How do Bombs work then? If your Bomb damaged multiple ships, do you get xp for each ship or once xp for causing damage to a ship that round?

Page 42. "Deal at least 1 damage to one or more enemy ships". 1XP

I still like my TLT on my Y-wing. There are a lot of missions where you need to damage something, but not kill it. I'm thinking of that captured shuttle. TLT's are good there.

Another somewhat lame, but super effective strategy on the shuttle (unless this has been updated) is Proton Bomb and Extra Munitions. If you can catch the shuttle twice, you can leave its shields in place and get it down to 3 hull. Plus, you can throw out a bunch of crits at any nearby TIE Fighters!

****, then we did forego quite a bit of XP, since we did the one damage thing per mission. But that only excaberates the problems. Your points about playing the AI wrong ring true, but I'm at a loss what it is that we could be doing wrong. Can you point to some stuff you think is important to remember?

****, then we did forego quite a bit of XP, since we did the one damage thing per mission. But that only excaberates the problems. Your points about playing the AI wrong ring true, but I'm at a loss what it is that we could be doing wrong. Can you point to some stuff you think is important to remember?

Playing with T-70's?

We used that one only for the last two missions, so it can't be the root cause. Especially since that was one of the missions we actually lost But point taken, that one's out.

Hey all, my sons and I are absolutely hooked on this campaign. Probably the most fun we have had playing this game. Had one moment in particular during the "Tread Softly" mission that I just had to write up. The short little BatRep grew to become a full short story in its own right.

Haven't attempted anything like this in a long while but it was too much fun to stop writing until it was done.

Fair warning, it's about 6 pages typed out but if you are interested in some short fiction set in the Aturi Cluster it's here.

Stefan asked - "The Unhinged Astromech can't be fitted on the T65, since it's a Salvaged Astromech, right? I took him in the beginning until I realized my mistake and went for the generic R2. Unhinged Astromech also seems ridiculously cheap to put on a Y-Wing. And I don't get at all what you mean with the XP, can you get a bit more specific? And what's TLT?"

.

The TLT is the Twin Laser Turret (in the k-wing expansion, if your group is a stickler to having the cards for the campaign), and is very good, I suggest you look it up on the wikia...it can only do 2 damage (one per attack) but since it is effectively rolling3 dice twice, it gives a greater chance of doing SOME damage to high agility fighters.

Yes the Unhinged astro, is a Salvaged Astromech (R5 topped icon), is not allowed for Xwings and Ywings of the Rebels in the standard game nor in the campaign. But we found a mission designed by someone else, that if we won (which we did) we could buy scum astros (as 1.5 times the cost to buyhem normally), and use them in our Rebel ships (the catch with the scum astros was we cant use Integrated Astromech with them.

Another bonus for winning the mission was we would also get to upgrade to Scum ships (only the Starviper, Mist Hunter, Scyk and Khizrax)...but they cost 7 points to swap rather than the normal cost of 5 (for A-wing, bwing or Hwk).

There are some non-offifical missions made by other guys such as this Smuggler/Trader resuce one that we have found. Some are on these boards, and some are online elsewhere. Somewhere on these boards several people were making an imperial version even.

We havent allowed the Kwing, Ewing, nor T-70, and do not plan to, since they are all from theNew Republic/TFA era of fighters....though we do allow the new T-70 pilot abilities (Poe, Blue and Red Ace...Ello's would be useless).

****, then we did forego quite a bit of XP, since we did the one damage thing per mission. But that only excaberates the problems. Your points about playing the AI wrong ring true, but I'm at a loss what it is that we could be doing wrong. Can you point to some stuff you think is important to remember?

Look at the examples in the rules specifically the one showing how to determine fleeing or closing. Also, if an AI bumped a rebel, nose to nose, treat it as R1 BEHIND the AI ship. The AI movement is crucial to the game! If used incorrectly it's disastrous for the AI. There are several examples in the rules that you should layout on the table and follow.

Understand how and when the AIs get their actions! Very important.

When you're using points to outfit your ships remember:

1) No EPTs until PS3. Then at odd levels; 3, 5, 7, 9. Even levels give you modifications.

2) Boost in pilot skill is 2 times the new level in XP. Going from PS2 to PS3 is 6 points. Level 4 is 8 points.

3) Read pages 12 & 13 in thd rules. That explains the spending of XPs and buying mods, upgrades and changing ships. Page 14 addresses pilot skills and their purchase cost.

From what you've written I think the problem lies in how you're handling the AIs movement and actions. Gotta make sure they are right.

Finally, there is a away to score more than 1XP per round. Check page 42 for all the ways to earn points. If you shoot a Tie, you get 1 point. Shoot and kill it, 2 points. If you shoot and kill a non-Tie fighter, like an Interceptor, you get 3 points. But, if you drop a bomb that does 1 point of damage to 6 enemy ships you get 1 point. You'll be lauded a hero but still only get 1 point.

If you haven't already, print the rules out. I find it easier to handle problems when I have paper in hand. Without watching a game I'll hazard a guess and say you're using the AI movement incorrectly. Last night a friend and I ran "Capture the Officer" with us each running two ships. That meant the AI was running 4 additional escorts. Watching 7 Imperial ships turn a hard 2 and not bump was a thing of beauty! We got beat up badly and had to jump and lost the mission but for the most part the AI flew great.

Stefan asked - "The Unhinged Astromech can't be fitted on the T65, since it's a Salvaged Astromech, right? I took him in the beginning until I realized my mistake and went for the generic R2. Unhinged Astromech also seems ridiculously cheap to put on a Y-Wing. And I don't get at all what you mean with the XP, can you get a bit more specific? And what's TLT?"

.

The TLT is the Twin Laser Turret (in the k-wing expansion, if your group is a stickler to having the cards for the campaign), and is very good, I suggest you look it up on the wikia...it can only do 2 damage (one per attack) but since it is effectively rolling3 dice twice, it gives a greater chance of doing SOME damage to high agility fighters.

Yes the Unhinged astro, is a Salvaged Astromech (R5 topped icon), is not allowed for Xwings and Ywings of the Rebels in the standard game nor in the campaign. But we found a mission designed by someone else, that if we won (which we did) we could buy scum astros (as 1.5 times the cost to buyhem normally), and use them in our Rebel ships (the catch with the scum astros was we cant use Integrated Astromech with them.

Another bonus for winning the mission was we would also get to upgrade to Scum ships (only the Starviper, Mist Hunter, Scyk and Khizrax)...but they cost 7 points to swap rather than the normal cost of 5 (for A-wing, bwing or Hwk).

There are some non-offifical missions made by other guys such as this Smuggler/Trader resuce one that we have found. Some are on these boards, and some are online elsewhere. Somewhere on these boards several people were making an imperial version even.

We havent allowed the Kwing, Ewing, nor T-70, and do not plan to, since they are all from theNew Republic/TFA era of fighters....though we do allow the new T-70 pilot abilities (Poe, Blue and Red Ace...Ello's would be useless).

Can you point me to where those missions can be had?

****, then we did forego quite a bit of XP, since we did the one damage thing per mission. But that only excaberates the problems. Your points about playing the AI wrong ring true, but I'm at a loss what it is that we could be doing wrong. Can you point to some stuff you think is important to remember?

Look at the examples in the rules specifically the one showing how to determine fleeing or closing. Also, if an AI bumped a rebel, nose to nose, treat it as R1 BEHIND the AI ship. The AI movement is crucial to the game! If used incorrectly it's disastrous for the AI. There are several examples in the rules that you should layout on the table and follow.

Understand how and when the AIs get their actions! Very important.

When you're using points to outfit your ships remember:

1) No EPTs until PS3. Then at odd levels; 3, 5, 7, 9. Even levels give you modifications.

2) Boost in pilot skill is 2 times the new level in XP. Going from PS2 to PS3 is 6 points. Level 4 is 8 points.

3) Read pages 12 & 13 in thd rules. That explains the spending of XPs and buying mods, upgrades and changing ships. Page 14 addresses pilot skills and their purchase cost.

From what you've written I think the problem lies in how you're handling the AIs movement and actions. Gotta make sure they are right.

Finally, there is a away to score more than 1XP per round. Check page 42 for all the ways to earn points. If you shoot a Tie, you get 1 point. Shoot and kill it, 2 points. If you shoot and kill a non-Tie fighter, like an Interceptor, you get 3 points. But, if you drop a bomb that does 1 point of damage to 6 enemy ships you get 1 point. You'll be lauded a hero but still only get 1 point.

If you haven't already, print the rules out. I find it easier to handle problems when I have paper in hand. Without watching a game I'll hazard a guess and say you're using the AI movement incorrectly. Last night a friend and I ran "Capture the Officer" with us each running two ships. That meant the AI was running 4 additional escorts. Watching 7 Imperial ships turn a hard 2 and not bump was a thing of beauty! We got beat up badly and had to jump and lost the mission but for the most part the AI flew great.

Thanks for all the input! So far, I did everything right, with the notable exception of the bumping ships treated as 1 closing. Maybe there's stuff in the Actions, I'll doublecheck that. And I printed everything out

One quick question: in hostile territory, "mission end" means all players are killed. Is this triggered even if I win the mission?

Stefan asked - "The Unhinged Astromech can't be fitted on the T65, since it's a Salvaged Astromech, right? I took him in the beginning until I realized my mistake and went for the generic R2. Unhinged Astromech also seems ridiculously cheap to put on a Y-Wing. And I don't get at all what you mean with the XP, can you get a bit more specific? And what's TLT?"

.

The TLT is the Twin Laser Turret (in the k-wing expansion, if your group is a stickler to having the cards for the campaign), and is very good, I suggest you look it up on the wikia...it can only do 2 damage (one per attack) but since it is effectively rolling3 dice twice, it gives a greater chance of doing SOME damage to high agility fighters.

Yes the Unhinged astro, is a Salvaged Astromech (R5 topped icon), is not allowed for Xwings and Ywings of the Rebels in the standard game nor in the campaign. But we found a mission designed by someone else, that if we won (which we did) we could buy scum astros (as 1.5 times the cost to buyhem normally), and use them in our Rebel ships (the catch with the scum astros was we cant use Integrated Astromech with them.

Another bonus for winning the mission was we would also get to upgrade to Scum ships (only the Starviper, Mist Hunter, Scyk and Khizrax)...but they cost 7 points to swap rather than the normal cost of 5 (for A-wing, bwing or Hwk).

There are some non-offifical missions made by other guys such as this Smuggler/Trader resuce one that we have found. Some are on these boards, and some are online elsewhere. Somewhere on these boards several people were making an imperial version even.

We havent allowed the Kwing, Ewing, nor T-70, and do not plan to, since they are all from theNew Republic/TFA era of fighters....though we do allow the new T-70 pilot abilities (Poe, Blue and Red Ace...Ello's would be useless).

Can you point me to where those missions can be had?

****, then we did forego quite a bit of XP, since we did the one damage thing per mission. But that only excaberates the problems. Your points about playing the AI wrong ring true, but I'm at a loss what it is that we could be doing wrong. Can you point to some stuff you think is important to remember?

Look at the examples in the rules specifically the one showing how to determine fleeing or closing. Also, if an AI bumped a rebel, nose to nose, treat it as R1 BEHIND the AI ship. The AI movement is crucial to the game! If used incorrectly it's disastrous for the AI. There are several examples in the rules that you should layout on the table and follow.

Understand how and when the AIs get their actions! Very important.

When you're using points to outfit your ships remember:

1) No EPTs until PS3. Then at odd levels; 3, 5, 7, 9. Even levels give you modifications.

2) Boost in pilot skill is 2 times the new level in XP. Going from PS2 to PS3 is 6 points. Level 4 is 8 points.

3) Read pages 12 & 13 in thd rules. That explains the spending of XPs and buying mods, upgrades and changing ships. Page 14 addresses pilot skills and their purchase cost.

From what you've written I think the problem lies in how you're handling the AIs movement and actions. Gotta make sure they are right.

Finally, there is a away to score more than 1XP per round. Check page 42 for all the ways to earn points. If you shoot a Tie, you get 1 point. Shoot and kill it, 2 points. If you shoot and kill a non-Tie fighter, like an Interceptor, you get 3 points. But, if you drop a bomb that does 1 point of damage to 6 enemy ships you get 1 point. You'll be lauded a hero but still only get 1 point.

If you haven't already, print the rules out. I find it easier to handle problems when I have paper in hand. Without watching a game I'll hazard a guess and say you're using the AI movement incorrectly. Last night a friend and I ran "Capture the Officer" with us each running two ships. That meant the AI was running 4 additional escorts. Watching 7 Imperial ships turn a hard 2 and not bump was a thing of beauty! We got beat up badly and had to jump and lost the mission but for the most part the AI flew great.

Thanks for all the input! So far, I did everything right, with the notable exception of the bumping ships treated as 1 closing. Maybe there's stuff in the Actions, I'll doublecheck that. And I printed everything out

One quick question: in hostile territory, "mission end" means all players are killed. Is this triggered even if I win the mission?

No. From what I remember, I don't have the cards at hand, that only occurs if all your guys eject and the enemy gets it's victory points. The short campaign requires 2 points, the long 3. If your victorious anyone that ejected has a chance for survival. If you layout all 5 campaigns you'll see which grant VPs. I'll check about mission end later on and verify I'm giving you accurate info.

This is a great game, isn't it? Sure beats a one on one!

It's perfect. So that means that I can wait out the clock in any mission if I fail the mission objective? For example, my transport gets shot down in part 3 of "Minefields". Do you now die when the last turn ends, does the mission immediately end, do I simply survive if I'm still on the board after the last turn? I don't get that part.

Also, after you met the objective, do you have to jump to hyperspace/leave the board? It's important thing, especially if you are down to one hull and there are 6 TIEs on your tail - but you've completed the mission.

Also, after you met the objective, do you have to jump to hyperspace/leave the board? It's important thing, especially if you are down to one hull and there are 6 TIEs on your tail - but you've completed the mission.

My group plays thematicly, so in enemy territory we have to jump out or escape from the correct table egde. Even if we table the AI, we explain that the turn counter is a count down intill something big like an ISD jumps in. If in friendly or neutral we simply have to complete objectives and have min 1 player alive at the end of the last turn unless mission rules state otherwise . At that point in our headcanon, flight control for the AI issues the recall order and they RTB (return to base).

2) Use the ships that have been tested for the game. No T-70s. The idea isn't to see how high a PS you can get but if you can beat the Imperials.

Yep. T-70s and E-Wings definitely bork the difficulty level, and become the auto-take craft. HotAC lets the players cheat and take all sorts of extra upgrades already. I think if you have a player who really has to have the T-70, make them use the upgrade slots for Engine Upgrade and Shield Upgrade too. Then pay the +5. That would likely make it a little more balanced. The E-Wing is a tougher prospect since it not only has the higher attack, but it has the better dial, and no downside in the tradeoff. It gets faster, more maneuverable, same damage potential, same shield regen.

I went through an 8 week campaign as a PS2 Y-Wing pilot but had enough "toys" to tailor my loadout for the mission.

This actually borks the difficulty level of the game, especially if everyone else is going up in level, while you keep the average low by not advancing. The higher PS ships on your team were getting upgrades faster than the enemy was. You most likely "broke" the difficulty level by doing that.

The other suggestion I have, which I mentioned a page back, is don't have new players start at PS2, for the same reason as above. It borks the difficulty level of the game. We play with the "Same as Lowest" rule, so players who miss a session, or new players come in with XP equal to the lowest player's total from the previous session. Keeps the Pilot Skill average on pace, it doesn't set the game into Easy Mode for the higher PS players, and it doesn't discourage the person who has a busier schedule and can't make it every week. The pilots who missed? Maybe they were off on another mission at the time. If somebody dies, I'd suggest the same thing. Start their new pilot down to the lowest person's XP total. Maybe a slight penalty. But starting over from scratch doesn't just suck for that player, it breaks the game's mechanics.

2) Use the ships that have been tested for the game. No T-70s. The idea isn't to see how high a PS you can get but if you can beat the Imperials.

Yep. T-70s and E-Wings definitely bork the difficulty level, and become the auto-take craft. HotAC lets the players cheat and take all sorts of extra upgrades already. I think if you have a player who really has to have the T-70, make them use the upgrade slots for Engine Upgrade and Shield Upgrade too. Then pay the +5. That would likely make it a little more balanced. The E-Wing is a tougher prospect since it not only has the higher attack, but it has the better dial, and no downside in the tradeoff. It gets faster, more maneuverable, same damage potential, same shield regen.

I went through an 8 week campaign as a PS2 Y-Wing pilot but had enough "toys" to tailor my loadout for the mission.

This actually borks the difficulty level of the game, especially if everyone else is going up in level, while you keep the average low by not advancing. The higher PS ships on your team were getting upgrades faster than the enemy was. You most likely "broke" the difficulty level by doing that.

The other suggestion I have, which I mentioned a page back, is don't have new players start at PS2, for the same reason as above. It borks the difficulty level of the game. We play with the "Same as Lowest" rule, so players who miss a session, or new players come in with XP equal to the lowest player's total from the previous session. Keeps the Pilot Skill average on pace, it doesn't set the game into Easy Mode for the higher PS players, and it doesn't discourage the person who has a busier schedule and can't make it every week. The pilots who missed? Maybe they were off on another mission at the time. If somebody dies, I'd suggest the same thing. Start their new pilot down to the lowest person's XP total. Maybe a slight penalty. But starting over from scratch doesn't just suck for that player, it breaks the game's mechanics.

That is true to an extent. But when you're running five to six pilots, all PS5 or above, one PS2 doesn't shake the average that bad. I think artificially boosting a new pilot or one that's missed a mission throws a bigger skew into the game.

It's perfect. So that means that I can wait out the clock in any mission if I fail the mission objective? For example, my transport gets shot down in part 3 of "Minefields". Do you now die when the last turn ends, does the mission immediately end, do I simply survive if I'm still on the board after the last turn? I don't get that part.

That chart in the rules details what happens if you don't win. If you're still on the board, in friendly territory, when time is called you're considered to have retreated. You can also leave by any edge.

In neutral territory there's a particular edge you must use or jump to hyper-space or you can stay on the board and it's considered a retreat.

In enemy territory if you haven't left and time is called you are destroyed.

So the last line for Mission End only applies if you haven't fulfilled the victory requirements. I was told that when you win a mission in Neutral or Enemy territory it becomes Friendly for purposes of ejection. I can't verify that yet.

Also, after you met the objective, do you have to jump to hyperspace/leave the board? It's important thing, especially if you are down to one hull and there are 6 TIEs on your tail - but you've completed the mission.

You do. You have to play until you escape or the time-limit ends, even if you've met all the objectives.

We had the same question, because it's spelled out only once ... on page 29, numeral 6, second paragraph. Very easy to overlook.

I think artificially boosting a new pilot or one that's missed a mission throws a bigger skew into the game.

I'm not sure how one can arrive at this conclusion.

What you're doing lowers the average pilot skill, reducing the overall difficulty and making the game easier. Beginning at PS6 (or PS5 rounding down with 6 pilots), with 5 or 6 pilots, the average pilot skill of the group has decreased by 1. Which means, from then on, missions with PS thresholds for upgraded or additional Imperial craft are being pushed back. It also results in weaker Elites, when the Elites are intended to be one level higher than the players.

Bumping a pilot up to the bottom of the pack corrects that artificial decrease to the difficulty level. It actually can't possibly skew anything in the game unless you consider "play at intended difficulty" to be skewed, lol.

I think artificially boosting a new pilot or one that's missed a mission throws a bigger skew into the game.

I'm not sure how one can arrive at this conclusion.

What you're doing lowers the average pilot skill, reducing the overall difficulty and making the game easier. Beginning at PS6 (or PS5 rounding down with 6 pilots), with 5 or 6 pilots, the average pilot skill of the group has decreased by 1. Which means, from then on, missions with PS thresholds for upgraded or additional Imperial craft are being pushed back. It also results in weaker Elites, when the Elites are intended to be one level higher than the players.

Bumping a pilot up to the bottom of the pack corrects that artificial decrease to the difficulty level. It actually can't possibly skew anything in the game unless you consider "play at intended difficulty" to be skewed, lol.

What do you do with upgrades? If I miss two missions and now I get boosted to say a PS5 what happens? If I read you correctly, I now a ps5 with my PS2 kit. And what of pilots that get killed? Do they come back at their pre-vaporised PS? I think you over estimate thd effect of one or two low PS pilots make.

I think there's enough flexibility built into the game to allow for a PS2 pilot.

I literally just did the math. It's not an estimation. Estimation would mean I just guessed. Past PS5, a single PS2 pilot has adjusted the average pilot skill down by 1 in a group of 4 or more players (it starts at PS4 with 3 players), therefore potentially weakening the Imperial deployment draws and the Imperial Elites. For example, if you have three players, 2 at PS6, and 1 at PS2, your average PS is 4.67. If you have 6 players, 5 at PS6, and 1 at PS2, it is still only 5.3.

As an example, if you draw an Elite Interceptor, you've dropped its upgrades down to the PS4+ stat bar, rather than the PS6+ stat bar. It now moves before the five PS6 Rebels and has one less ability. That's what I am getting at. It automatically reduces the difficulty level of the game. In missions where an average PS increases the number, or type of ships being drawn, it potentially reduces that as well.

The game is designed so that once half the group reaches a specific pilot skill, that the average pilot skill of the group goes up to that number. It keeps that first guy getting ahead from skewing the game, but it also means that the difficulty level of the game keeps progressing. One player staying at 2 decreases that rate of increase. In fact, it creates situations down the line where the first player to reach a higher pilot skill can theoretically be playing 2 PS above the average.

In the mission where the Elite Interceptors all show up to hunt the players, it changes the dynamic of that mission from a frantic fight to the death against Interceptors moving second and shooting first as designed, to a mission where the Rebels are potentially able to reposition and arc dodge by moving second.

Staying at PS2 will make it seem harder to you, individually, but in reality it's actually making the missions as a whole easier. Though playing as a Y-Wing decreases that individually perceived difficulty, since the Y-Wing is somewhat less dependent on repositioning because of its turret.

When I say you bump people up to the lowest player's XP total, it's exactly that. They then just buy upgrades with that additional point amount. If you were 2, and had 17 total XP, and you miss a couple missions, and you come back and the lowest player 28 total XP, you now have 28 total XP, with 11 more XP to spend.

We're allowing E Wings in our campaign, mostly because the E Wing is one of our players favourite ships and he'd be a sad panda if we said he couldn't use it. Especially since it kinda sucks in the normal game, and it has the potential to be a beast here in HotAC. Also, we made it a minimum of PS5 to upgrade and gave it a 5xp penalty so it meant that when he took it, he had to temporarily forgo another upgrade or pilot trait.

How long are your games going?

I'm playing with a friend. We each have 2 ships so we're doing 4player enemy strength.

Even with setting up all the ships the day before, it took us nearly 3 hours to do the Holonet mission.

The HotAC book says missions should be 60-90 mins but I'm not seeing how that's possible.

How long are your games going?

Live games go about 90 minutes. VASSAL games go two to 2.5 hours.

We squeezed two games into three hours the other night.

How long are your games going?

I'm playing with a friend. We each have 2 ships so we're doing 4player enemy strength.

Even with setting up all the ships the day before, it took us nearly 3 hours to do the Holonet mission.

The HotAC book says missions should be 60-90 mins but I'm not seeing how that's possible.

Do you have a third guy running the AI? We don't and it takes much longer than stated. With the equivalent of a 4 player game you have more Imp ships to run which takes a lot more time to move once they break formation. On top of that you have two ships each to worry about and hashing out a grand strategy is time consuming. I wouldn't worry about game length. Just have fun.

Some of the missions just take longer. The Holonet is one of them. Finding the '12' twice, getting the HWK off the board and fighting the Imps in between takes up a lot of time compared to a mission like Local Trouble.