First off, please read the whole opening post; this is not Mario Kart only and I wish I would've never put that in the title.

We all know that the dial can make (T-70) or break (Hwk) a ship. But which dials are actually the best? Sometimes the combo of abilities(U-wing), stats (YV-666), or actions can influence how good a dial is. Base size also matters. But what happens if we took the Vanilla Z-95 and allowed you to upgrade your dial for points or downgrade your dial for negative points (not that you would do that; the z has a pretty mediocre dial). What if a specific pilot ability lets you use a different dial or a title (for like, I don't know, the T-65 or the Hwk) allowed you a better dial than they were originally set with. Or in a Mario Kart "season" you had extra points to upgrade your racer.

Now we might not come to consensus exactly on which dials outrank which; sometimes it does depend on what you want a ship to do or who you pair it with. But I think we can come to consensus on a general order with 4 tiers: Best, solid, poor, worst.

I'll curate this as long as folks are interested. The first post will hold the overall list but before we come to that we'll rank each ship within faction. If it goes well we can also talk about increasing point costs but first we should focus on ranking the dials.

Things to keep in mind: base size, access to Boost or BR or SLAM or cloak, or ship specific titles/abilities don't matter for this thought exercise.

Best

----------------------------

Solid

----------------------------

Poor

---------------------------

Worst

--------------------------

Rebel (scum)

Best

----------------------------

A-Wing

T-70

E-Wing

YT-2400

YT-1300

Solid

----------------------------

Attack Shuttle

Tie Fighter

X-wing

Arc-170

VCX

Z-95

Poor

---------------------------

B-Wing

Y-wing

Worst

--------------------------

U-wing

K-wing

Hwk-290

Imperials

Best

----------------------------

Tie/FO

TAP

Interceptor

Defender

Solid

----------------------------

Tie/SF

Striker

Tie FIghter

Firespray

Sigma

Poor

---------------------------

Punisher

Bomber

Ups

Advanced

Worst

--------------------------

Deci

Lambda

Scum (of the unaffiliated variety)

Best

----------------------------

Proctorate

Aggressor

Lancer

Solid

----------------------------

StarViper

Jumpmaster

M3-A

Special K

Quadjumper

Firespray

Z-95

Poor

---------------------------

YV-666

Y-wing

Worst

--------------------------

HWK

I just started with the rebels for a general list. Please feel free to disagree, debate, and get as technical as you'd like!

Scummy Scum:

Best:

Protectorate, Aggressor, Shadow Caster, Jumpmaster

Solid:

Khiraxz, Scyk, Starviper, G1-A, Firespray

Poor: Z, Y, YV-Satan

Worst: HWK

Imperials:

Best:

TIE Advanced Prototype
TIE Interceptor

TIE/fo Fighter

Solid:
TIE Advanced
TIE Fighter
TIE Phantom

Poor:
TIE Striker
TIE/sf
TIE Bomber
TIE Defender
Decimator
Upsilon
Firespray

Worst:
TIE Punisher
Lambda

The Imperial large-based ships are all pretty poor since they all lack 1 speed turns. TIE Defenders are borderline Solid, assuming you have access to boost or barrel roll to help with turns. I ranked TIE Striker as Poor here due to the lack of speed options, but with Boost, it's easily Solid.

*edit*

If I were to set criteria for what makes a "Solid" dial for Mario Kart purposes, I would say you need at bare minimum: a 4+ speed straight in white/green, access to white/green 3 bank, at least 2 turn options in white/green. "Best" I would say requires green turns and a 5 straight on top of the green/white 3 banks.

I just made my imperial list and I'd say it's a lot different than yours Transmogrifier. Remember, Boost/BR doesn't enter the equation; nor does base size. You have the tie and phantom dials as good but the Firespray as poor. If you're not looking at base size they are really really close in my opinion. Also, red isn't always bad, especially if other ships don't even have that maneuver.

I just made my imperial list and I'd say it's a lot different than yours Transmogrifier. Remember, Boost/BR doesn't enter the equation; nor does base size. You have the tie and phantom dials as good but the Firespray as poor. If you're not looking at base size they are really really close in my opinion. Also, red isn't always bad, especially if other ships don't even have that maneuver.

woops, I missed the part about base size

revised ranking:

Best:

TIE Advanced Prototype

TIE Interceptor

TIE/fo Fighter

Solid:

TIE Advanced

TIE Fighter

TIE Phantom

Firespray

Decimator

Poor:

TIE Striker

TIE/sf

TIE Bomber

TIE Defender

Worst:

Upsilon

TIE Punisher

Lambda

I'll update my intial imperial and scum slots tomorrow morning. Maybe that will inspire others to chime in. I think there's lots of room for discussion here (I probably shouldn't have tried to get this started opening weekend!).

I'm not sure if Shadowcaster is considered cheating in Mario Kart, it is a lot easier to hit .

If you're allowed Ailerons in Mario Kart the striker's going to be amazing. 1 forward+3 forward=5forward, and it's a LOT faster than anything without boost in the turns. Give it EU as well it'll be like bottled lightning.

I mention Mario Kart only because that's how I'll be using it this holiday season (I'll report back on AA on the striker in Mario Kart because I'm pretty sure it needs looked at) but the exercise is not just for those purposes.

I think z-95 pilot that gets more out of their ship than others (Like, maybe a young Han Solo) who gets to use a better dial... an xwing dial is slightly better but think of a Z with an EPT that gets to use an attack shuttle or outer rim smuggler dial as it's pilot ability.

One of the T-65 fixes could be using the T-70 dial. There is possibility here.

It's also becoming pretty clear that Wave 1 and 2 ships have incredibly simplistic and limited dials.

There is data here to be examined.

Or in a Mario Kart "season" you had extra points to upgrade your racer.

This sounds fun.

I had actually made a list myself a while back, I'll have to see if I can find it. Missing a few waves of dials at this point, though.

It's also becoming pretty clear that Wave 1 and 2 ships have incredibly simplistic and limited dials.

Possibly simplistic but the A-wing still has one of the best dials in the game, loads of greens and 3 and 5 K turns. Shame they hit like a wet flannel

It's also becoming pretty clear that Wave 1 and 2 ships have incredibly simplistic and limited dials.

Possibly simplistic but the A-wing still has one of the best dials in the game, loads of greens and 3 and 5 K turns. Shame they hit like a wet flannel

Awings and interceptors are the exception but they were meant to be heads above the rest; that trend didn't continue. They would most certainly have sloops or tallon rolls if they were released today.

Xwings, Ties, adv, and Slave 1 have very middling dials.Event he YT-1300's dial is what--the fourth best big ship dial at this point?

I put forth my own lists for people to talk about as a starting point. Even within their general categories they are listed how I see them.

I may or may not have ranked some higher/lower just to see what others think.

I just made my imperial list and I'd say it's a lot different than yours Transmogrifier. Remember, Boost/BR doesn't enter the equation; nor does base size. You have the tie and phantom dials as good but the Firespray as poor. If you're not looking at base size they are really really close in my opinion. Also, red isn't always bad, especially if other ships don't even have that maneuver.

woops, I missed the part about base size

revised ranking:

Best:

TIE Advanced Prototype

TIE Interceptor

TIE/fo Fighter

Solid:

TIE Advanced

TIE Fighter

TIE Phantom

Firespray

Decimator

Poor:

TIE Striker

TIE/sf

TIE Bomber

TIE Defender

Worst:

Upsilon

TIE Punisher

Lambda

I see the striker, SF, and defender as pretty solid dials. They have a lot of maneuvers just not a lot of green.

I also don't think the deci dial is so hot. If you put it on a Z-95 they'd want a point discount.

All three of my lists are up. Next is overall and I'll post mine right away if folks aren't interested.