just as sometimes we criticize whats wrong with the game, we should also mention what makes the game great! let us talk about all the things we like about the game here. I'll start:

ship viability. most wargames have about 30%-40% of their models being viable for competitive play. in armada, the percentage is MUCH bigger:

wave 1, we have the gladiator and nebulon being awesome even if merely due to titles; cr90 having found success both as a zombie and as a trc platform; assault frigate being an overall prevalent ship for many top tier lists(ackbar gunboat, carrier, etc); the victory class perhaps struggles a bit, bit it is more than viable as a carrier for a rhymerball build. found lots of success in wave 2 regionals and may resurge now with d. capacitors.

wave 2, we have the mc30 and raider, awesome as a torpedo carrier and AA shiprespectively, the ISD being very good (see last euros). the mc80 isnt really top tier, but it has been included in some pretty powerful lists(most recently the objective token spam version).

wave 3/4, we have two competitively lackluster ships, the liberty and interdictor, but they are definitely important in shaping the meta-just, a bit too expensive. they are important in a CC campaign where you have more points leeway, though. we also got flotillas, who are obviously competitive(duh!)

wave 5 gave us the arquittens and pelta. not uberships, but they have their role. very strong, just a bit off-meta right now.

5 waves, and we have everything but 4-5 ships in top tier lists. even in these 4-5 remaining ships they are strong ships, just a bit off-meta/harder to use. not really "bad design" ships.

mods please delete. error/double thread.

I agree, there are not many ships that you don't see on the table during a large event. I would just add that you shouldn't count the Liberty out. It is great as a flanker, just doesn't do well going head to head with an ISD.

5 minutes ago, mcworrell said:

I agree, there are not many ships that you don't see on the table during a large event. I would just add that you shouldn't count the Liberty out. It is great as a flanker, just doesn't do well going head to head with an ISD.

personally i love the ship , also i have had success with the interdictor. i am just saying, the ships i mention as competitive, are not just 'good ships", but parts of lists that are considered not just good but GREAT. ships that the whole community ha slearnt to fear (TRC90, Demolisher, yavaris, gallant haven, ISDvariants, and more. yes we have SO MANY ships that are competitively usable. when i was playing warmahordes per se, all but 2 of my infantry units were utter garbage, similarly in other wargames). ships like the arquittens, liberty etc have their place, but are "not there yet".

Wave 6 is coming.

Can we stop to talk about the models for a moment?

Other than the wave 1 squadrons, pretty much everything is awesome. As one of the people who actually repaints my Armada stuff, ****, FFG.

The ISD, Interdictor, the MC ships, the later squadrons... this stuff is all fantastic. Visually, the elements of this game just sing, and I think that is an under appreciated point at times. We don't talk about it enough.

Also, maneuvering. It's janky. It requires a lot of pre-planning. It's way more important than most new players assume. Very appropriate for capital ships in space, very thematic, and leaves a lot of openings for player skill.

9 minutes ago, Reinholt said:

Can we stop to talk about the models for a moment?

Other than the wave 1 squadrons, pretty much everything is awesome. As one of the people who actually repaints my Armada stuff, ****, FFG.

The ISD, Interdictor, the MC ships, the later squadrons... this stuff is all fantastic. Visually, the elements of this game just sing, and I think that is an under appreciated point at times. We don't talk about it enough.

Also, maneuvering. It's janky. It requires a lot of pre-planning. It's way more important than most new players assume. Very appropriate for capital ships in space, very thematic, and leaves a lot of openings for player skill.

Totally agree with Reinholt here. I know it takes a while for us to get our ships, but when they come they look great. Maneuvering is not only junky, but it is pretty unique (I think). I don't play any other miniatures games, but from what I have seen the maneuver tool is quite unique. One of the most important lessons I learned early on was the importance of the maneuver command.

I also love the depth of this game, as far as I can tell, there are no auto-win list. Yes, something's are better then others, but it comes down to the knowledge and skill of the person controlling the fleet.

Indeed, the models. I love playing spaceship miniatures games, but the models really drive home how pretty the game can be.

As a whole, and aside from upgrades and released ship cards, the engine is sound. The activation war wouldn't be what it was if certain ships like Demo, ISDs, GR-75s, existed to force everyone to be fearful of them. The command dials / defense tokens / multiple firing arc examples are all things that make the engine shine. It's simple, plays fairly quickly in the absence of heavy mechanics, and it's a lot more satisfying of play than say X-Wing with uncontrollable dice, or Attack wing with ships behaving too much like fighters.

I don't feel there are any problems with Armada that cannot be fixed with some time and better targeted upgrades. I'm not worried about the future of the game.