I get that he is more of a threat when he has them but is it worth the effective 5 point cost for what is essentially one attack with two extra dice.
Put in context it is the difference between being able to run him with 3 blue squadron pilots and 3 dagger squadron pilots. Personally I think the chance to shoot before jumps with 3 ships is worth much more that that extra 2 dice (if I even get a chance to use them).
Prockets are definitely worth 3 points. I'm not sure they're worth 5.
A few examples are the easiest way to highlight the situatinal usefulness of Prockets.
Let's say Jake Farrell is shooting a B-wing at range 1:
He'll have a target lock and focus, because PTL is a given on him, and is probably safe from most enemy fire, because he can boost/barrel roll to arc dodge. The B-wing will have focus.
In this scenario, a straight up 3 dice primary attack will do (on average) 35/16 damage, which is slightly over 2 points of damage. On a B-wing, that's pathetic, and x-wings or almost any 3 agility ship can shrug off that kind of damage for a long, long time. However, adding two extra dice through proton rockets changes things drastically - you're not just adding two dice here; you're adding two dice, focus and a target lock. This causes the expected damage to skyrocket to 65/16, or a little over 4 damage. I.e. you're doubling your damage. Of course, that's only half the b-wings health, so you'd still want a back-up plan to finish the job.
Now let's take it to the other extreme: somehow you've managed to outmaneuver Soontir Fel with stealth device and autothrusters - a standard build - and he realises this. He turtles up with focus, focus and evade. You've got your target lock and focus just like before. The question now is: are prockets REALLY worth it, when it counts?
Well, If you're doing a primary weapon attack at range one with three dice, you can expect a grad total of -11/16 damage. Essentially that means you can expect absolutely zero damage from an ideal shot, almost all the time (excluding utterly horrible Soontir green dice). In other words, you've just about lost the end-game. Now for the prockets. With prockets against a turtled Soontir, you can expect 19/16 damage. So just by using some prockets, you can all but guarantee a point of damage, strip a stealth device and leave Soontir reeling.
My personal go-to procket Jake build is:
Jake Farrell (24)
-A-wing Test Pilot (0)
-Proton rockets (3)
-Veteran Instincts (1)
-Push The Limit (3)
-Autothrusters (2)
Total: 33 points
Veteran Instincts is added to allow you to maneuver with the big aces: Soontir, Inquisitor, Vader, etc. It's an essential late-game upgrade for Jake in my books.
PTL gives you an action economy as good as Soontir's (but with a different emphasis) and Autothrusters is for all those ridiculous turrets.
Conclusion: Prockets definitely give you a stronger alpha strike, but against low agility target (AGI 1-3) you're normally better off with upgrades that last forever, like fire control system. Against high agility targets Prockets do exceptionally well, and can be well worth their "5" points on an A-wing, provided the right situations occur. In direct answer to the question posed: Procket Jake is best against high agility squads/aces. Dagger squadron B-wings are best against swarms and Jumpmaster 5000s. Bluse suadron pilots aren't really good against anything, but by adding Fire control system to them they become excellent jousters.
P.S. Add guidance chips to Jake to be almost certain of 5 hit results.
It really depends on what else you're flying. Jake is probably the single best ship to put prockets on, since he can reposition AND end up with target lock/focus within a single round. However, I've left prockets unused after enough games that I have to seriously consider whether to use them. Who are you flying him with?
I guess if I was to run him without it would be this list:
Rebel Regen (100)
Poe Dameron (37) - T-70 X-Wing
Veteran Instincts (1), R5-P9 (3), Autothrusters (2)
Ello Asty (37) - T-70 X-Wing
Veteran Instincts (1), R2-D2 (4), Autothrusters (2)
Jake Farrell (26) - A-Wing
Push The Limit (3), Chardaan Refit (-2), A-Wing Test Pilot (0), Veteran Instincts (1)
And with it would be this one:
(100)
Poe Dameron (37) - T-70 X-Wing
Veteran Instincts (1), R5-P9 (3), Autothrusters (2)
Jake Farrell (33) - A-Wing
Push The Limit (3), Proton Rockets (3), A-Wing Test Pilot (0), Autothrusters (2), Veteran Instincts (1)
Prototype Pilot (15) - A-Wing
Chardaan Refit (-2)
Prototype Pilot (15) - A-Wing
Chardaan Refit (-2)
But could tinker with this one a little and switch out the proto blockers for an R4D6 biggs
It's not really a question
Poor guy doesn't do much without them
It's not really a question
Poor guy doesn't do much without them
Exactly. If you are flying Jake at 28 points with no prockets, he is nigh useless against any ship that has 3 agility and can stack defensive tokens (PTL interceptors, X-7 defenders and even Dengar in a dengaroo list).
You either take prockets on him to give you a 33 point suicide ship that will hopefully nuke something before it goes, or if you don't have the points for that, then take a different ship/build.
Edited by blade_mercurialFunny you should say that as i'm thinking i may end up facing a dengaroo list. Considering either 3 Blue Squad A's or Fat Han to accompany my procket Jake.
I'm not convinced a pricket attack has to be a suicide attack though as he has a good chance of being out of arc of non-turret ships
Funny you should say that as i'm thinking i may end up facing a dengaroo list. Considering either 3 Blue Squad A's or Fat Han to accompany my procket Jake.
I'm not convinced a pricket attack has to be a suicide attack though as he has a good chance of being out of arc of non-turret ships
Well, Jake doesn't have to be a suicide ship all the time, but against Dengar, he definitely will die. There is really no way Jake can survive very long against Dengar w/ LW, zuckuss and over-clocked.
For that reason, it might be best to use Jake as a way to really soften up Manaroo. Unlike most ships, he's one of the few that can actually chase Manaroo successfully, although if she's boosting, its unlikely to ever get the prockets off---but its the threat that counts...
Edited by blade_mercurialA few examples are the easiest way to highlight the situatinal usefulness of Prockets.
Let's say Jake Farrell is shooting a B-wing at range 1:
He'll have a target lock and focus, because PTL is a given on him, and is probably safe from most enemy fire, because he can boost/barrel roll to arc dodge. The B-wing will have focus.
In this scenario, a straight up 3 dice primary attack will do (on average) 35/16 damage, which is slightly over 2 points of damage. On a B-wing, that's pathetic, and x-wings or almost any 3 agility ship can shrug off that kind of damage for a long, long time. However, adding two extra dice through proton rockets changes things drastically - you're not just adding two dice here; you're adding two dice, focus and a target lock. This causes the expected damage to skyrocket to 65/16, or a little over 4 damage. I.e. you're doubling your damage. Of course, that's only half the b-wings health, so you'd still want a back-up plan to finish the job.
Now let's take it to the other extreme: somehow you've managed to outmaneuver Soontir Fel with stealth device and autothrusters - a standard build - and he realises this. He turtles up with focus, focus and evade. You've got your target lock and focus just like before. The question now is: are prockets REALLY worth it, when it counts?
Well, If you're doing a primary weapon attack at range one with three dice, you can expect a grad total of -11/16 damage. Essentially that means you can expect absolutely zero damage from an ideal shot, almost all the time (excluding utterly horrible Soontir green dice). In other words, you've just about lost the end-game. Now for the prockets. With prockets against a turtled Soontir, you can expect 19/16 damage. So just by using some prockets, you can all but guarantee a point of damage, strip a stealth device and leave Soontir reeling.
My personal go-to procket Jake build is:
Jake Farrell (24)
-A-wing Test Pilot (0)
-Proton rockets (3)
-Veteran Instincts (1)
-Push The Limit (3)
-Autothrusters (2)
Total: 33 points
Veteran Instincts is added to allow you to maneuver with the big aces: Soontir, Inquisitor, Vader, etc. It's an essential late-game upgrade for Jake in my books.
PTL gives you an action economy as good as Soontir's (but with a different emphasis) and Autothrusters is for all those ridiculous turrets.
Conclusion: Prockets definitely give you a stronger alpha strike, but against low agility target (AGI 1-3) you're normally better off with upgrades that last forever, like fire control system. Against high agility targets Prockets do exceptionally well, and can be well worth their "5" points on an A-wing, provided the right situations occur. In direct answer to the question posed: Procket Jake is best against high agility squads/aces. Dagger squadron B-wings are best against swarms and Jumpmaster 5000s. Bluse suadron pilots aren't really good against anything, but by adding Fire control system to them they become excellent jousters.
P.S. Add guidance chips to Jake to be almost certain of 5 hit results.
Now that's an answer and a half. That Jake load out is the same as the one that I use +/- prockets. And can be pretty tricksy late game (have taken out a VI Whisper 1 on 1 end game largely due to moving second).
Thinking about taking on a dengaroo it may be better to go with the blue squad and Jake as whatever happens they move before Dengar and Jake can chase what will hopefully be a tokenless manaroo around (and just hope he doesn't have a revenge bot)