I've been in this game since the beginning, with a 6 month haitus as the Trek game came out. When we first started, we were all noobs. We built substandard lists. Nobody played 4 x's or 8 Tie fighters. We all added in some "fluff" to our lists for fun. We weren't so cutthroat but we were competitive within our own ways. Usually by making our favorite ace pilot "competitive".

Fast forward to 2 years ago when I entered the store champ and regional scene. We had a few people that attended worlds, and made top 16. They were the ones we looked up to, and were the most competitive people around. They played a tough game, and we may have even been offended by how well they played. Store champs were around 10 people, and most of us didn't think we were good enough to compete (although we might have been)

Then my favorite ship came out and I got in pretty heavy, so I started noticing more about the areas around me. I traveled to many stores (there's 6-8 stores near me that play regularly, yes I know I'm lucky!) and noticed the skill level improving among all players. Even complete newbs to the game were picking up the intricacies very quickly! We now know the difference between silly and competitive lists, though we refer to the silly ones as shenanigany lists because they most likely exploit some sort of mechanic like HLC Keyan with opportunist, Jan and Wes nearby.

Now almost everyone can make the distinction between a competitive list and a fun list, play styles, and we almost have an inherent "Rules Enforcement Level" for casual nights vs store champs or regionals. I'd say about 10 people in this area are going to travel 8+ hours for the system open which is awesome!

The biggest thing I've seen now is how all these vets bring in the new guys and help them get good, and quick. I think this is probably the biggest factor in how quickly someone new to the game picks it up. We see lots of new faces now with SWTFA that just came out. But the greatest part of all of this? WE haven't lost our ability to just have fun. We still put together silly lists, play different formats that are just *fun*. We furball it up, we play 3v3 team epics, and try and come up with things other than the 100pt deathmatch. Yet I've noticed with the latest go-around off store champs... we have some serious competition going on around here!

And ultimately, watching the game grow and more importantly watching the players grow, I've noticed that players gain skill more quickly now than before. And maybe its because there's more players. Or maybe its Vassal, YouTube, streaming games, research, etc... Or maybe its just that the game is in a state right now of great fun and there are more options for playstyles. I think in this area its the vets that are great at helping the new people coupled with excitement over the game. Its glorious!

So how has the general skill level of your area improved?

Awesome post! I have felt like playing around my local area has really increased my skill level. I too have been playing since the beginning but there was a long period where nobody in the area really played. Fast forward up to about 3 months ago (about the time of the movie launch) and our group has grown, I travel around the local area for SCs and as you mentioned, understand the difference between competitive and fun lists. I now fly "fun lists" at league (next week will be 3 T-65s for the sake of T-65s) and understand what I need to bring to SCs. I have almost all but stopped video games and spend that time watching hours and hours of analysis via YouTube.

The interest in the local area has been what really drives me to do more in terms of learning the game and watching the videos. I love the game (win/lose or tie) and the community has been a real joy as well!

I couldn't tell you. I started playing just after wave 4 came out but before everyone realized how good the Phantom was.

Once wave 5 came out literally everyone was playing some sort of no skill turretwing list, not a real good measure of skill.

There does seem to be a general improvement in skill, but it's hard to tell. Really anyone can put R2-D2 on Poe and 1 straight to victory now, so many players seem abot as good as others.

I started playing about a year ago, and when I started, there were only 3 other players in my area. I was the most competitive of them and was studying the game to improve as quickly as I could. This made it difficult for me, because I was stomping on the other players and needed a higher competition level. This led me to sign up for Worlds, where I was thoroughly trounced in 4 of my 8 matches, lost 2 close matches, and won 2. This was my first opportunity to see list like Deci Whisper, Palp + Aces, and Poe with escorts. I learned a ton and brought this information back to my LGS where a new crop of college players was starting up and starting to improve. Two of the guys joined me at the FFG game center store championships and ran experimental lists. One of the guys placed in the middle of the pack of 87, one at the bottom, and I was 17th, missing Top 16 by 3 MOV points. Unfortunately, the local college will be ending soon and most of them will be heading back home. This leaves me with only my son to play against at that time, but it will give me time to work with him so that he can start running his own squads effectively. Maybe when the college guys get back, he will be ready to start taking them out without help from dad