So with the reveal of the Onyx Squadron Escort, I had to ask myself... Why isn't every PS 3-5 generic costed well?

FFG has historically overpriced many of their Mid PS generics, and they seem to have no clear coordination in their pricing, even in later waves, despite evidence pointing towards what they have gotten right and what they have gotten wrong.

For example- early ships, such as the Y-wing, Tie Advanced, Tie Bomber, Tie Interceptor, B-wing, and X-wing, pay 2 points for +2 PS. None of these pilots see play. But the Tie Fighter and A-wing pay 2 points for +3 or 2 PS AND an elite. Both of these ships see a healthy amount of play. Also, the Tie Fighter gets another generic option at +2 PS for only ONE point more. While it hasn't been seen much in the current state of the game, Obsidian swarms were popular in the earlier days of the game, and I presume if the power curve was returned to where it should be, they would see some moderate use once again.

So even early in X-wings history, it seemed clear that there were at least 2 correct ways to cost mid PS generics- either a) 1 point for 2 PS, or b) 2 points for 2 or 3 PS and an elite. Yet, despite the evidence, FFG continues to print mid PS generics that do not follow the proven standard, and perhaps due to this, many mid PS generics continue to not see play.

Let's look at a number of the Mid PS ships that have been designed past wave 3 to see just what they have been doing.

Wave 4

E-wing- Mid PS +2 points for 2 PS.

Neither low or Mid PS widely used.

Tie Defender- Mid PS +2 points for 2 PS.

Low PS used after Imperial Veterans release, Mid PS not used regularly.

Tie Phantom- Mid PS +2 points for 2 PS.

Neither low or Mid PS widely used.

Z-95- Mid PS +` 1 point for 2 PS.

Low PS used more often than Mid PS, but Mid PS widely regarded a fair deal.

Wave 5

Not applicable. Only 1 generic for both ships

Wave 6

Scum Zs and Y-wing-

Similar to their rebel counterparts, Mid PS Z-95 sees a fair amount of play in comparison to the low PS. Mid PS Y-wing is hardly ever seen especially in comparison to the low PS, which is one of the most popular generics in the game.

Starviper- Mid PS +2 points for 2 PS.

Neither low or Mid PS widely used.

M3A interceptor- Mid PS +3 points for 3 PS and elite.

This is the same as the Tie Fighter except for an extra point. I don't really understand why exactly it needs to be an extra point, but I don't think it is totally crippling since it still gets an Elite (although I believe the +2 for 2 PS and elite is a much better deal).

Wave 7

K-Wing- +2 points for 2 PS.

Low PS used, Mid PS not used regularly.

Kihraxz- 3 points for +3 PS and elite.

Same as M3A interceptor. Neither low or Mid PS widely used.

TIE Punisher- 2 points for +2 PS.

Neither low or Mid PS widely used.

Wave 8

Tie Adv Prototype- 3 points for +2 PS and elite.

Neither low or Mid PS widely used, but I believe this is costed incorrectly and should only have been +2 points, especially considering its rebel counterpart, the A-wing, follows that cost structure.

G1A- 2 points for +2 PS and elite.

Neither low or Mid PS widely used, but I believe this is costed correctly and both ships would see play if they were aligned well with the current power curve.

T-70- Same as above.

Tie FO- 1 point for +2 PS, 2 points for +3 PS and elite.

Follows the same costing as the Tie Fighter. I'm not certain why the Tie FO generics don't see much play, but they seem to struggle to convince players the additional shield, target lock action, and slightly superior dial is worth the 3 points over the Tie Fighter. Could also be that they arrived at a point when generics with 2 attack were already largely outside the meta. Costing seems fine.

Wave 9

Tie SF- 2 points for +2 PS and elite.

Follows the Green squadron pilot structure. Generic SFs haven't seen much play, and I wonder if the reason Backdraft and Quickdraw see play is more due to their great abilities than it is due to the Tie SF itself. Still may need some time. Would like to see some generics in play now that lightweight frame is available.

Protectorate- 2 points for +2 PS and an elite, 3 points for +4 PS and elite.

One of the more interesting cost structures. I like both of these. Unfortunately, the base cost seems to be a little too much, as low PS arc dodgers struggle quite a bit.

Wave 10

Tie Striker- 1 point for +2 PS, 3 points for elite and +3 PS.

This one is entirely baffling to me. You have the 1 point for +2 PS which is great, but for some reason it breaks the Tie Fighter mold with its elite generic, which comes in at 3 points more for the elite and 3 PS instead of charging 2 points as it should! This is especially bothersome because it is 1 PS lower than Countdown who costs the same. And while Countdown does not have an elite, if you consider his pilot ability is essentially a built in elite, you should be able to field a Black Squadron Scout with an elite talent of equatable power for a similar cost, and even in that case it is still a PS lower than Countdown. Should have been 19 points, plain and simple.

Wave 11

Tie Aggressor- 2 points for +3 PS

Another one that really bothers me due to its alignment with a named pilot. As it comes in at the same price as Double Edge, you will never have a reason to take an Onyx Squadron Escort over Double Edge if you only plan to field 1 Aggressor (unless for some absurd reason, Dengar crew is ravaging your local scene). This just fails to make sense to me. Why would you print a generic pilot, which already has to get past being boring and without flavor to be noticed, at the same cost of a pilot that has both an ELITE and an ABILITY at the same cost? And don't forget that this pilot, if it so chooses, can be at the same pilot skill as said generic, maintaining its ability, for free? Onyx Squadron Escort was robbed of an elite talent, and I'm not sure why.

______

Here are the ships that follow the pattern of the Tie Fighter or A-wing for their mid PS generics, meaning they are much more likely to be competitively priced compared to their low PS generic-

A-wing

G1A

Protectorate

T-70

Tie Fighter

Tie FO

Tie SF

Z-95

And here are those that are a step behind and much more likely to be too expensive for the pilot skill and/or elite they gain-

B-wing

E-wing

K-Wing

Starviper

Tie Adv Prototype

Tie Advanced

Tie Aggressor

Tie Bomber

Tie Defender

Tie Interceptor

Tie Phantom

TIE Punisher

Tie Striker

X-wing

Y-wing

Kihraxz & M3A (maybe)

Now the big question is- Why does FFG seem to be missing the mark after all this time? And will FFG ever give love to the Mid PS pilot by pricing them in ways that have proven to work? Or will they continue to sporadically shoot some of these mid PS generics down before they've even taken off?

Your analysis is a little incomplete. The whole design was for X-wings starting at 2 but for +2 points you get +2 pilot skill. TIE Fighters were cheaper started at 1 so they were +1 points for +2 pilot skill. Also since the ship had very little in terms of upgrades (as they had no upgrade slots) they were given more pilots to chose from and the highest generic got the EPT. All the other ships followed the X-wing model. The idea is that in a stand up dog fight a higher pilot skill of 4 would be a pilot skill of 2 any day. For the most part that is true, but 4 is not the highest pilot skill. TIE-Advanced follow the standard model for X-wings. Y-wings set the bomber precedent where sluggish ships did not get EPTs but instead they had more upgrades.

Wave 2 brought in the large (hero) ship which had only 1 generic so more unique pilots can be flown. However with the A-wing and the TIE-interceptor. The A-wing focus was more on positioning than jousting so the highest skilled generic received an EPT and was given PTL. TIE Interceptors were literally TIE Fighters on Steroids so they followed the TIE Fighter model with them. Still best list was howlrunner swarm.

Wave 3 Not exactly Wave 3 but around that time frame Imperial Aces which gave Imperials the ability to get PL without buying a Rebel Scum expansion. It also introduced the Wave 5 generic with an EPT slot. The highest skilled generic pilot to enter the game. The Lambda Shuttle followed a combination of large ship model of one generic 3 uniques and the Y-wing model of sluggish ships pilots don't do fancy tricks so no EPT.

Wave 4 nothing changed with the pilot skill ept model except for the addition of TIE Phantoms which started at 3 since ACD was so dependent on higher pilot skill. The TIE Phantom brought the high pilot skill and imitative bid into the meta.

Wave 6 the scum faction entered but for the most part nothing changed. The Scyk was to follow the TIE Fighter/A-wing?Interceptor model. The Star Viper was to follow the standard X-wing. The ships to change the rules for pilot skill and EPT was the Aggressor (IG-88) which had no generic pilots and all the same skill for the same point cost, and the Fire-scum (Firespray) which had one generic but started at 5 with EPT just like the Royal guards from Imperial aces.

Wave 7 Took the Y-wing/Shuttle model to heart, as they all had loaded Upgrade bars but no EPTs. However the Kihraxz started to set the pattern that new ships with 2 or more generics had their highest skilled generic equipped with an EPT However for the Kihrax it was +3 points for +3 skill and the EPT.

Wave 8 was adoption of the A-wing/Scyk/Kihrax pilot skill EPT model. Both TAP, and G1-a had veterans with mechanics. This was also when Episode 7 and TFA core set came out so the T-70 and TIE-FO followed the new model. Then the contracted scout with a pilot skill of 3 and to have an EPT. The lowest to have one.

Wave 9 following the newer trends set by previous waves Same goes for 10.

Now Wave 11 is coming out and they are trying to see if they can price mid point generics with no elite pilot skills. Problem is now that several 0 point upgrades have came out and one of them being adaptability the empty EPT slot now has a value to it as it will never go unfilled.

I get the feeling FFG doesn't always understand the games they make. It's not just X-wing, in the aGoT LCG they keep giving us alternate art cards for *** plots that no one uses (Summoned to court? Really FFG?).

Jokes aside, they do have a pretty hard job balancing the game, and do a decent job most of the time (Jumpmasters excluded). But yes, the mid PS generics should really just be an extra point over the low PS ones.

19 minutes ago, Marinealver said:

TIE Interceptors were literally TIE Fighters on Steroids so they followed the TIE Fighter model with them.

No they did not. Tie Interceptors pays 2 to go from an Alpha to an Avenger, and 3 to go to the elite Saber. They SHOULD have followed the model, but they did not.

A lot of what you shared is nonsensical, (I lost you when you were talking about wave 3, sorry) so I am having trouble commenting on most of what you shared. But just to clarify, I am comparing the base, low PS generic cost with that of the Mid PS generics. Nothing else is prevalent to the discussion, so I'm not sure what in your post you shared was pointing to what was incomplete in my analysis..? I see a lot of "they adopted the Awing/Tie/Xwing", but all that really means is they priced it like they had previously or they didn't, which I already outlined.

They killed my hopes and dreams for SC season by not giving the 5 an EPT. Two of them with ruthlessness, lightweight frame, and a TLT with an ace in tow would have been awesome.

8 minutes ago, Nyxen said:

They killed my hopes and dreams for SC season by not giving the 5 an EPT. Two of them with ruthlessness, lightweight frame, and a TLT with an ace in tow would have been awesome.

"Double Edge" (19)
Ruthlessness (3)
Twin Laser Turret (6)
Lightweight Frame (2)

Lieutenant Kestal (22)
Ruthlessness (3)
Twin Laser Turret (6)
Lightweight Frame (2)

Darth Vader (29)
Juke (2)
Advanced Targeting Computer (1)
Engine Upgrade (4)
TIE/x1 (0)

Total: 99

View in Yet Another Squad Builder

28 minutes ago, Nyxen said:

They killed my hopes and dreams for SC season by not giving the 5 an EPT. Two of them with ruthlessness, lightweight frame, and a TLT with an ace in tow would have been awesome.

Ruthless TLTs don't work with two triggers anymore because of the timing chart. I don't think they are too exciting.

The mid-PS pilots suffer from being the most specific meta calls you can make. Paul Heavers 2013 list used two of them to out-PS Obsidians and we all know how that ended. However since these days you will never top off at 4, you will have wasted a considerable amount of points against some ships.

27 minutes ago, Rakaydos said:

"Double Edge" (19)
Ruthlessness (3)
Twin Laser Turret (6)
Lightweight Frame (2)

Lieutenant Kestal (22)
Ruthlessness (3)
Twin Laser Turret (6)
Lightweight Frame (2)

Darth Vader (29)
Juke (2)
Advanced Targeting Computer (1)
Engine Upgrade (4)
TIE/x1 (0)

Total: 99

View in Yet Another Squad Builder

And...can someone please get Biggs a new orange jumpsuit? He just soiled the one he's in.

Some interesting points. I think in general generic non-elites are not worth it as they add very little over the lower and cheaper PS ships. A PS3 ship is just as likely to be out PS'd as a PS1. Even in Epic where you want to be PS4+ they don't have a role.

For the Imperial ships I would add the following:

TIE Defenders have a generic elite PS6 for +2 points over the non-elite PS3. The PS1 is mainly taken for blocking duties. For Defenders PS3 has no role in that environment. As a note on Interceptors the PS3 and 4 are also squeezed because of the very cheap PS6 Royal Guard Pilot (+1/2 points respectively) and the Alpha PS1 can perform blocking duties well.

2 hours ago, Kdubb said:

Tie Defender- Mid PS +2 points for 2 PS.

Low PS used after Imperial Veterans release, Mid PS not used regularly.

2 hours ago, Kdubb said:

Tie Phantom- Mid PS +2 points for 2 PS.

Neither low or Mid PS widely used.

More likely this is because they don't work well with Advanced Cloaking Device which synergises with a high PS.

2 hours ago, Kdubb said:

TIE Punisher- 2 points for +2 PS.

Neither low or Mid PS widely used.

Punishers are not widely used at all. The Bomber is a much better choice unless you want the named pilot abilities.

2 hours ago, Kdubb said:

Tie Adv Prototype- 3 points for +2 PS and elite.

Neither low or Mid PS widely used, but I believe this is costed incorrectly and should only have been +2 points, especially considering its rebel counterpart, the A-wing, follows that cost structure.

The only Adv Prototype that gets regular play is the Inquisitor. A higher PS synergises better with the TIE/v1 title and the standard 2 attack is pretty weak for the price.

2 hours ago, Kdubb said:

Tie FO- 1 point for +2 PS, 2 points for +3 PS and elite.

Follows the same costing as the Tie Fighter. I'm not certain why the Tie FO generics don't see much play, but they seem to struggle to convince players the additional shield, target lock action, and slightly superior dial is worth the 3 points over the Tie Fighter. Could also be that they arrived at a point when generics with 2 attack were already largely outside the meta. Costing seems fine.

TIE/FO in general don't see that much play outside of Omega Leader. For me this is down to paying 3 points but getting no more offensive power than the standard TIE Fighter (even though the sloops are cool).

2 hours ago, Kdubb said:

Tie SF- 2 points for +2 PS and elite.

Follows the Green squadron pilot structure. Generic SFs haven't seen much play, and I wonder if the reason Backdraft and Quickdraw see play is more due to their great abilities than it is due to the Tie SF itself. Still may need some time. Would like to see some generics in play now that lightweight frame is available.

I agree the named pilot abilities are amazing and fun.

The Striker is too new for me to make comment but like the TIE/SF the named pilots are pretty great.

I genuinely feel that publishing a generic with higher PS than the minimum, without an EPT, is pointless. I'd far rather have another unique pilot.

I don't think I've ever come across a situation where I actually would have been better flying a higher PS non-EPT generic than a lower one. The only time I thought it might JUST manage to be useful was when I thought about maybe running a Gray Squadron Stresshog to out-PS Jumps.

I agree. The mid PS generic has been maddenly destroyed by FFG's seeming lack of common sense.

There are two inherent design problems with the PS in X-Wing.

1) The assumption that higher PS is naturally better than lower PS

2) The assumption that the difference between PS1 and PS3 is comparable to the difference between PS6 and PS8

The fact that Elite is one of (if not the) best upgrade slots in the game does not help. With a few exceptions in the early days of X-wing, pretty much the only times you use mid-ps generics is when they come with EPTs (often true for named pilots as well).

I'm a bit salty because of the lore as well.... The Empire is supposed to field elite pilots... Yet double EPT is a rebel thing, EPT on some random scout is a scum thing, but ignore all that...

Even in the article it says that the Aggressor is flown by elite pilots. All two of them!? Outrage. Scandal. Unbearable.

7 hours ago, thespaceinvader said:

I genuinely feel that publishing a generic with higher PS than the minimum, without an EPT, is pointless. I'd far rather have another unique pilot.

^This. What mid-range pilots should offer over lower pilots is not only a higher PS, but more customization capabilities. Ergo, an EPT slot.

4 minutes ago, Darth Meanie said:

^This. What mid-range pilots should offer over lower pilots is not only a higher PS, but more customization capabilities. Ergo, an EPT slot.

But I can see an argument for an eptless generic that has a higher PS than ept generics. Just not on the same ship.

12 minutes ago, Rakaydos said:

But I can see an argument for an eptless generic that has a higher PS than ept generics. Just not on the same ship.

Well, then I would argue we need more than 4 pilot cards per ship release. Because what we "have room for" right now is 2 aces, a low PS generic, and a mid PS generic (that IMHO should have an EPT).

As an Epic player especially, what I am looking for during list building is mid range pilots with an EPT slot to allow me to build interesting/customized squads around.

1 hour ago, Darth Meanie said:

Well, then I would argue we need more than 4 pilot cards per ship release. Because what we "have room for" right now is 2 aces, a low PS generic, and a mid PS generic (that IMHO should have an EPT).

As an Epic player especially, what I am looking for during list building is mid range pilots with an EPT slot to allow me to build interesting/customized squads around.

I think there is room for some ships to have the elite mid PS option and others to just have higher PS with no elite. The reason everyone looks down on mid PS generics without elites isn't entirely that they lack elites- It's that they lack elites when they are PAYING for them.

I strongly believe that if the mid PS pilots that pay 2 points for +2 PS and no elite only paid 1 point for the 2 PS instead, they would see moderate play in comparison to the low PS option.

1 minute ago, Kdubb said:

I think there is room for some ships to have the elite mid PS option and others to just have higher PS with no elite. The reason everyone looks down on mid PS generics without elites isn't entirely that they lack elites- It's that they lack elites when they are PAYING for them.

I strongly believe that if the mid PS pilots that pay 2 points for +2 PS and no elite only paid 1 point for the 2 PS instead, they would see moderate play in comparison to the low PS option.

Exactly. it's ok to glue VI to a generic instead of an ept slot, as long as you arnt paying for the nonexistant slot as well as the vi that fills it.

31 minutes ago, Kdubb said:

I strongly believe that if the mid PS pilots that pay 2 points for +2 PS and no elite only paid 1 point for the 2 PS instead, they would see moderate play in comparison to the low PS option.

29 minutes ago, Rakaydos said:

Exactly. it's ok to glue VI to a generic instead of an ept slot, as long as you arnt paying for the nonexistant slot as well as the vi that fills it.

While this might be true point-wise, the lack of EPTs stymies my ability to modify the pilot. This is supposed to be a game about battles in the SW universe where not everyone is an ace; I want generics that I can modify to be the generics (i.e., squad members) I want them to be.

This will be very important, for example, in Shuttle Tydirium's Grayskull event at Gen Con.

1 minute ago, Darth Meanie said:

While this might be true point-wise, the lack of EPTs stymies my ability to modify the pilot. This is supposed to be a game about battles in the SW universe; I want generics that I can modify to be the generics I want them to be.

This will be very important, for example, in Shuttle Tydirium's Grayskull event at Gen Con.

In that case you might as well always be taking the ships with the most upgrade slots if that's what's important to you.

While I enjoy customizable ships, what I want above all else is ships that are priced correctly and fairly so the only reason not to use a ship or pilot is preference. If that means a ship has no upgrade slots at all, but still pays for itself on the table, then I am a-ok with that.

8 minutes ago, Kdubb said:

In that case you might as well always be taking the ships with the most upgrade slots if that's what's important to you.

Well, not exactly. EPTs are a specific type of upgrade, first and foremost, so simply "lots of upgrade slots" isn't really what I am talking about. Secondly, thematically, the other upgrade slots are relevant to the ship type itself, not necessarily the pilot.

And while I enjoy a well-balanced-based-on-points game, I also want a warm-and-fuzzy-this-is-Avocado-Squadron-because-I-designed-it-this-way feel to the units I put on the table.

The problem is that the original game designer understood the game (and the relationship between point cost and pilot skill), but the designers that took over just don't seem to *get* it.

Saying 'mid-PS ships do not see play, therefore they are not costed correctly' is a non-sequitur. The real reason that mid-PS ships do not see play is because there is no point in taking them. The MAIN reason you take mid-PS ships is because they are an effective pilotskill level to beat low PS ships. But nobody takes low PS ships because the Pilot Skill balance was thrown way out of whack by careless game design from wave 4 onward. There have been a huge number of cards released that give greater value to high Pilot Skill. Therefore, the number of high Pilot Skill lists have increased steadily with each wave. Now the meta is dominated by Pilot Skill 6+. In that environment, PS 3-5 is doomed (generally speaking).

The game worked just fine when there was a nice balance of meta lists that included all values of Pilot Skill. The PS 1-2 ships were generally stronger than 'ace' lists due to better ship-to-cost efficiency. But the mid PS lists could beat the low PS lists and the high PS lists beat the mid PS lists.

Now, I'm not advocating that 'paper-rock-scissors' is the best game design ever. However, the game would certainly be in a healthier state if the game designers took better care to not let 'power creep' in---again, particularly in the form of cards that really give the most value on high PS ships. And if they had been more careful, we'd certainly see more mid-PS ships succeed in tournament settings. Not to mention, there'd definitely be less of a 'gap' between the 'top tier' ships and the lower tier ones...

1 minute ago, blade_mercurial said:

double post

Before analyzing where FFG hit the pricing model right vs. wrong, let's take a look at what ships frequently use multiple pilots. I'm sure people will disagree with whatever list I pull up, so I'm going to go ahead and use list juggler to look at all the pilots that are represented in at least 1% of the squads out there. And since I don't have all day, I'm going to just look at Rebels.

X Wing - Biggs (117)

Y Wing - Gold (49)

A Wing - N/A

YT-1300 - Rey (49), Han (rebel) (17)

B Wing - Blue (18)

HWK-290 - N/A

E Wing - Corran Horn (27)

Z-95 - Bandit (19)

YT-2400 - Dash (47)

K Wing - Miranda (93)

T-70 - Jess (34), Poe (30)

VCX-100 - Kanan (35), Lothal (22)

Attack Shuttle - Zeb (36)

ARC-170 - Norra (41), Thane (26), Braylen (16)

TIE/ln - Rex (39), Ahsoka (25)

U Wing - N/A

I have taken the liberty of bolding the ships with more than one pilot represented. I would like to point out that there are only 2* generics TOTAL represented by those three ships (*I'm not counting the Outer Rim Smuggler since it's really a different ship). And only one of those two is actually represented. Actually, I've gone ahead and colored the four generics represented. Each one of them has a very specific role. Gold is for the stresshog. You're rarely going to see a Gray even if it's PS5 or PS4 with an elite, or only 1 point more than the Gold. The point of the ship is to double stress, any added points to the ship are just MOV points lost. The Bandit can upgrade +2PS for 1 point, but it doesn't. Why? Because its point is to provide a cheap 12 point filler ship. I'll even go and say that the Tala has a purpose at 13 points, and the Rebels now have a good ship to choose at 12 (Bandit), 13 (Tala), 14 (Rex), 15 (Prototype), and then options at 16+. But still, typically you put the 12pt Bandit in and put those extra points into your main ships. I'm not quite sure what's going on with the Blue. If someone can tell me what squads use a Blue and why a dagger being at PS5 or having an EPT or only being 23 points wouldn't' really matter, please let me know. My guess is it's a BBBBZ squad, in which case an extra point wouldn't matter anyways. And then the Lothal doesn't have a second generic to compare against, nor is there really any design space for one (unless you dropped down to PS1, but that would have to be a 34pt ship to prevent you from running 3 in a list).

What you're really seeing from this data is that each ship has an optimal pilot. In the few instances where there are two pilots represented, each one has a very different role. Rey is a in-your-face jouster, Han is a PS9 defensive arc dodger. Poe is a regenerating Ace, Jess is a "Budget" (and low PS) Ace. Kanan is often a 70+ point monster, Lothals are 40pt additions to a squad. Norra is a regenerating ace. Braylen is a stress baron who can actually do damage. Thane is a... Well actually I'm surprised to see Thane in here, but he seems to go well in Rex/Biggs lists for severe action economy. Rex is a 14 point PITA (especially when in Biggs lists), where as Ahsoka typically buffs aces. These are the rare exceptions where the ship is flexible enough to take on two roles (or 3 for the ARC-170), but otherwise the ship is optimized for a single pilot.

So with that revelation, if we were to start changing the mid-PS pilots, giving them EPTs, or reducing their cost by one, or increasing their PS by one... what you'll see is a shift in the optimal point of some ships. If you could get a Gray with R3A2, TLT, Wired and BTL-A4 for 29 points, that MIGHT end up replacing the Gold w/ R3-A2, TLT, and BTL-A4 for 26 points, and the goldie is going to fall out of favor because the gray is just better for the points. Or perhaps its enough to push a named pilot down to a generic.

TL:DR, there's always an optimal pilot. Changing what the mid-PS generics have may/may not change the optimal pilot, but it will NOT add an additional viable pilot.

49 minutes ago, Khyros said:

TL:DR, there's always an optimal pilot. Changing what the mid-PS generics have may/may not change the optimal pilot, but it will NOT add an additional viable pilot.

Unless, of course, this game ever gets around to the idea that Gold and Gray have something else to differentiate themselves besides card title and PS value. Ergo, squad mechanics.