Hi guys!

I just wanted to point out that the name of the Elite Pilot Talent upgrade (EPT) was changed to Elite as of the new The Force Awakens Core Set. Honestly, I think most of you know this, but you just continue to call it an EPT out of habit. I understand. And I suppose I'm not really writing this to convince anybody to change. It's more that every time I write "Elite upgrade," I feel self conscious that people are gonna think I'm an idiot for leaving off the "Pilot Talent" portion, even though technically it's the most up-to-date terminology.

Why do I care? I suppose since I'm in the field of naming and describing species, nomenclature and taxonomy is important to me. But like I said, this is less of a "YOU HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR WAYS NOW!!!!!!" post and more of "Just in case you didn't realize ..." sort of post.

You know, I did not realize that as I have yet to pick up a new core set. This is absolutely news to me and I definitely would've been a little perplexed had someone dropped the "Pilot Talent" from EPT.

Thanks for the PSA!

Oh look, a PSA. What do you want, a medal?

oh...

If I walk up to Biggs and ask "What's your elite pilot talent?" he would respond that he can draw enemy fire better than anyone.

If I instead ask "What's your elite?" he'll just look at me with muted relief in his eyes, as he knows I'll be getting shot first.

I prefer EPT. It sounds better grammatically when spoken. "What EPT is that on Horton?" vs "What elite is that on Miranda?"

the elite ability to not have an elite ability

"What elite is that on Miranda?"

I don't know what sort of weird Halo/Star Wars fan-fic you are into, but lets keep it PG in here.

If I walk up to Biggs and ask "What's your elite pilot talent?" he would respond that he can draw enemy fire better than anyone.

If I instead ask "What's your elite?" he'll just look at me with muted relief in his eyes, as he knows I'll be getting shot first.

I prefer EPT. It sounds better grammatically when spoken. "What EPT is that on Horton?" vs "What elite is that on Miranda?"

Yeah, I can see that. But I also think that is in part because we've said EPT for so long that it sounds natural. That's because "Elite" is usually an adjective. While it can be a noun, that's not how it's used in regards to upgrades. But just look at the Illicit upgrade slot. We say, "What Illicit do you have?" all the time, even though that, too, is an adjective. I think with enough time, saying "What's your Elite?" would sound just as natural, and it's even one syllable shorter! Who can complain about that? In any case, you and others are more than welcome to keep calling them EPTs and I have no problem with that, but I'm going to continue saying "Elite upgrade" or "Elite" like I have been since the TFA core came out. It's all good; we still understand each other. It's like a different dialect.

EDIT: Wait a second, Miranda doesn't get an Elite, and Biggs and Horton only get it with R2-D6. Was that intentional?

It's the Elite icon according to the Rules Reference. Which Elite icon upgrade card do you have equipped? Probably not going to catch on Just like everyone still says sensor slot instead of system slot.

I've never said sensor slot, but it never was a sensor slot. People were just wrong about that

Thanks for the heads up!

If only "Elite Upgrade" didn't shorten to "EU". But I'm sure we'll work it out.

It's the Elite icon according to the Rules Reference. Which Elite icon upgrade card do you have equipped? Probably not going to catch on Just like everyone still says sensor slot instead of system slot.

I'm looking on page 20 and it says:

"Each upgrade icon uses the corresponding name listed below:" Then next to the medal symbol, it says "Elite." So it is an upgrade icon and you could call it "Elite upgrade icon," but the name of the icon is just "Elite."

I just wanted to point out that the name of the Elite Pilot Talent upgrade (EPT) was changed to Elite as of the new The Force Awakens Core Set.

"Elite Pilot Talent" is a player-created name (though it did eventually creep into the FAQ around version 4.0). The original rulebook called them "elite talents".

I just wanted to point out that the name of the Elite Pilot Talent upgrade (EPT) was changed to Elite as of the new The Force Awakens Core Set.

"Elite Pilot Talent" is a player-created name (though it did eventually creep into the FAQ around version 4.0). The original rulebook called them "elite talents".

Interesting. I thought it was in the original rules, but it isn't. Instead, there is an early news article from July 2012 that says, "The bottom of each ship card also features an upgrade bar. Each icon in the upgrade bar corresponds to a type of upgrade available to that specific starfighter. Upgrades include secondary weapons, astromech droids, and elite pilot talents . Each upgrade requires you to spend some of your squad points but allows you to further specialize your strategy." [emphasis mine]. I'm pretty sure this is where the name originated since this article was released before the game was available. I vaguely remember discussing these upgrades after this announcement and I called them elite pilot talents from then until the new TFA core.

EDIT: The following news article then used "elite talent," omitting "pilot," but by then, I think the term "elite pilot talent" was already widely used. [ https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2012/7/30/stay-on-target ]

The TIE Advanced article then referenced "elite pilot talents" again. I think back then we weren't aware just how inconsistent news articles were and put a lot more stock in them.

I also believe the term was used by FFG employees during some interviews, adding further credit to the original use of EPT.

I believe it was original an Elite Pilot Skill, but everyone still called it an EPT.

I don't care. I will still call it an EPT.

Instead, there is an early news article from July 2012 that says, ...

That one article calls them both "elite pilot talent" and "elite talent". They were really inconsistent.

If everyone knows what EPT means, why bother changing it?

Instead, there is an early news article from July 2012 that says, ...

That one article calls them both "elite pilot talent" and "elite talent". They were really inconsistent.

The article writers often don't know what they're talking about. They said you could drop multiple bombs in a round, and the development team then FAQ'ed it. They also said that Nora Wexley can effectively fire 7 red dice.

....um, no. Base 2, +1 for Alliance Overhaul, +1 for Range 1, +1 for Expose/Opportunist, +1 for the added focus.

Maybe my math is wrong, but last time I checked, 2+1+1+1+1 does not equal 7.

And they said you could throw 8 with Adv. Proton Torpedoes? You're still only limited to 6. You can't use Nora's ability for the extra focus because you already spent the target lock for the torpedoes, and Expose/Opportunist will only add 1. And you don't get range bonuses for secondary weapons, and Alliance Overhaul only counts for primary weapons.

Am I missing something?

If everyone knows what EPT means, why bother changing it?

Instead, there is an early news article from July 2012 that says, ...

That one article calls them both "elite pilot talent" and "elite talent". They were really inconsistent.

The article writers often don't know what they're talking about. They said you could drop multiple bombs in a round, and the development team then FAQ'ed it. They also said that Nora Wexley can effectively fire 7 red dice.

....um, no. Base 2, +1 for Alliance Overhaul, +1 for Range 1, +1 for Expose/Opportunist, +1 for the added focus.

Maybe my math is wrong, but last time I checked, 2+1+1+1+1 does not equal 7.

And they said you could throw 8 with Adv. Proton Torpedoes? You're still only limited to 6. You can't use Nora's ability for the extra focus because you already spent the target lock for the torpedoes, and Expose/Opportunist will only add 1. And you don't get range bonuses for secondary weapons, and Alliance Overhaul only counts for primary weapons.

Am I missing something?

Nora Wexley examples in the preview are actually accurate and this was discussed in a couple other threads. They both assume you're using Jan Ors in your squad to get an extra die. Additionally to pull off the Advanced Proton one you need an extra Target Lock, presumably from Shara Bey also being in your squad providing the second lock.

The article writers often don't know what they're talking about. ...

Yes, but this wasn't evident to most of the X-Wing community back then, which is why the name "elite pilot talent" was used. I think that the instance of "elite talent" was assumed to be a lazy, shorthand way of writing it out, rather than an actual error.

I think we should just give them the names based on the first thing that comes to mind when we see them:

Examples:

Astromech - Minion card

Elite - Olympics card

Missle - Trojan card

Torpedo - Slice O' Pie card

Turret - Spy On Your Neighbor Telescope (SOYNT) card

Bomb - Drug card

Cannon - Aquaman spear thingy card

Crew - Alpine Skier card

Modification -Fine dining card (looks like some fancy forks to me...)

Title - Dragonfly card

Elite isn't an olympic card, it's the medal that the racist rebellion didn't award chewie after the battle over Yavin

of course, that didn't stop chewie did it?

If I walk up to Biggs and ask "What's your elite pilot talent?" he would respond that he can draw enemy fire better than anyone.

If I instead ask "What's your elite?" he'll just look at me with muted relief in his eyes, as he knows I'll be getting shot first.

I prefer EPT. It sounds better grammatically when spoken. "What EPT is that on Horton?" vs "What elite is that on Miranda?"

And if you asked him "what is your elite talent?" The porn music would play and he would point to his porn stash and say "Boom-Chicka-Bow Baby!" and saunter away.

Keep calling EEPEETEE

I had not noticed, so I appreciate the pointer.

I think we should just give them the names based on the first thing that comes to mind when we see them:

Examples:

Astromech - Minion card

Elite - Olympics card

Missle - Trojan card

Torpedo - Slice O' Pie card

Turret - Spy On Your Neighbor Telescope (SOYNT) card

Bomb - Drug card

Cannon - Aquaman spear thingy card

Crew - Alpine Skier card

Modification -Fine dining card (looks like some fancy forks to me...)

Title - Dragonfly card

I've always seen the torpedo icon as a pizza slice.. still have to translate in my head 'pizza slice = torpedo'

edit: always just saw a cannon, but now that you said it i can't un-see the trident.