1 hour ago, Triangular said:

For Legion FFG published 18 Unit ExpPacks already, not counting stuff already found in the Core Box. That seems to be the same number like wave 6 for Armada. But it's not even wave 3 equivalent in my eyes!

1 hour ago, Triangular said:

Its steps are very small in comparison to Armada's IMO.

Definitely true.


Also, @Drasnighta congrats on your thread reaching 350 pages mate.

An Article! The Future of Organized Play! It's linked on the Armada page, but nowhere mentions Armada explicitly.

The changes to OP relevant to us are that "Season Kits" are being restructured to be more about weekly participation than winning a tournament. Only stuff for 8 players, but enough for 3 months of weekly play each, with something different each month. So I'm guessing not much change in terms of content, but a different structure for distributing. Which is fair enough - the current Season Kits are a bit of a mess in terms of prize distribution.

Not sure how that affects those of us who have weekly non-store Armada games. I wonder if we'll be able to apply for/invest in Season Kits.

There's mention of Seasonal Premium Kits - but only for some games. I imagine that won't be us.

Store Championships are now twice a year.

Other than that, some naming changes:

• Regionals are now Prime Championships (winners get a seat reserved at Worlds),
• Nationals are now Grand Championships (top 4 get seats reserved),
• NA and Euros are now Continental Championships (top 8 get reserved seats),
• and World Championships stay the same go invite-only by 2020.

I guess this will help with flexibility - we won't be limited by geography in the same way. May take a while to get used to the new, seemingly-arbitrary, labels.

Still, at least it looks less confusing than the current X-Wing OP structure - no idea how that is supposed to work.

35 minutes ago, Grumbleduke said:

and World Championships stay the same.

Minus the fact that it is invite only starting 2020.

Ah yes - missed that. Is it a huge change? Are there usually that many people who get tickets without getting a SC win or Regional top 4 Regional win, top 4 nationals or top 8 NA/Euros?

Also store champs are twice per year as well.

23 minutes ago, Grumbleduke said:

Ah yes - missed that. Is it a huge change? Are there usually that many people who get tickets without getting a SC win or Regional top 4 Regional win, top 4 nationals or top 8 NA/Euros?

It is a huge change

B ecause it takes away the very mentality of "Armada Events, including Worlds, are great places to meet players and have fun."

Because you can't mingle at the top event, and even the Regionals, teh way they're currently scattered, are going to be ultra competitive for that slot.|

For example:

For Western Canada.. The Whole of Western Canada... There is 1 Position.

Whereas, as a Comparison, Toronto has easy access to 14+ Positions.

For the Western United States, there's... 3 or 4 until you get to the Midwest. And that part of the country has spawned a lot of high level Worlds competitors, who are now going to be... Out. Someone postulated on the Discord that there will be approximately 3 positions for approximately 300 players. Unless those players are willing to Air Travel not only for Worlds itself, but even to have a shot at Qualifying for Worlds...

There is an inherent "unfairness" to how it feels, and I know a LOT of people are blowing up about it right now.

8 minutes ago, Drasnighta said:

For Western Canada.. The Whole of Western Canada... There is 1 Position.

For the Western United States, there's... 3 or 4 until you get to the Midwest.

But aren't there 3-4 times as many people in the Western United States as there are in Western Canada?

So it is biased towards people who live in more densely-populated areas as they'll have less far to travel. Although that all depends on how the new "Nationals" are divided up - we could see more in larger or more populous places? Same with Regionals. Which might be part of the reason they're changing the labels; to deal with how people from larger countries have to travel much further for a National event.

I'm not sure I like the idea of making the event exclusive, but I can understand why they do it. Particularly if they're insisting on hosting it in their own Game Centre rather than using somewhere larger.

Also this Global Event Manager thing looks interesting (in a potentially-terrible, potentially-awesome way):

Quote

GEM allows us to track player results, award digital prizes, and offer an improved tournament experience for stores and tournament organizers. It will also power our Store and Event Locators, making it easier for retailers to communicate their support of local gaming communities and for players to find all the events nearest them.

Hopefully it is easier to use than Tome...

3 minutes ago, Grumbleduke said:

But aren't there 3-4 times as many people in the Western United States as there are in Western Canada?

So it is biased towards people who live in more densely-populated areas as they'll have less far to travel. Although that all depends on how the new "Nationals" are divided up - we could see more in larger or more populous places? Same with Regionals. Which might be part of the reason they're changing the labels; to deal with how people from larger countries have to travel much further for a National event.

I'm not sure I like the idea of making the event exclusive, but I can understand why they do it. Particularly if they're insisting on hosting it in their own Game Centre rather than using somewhere larger.

Also this Global Event Manager thing looks interesting (in a potentially-terrible, potentially-awesome way):

Hopefully it is easier to use than Tome...

Take a look again - I'm not comparing Western Canada to Western US. I'm comparing Western Canada to Toronto.

And then making the same assumption Western US to Eastern US.

Yep, I see the edit now. But I think the point still stands - it comes down to population density. Toronto has 5 million people in it; Ontario contains nearly 40% of Canada's population. Western Canada has maybe 25% of the population, much of which is (relatively) close to the US border.

If you live in a remote area, you'll have to travel further to play in a serious tournament.

Combine that with potentially relaxing the rules on where Regionals and Nationals can be held, and hopefully that will reduce some of the skew.

But yes, it would be better if events weren't exclusive.

[Yes, I get that I'm biased - I had two regionals <2 hours travel away this year - although even then one had 25 players, the other 8 - so there are going to be problems however this is done.]

1 minute ago, Grumbleduke said:

Yep, I see the edit now. But I think the point still stands - it comes down to population density. Toronto has 5 million people in it; Ontario contains nearly 40% of Canada's population. Western Canada has maybe 25% of the population, much of which is (relatively) close to the US border.

If you live in a remote area, you'll have to travel further to play in a serious tournament.

Combine that with potentially relaxing the rules on where Regionals and Nationals can be held, and hopefully that will reduce some of the skew.

But yes, it would be better if events weren't exclusive.

[Yes, I get that I'm biased - I had two regionals <2 hours travel away this year - although even then one had 25 players, the other 8 - so there are going to be problems however this is done.]

So, you feel that a Ratio of 2:1 is best expressed with an allowance of 14:1 ?

That's what I'm kinda ticked against.

31 minutes ago, Drasnighta said:

So, you feel that a Ratio of 2:1 is best expressed with an allowance of 14:1 ?

No. I disagree with your reasoning that got you to 14:1.

Even if I shorten it to 7:1 disregarding the easy access to the US nationals as well as proximity to their Regional Championships... Keeping them just at their own Regionals and immediate, instant guarantee of hosting Nationals (which will never move, according to FFG)...

... its still rough, and still unfair.

I don't bemoan people who have to travel 3-4 hours in one direction to get somewhere...

Heck, I don't bemoan people who have to travel 10 hours in one direction to get somewhere...

To get to the NEXT QUALIFIER for myself, since I *RUN* this qualifier and thus, can't compete... Is at minimum a 14 hour drive either East, to get to Winnipeg... Or a 14+ hour drive into Portland, effectively... We are the *only* Western Canadian regional, a bubble for a Third of the Country with a single position... So that includes everyone else...

If we had 3, 4, 5, 6 potential regionals between the 3 major cities... I'd have fewer complaints.

We're going to need to see a "MASSIVE INFLUX" of Prime Events before this even remotely makes sense.

Store championships are being held more, maybe that means we will have more Prime events as well, thats only conjecture though.

Strange OP rules are strange. This is why I dont play competitve wargaming much. Its too much time and money for me to justify, when I can have fun with casual play and home rules half the time.

2 hours ago, Ling27 said:

Strange OP rules are strange. This is why I dont play competitve wargaming much. Its too much time and money for me to justify, when I can have fun with casual play and home rules all the time.

FTFY

On 1/29/2019 at 8:52 PM, clontroper5 said:

The good news, I have come to the conclusion that Armada is definitely a Superior game to legion! (Although I may be baised)

I have been playing legion for a few months and inspite of steady news and Releases it is struggling to hold my attention over Armada haha. Turns out Defense dice in mini games are just an Inferior system to Armada's tokens

On 1/30/2019 at 2:51 AM, dominosfleet said:

As someone who played imperials in X-wing for a little over a year I 100% agree, static defenses are far > dice.

I totally agree, and want to add: the tokens are not only superior because they are less swingy, but mostly because they are decision based. As a defender I am forced to make difficult decision. Rolling dice is not even difficult handiwork...

7 hours ago, Ling27 said:

Strange OP rules are strange. This is why I dont play competitve wargaming much. Its too much time and money for me to justify, when I can have fun with casual play and home rules half the time.

If you have the friends, this is a good thing indeed.

My issue is essentially the shift in attitude this engenders. The OP system was inherently welcoming at ALL LEVELS and a great place to recruit in and meet new people - heck, a solid third of my local players experienced a Regional as their first OP tournament with no issues.

With Worlds competition on the table now, a little of that shine is removed, as I know the claws of WAAC will come out for some, and I’d rather it have not been an issue at all...

... also, if they don’t add more Primes, and we essentially repeat next year, I am freaking *scared* of holding responsibility for running the tournament the one Ticket Western Canada has...

... That’s a load of responsibility I’ve avoided since leaving the RAAF.

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2019/1/31/ffg-live-in-february/

Well, seeing as this is essentially their streaming channel to discuss new things... and there's no Armada listed, I'm gonna change my guess for the SSD release date to the 1st week of April.

1 minute ago, Darth Sanguis said:

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2019/1/31/ffg-live-in-february/

Well, seeing as this is essentially their streaming channel to discuss new things... and there's no Armada listed, I'm gonna change my guess for the SSD release date to the 1st week of April.

I was thinking the same thing. I like the idea though. Maybe one of those new steps to better “communication”.

24 minutes ago, mcworrell said:

I was thinking the same thing. I like the idea though. Maybe one of those new steps to better “communication”.

For FFG-OP

Remember, the statement for Better Communication was from FFG-OP. Not from any other department.

@Drasnighta

I agree the OP system was very welcoming and Armada as a whole has been far more welcoming than my time with various editions of Warhammer 40k (though the old Fantasy and Middle Earth communities are very welcoming). I went into two store championships last year, with my first one being like, 4 or 5 months into playing the game.

But Armada also suffers from another aspect I've seen grow in multiple spheres in the last five years. The Competitive Scene has begun to take over the game. And maybe its just my local area, but from what ive seen from all wargames is its always about optimizing, taking the 'best' options, ect. From Warhammer and Armada, to Destiny and even MMOs. Half the time it feels like if my answer to why I'm not playing the most optimally, is because its fun... I get looked at like I dont want to win.

I still want to win. I just want to win on my terms.

If that makes sense.

But yes, the competitive scene in Armada is far more welcoming than other games I've played. And, as someone who doesnt care about placing or ever getting to worlds, I am 100% willing to run OP events. So that people like you dont have to and can play. You know what I mean?

1 hour ago, Ling27 said:

@Drasnighta

But yes, the competitive scene in Armada is far more welcoming than other games I've played.

Compared to my other experiences I’d rate it thusly:

Most Wecoming

1) Legend of the Five Rings

2) Armada

3) British Passport Control

4) X-Wing

5) MtG

6) Someone else’s Wedding you weren’t invited to.

7) US Passport Control

8 ) Official GW events.

7/8 are a toss-up though.

3 hours ago, Darth Sanguis said:

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2019/1/31/ffg-live-in-february/

Well, seeing as this is essentially their streaming channel to discuss new things... and there's no Armada listed, I'm gonna change my guess for the SSD release date to the 1st week of April.

This honestly feels like a more honest version of the hyperspace report. Lol they just straight up left us off the list this time in the preview and that was the right move.

4 hours ago, dominosfleet said:

This honestly feels like a more honest version of the hyperspace report. Lol they just straight up left us off the list this time in the preview and that was the right move.

It’s scary to me that Armada isn’t on the list. It tells me not to expect the ssd until April or May and probably no armada articles until end of February or March.

3 hours ago, ninclouse2000 said:

It’s scary to me that Armada isn’t on the list. It tells me not to expect the ssd until April or May and probably no armada articles until end of February or March.

XWing and Legion aren’t either.