I'd also like to point out that the crits in this game are out of control. You have a 2/13 chance to apply 2 damage through structural damage bypassing shields with APTs ON TOP of damage you're already doing. Not to mention all the other ridiculous effects like Projector Misaligned, Crew Panic and Compartment Fire.
That was the very first crit I ever took in the game. I still flinch.
Edited by DeathseedGames / damage
APT 2 / 3
ACM 100 aprox / 400 aprox
So let me think... ACM at this moment 
I'd say it depends greatly on the ships you think you will be facing.
For me, tending to run Neb-Bs, CR90s, MC30 and an MC80 on Rebels, I hate ACMs, because of their higher damage potential. (2 extra vs 1 extra) The MC30 and MC80 prefer the ACMs over APT, but that's generally not the majority of my fleet.
For my Imperials, I tend to use the big, nasty ships so the crits tend to have a lot more nasty to them. Generally the 2 variants, so it's not an issue.
I don't tend to run either. For MC30s, I'd pick APT as I tend to use Dodonna. If I ran a Gladiator, I'd probably use ACM, as I find generally people are good enough at having engineering commands that you have to beat down all their shields, and that helps. (Granted a crit could do it.) For a raider, I'd probably use APT, because if they are that close, bad things are happening one way or another.
I have a quick question about how APTs proc. If I get the crit, do I get to activate the upgrade before any defense tokens are spent?
I have a quick question about how APTs proc. If I get the crit, do I get to activate the upgrade before any defense tokens are spent?
No you don't. The order is:
1) Gather battery dice.
2) Resolve all the add/modify reroll effects
3) Defender decides which defense tokens to spend (Evades work immediately, others will be resolved later)
4) Attacker chooses which crit effect (if any) to resolve
5) Resolve damage
I have a quick question about how APTs proc. If I get the crit, do I get to activate the upgrade before any defense tokens are spent?
No, defense tokens first. That's what actually makes those straight to hull effects so brutal. Like dodonnas pride. Oh you brace and redirect? Nevermind, Ill cancel all dice and do one face up. Oh no defense tokens spent? Eat that damage then. With APTs its a little different since the damage is delivered with or without the crit effect. It just allows you to see what your opponent is going to do with his tokens before you decide how to molly-*** him.
who chooses which dice get removed from the pool, attacker or defender? Can the defender cherry-pick out all the crits?
From an evade? The person spending the evade (defender) chooses which di©e to cancel. Many other effects require the attacker to choose and remove one. Ex. Leading shots, obstructed attack, etc.
No, if you brace. I roll 8 dice, getting 4 hits and 2 crits. The brace removes 3 damage - can the attacker choose to remove 3 hits, or does the defender choose to remove 1 hit and 2 crits?
Oh. In that regard, no dice are removed. All of the dice are still there and still have a contribution but brace simply reduces the damage by half. So if a die with a crit face is rolled, a potential crit effect will stand. The amount of damage dealt is simply reduced. Although it isn't technically correct, you can think of brace reading; "when you spend this defense token, opponents hits on dice count as 0.5 damage each, instead of 1."
From an evade? The person spending the evade (defender) chooses which di©e to cancel. Many other effects require the attacker to choose and remove one. Ex. Leading shots, obstructed attack, etc.
Though I suppose if you're in black dice range you're too close to use an evade anyway.
Speaking for myself, whether I take ACMs or APTs depends on the role the ship is intended to play within the context of my fleet. For example, Demolisher heaves damage with a shovel, so one direct damage is less useful than ensuring that there are two less shield points to redirect to (I see you Foresight and Advanced Projectors). Same on a Victory-1 (yes, on multiple occasions I have used V-1s to force a close range engagement). Aboard a Raider, by contrast, it can't hurl incredible amounts of damage, it's a picket ship. Its job is to be a little s--- and harass enemy ships before they reach the big guys. To that end, they carry APTs to ensure rudeness and hull damage no matter how ineffectual their attacks would otherwise be. My personal jury is out on which the MC30 prefers. I've just figured out a gorgeous way to kill them, not how to use them. (Send two Raiders. You now have fighter superiority because Raiders. Next, use APTs. Each ship hits MC30 with APT. Each ship rams MC30, note: Motti is best. Observe your opponent's shock that his new toy is dead before it fired once. Celebrate with a resounding victory.)
Side note: Ordnance Experts are always on my Raider-1s and Gladiators. For Victories, the only Weapons Team I have consistently good results with is Flight Controllers on a carrier Vic. Imperials get Gunnery Teams (dat front arc). My theories anyway.
you can do the same thing with an ET glad
No, if you brace. I roll 8 dice, getting 4 hits and 2 crits. The brace removes 3 damage - can the attacker choose to remove 3 hits, or does the defender choose to remove 1 hit and 2 crits?
Because you are talking about hits and crits and incorrectly trying to cancel dice with braces, I feel the need to point out that you can only use a single critical effect per turn, and only if you have one or more critical results. And the standard critical effect every ship (and Bomber squadron) has is "Deal the first damage card face-up". Please note: Choosing a critical result does not spend the dice result in any way - it still adds damage to your total.
4 hits / 2 crits? You can only resolve one critical result. It can be the standard critical result (which would come into play if damage cards are actually dealt), or if one of the critical results is Black, you can resolve the Assault Proton Torpedo result (which deals one face-up damage card immediately).
If your ship is a MC30c, you rolled 4 hits and 2 crits, and you also had XX-9 Turbolasers and APT, you can now chose between 3 different options. Either the standard critical result (first damage card dealt is face-up), the XX-9 critical result (the first two damage cards dealt are face up), or if (and only if) you have a black critical you could chose the APT critical result (immediately deal one damage card, face up).
In a vacuum, APTs. For the simple reason that if I can spend less points to guarantee a hull damage on a success (and a critical hull damage, no less) on top of the rest of the damage from the attack, I want that.
Over the course of a full game, ACMs results in more raw damage, but whether that damage translates to any hull damage depends on a variety of factors, some of which are beyond my control (How much damage am I doing? How many strikes do I get at the target? Are my attacking ships being vaporized? Is the target constantly repairing to keep shields up? Does the target have support from friendly ships with Projection Experts?), and ACMs can't by definition result in face-up hull damage cards being dealt (since triggering ACMs means I can't trigger the standard critical effect).* Plus APTs costs less points than ACMs. Did I mention that?
That said, list-building in a vacuum has its limitations, and there's no doubt APTs and ACMs synergize best with different upgrades. I still lean towards APTs in most cases (again, costs less, guaranteed face-up hull damage card), but I don't view either choice as a "bad" one.
* Absent special game conditions, like Precision Strike, of course, where any damage dealt to a hull can always morph into critical damage...
Edited by RythbrytIn a vacuum, APTs. For the simple reason that if I can spend less points to guarantee a hull damage on a success (and a critical hull damage, no less) on top of the rest of the damage from the attack,
APTs deal one extra faceup damage in addition to all the rolled damage on the attack? I've been using them as allowing one of the rolled damage to be applied to the hull.... 
In a vacuum, APTs. For the simple reason that if I can spend less points to guarantee a hull damage on a success (and a critical hull damage, no less) on top of the rest of the damage from the attack,
APTs deal one extra faceup damage in addition to all the rolled damage on the attack? I've been using them as allowing one of the rolled damage to be applied to the hull....
Yeah its one extra damage in addition to the roll.