weapon attack on a ship as long as it has a Red Target Lock token."

This card would help bring ordnance back into the game. It allows you to shoot a missile/torpedo without needing to spend a target lock, so if you have one you can spend it for rerolls. If you don't have one you can still shoot as long as another of your ships has a Target Lock.

As you only need 1 target lock per enemy ship this creates some new tactical options for a clever player to use. Lets say you are flying 4 Tie bombers with Networked Targeting Datalink and target lock 4 different ships. Normally to fire ordnance weapons you are restricting your actions/manuevers for future turns, as you need to maneuver to keep the ship you have locked in arc and range to get a shot off at it or use your action to acquire a new target lock. With Targeting Datalink you have greater freedom to maneuver as Ship A would still be able to effectively engage another "locked" ship even if Ship A can't keep the ship it target locked in its arc.

You also have greater action economy, for example you can have a ship which has no shot this turn acquire a target lock to let your other ships focus/evade/barrel roll/boost and then still attack with ordnance.

This actually would be an AWESOME Tech upgrade card, the challenge of course being that the majority of the ships who it would help out the most don't currently have access to Tech Upgrades. Alternatively it could be a mod, but it makes more sense as a Tech upgrade and would go a LONG way towards making Ordnance viable.

Any idea for a Tech upgrade I might have would just be better off as a Modification upgrade. Because Tech upgrades are a dumb idea.

I'm sure after a few more releases we'll see what exactly they plan for the slot to do. How it differs from sensor slot will be a very fine line. Sensor slot already focuses on action economy or rule breaking. So far tech seems to focus on tokens and token management. Since most actions are sub-optimal outside of focus that's nice.

So tech ideas? Not sure yet.

I'm sure after a few more releases we'll see what exactly they plan for the slot to do.

What they plan for the slot to do is give TFA ships their own unique upgrades. They don't actually give a **** what it MEANS.

I'm sure after a few more releases we'll see what exactly they plan for the slot to do.

What they plan for the slot to do is give TFA ships their own unique upgrades. They don't actually give a **** what it MEANS.

I kind of agree. Its almost like a cross between a system and a mod but would seem appropriate in either slot. I think it is just a way give certain ships more upgrades. Still I like to imagine so...

Strike Avionics

Tech, 1 point

When attacking with a Missile or Torpedo Secondary Weapon, add one crit result to your die roll.

Targeting Detectors

Tech, 1 point

When defending against secondary weapon attacks at range 3, roll 1 additional defense die.

Fly by Wire Controls

Tech, 3 points

You may perform Red maneuvers even if you have one or more stress tokens.

Electronic Countermeasures

Tech, 2 points

At the start of the combat phase, you may discard this card to remove all red target lock tokens from friendly ships at range 1.

we need a comms that lets you spend squaddies' tokens as your own

It looks like my first idea would be similar in effect to the OP, although different in execution.

Targeting Network

When attacking, you may treat the target locks of any friendly ship with Targeting Network as if they are your own.

Probably my favourite use of this would be for a squadron of low PS bombers in conjunction with the Tracer missiles: The Tracer missile gives everyone a lock (including the ship that fired the Tracer), and all the other ships can then start unloading ordnance on the target until it dies. When each bomber fires, it would use its own target lock as per normal, but if it fluffs the attack roll, it can then use a friendly target lock to reroll. The first such reroll of the round would use the target lock from the ship that fired the tracer, but if any more rerolls are required that round you can just use the lock from a ship that hasn't fired yet, giving you an extra roll, but using one less expendature of ammo in the process.

Interesting ideas. I think a Syck only mod that adds tech slot with -3 cost would be great way of making that ship more interesting. Comm relay could make Laetin more viable. It would also give that ship a special flare to distinguish it from the Kihraxz. Nothing about the tech slot seems specific to TFA ships.

I do wonder if it would break anything to add the following modification to the game:

Tech Refit

Modification

Add a <tech> icon to your upgrade bar.

?? Points

It would be a quick way to add tech to the rest of the range, whilst still giving an advantage to ships that have a native tech upgrade slot.

Portable Slicer

Tech

Scum only

At the beginning of the combat phase, if an enemy ship at range 1 has a stress token, you may receive a stress token and roll 1 attack die. That ship suffers any hit or crit results.

2 points

right now any tech upgrade card would be good. There has to be more than just 1 upgrade card for that slot.

As for tech it seems like the Rebels/Imperials verson of the illicit slot. Is every new faction going to bring in a new upgrade slot now?

There are very few non-TFA ships I think should get the Tech slot, but the Defender is definitely on the list. It might be the only ship on that list, honestly.

And as I type that: letting the E-Wing trade its System slot for the Tech slot might actually help all the non-Horn pilots.

As far as general Tech ideas:

I've said this elsewhere, but: a Tech upgrades for 1 point that lets you put an extra munitions token on _all_ discard to use cards.

This would let, say, a Red Vet T-70 have 2 Proton Torpedoes, with 2 Crackshots and 2 uses of R5-X3. That might seem like a whole lot for just 1 point, but the Loadout itself would eat a full 1/3 of your list.

Upside: Rebels with this card and a crew slot could use Leia twice. Down side: they could use _Chewie_ twice.

There are very few non-TFA ships I think should get the Tech slot, but the Defender is definitely on the list. It might be the only ship on that list, honestly.

Doubt it. The Defender existed before RotJ even.

There are very few non-TFA ships I think should get the Tech slot, but the Defender is definitely on the list. It might be the only ship on that list, honestly.

Doubt it. The Defender existed before RotJ even.

Yeah but...

The Defender needs a fix other than TIE MK II, and has an empty title slot

The Defender is famously a high performance, technologically advanced fighter

There's now a slot specifically for high performance, technologically advanced fighters.

On the other hand, I often want to take the side of 'the Defender is fine, just learn to fly better' because of how many people say that about the T-65.

I like the Targeting Datalink Idea, but (a) the wording needs a bit of work - you don't, for example need any tokens to fire a heavy laser cannon or twin laser turret - and (b) firing a torpedo with someone elses target lock is fine but firing it without anyone having to spend a target lock is a bit overpowered.

I'd make it like the K-wing pilot - when attacking, friendly ships within range 1 (or range 1-2 if feeling generous or making the upgrade more expensive) may spend target lock tokens assigned to this ship as if they were assigned to that ship.

Adaptive Deflectors (essentially 'set deflectors double front!)

When defending against an attacker within your forward arc, the first time each turn you are required to remove shield tokens, remove one less shield token than normal. If you do this, you count as having no shield tokens against attackers outside your forward arc for the rest of the combat phase.

Reinforced Particle Shields

When defending against [Missile] or [Torpedo] attacks, increase your agility by 1

Proton torpedo guidance computer : No TL required for torpedo shots.. Torps are pretty much not used now except as an extra munition slot. this might buff their use a bit..

Adaptive Targeting System.

If a ship you have Target Locked is destroyed you may move the red Target Lock token to another enemy ship within your firing arc.

I like the Targeting Datalink Idea, but (a) the wording needs a bit of work - you don't, for example need any tokens to fire a heavy laser cannon or twin laser turret - and (b) firing a torpedo with someone elses target lock is fine but firing it without anyone having to spend a target lock is a bit overpowered.

I'd make it like the K-wing pilot - when attacking, friendly ships within range 1 (or range 1-2 if feeling generous or making the upgrade more expensive) may spend target lock tokens assigned to this ship as if they were assigned to that ship.

Adaptive Deflectors (essentially 'set deflectors double front!)

When defending against an attacker within your forward arc, the first time each turn you are required to remove shield tokens, remove one less shield token than normal. If you do this, you count as having no shield tokens against attackers outside your forward arc for the rest of the combat phase.

Reinforced Particle Shields

When defending against [Missile] or [Torpedo] attacks, increase your agility by 1

My wording was intentional, this upgrade provides an alternative way of activating blaster turrets as well.

Not spending the target lock isn't overpowered at all, you still need at least 1 (hard to get) and you are spending additional points for the ability. Think of it this way, you TL with a high PS ship, which is easier to pull off than with a low PS ship. That high PS ship shoots before your low PS ship, if they all have Targeting Datalink then it can shoot a missile/torpedo and retain the target lock, but if you use the target lock to reroll your dice you have now robbed your other ships of the opportunity to fire missiles and torpedoes vs the target ship.

So there is a clear up and downside to the way it would work, effectively granting new options while restricting others. This would still need to be play tested and it may be overpowered for a 1 point upgrade, probably should cost 2 points actually. Your way would work just as well, I feel that it would make for a good low pilot skill pilot ability for a tie bomber actually.

They are fixing ordnance slowly, now it just needs more reliable ways for you to actually get to fire it (Deadeye aside) and I think it's viable.

Targeting Uplink

At the beginning of the combat phase, you may transfer a blue target lock token to a friendly ship at range 1

Fire Control System

"After you perform an attack, you may acquire a target lock on the defender."

"Immediately before you reveal your maneuver, you may perform 1 free action.
If you use this ability, you must skip your "Perform Action" step during this round."

Accuracy Corrector

"When attacking, during the "Modify Attack Dice" step, you may cancel all of your dice results. Then, you may add 2 (hit) results to your roll.
Your dice cannot be modified again during this attack."

...You get the idea. The Tech upgrade is without a doubt a throw in to separate the new ships from the old, as has been mentioned. I see nothing which distinguishes it from the Systems upgrade slot currently. Anything I assume could be a tech upgrade, I would just as quickly assume could be included as a systems upgrade.

I am just glad that we finally have a slot where we can properly fit in the Optical Scanning we have heard so much about.

I think that a lot of people are missing the purpose of the tech upgrade slot. As far as I see it the tech upgrade slot is designed to prevent hyper saturation of the systems upgrade slot, and to provide a new way for ships to have interesting combinations of upgrade cards that have cool interactions with each other. It's actually an interesting and open question as to what point there are so many available upgrade cards for one type of upgrade that it becomes oversaturated. I don't think that the systems upgrade category use over saturated at the moment but The addition of the tech upgrade category provides a solution for the potential future hyper saturation of systems upgrade slot.

There's also the idea that someone has thrown out earlier in this thread that the tech upgrade slot me be intended to be the rebel and empire equivalent of the elicit upgrade slot for scum and villainy. I totally think that that could be the intent, the main point of curiosity of course being how FFG intend to make the tech upgrade slot available to existing rebel and Imperial ships.