Title says it all, when building your list, how many points do you put into a ship before you expect more performance from it, and does that change if it's an ace rather than generic?

The Empire expects that every ship will do its duty.

Every game against Carnor Jax.

Apart from my slightly facetious answer, you must allow me to confess I do not fully understand the question.

If I put 12 or 50 points in a ship, I expect it to fulfill its role. If 60 points of Decimator explodes but puts my remaining ships in such a position that victory will not escape me, it has done what I needed it to do: help destroy the enemy.

Most of a time, when I'm expecting more from a ship than it can really deliver, I chalk it up to pilot error or inexperience with that ship.

The two biggest contenders for me are Darth Vader and the Stresshog. I have difficulty positioning my Stresshog in such a way that it can keep itself alive for more than a turn after combat starts.

Same goes for Vader, and TIE Advanced pilots in general. I really struggle to get the Advanced dial to work within my playstyle. They can't really slow-roll and don't have the turns for a knife-fight, but K-turning with Vader is risky because of his lack of quality green moves.

I know other players don't have these problems, so I put them squarely on myself for not being able to make those pilots work.

When I spend 3 points on a Tie Fighter to give it PTL for defensive actions, I expect to not insta-die.

I really struggle to get the Advanced dial to work within my playstyle. They can't really slow-roll and don't have the turns for a knife-fight, but K-turning with Vader is risky because of his lack of quality green moves.

I know other players don't have these problems, so I put them squarely on myself for not being able to make those pilots work.

FWIW I have exactly that problem with TIE Advanced, and it's why I no longer fly them as aces. I do still run cheap ones with Accuracy Corrector, though.

I expect to get something for every point I spend on a ship. Otherwise, I don't think I'd spend those points. I must admit, I think I'm in Dagonet's situation, where I don't really understand the question, because I think my answer is kind of self-evident. I don't spend points for its own sake, I spend them to get something done.

When redline unloads 2 clusters and a plasma, I expect to have something die

The only die that went on today were the green ones

You have to take a holistic view of the your squadron. What function is each ship accomplishing, and how does it complement other ships in the list?

The two lists used at the World Championship match are illuminating of this point. Taken on it's own, a Z-95 is a decent little filler ship. In Paul's list, it's functionality as a blocker and bait ship complement the functionality of the other 3 ships in his list, which amplifies it's value beyond just the 12 points in dice that it normally brings. Both Paul and Nathan's lists use these cheap blockers because of this synergy, not "just because they're good fillers".

Another good example of the 3 K-Wing flown by Aaron Bonar. You can hear the announcer's incredulity about Aaron's list - K-Wings with TLT and tactician don't seem like that strong of a choice on their own, wouldn't you run into diminishing returns by spamming 3 of them? After all, aren't they all just filling the same function, in stark contrast to the lists above? But it turns out that you reach a tipping point where you so overwhelm your opponent's ability to maneuver and take actions that he is unable to effectively fight back - the opponent ends up playing against Your Strategy, rather than to his own strengths.

I really struggle to get the Advanced dial to work within my playstyle. They can't really slow-roll and don't have the turns for a knife-fight, but K-turning with Vader is risky because of his lack of quality green moves.

I know other players don't have these problems, so I put them squarely on myself for not being able to make those pilots work.

FWIW I have exactly that problem with TIE Advanced, and it's why I no longer fly them as aces. I do still run cheap ones with Accuracy Corrector, though.

Juno guys, Juno Eclipse.

She gets an interceptor dial with inbuilt navigator.

I expect better performance than when my Corran rolls 5 green blanks.

I really struggle to get the Advanced dial to work within my playstyle. They can't really slow-roll and don't have the turns for a knife-fight, but K-turning with Vader is risky because of his lack of quality green moves.

I know other players don't have these problems, so I put them squarely on myself for not being able to make those pilots work.

FWIW I have exactly that problem with TIE Advanced, and it's why I no longer fly them as aces. I do still run cheap ones with Accuracy Corrector, though.

Juno guys, Juno Eclipse.

She gets an interceptor dial with inbuilt navigator.

interceptors dont get 1 forwards or 1 banks

they do have green turns, though

more of a yt-2400 on steroids

I would like my ships to at least do an equal amount of points damage to an opponent before they die.

But like some of my expectations?

Cheers

Baaa