I was wondering, if we were to rank the dials of ships from best to worst, how would they end up?

There are some obvious ones like the YT-2400 and the Lambda-Class Shuttle, but it gets a bit trickier when you start comparing similar dials with their own advantages.

I'd also say that stuff like a turret slot, unique firing arc, or a Barrel Roll/Boost action bar should contribute somewhat, since ranking the dials in a vacuum misses what impact those things can have on a good or bad dial.

A wing and E wing are definitely up there dial wise

As well as intercepter and tie fighter

I guess the HWK deserves special mention here.

Remember that all ships (excluding huge ships) start with a 2 straight green. That is the standard move across the boards. As you move from there the maneuvers have more value.

The tie/fo is definitely up there on the list

This sounds fun! Let's give it a shot.

1. YT-2400

2. TIE/fo

3. A-Wing

4. TIE/Int

5. Aggressor

6. YT-1300

7. VCX-100

8. StarViper

9. TIE/ln & TIE/ph

10. TIE/d

11. T-70 X-Wing

12. E-Wing

13. M3-A

14. Kihraxz

15. TIE/ad

16. TIE/sa

17. Attack Shuttle

18. Firespray-31

19. B-Wing

20. T-65 X-Wing

21. Z-95 Headhunter

22. Y-Wing

23. TIE/pu

24. YV-666

25. K-Wing

26. Decimator

27. HWK-290

28. Lambda Shuttle

This is sans upgrades, so make of that what you will. I appreciate any input, but this is my interpretation of the dials! I value more options over fewer regardless of colour, so the Decimator and the YV might feel a bit better but lack of K-Turn etc puts them pretty far down by default.

Best: YT-2400, A-wing, TIE/fo, TIE-Interceptor, Agressor (maybe Decimator too)

Middle: all the rest

Worst: HWK, shuttle

This sounds fun! Let's give it a shot.

1. YT-2400

2. TIE/fo

3. A-Wing

4. TIE/Int

5. Aggressor

6. YT-1300

7. VCX-100

8. StarViper

9. TIE/ln & TIE/ph

10. TIE/d

11. T-70 X-Wing

12. E-Wing

13. M3-A

14. Kihraxz

15. TIE/ad

16. TIE/sa

17. Attack Shuttle

18. Firespray-31

19. B-Wing

20. T-65 X-Wing

21. Z-95 Headhunter

22. Y-Wing

23. TIE/pu

24. YV-666

25. K-Wing

26. Decimator

27. HWK-290

28. Lambda Shuttle

This is sans upgrades, so make of that what you will. I appreciate any input, but this is my interpretation of the dials! I value more options over fewer regardless of colour, so the Decimator and the YV might feel a bit better but lack of K-Turn etc puts them pretty far down by default.

Decimator third lowest? Noo

The Decimator's dial is basically the Z-95's dial without a K-turn.

What makes it not so bad is the primary weapon turret, which compensates well for the lack of a K-turn. But in a vacuum it is pretty bad.

The Decimator's dial is basically the Z-95's dial without a K-turn.

What makes it not so bad is the primary weapon turret, which compensates well for the lack of a K-turn. But in a vacuum it is pretty bad.

I'd at least rate the Decimator's dial as better than the YV-666 and Y-Wing. It's combination of speed and it's utter lack of red maneuvers gives it a ton of mobility, even if it does't have a K-turn.

Ah, but I would contend the access to a stop or a 3-Turn on the same round makes the YV a little better than the Decimator. Like WingedSpider said, in a vacuum more options are better regardless of weapons or arc(s).

What! the Fo's that good! I might get that core set now......

What! the Fo's that good! I might get that core set now......

Yep, the fo is like a slightly improved Interceptor. Trade a green and one of the K-turns for a pair of S-loops.

I've tried this in Wave 4.

I've come up with the following notes:

1. Green>White>Red>None, as we all know. However, the difference between Green and White < difference between White and Red < difference between Red and None.
2. Base Size renders extremely similar dials as very different animals.
3. Differences of Bearing > Differences of Speed
4. Odd Speeds > Even Speeds
5. Mobility Actions matter more than any of the above
6. Koiograns, Segnors' Loops, and Tallon Rolls are largely irrelevant if you have the ability to fire outside an arc
7. The flow of the game makes it easier to keep an opponent behind you than in front of you
8. The flow of the game generates a roughly orbital pattern between fleets.

Ranking a dial is a very tough thing to do, simply because the role of the ship plays such a huge role in which maneuvers are actually useful for it. The A-Wing dial wouldn't be nearly as good on an X-Wing thanks to the lack of 1-speed maneuvers. Likewise, the B-Wing dial would be awful on the A-Wing due to the craft's fragility.

Generally speaking, I think the main thing to look at in a dial is options. You want to have as many options as possible in any given situation -- that is, multiple speeds of each maneuver, multiple ways of turning around (K-Turn/S-Loop/T-Roll), and multiple green maneuvers.

4. Odd Speeds > Even Speeds

I follow the logic for the rest of the list, will you explain this one?

4. Odd Speeds > Even Speeds

I follow the logic for the rest of the list, will you explain this one?

All of the extremities of a dial are Odd (1 anything, 3 Turns, 5 forwards, et c.), and the extremities are the most impactful.

For that matter, the farther apart your options are, the more powerful your options are.

So, 1 turns and 3 turns are both more powerful than 2 turns, and a 3-5 Koiogran split is better than a 3-4 or a 4-5 split.

Speed 1, 3, and 5 manoeuvres are much more potent than 2 and 4 (1-Turns and 1-Straights, 3-Turns, 5-Straight and 5-K...)

Edit: Bah! just too slow haha

This sounds fun! Let's give it a shot.

1. YT-2400

2. TIE/fo

3. A-Wing

4. TIE/Int

5. Aggressor

6. YT-1300

7. VCX-100

...

17. Attack Shuttle

Why the big difference between the VCX-100 and the Attack Shuttle? The only difference on the dial is a 4 K-Turn vs. a 5 and which banks are green.

This sounds fun! Let's give it a shot.

1. YT-2400

2. TIE/fo

3. A-Wing

4. TIE/Int

5. Aggressor

6. YT-1300

7. VCX-100

...

17. Attack Shuttle

Why the big difference between the VCX-100 and the Attack Shuttle? The only difference on the dial is a 4 K-Turn vs. a 5 and which banks are green.

Base size, Firing arcs, turrets, barrel-roll....

This sounds fun! Let's give it a shot.

1. YT-2400

2. TIE/fo

3. A-Wing

4. TIE/Int

5. Aggressor

6. YT-1300

7. VCX-100

...

17. Attack Shuttle

Why the big difference between the VCX-100 and the Attack Shuttle? The only difference on the dial is a 4 K-Turn vs. a 5 and which banks are green.

Large base on the VCX. They're very similar but access to both 1- and 3-Turns as well as the 5-K is incredibly potent because of the huge differences in positioning. Combined with the faster Greens, I feel it offers a lot more than the Attack Shuttle (which isn't really terrible; I think it's better than most Rebel ships just from its options).

People keep mentioning that the role of a ship is important for rating its dial. The Scyk is a perfect example. As a fragile secondary weapons platform, it wants to stay at range 3 as much as possible. Unfortunately, it is missing the 1-straight maneuver, which means you have to be a little more creative if you want to keep range. Also, it has the 1-turn maneuver, which is great for dogfighting at close range. That's not too useful if you're sporting the Heavy Laser Cannon, but otherwise it is a very valuable maneuver.

while an ultimately futile exercise given the complexity of the game, I have to say I've had the most fun with the FO dial and it has proven to be the most useful to me

the combination of Aggressor-esque red maneuvers with interceptor-esque greens makes for a ridiculously flexible little bugger that can even engage higher PS ships simply due to the options it has available.

Those segnors + green turns interact in such a way that you can pull nearly Echo-like shenanigans, especially in a ring of obstacles where an opponent's maneuverability may be constricted and the choice of segnors can help avoid hazards.

typical lack of Tie speed 1 maneuvers still get annoying from time to time, but the 3 reds help keep the FO in the fight far more easily than the standard Tie

of course, no dial is good enough if the ship doesn't pull its weight in dice, so I can't recommend FOs over standard Ties until you've invested in them to the point where they can outperform their predecessors (using juke + relay and/or the named characters, specifically)

likewise, I would highly rate the Starviper and Aggressor for having segnor's. There's just something about that turn + having access to the best maneuver in the game (1-turn) that lets you move in ways that can really give your opponent the slip even if your Ps is lower. (although the Aggressor is rightly limited by its fat ass)

Personally havn't found or seen the T-70's troll to be nearly as useful as the sloop

I really want to try Sycks with Autoblasters.