When I think of target lock, I imagine an X-Wing pilot bobbing and weaving to keep a Tie Fighter in his sights. Then the computer locks on and, bam, direct hit! From the films and early arcade games, this is the essence of Star Wars dogfighting.

I was also thinking of Fire Control System, and the power of losing a target lock only to immediately acquire it again.

So for me, target locking should be in-arc and should also be 'at risk' of being lost if you can't maintain a bead on the ship in question.

• You can only acquire a target lock on a ship within your firing arc.
• If a ship spends a round outside your firing arc, the target lock is flipped to 'at risk'.
• If the ship spends a second round outside your arc, the target lock is removed.
• If you manage to get the ship back in arc, the lock is flipped back to normal.

Probably wouldn't affect the game that much, as obviously you want to attack ships you have locked anyway. But I feel it would better represent what a target lock means.

Maybe also: if you damage a ship this round, you may not acquire a new target lock on that ship.

I think it's a fun idea, but it's a lot of extra bookkeeping and rules in an already complicated game. The ease of the core mechanics of the game, Target Lock included, was a big draw of the game for me at first, this would have turned me away a bit.

I definitely think there's a place for angling deflector shields, more realistic target locks etc., but maybe not in the game as it is now.

Sounds fiddly as heck to me.

I wouldn't object to changing FCS to only work in arc, though.

I have thought about this very thing, as part of a homebrew "X-Wing 1.5 edition" that I've been working on.

I believe your idea would work, but I would suggest an additional rule: Target locks do not need to be spent to benefit from the reroll. Without it, Target Locks really aren't worth taking a lot of the time if you stand to lose them more easily. Maintaining a TL from round to round is the only advantage TLs have over Focus. If you're going to take that away in some instances, you need to give even more of a reward if you can keep the target of your lock in your arc. Also, rather than than needing special "in danger" side to every lock, just add a step to the game where you check to see if the lock can be maintained. If it can't, it's lost. End Phase might be good for this with your version. That is more punishing than being allowed a turn to reestablish the lock, which is even more reason to make Target Locks stronger if you fly well enough to benefit from their effects over multiple turns. Note that this method does make TLT's even more powerful, but I have houseruled them for my homebrew to tone them down, so it's not a problem.

Another way to do this might be to simply not allow somebody to use their Target Lock on a target that is out of their firing arc. Your targeting computer uses your ship's sensors to keep track of the ship, but can't take advantage of the lock until they come into your sights. This would nerf secondary turrets and PWT's without harming arc-based ships.

Here's how my rules work in my homebrew setup:

1. You may acquire a Target Lock on any ship in the play area.
2. At the end of the Activation Phase, there is a new step, where you check every ship with an active TL. If the locked ships are beyond Range 3 of each other, discard the lock.

You could use the same formula, only change Rule 2 to add (or substitute) the need to have the target in your firing arc. My Rule #1 exists for two reasons. First, it gives low-PS missile carriers a leg up in the initial approach. Second, it rewards predictive play. If you know where your opponent is going to be, you can reward yourself with a lock on them. However, they can fly well they can outwit you and shake the lock. Also, it better represents how a pilot would actually fly. You're attempting to lock the entire time you're flying, and while the other guy is flying. You don't sit still and wait for the other guy to come into range, then move close enough to do it after it's your turn. It's more fluid than that, and my version of the rule represents that better.

@BlodVargarna You know, I'm not sure if I've ever seen you make a single productive post on any thread in this forum, ever. You appear to be the kind of person who likes to be heard, but doesn't have anything to say.

This isn't the thread you're looking for. Move along.

Target Locks are totally OP right now. It's one action but you get TWO tokens! No other basic action does that!

It's not a nerf, just thought it would make it a bit more thematic. I found it weird that a target lock could be acquired on a ship the pilot can't even see, and that it stays when the target moves away. Just a thought.

46 minutes ago, ayedubbleyoo said:

It's not a nerf, just thought it would make it a bit more thematic. I found it weird that a target lock could be acquired on a ship the pilot can't even see, and that it stays when the target moves away. Just a thought.

Yeah, it's counter to every video game I've ever played. Maybe we can play around with it a little:

if target is in arc then you don't spend the TL when using warheads, but if you have a TL on a ship outside your arc you can fire warheads out of arc at one less the range (Proton Torpedos at range 2 instead of 2-3), spending the TL.

Or what about a sweet mod (or title) for the poor TIEs that don't have TL:

Superior Targeting Computer (TIE only), like 0 points?

your action bar gains TL. You may only receive TLs on ships in your arc. You may immediately gain a TL on the same ship after spending the previous TL.