So, I find it really easy to bag on the unreleased Generic R3 Astromech. With utility only for high PS pilots and a situational ability that requires you to not only

1. Have an enemy in Arc

2. Roll a focus eye while attacking and cancel the result to receive an evade token

3. Be a high enough PS pilot to actually spend the evade if you are attacked

Yeah, no thanks.

So who does R3 have to keep him company in the deckbox of useless upgrades?

•R5-X3 (1)- Before you reveal your maneuver, you may discard this card to ignore obstacles until the end of the round. Sounds great, until you realize that he does not mesh well at all with Integrated Astromech since they both require him to work. Maybe he likes Y-wings and E-wings then, right? How often have you seen a Rebel Y waste a perfectly good point on anything other than running a stressbot? (Or be anything other than a gold with TLT?) R2-D2 is basically the only Astromech ever seen on an E-wing (mainly because Corran is the only E-wing we see, but I digress).

•R5-K6 (2)- After spending your target lock, roll 1 defense die.

On a (evade) result, immediately acquire a target lock on that same ship. You cannot spend this target lock during this attack. Once a staple on Dutch, this little Red mech, with his reliance on the evade result from the green dice (which never seem to cooperate) soon found a home on the bench.

Targeting Astromech (2)- After you execute a red maneuver, you may acquire a target lock. The Idea of a free Target Lock after a K-turn is awesome and when it happens, it feels good. Of course, having the mech sitting in the back and doing nothing until then earns this bad boy a warm seat on the pine pony. Unless of course you take Hobbie.

R7 Astromech (2)- Once per round when defending, if you have a target lock on the attacker, you may spend the target lock to choose any or all attack dice. The attacker must reroll the chosen dice. R7 is excellent on Tarn Mison, but despite that, this aggravating astro spends the majority of its existence updating its Facebook with how awesome Tarn Mison is and taking "Which Star Wars character are you?" quizzes on click bait sites. (Surprise! He got Tarn!)

•R2-F2 (3)- Action: Increase your agility value by 1 until the end of this game round. X-wings, like most of the Astromech carriers, are not terribly action efficient. Gaining an extra green die for 3(!) points while not taking a TL or Focus is not the most effective strategy to prevent damage or save points. Using Experimental Interface means you are dumping 6 (!!!) points to get 3 evade dice that get modified by a single focus. This droid could have been a boon as just a permanent 3rd evade die, but alas, as action efficiency became more and more necessary to be competitive, this dodgy little bot barely sees the light of day.

•R5-D8 (3)- Action: Roll 1 defense die. On a (evade) or (focus) result, discard 1 of your facedown Damage cards. Last on our list, the king of crap, the sultan of shoddy, the emperor of terrible Astromechs, R5-D8. Eating an action for a 5/8 chance of repairing a single hull, this blockhead is barely worth hanging out in the sleeve that protects his card. An insurance option for Porkins, the frustrating relationship with green dice and actions makes this magic trash can the perfect candidate to "forget" at the Grand Canyon during a family trip.

Honorable Mention: •R7-T1 (3)- Action: Choose an enemy ship at Range 1-2. If you are inside that ship's firing arc, you may acquire a target lock on that ship. Then, you may perform a free boost action. I must admit, two actions for the price of one is great, then you realize that you already need to be in Range 1-2 and in the enemy arc ("I'm gonna bring him in closer". *cue Merlin "YOU'RE GONNA DO WHAT?") You basically take this guy to go in, hard and fast with no focus to back up the TL or provide for the meager defense of your dice. PtL Wedge likes this aggressive Astro in some builds, but with the cheaper BB-8 offering three solid actions with no stress from a cheaper bot, R7-T1 becomes relegated to the bench.

Anyways, your experience may vary as will your play style.

Here's to hoping for some solid future Astromechs from Heroes of the Resistance and (hopefully) whatever they tie-in with Rogue One.

I like r5-x3 and r7

It's just a problem of their not being many good platforms for either

But with VT TLT Ys (mini dashes) and the ARC in general, that could change

R5-D8 has worked well for me on Dutch on turns that no one else was near enough to benefit from a free TL.

Though I wish during one tournament that the droid had worked just one more time for me in my last game. If so I'd of been top 2.

Also I've only tried Tarn with R7 before once, but it was great!

Targetting astro can do well at times if done on the right ship, the Ywing can like it, and Dutch is more than fine just doing Hard3 turns and then a green to swap it up a little, for constant TLs.

And then R7-T1 can be really fun on different people.

R2-D2 requires a green maneuver, but at twice the cost, he's okay while Targeting Astromech is not? I don't see the logic here.

Speaking of R2-D2 (and let's add R5-P9), when was the last time you saw them on a generic ship? You usually don't see that because they are expensive and usually like having high PS and some extra actions. So it's really not about which astromechs are good or bad. That's never been the issue. The issue is whether there is a good mech/pilot combo.

R2-D2 requires a green maneuver, but at twice the cost, he's okay while Targeting Astromech is not? I don't see the logic here.

eh...these things aren't analogoous

first of all, greens are FAR easier to do than reds because you cannot chain reds due to what happens when you pull a red move when stressed

second, regeneration is a massive dice-independent advantage that you can stack with actions. It's not massive enough to make it on generic pilots, which lack high PS re-positioning and additional defensive tech necessary to abuse the crap out of it, but it's pretty big

you cannot stack TA with actions, due to stress (not yet anyway)

that said, I don't detest Targeting Astro. It's a point overpriced imo, because again you can't chain red maneuvers (nor can you normally stack an additional action during a red manuever) but Targeting Astro is costed the same as a card such as FCS, but it's not utter garbage.

red vets like it (T-rolls!)

might like it more if Pattern Analyzer from heroes ("perform action" before "check pilot stress" during a red maneuver, probably) is worth the 1 point TA should've been, because then you can T-roll into full modifiers

30 points (we hope) with crackshot, targeting and pattern analyzer

R2-D2 requires a green maneuver, but at twice the cost, he's okay while Targeting Astromech is not? I don't see the logic here.

eh...these things aren't analogoous

first of all, greens are FAR easier to do than reds because you cannot chain reds due to what happens when you pull a red move when stressed

second, regeneration is a massive dice-independent advantage that you can stack with actions. It's not massive enough to make it on generic pilots, which lack high PS re-positioning and additional defensive tech necessary to abuse the crap out of it, but it's pretty big

you cannot stack TA with actions, due to stress (not yet anyway)

that said, I don't detest Targeting Astro. It's a point overpriced imo, because again you can't chain red maneuvers (nor can you normally stack an additional action during a red manuever) but Targeting Astro is costed the same as a card such as FCS, but it's not utter garbage.

red vets like it (T-rolls!)

might like it more if Pattern Analyzer from heroes ("perform action" before "check pilot stress" during a red maneuver, probably) is worth the 1 point TA should've been, because then you can T-roll into full modifiers

30 points (we hope) with crackshot, targeting and pattern analyzer

The thing about Pattern analyser, is that if it doesnt have a "may" statment (like Enhanced scopes doesnt), then while you can do a red into full mods, your followup green has no mods, because you're still stressed. And you're screwed by every stress tech ever.

The thing about Pattern analyser, is that if it doesnt have a "may" statment (like Enhanced scopes doesnt), then while you can do a red into full mods, your followup green has no mods, because you're still stressed. And you're screwed by every stress tech ever.

not if it only works on red maneuvers

(otherwise it's worth 0 points)

i used R7, Targeting Astromech, and R7-T1 quite a bit.

R7 is outright mean on Tarn. It makes him have an inverted Biggs effect, nobody wants to hit him because he has a very good chance to screw it over.

Targeting Astromech is glorious on any ship with Outmaneuver or Hobbie. Hobbie does a Kturn, which stresses him and acquires a TL. Since this all happens simo, you acquire the TL after the Stress and Destress him before his normal action. He basically just got a White Kturn with a free action to boot!

R7-T1 is situational but i like him on Wedge. It lets Wedge linger behind and appear less menacing because hes nowhere near range1 yet...suddenly BAM range1 with a TL lol. The FAQ to let you NOT take a TL and still boost lets him get away from some sticky situations too - it basically gives you a boost on a ship that demands IA, with a small restriction of someone has to look at you and be in range 1-2.

Personally i HATE R2D2. He is action independent which is nice but he severely hampers your movement because all the ships with astros (save ARC170) have TERRIBLE greens. Every time i take it i find myself electing to not use it so i can run away from 2-3 arcs.

R7-T1 on a Y-Wing with Autoblaster Turret and Experimental Interface is pretty amazing.

Targeting Astromech and Cool Hand go nicely together, or Adrenaline Rush.

R7-T1 is helpful in setting up a future attack while arc dodging. Give Pilot Bob a boost out of TIE pilot BS23's arc, snag a target lock. You cut down incoming fire, then come back around with your lock in place and you can stack focus on top of it as you come in for the joust.

I'm most certainly keen to try out Braylen Stramm with Targeting Astromech when the ARC arrives, pseudo 50/50 PTL on the cheapest of them seems like fun, if not very consistent.

I actually really like R5-X3 at 1 point and think he is undervalued (by the players) a bit. Ya, the anti synergy with integrated means you wont see him on Xwings, but he can do wonders on Ywings. I flew a BTL TLT Y-wing with a R5-X3 unit for a bit and it came through big for me in a number of cases. It's also one of those upgrades your opponent never seems to take in to consideration when engaging, so you can really catch them off guard with it.

He's good, he just lacks a usable platform: y-wings don't get much out of him, e-wings sinks like him fine if he didn't suck, and x-wings gave anti-synegy.

Once e-wings are fixed, assuming something other than an IA-alike, you'd see him plenty.

You could do a lot worse on an ARC with a point spare, too, though it remains to be seen whether that's actually a likely prospect.

I think some mechs will have there 15 minutes of fame in future waves..... look at stress bot and poe with poor mans r2d2. there are future combinations we may not yet know

I think of X3 as IA with more options. Do i need the free shield or do I need to bug out through the rocks? Maybe you thought you were safe hiding there? No, I'm ignoring the cover you were hiding behind. Options.

Of course I also want to take GC instead of IA and fire torps with my x wings once in a while too

It occurred to me after this thread was posted that shara bay can use R5-K6 and C-3PO to guarantee a fresh target lock for herself after a friendly spends it.

No idea if it's worth it, but it uses her ability in a way that can deliver 2 ordnance strikes on a single target without much trouble

Personally i HATE R2D2. He is action independent which is nice but he severely hampers your movement because all the ships with astros (save ARC170) have TERRIBLE greens. Every time i take it i find myself electing to not use it so i can run away from 2-3 arcs.

I've used R2-D2 extensively on Red Ace and it works great, you just need to adjust the way you fly (and dodge). There are basically 2 ways to do this:

1. Use K-turns and T-Rolls aggressively. Most players only perform red maneuvers when they have no other options because loss of action hurts a lot. As a result, most opponents don't expect such a maneuver - especially if they think you'll perform a green to regen. It usually puts you in a position where you get behind or flank the enemy and can then perform 2-3 greens in a row and regen while the enemy finds it difficult to turn against you and fire effectively. You're basically sacrificing regen and effectiveness for 1 turn to achieve tactical advantage in the following couple of turns.

2. If 1 is not an option, just use straight 3 and boost. It carries you surprisingly far. You'll either be out of arc or out of range or at least at range 3 where autothrusters and extra green die will help you survive.

Of course Red Ace's pilot ability (with Comm Relay) allows you to take greater risks. On a generic it might not be that effective but then, who takes a regen astro on a generic?

It occurred to me after this thread was posted that shara bay can use R5-K6 and C-3PO to guarantee a fresh target lock for herself after a friendly spends it.

No idea if it's worth it, but it uses her ability in a way that can deliver 2 ordnance strikes on a single target without much trouble

Nope. Because if someone else is spending the lock, she isn't. They are.

I think some mechs will have there 15 minutes of fame in future waves..... look at stress bot and poe with poor mans r2d2. there are future combinations we may not yet know

R3-A2, R5-P9, and R2-D2 have always been fairly good since they were released though. Less 15 minutes of fame and more like the gold standard of named Astromechs. Right now R4-D6 is looking at 15 minutes of fame because he is able to shut down a lot of the ordnance being fired at Biggs by halving nearly all of the 4 hit attacks, keeping Biggs around just *that much longer. If the meta swings back to guaranteed crits or TLTs, well, let's just allow R4-D6 his time to shine before he goes back to doing nothing.

R2-D2 requires a green maneuver, but at twice the cost, he's okay while Targeting Astromech is not? I don't see the logic here.

Speaking of R2-D2 (and let's add R5-P9), when was the last time you saw them on a generic ship? You usually don't see that because they are expensive and usually like having high PS and some extra actions. So it's really not about which astromechs are good or bad. That's never been the issue. The issue is whether there is a good mech/pilot combo.

Speaking of generics, I've been running 3 Red Squadron Pilot (T-65s) with Biggs. The points don't allow for R2-D2 or R5-P9 (though if I had the choice, I would definitely run them). Instead I run R4-D6 on Biggs, R3-A2, R2-D6, and a generic R5. Because I am paying points for PS on the Reds (to limit Predator and either be the same PS or greater against certain builds in my area) I lose the ability to get the good mechs. The ability to drop down to Rookies does exist, but I don't believe the squad as I run it would be as effective

R2-D2 requires a green maneuver, but at twice the cost, he's okay while Targeting Astromech is not? I don't see the logic here.

eh...these things aren't analogoous

first of all, greens are FAR easier to do than reds because you cannot chain reds due to what happens when you pull a red move when stressed

second, regeneration is a massive dice-independent advantage that you can stack with actions. It's not massive enough to make it on generic pilots, which lack high PS re-positioning and additional defensive tech necessary to abuse the crap out of it, but it's pretty big

you cannot stack TA with actions, due to stress (not yet anyway)

that said, I don't detest Targeting Astro. It's a point overpriced imo, because again you can't chain red maneuvers (nor can you normally stack an additional action during a red manuever) but Targeting Astro is costed the same as a card such as FCS, but it's not utter garbage.

red vets like it (T-rolls!)

might like it more if Pattern Analyzer from heroes ("perform action" before "check pilot stress" during a red maneuver, probably) is worth the 1 point TA should've been, because then you can T-roll into full modifiers

30 points (we hope) with crackshot, targeting and pattern analyzer

Targeting Astromech would be easier to stomach for me if he was 1 point. Like you said, you can't chain red maneuvers.

R5-D8 has worked well for me on Dutch on turns that no one else was near enough to benefit from a free TL.

Though I wish during one tournament that the droid had worked just one more time for me in my last game. If so I'd of been top 2.

Also I've only tried Tarn with R7 before once, but it was great!

Targetting astro can do well at times if done on the right ship, the Ywing can like it, and Dutch is more than fine just doing Hard3 turns and then a green to swap it up a little, for constant TLs.

And then R7-T1 can be really fun on different people.

You can't chain red maneuvers UNLESS you're Hobbie, or flying with a Wingman.

Certain mechs gave very specific synergies with pilots ir other upgrades. TA/Hobbie, R7/Tarn, R5-P8/Poe are the obvious examples, but there's more. TA can be great on Dutch or even generic Y-Wings for that matter.

Targeting Astromech allows you to retain action economy on a red maneuver. It's less a matter of chaining reds and more a matter of doing enough reds for TA to matter.

When it comes to chaining, Targeting Astromech, Hera and Stay on Target could be interesting on an ARC.

It occurred to me after this thread was posted that shara bay can use R5-K6 and C-3PO to guarantee a fresh target lock for herself after a friendly spends it.

No idea if it's worth it, but it uses her ability in a way that can deliver 2 ordnance strikes on a single target without much trouble

Nope. Because if someone else is spending the lock, she isn't. They are.

The droid only asks that your lock be spent, not that "you" spend it.

You can't chain red maneuvers UNLESS you're Hobbie, or flying with a Wingman.

Certain mechs gave very specific synergies with pilots ir other upgrades. TA/Hobbie, R7/Tarn, R5-P8/Poe are the obvious examples, but there's more. TA can be great on Dutch or even generic Y-Wings for that matter.

Everyone knows about Hobbie, but having specific synergies with specific pilots is one of the reasons why the Targeting Astromech could have been cheaper, but unique.

Targeting Astromech allows you to retain action economy on a red maneuver. It's less a matter of chaining reds and more a matter of doing enough reds for TA to matter.

When it comes to chaining, Targeting Astromech, Hera and Stay on Target could be interesting on an ARC.

TA functions better on ships with more red maneuvers, so of course Y-wings could take it in the off chance they want to K-turn, 4 strait or 3 turn. But with TLT being the turret most take, how often do we see anything other than the 2 turn when they try and get their prey in their engagement bubble?

Targeting Astromech allows you to retain action economy on a red maneuver. It's less a matter of chaining reds and more a matter of doing enough reds for TA to matter.

When it comes to chaining, Targeting Astromech, Hera and Stay on Target could be interesting on an ARC.

Not as much as you'd hope, sadly

Since you still can't stack actions with hera crew, you're only working off of an offensive target lock (so poor norra doesn't like it)

SoT's benefit is there but fairly meagre at mid/low PS

The biggest SoT platform is advanced sensor keyan, who can do some crazy shenanigans despite his lowish ps (be mod + int agent make it a nonissue) while his ability gives him essentially full mods (if you sensor out a TL) and removes the drawback of SoT if you have a shot

Dudes overpriced, sadly