I seem to be getting worse at this game, not better, and am practicing more on the Squad Benchmark thingy but as my real playtime has been limited and I stick to just Scum ships, I don't have a whole lot of experience when it comes to how to best setup different squads/ships/obstacles and was wondering if (beyond the "Turn Zero" articles) there are any sources of info where i can find out a 'typical' setup for (say) a Palpmobile/Aces squad and where that pilot would put their asteroids.

I know a lot of this will be a 'in the moment' decision but I got good at chess by practicing opening moves and got good at martial arts by practicing on people when they were (initially) sleeping, is there a way I can follow similar logic and get better (via Squad Benchmark) at XWM?

Thanks,

Frustrated Monkey

Keep your ships close together.. Don't allow the enemy to attack a ship without all your ships being able to fire back. Move slow and make them come to you, it gives you more room and them less..

Don't go head to head.. always try to out maneuver and stay out of their fire arc's..

What scum do you favor.. I'm more imperial myself.. what gives you the most trouble

Scum are just coming into their own. They use a lot of one use cards making timing more crucial..

Maybe not the best person to give advice here since I haven't played my 1st game yet.

I've learned a whole lot about teams, ship movement, builds and everything else from watching the tournaments on YouTube and looking up tutorials for things that confuse me. Hopefully this helps.

There are many videos out there of store championship (and higher) tournament matches with some of the more common build archetypes. Check out those videos and take note of the asteroid placement for your practice sessions.

Two:

First the shuttle should always start in the corner imo. Especially for Palp. Usually the aces should start away from the shuttle imo. Although having 1 close can help too. This creates a flank immediately.

The question is the facing:

Facing forward. When you want to do a flank or get that attack value in a list that isn't going to dump the shuttle in one turn.

Good for Ace matches. TLT matches. Random weirdo squads.

Facing to run away along your edge: Lists that will destroy the shuttle in one turn: Han Jake with Prockets and Cluster missiles. All Ordnance. 3uboat 5 khiraklnskc. 7 tie fighter. 6 tie fighter... you might want the damage.

To me set ups are list dependent.

For example, When playing a low PS list against a higher PS list I feel that you your set up will be more consistent e.g. setting up in formation in a corner. In this situation the higher PS list has the opportunity to "counter" your set up and because of that you'll lean towards a safer deployment.

The question you need to constantly ask yourself is simply "what am I trying to achieve here?" If you can't answer that question I would advise experimenting. Plenty of people (including myself) get more value out of experimentation more than anything else.

Be critical of everything you do and you'll eventually get to the point where your deployment will always achieve what you want it to along with everything else in the game

Rocks are big and I'm slowly trying to learn this one. Approach speeds and angles are next. I've been working on the angle perhaps too hard and not getting the speed right. The wrong speed puts me in whatever range bracket the opponent wants.

My biggest problem is large turrets. Still practicing this one...

You don't necessarily need to keep all your ships together (in fact it may be favourable not to depending on what you're running and what your opponent is running).

What you DO want to think of however, is being able to have all your ships firing in the initial engagement. Ideally, you want all your ships to get a shot (preferably on the same target), and prevent your opponent from doing the same.

I'd recommend you post a list you're working on, as this is an extremely list dependent topic. You could definitely get better suggestions if we know what you're working with -- even if there are a couple of lists you have your eyes on.

A swarm needs to position itself FAR different than Palp Aces or Triple U-boats, for example.

To me set ups are list dependent.

Yeah, it depends on what you are flying. Scum has a lot of variety. Some go for Bro Bots or maybe two other big ships. You can go with 3 Kihraxz Fighters and 2 Hvy Scyks. You can go Xizor and Z-95 mini swarm (Prince and the New Power Generation). Lots of things you can do. Each is totally different.

What I like to do with something like Imp Aces is to create a big block in the middle. It encourages him to try to flank with part of his force on one side and the rest on the other. From here, you either feint towards one and then turn hard on the flanker to blast it to pieces before the rest of his ships come in.....or, you gun it for the first half before the other comes around. So, block in the middle, but make sure the asteroids come down towards your side so that it's harder for him to cut through. Make him go long. Hopefully you smash half his list before the other arrives.

Keep in mind that the Squad Benchmark program is very limited in the AI. I find that the ships don't always fly the way a typical person would and it is much easier than a real opponent.

For Obstacles, a few strategies that I have seen and used myself:

- Players set up at Range 2 from the edge as a reference for knowing if you can perform a 3-Kturn.

- This is also useful as a Shuttle can perform a 2 Turn inside that distance from the edge of the mat.

- Setting up your obstacles in a wedge pointed toward your opponent can be useful to direct their movements, particularly with Large ships.

- I see a lot of opponents choosing debris over asteroids due to the fact that the odds of damage are lower and you can still fire when overlapping debris.

- Keep in mind that you can select whatever obstacles your opponent brings to place on the map. You can throw your opponent off if you take their obstacle and place it somewhere they didn't expect.

Starting position, as noted, is somewhat dependent on your list.

- Shuttles tend to do better starting in a corner with a slow approach to avoid flanking and keep them in the fight longer.

- Maneuverable ships tend to be good toward the middle to give you more options for movement and keep your opponent guessing.

- Faster Ships (Straight 4 and 5 with boost) are good on the opposite side of the map for approaching from a flanking position.

- Swarms with low red dice tend to do well grouped together, but take care to be aware of Assault missles or other abilities that can affect multiple ships.

- Know what your ships can do in relation to their maneuvers and abilities. Some are better jousters than others, while others are better off outmaneuvering.

- Knowing the maneuvers of your opponent is also good to anticipate where they will move. Carrying reference cards is a good practice versus trying to remember every ship's moves.

I have spent a fair amount of time setting up asteroids and initial placement with a squad before a big tournament to judge opening movements and how best to use obstacles to protect my ships as mislead my opponents.

I know a lot of this will be a 'in the moment' decision but I got good at chess by practicing opening moves and got good at martial arts by practicing on people when they were (initially) sleeping,

As you said, it's an in the moment decision, Opening positions and moves have a lot to do with your list valuation skills, and the tactical plan that you make - How you want to fly your list, what you think will work best against the opponents list. Many people have given good advice above.

I suggest the opposite, play against someone who's wide awake - yourself. Plan your list first, then - plan as your opponents list, as if you have guessed every move that you were going to make. Do this enough - and you'll start to see what approaches work.

I also suggest - practicing one thing at a time - Turn 0 / 1 have several variables going on at once - and in any given game, it can be hard to see what is having the largest effect - for example...

Obstacle placement (Wide / Dense / Clumped / Offset / Mirrored / Corners / Central / Random)

Friendly Ship Placement/ facing (Together / split / single )

Enemy ship placement (initiative? Across, Opposite corner, divide, encircle)

Initial movement (Slow, Fast, split, join etc...)

Target-ting priority. (Which enemy ship have you decided to kill first?, Concentrate fire, spread fire?)

Try 3-4 games, keeping most (4/5) of those things the same. (More if you can).

Here's a link primarily focused on initial movement possibilities

https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/218095-its-about-the-opening/

Okay, nobody else is asking, but I've gotta know; what's up with this?

Okay, nobody else is asking, but I've gotta know; what's up with this?

"...and got good at martial arts by practicing on people when they were (initially) sleeping..."

Thanks for all the replies, you've all been very helpful

Martial Monkey

To me set ups are list dependent.

Yeah, it depends on what you are flying. Scum has a lot of variety. Some go for Bro Bots or maybe two other big ships. You can go with 3 Kihraxz Fighters and 2 Hvy Scyks. You can go Xizor and Z-95 mini swarm (Prince and the New Power Generation). Lots of things you can do. Each is totally different.

What I like to do with something like Imp Aces is to create a big block in the middle. It encourages him to try to flank with part of his force on one side and the rest on the other. From here, you either feint towards one and then turn hard on the flanker to blast it to pieces before the rest of his ships come in.....or, you gun it for the first half before the other comes around. So, block in the middle, but make sure the asteroids come down towards your side so that it's harder for him to cut through. Make him go long. Hopefully you smash half his list before the other arrives.

Couldn't agree more. There's nothing better than being able to swing your entire force in a surprise counter move at their flanking pilot!

Okay, nobody else is asking, but I've gotta know; what's up with this?

"...and got good at martial arts by practicing on people when they were (initially) sleeping..."

I learned Karate from a book and it said nothing taught you more than fighting a live opponent but anytime I tried to fight someone they beat the crap out of me while I was still figuring out my moves so I decided that if I made the first move while they were asleep then I could get a chance to practice a few combos before they could fight back. I used to practice on my cell mate until release then I continued my training with the guy who lives down by the bridge and calls everyone an Arab. He used to sleep on a bench but for the last few days he has been mixing it up and I haven't seen him. Does that make more sense?

Thanks for all the replies, you've all been very helpful

Martial Monkey

"Does that make more sense?"

No. No it does not.

Okay, nobody else is asking, but I've gotta know; what's up with this?

"...and got good at martial arts by practicing on people when they were (initially) sleeping..."

I learned Karate from a book and it said nothing taught you more than fighting a live opponent but anytime I tried to fight someone they beat the crap out of me while I was still figuring out my moves so I decided that if I made the first move while they were asleep then I could get a chance to practice a few combos before they could fight back. I used to practice on my cell mate until release then I continued my training with the guy who lives down by the bridge and calls everyone an Arab. He used to sleep on a bench but for the last few days he has been mixing it up and I haven't seen him. Does that make more sense?

Thanks for all the replies, you've all been very helpful

Martial Monkey

"Does that make more sense?"

No. No it does not.

Then again once you send a monkey into space, he'll never be the same...

I disagree to put your ships close together. If the enemy has only one firing arc to consider, then he will have an easy play. Expect for some squad types, formational flight is obsolete. Formation is only important for buffing ships like Howlrunner or Biggs where younhave tonstay in range 1. Try to spread your ships a bit (not too far) but combine your firing arcs to a distict area (for example coming from different spots/angles with a hotspot for concentrated fire). I confess, this is much harder to play for you but also to counter, therefore a lot more worth it!