So BB-8 ptl is good, and can accomplish great things (heck I did it on an ARC-170 the other day in regular wing. And cant wait to do that in HOTAC when my group starts our net campaign...since someone made a HOTAC sheet for the ARC).

But the combo is slightly lacking to the Bwng if a person used R2D2 crew and the ptl advanced sensor combo...since its regen and the shenanigans.

Not to mention the cannon and the extra torp helps give the Bwing an edge.

Alternatively you can just take Sabine Wren's pilot ability which lets you do boost or a b-roll in any ship before movement and ptl off of that (I was doing that in my Ywing this recent campaign run through, backed up by Jake Farrell for further moving options)

I do agree that crew R2D2 isnt as good, and said that, though I again like I said before I see an argument for it over the droid if you dont have the droid.

I do say though, if you plan on giving the Bwing to players to begin with, just dont give it any points or not within 5 points of the Xwing...it is flat out better as I've eplained and I think you even agreed with me on several points on how it can be better.

The Awing flat out should be a starting ship at this point. We've had 2 other threads discussing how it needs to be either a starting ship or how to make it better, since it easily gets passed up due to damage output by all the other ships. and going full on defensive (autothrusters, etc) with it doesnt really help since usually you arent getting shot by everything on the field nor t range3 or attacked by turretsto really make the standard defenses work idealy.

I'd say:

X-wing 5 points

Awing 5

Ywing 8 (Though i think it and the Xwing should swap)

Bwing 0

Lastly, there is a facebook group that i and several others have been compiling a bunchof Scum and other Rebel and Imperial sheetsand generally useful HOTAC sources at. "Heores of the Aturo Cluster Custom Campaigns, Missions & Rules". I mention it because it seems you are looking for Scum ships.

On that note my group foudn a sheet (now on that facebook group) that has the Starviper, Mist Hunter, Scyk, and Khizrax all on it, and we playtested them and they work fine, we just made them the normal requirement of being at level 4 to swap and cost 7exp. We also did a fun side mission where we had to rescue a smuggler from mperials to unlock them.

Take a page from the original 90s X-wing sim, X, Y and A were pretty early in the game but B-wings were only in the expansion.

I'm playing HOTAC with a group and this is our first time playing it. Why are the others ships unlocked only at pilot skill four? Would it break the game if our group started off with say an A-wing or a hawk?

Thanks.

No reason other than the author wanted it that way. You could even start with the B-Wing, but that would be daft IMHO because you'd get practically no upgrades, which gives you a very slow ship that can't really do much beside take hits. And that it will.

Yes, Disney. Good job utterly ruining the old canon. Originally, the RZ1-A-Wing was designed by Jan Dodonna shortly before the battle of Yavin. Meaning that the general design didn't even exist during the time of the rebels. I wouldn't be surprised if Phoenix squadron were flying customised V-wings, which were an inspiration for the A-wing. The RZ-1 had the ability to swivel its guns up to 360 degrees to fire behind it, giving it a extraordinary advantage in battle.

Ruined what? They removed one of the most daft parts of the old canon. In the old canon every military commander the Rebels had was also a master ship designer. Substitute Dodonna for Ackbar and A-wing for B-wing and you have the exact same story. The new canon's approach (the A-wing's a starfighter made by KSE that the Rebels strip down to almost nothing to make lightning fast by RotJ.) is much more sensible.

As for swivel guns, that wasn't universal by any means.

Daft? Are commanders not allowed to customise their forces? Both Ackbar and Dodonna had enormous experience in the field; Dodonna on the ground and Ackbar in the air. Its clear that neither of them "developed" their respective brain children themselves, as neither was an engineer, but they conceived of a new - or at least rare - kind of fighter that was expressly designed to combat the empire. The A-wing did this through unrivalled speed, and the B-wing through amazing defense and offense. In retrospect, however, Disney didn't 'ruin' this part of the old canon; more like 'changed for the worse' in my own opinion. If you look at the size of the A-wings engines and the enormous thrust vector rigs on the sides (look it up, its fascinating), you'll see that the old canon A-wing was not only superior to the new one - it literally couldn't be hit by any but the most expert pilots! The A-wings crowning moment (I believe) was when - through sheer agility - an A-wing penetrated the Super Star Destroyer Executor's Bridge and effectively won the armada battle. Sensible is a delicate word, perhaps "common sense" would be better, as Disney's approach can be grasped immediately, whereas the original A-wing canon required a good deal of nerdy research to really appreciate.

True, it wasn't universal, but it was universally fitted when it could be afforded due to the tactical superiority.

BKL is that you?