I'm a new player to the game. I learned about it at Celebration this year, and since watching a game and seeing the sheer badassery of the mini's, my girlfriend and I were immediately hooked. I mean, like, I'm quickly becoming addicted to X-Wing. So much so that we've build a custom gaming table in our house, just so we can keep the mat set up all the time.

I find myself being overwhelmed with the amount of Star Wars awesomeness that this game has. Finally, a chance to play some of the coolest ships from the stories that I've been a fan of since childhood. We can go head to head over and over and never play the same game twice. It's pretty freaking awesome.

That being said, I have two comments to make. One, does anyone else feel this way? I know I still have a lot to learn and many more games to play, ships to acquire, lists to build, etc. before diving into the competitive scene, but even when I'm not actually playing....I'm still thinking about playing. Am I alone in this "obsessive" x-wing addiction or have I found a home where we can all collectively drool over our new toys?

My second question is, and this may blow up in my face, but why all the negativity? I know it's a competitive game, but it seems like there's a terrible amount of negativity involved in this community lately. "this ship is too powerful!" "nerf this!" "Fix this, it sucks" "This card is broken!" Come on, people, don't you think that FFG playtested the CRAP out of these cards and ships to make sure that everything was legit? I feel like so many people are bitc#ing just for the sake of bitc@ing. It's a tough game with many layers of tactics and foresight. OR it's a game where you push little ships around and roll dice. Either way, it's a ton of fun and if one looks at each "broken" situation as a challenge then really the key is to..."Fly Better".

*steps down off of soap box, goes back to being a newbie squid*

You're far from alone.

If you just play with your gf then yeah the game is perfect. Come back after a few lgs nights of getting stomped over and over and over again sometimes 100-0 against the SAME list and tell the people complaining it's for no reason.

The models are fantastic though and outside HOTAC style variants and casual play pretty much the only reason I still buy this game. welcome to hell. ?

This is what I believe:

There are 2-4 ideal ways FFG (maybe more) could fix ships that are "outdated"

1. Bring in a new set that will change/alter their points cost

2. Give them unique titles

3. Give them new pilots

4. FAQ/Errata what certain upgrades do

Now the 4th one is the one that FFG is one I consider "walking on thin ice". There is no complaint from me that pushing erratas through is bad, I actually think its a good thing. Also the fact that we have majorjuggler pushing through statistical analysis for us and FFG allows us to analyze what ships need/dont need help.

However with this 4th option that FFG chose to do, we now know that FFG is willing to do "patch fixes" to current upgrade cards. This now fuels other peoples minds hoping that their favorite ship will get an FAQ/Errata, thus fueling these forums with negativity and "fix this"/"fix that" posts.

One thing that I have noticed is that FFG has yet to alter a ship cost or what upgrades a ship can carry. Can you imagine how this forum will explode if that were to happen? Everyone will be chiming in their opinion saying that this ship should have this or that.

I'm having the most fun I've ever had now that im playing X wings. I'm one who came from playing Yu-Gi-Oh! competitively and trust me, I'd wish I found X-Wings much sooner. I did not like the fact that Yu-Gi-Oh/Konami would ban cards quarterly and pop out new card sets every 2 months. Literally had to spend $250+ every quarter to rebuild a new competitive deck. X-wings is life

i think the negativity comes from the competitive nature of the game. You grow very attached to the ships you fly. When new upgrades come out or you lose, it has to be someone else's fault. A sports analogy would be a basketball player who is seven feet tall and dunks like a beast, then one day they introduce three seconds in the key - now your bitter you can not stand under the basket and dunk ( u can but just not as easily). Then you learn to get around that and then they add a three point line and your team is ruined. These changes don' t ruin basketball but they change how the game is played. Then you play a game with your team and lose - and you want to fire the coach blame the players for not trying. Like in sports we love the game and the team - but everyone has an opinion. Don't be put off by the negativity here it does not translate to when people are actually playing. I find people like playing the game and like complaining. For example I hate kylo ren crew card - he ruined the game for me (I played against it once and won). So don't worry about all of the chicken little types here - just play have fun and try to find a nasty combo that makes others cry. I avoid negativity when I play by claiming every game I won was lucky and due to dice and every game I lose is due to player skill. I hope my early morning ramblings help you out.

The celebration was just under 2 months ago, so you are still in the honeymoon period with the game. That's great! It is a great deal of fun. Hell, I had a blast at my local game store last night winning with a new Imperial list I had come up with. Good times!

24 minutes ago, Malabor said:

My second question is, and this may blow up in my face, but why all the negativity? I know it's a competitive game, but it seems like there's a terrible amount of negativity involved in this community lately. "this ship is too powerful!" "nerf this!" "Fix this, it sucks" "This card is broken!" Come on, people, don't you think that FFG playtested the CRAP out of these cards and ships to make sure that everything was legit?

The longer you play the game, the honeymoon will eventually end. You'll start to see the cracks and dirty little secrets of the game and realize its not all rainbows all the time, just like marriage. There are problems in the game balance, FFG is laughably bad about not playtesting things enough and launching with broken cards.

Meta issues happen when your playgroup are min-max hypercompetative players. The imbalances become glaring. If you are in a more casual group, its not as noticeable.

But its ok; even with problems the game is fun. Someone doesn't have to be perfect for you to love them.

21 minutes ago, Malabor said:

I'm a new player to the game. I learned about it at Celebration this year, and since watching a game and seeing the sheer badassery of the mini's, my girlfriend and I were immediately hooked. I mean, like, I'm quickly becoming addicted to X-Wing. So much so that we've build a custom gaming table in our house, just so we can keep the mat set up all the time.

I find myself being overwhelmed with the amount of Star Wars awesomeness that this game has. Finally, a chance to play some of the coolest ships from the stories that I've been a fan of since childhood. We can go head to head over and over and never play the same game twice. It's pretty freaking awesome.

That being said, I have two comments to make. One, does anyone else feel this way? I know I still have a lot to learn and many more games to play, ships to acquire, lists to build, etc. before diving into the competitive scene, but even when I'm not actually playing....I'm still thinking about playing. Am I alone in this "obsessive" x-wing addiction or have I found a home where we can all collectively drool over our new toys?

DITTO!!! From just collecting these little buggers to playing when I get the chance.... pure nerdgasam.

22 minutes ago, Malabor said:

Come on, people, don't you think that FFG playtested the CRAP out of these cards and ships to make sure that everything was legit?

No.

No, they certainly don't playtest everything sufficiently, and there's probably certain stuff that doesn't get playtested at all.

5 minutes ago, kris40k said:

The longer you play the game, the honeymoon will eventually end. You'll start to see the cracks and dirty little secrets of the game and realize its not all rainbows all the time, just like marriage. There are problems in the game balance, FFG is laughably bad about not playtesting things enough and launching with broken cards.

Meta issues happen when your playgroup are min-max hypercompetative players. The imbalances become glaring. If you are in a more casual group, its not as noticeable.

But its ok; even with problems the game is fun. Someone doesn't have to be perfect for you to love them.

and this is ok, I get that. I've been gaming for a majority of my life and my group through HS/College definitely were able to find the "cracks" and "smears" in each game that we played to death. I wanted to make this post and see if the "Sally Soul-Crushers" were the majority and that in my naive state of SW bliss I was stepping into a nasty group of grumps. So far, it seems that I'm not alone in my discovery of a fantastic hobby/obsession.

Some people experience fandom mostly through negativity. Wouldn't worry about it too much.

30 minutes ago, Sparklelord said:

No.

No, they certainly don't playtest everything sufficiently, and there's probably certain stuff that doesn't get playtested at all.

So you're saying that with >250 pilots flying >50 ships in 3 factions and equipping any number between 0 and ~10 of >300 different upgrades, not every single one of billions of permutations of lists flying against each other is tested thoroughly before every release?

I'm shocked.

There'll always be stuff that slips through the cracks. All in all, FFG does an amazing job with balancing the game IMHO.

47 minutes ago, Malabor said:

I'm a new player to the game. I learned about it at Celebration this year, and since watching a game and seeing the sheer badassery of the mini's, my girlfriend and I were immediately hooked. I mean, like, I'm quickly becoming addicted to X-Wing. So much so that we've build a custom gaming table in our house, just so we can keep the mat set up all the time.

I find myself being overwhelmed with the amount of Star Wars awesomeness that this game has. Finally, a chance to play some of the coolest ships from the stories that I've been a fan of since childhood. We can go head to head over and over and never play the same game twice. It's pretty freaking awesome.

That being said, I have two comments to make. One, does anyone else feel this way? I know I still have a lot to learn and many more games to play, ships to acquire, lists to build, etc. before diving into the competitive scene, but even when I'm not actually playing....I'm still thinking about playing. Am I alone in this "obsessive" x-wing addiction or have I found a home where we can all collectively drool over our new toys?

My second question is, and this may blow up in my face, but why all the negativity? I know it's a competitive game, but it seems like there's a terrible amount of negativity involved in this community lately. "this ship is too powerful!" "nerf this!" "Fix this, it sucks" "This card is broken!" Come on, people, don't you think that FFG playtested the CRAP out of these cards and ships to make sure that everything was legit? I feel like so many people are bitc#ing just for the sake of bitc@ing. It's a tough game with many layers of tactics and foresight. OR it's a game where you push little ships around and roll dice. Either way, it's a ton of fun and if one looks at each "broken" situation as a challenge then really the key is to..."Fly Better".

*steps down off of soap box, goes back to being a newbie squid*

Welcome to the "plastic crack" addiction known as X-Wing!

I think that most of the "soul crushers" fall into one of two categories. The first are the very competitive players. They tend to poo poo anything that isn't very strong in competition.

The second group are those that have a special ship or ships that constantly gets creamed during play. The "buff this, nerf that" crowd.

The number of playtesters that FFG lists in their packaging is miniscule compared to the number of players and the number of upgrades available. You'll find some very creative "evil geniuses" in these threads that put together some odd but very strong squad builds. Obviously some that FFG didn't consider. Hence the over powered builds that show up in every new release.

My advice to you as a new player is play because you enjoy the game. As long as you derive pleasure from the game, fly what you want and ignore the naysayers.

The game is great, the people you meet at events, tournaments and Organised Play are fantastic people. You laugh, you cry, you make pew pew noises and inappropriate star wars jokes.

Just like any game of this size, you have your core groups/types of people and you know what, that's OK. You can actually play a type of bingo with it:

Tournament High Rollers:
Most of their kit has been replaced with tournament won acrylics costing in the thousands, they fly exceptionally well, consistent and swim amongst the meta. All round, nice guys and worth having a beer with.

The Win at all costs:
Some of their kit is acrylics and they fly what has recently won store/regional/national events. They don't mind fortressing or running away for time. Great to talk to before or after a game but during, they may go quiet, its not rude, but planning your defeat takes a lot of concentration!

The Old School Trilogy:
These people keep the faith, they fly TIE Swarms, multiple X wings plus Y wings plus B wings and you WILL have a great game against these guys. Sometimes you can spot them making the cut, other times, you can make them out of the crowd by the most laughable bunch in the room.

The Anti-Meta:
Whatever the most popular ship is at the time, expect these guys and gals to be flying the opposite, even if it means flying four HWKS. They can punch WAY higher than anyone expects and they enjoy every single engagement they enter. Very knowledgeable and great banter.

All Guts, no shields:
The die hard fans of TIE interceptors. God bless these guys. Save the dream. .

The Bombers:
They flew bombers before Sabine and Clusters and every other "fix". They know tactics and strategy better then anyone but they are let down by the fact they solely use bombs and there are no missions in atmosphere. You will know you are against a bomber player by the fact they have either four TIE Bombers, a Punisher or three K wings and more tokens then you ever thought was possible to bring to one game. They may try and convince you that a AT-AT would be a great inclusion for the game and you will agree by the end, because it would be amazing.

The XG-1 "Star Wing" Assault Gunpoint Society:
If you don't know these people yet, you will and when the ship is finally released, much rejoicing and merry making will be had. Spot them with their "Gif Gunboat pls" picket signs.

The Hanger Bay'ers:
"I'm just here because the expo was three days and Armada/Destiny/Netrunner/Pokemon hasn't started yet but my lift wanted to play X wing so here I am . . . with four Y wings all equipped with TLT. "

The D.VA players
"Nerf this!!"

All that being said, 90% will be sporting a Star Wars t-shirt, one person will be dressed as a Jedi, another will tell you to let the wookie win (it's advisable) but 100% of people you meet will be friendly, easy going and share a love for the game, despite how much they protest on here.

X-Wing is a fun game, but this forum is pretty darn toxic. Spend your time playing or talking with your friends, instead.

Negativity is just the internet being the internet. ANYTHING remotely popular will have tons of people flaming it just for the sake of being an ***, even though some feel legitimate in their posts most are just a drama queen.

Tbh if i wasnt bored at work i probably wouldnt be on these threads anymore. Locally i never hear anyone be even remotely as toxic as these forums can be, though i do have the occasional dice rager lol

Xwing is an awesome game, and while some design choices are dumb most are very good. No game is perfect.

21 minutes ago, Viktus106 said:

The game is great, the people you meet at events, tournaments and Organised Play are fantastic people. You laugh, you cry, you make pew pew noises and inappropriate star wars jokes.

Couldn't agree more. Went to the Euros and despite the problematic day 1 and a final record of 2 wins, 6 losses I had a fantastic time, enjoyed every game and had a good laugh with every player I faced. Even found time for the mix-and-match Team Epic, which was just as good fun.

It's been the same at pretty much every event I've been to, and in all the casual games at home and away. The games are fun, the people are friendly and the atmosphere is great.

24 minutes ago, Viktus106 said:

The XG-1 "Star Wing" Assault Gunpoint Society:
If you don't know these people yet, you will and when the ship is finally released, much rejoicing and merry making will be had. Spot them with their "Gif Gunboat pls" picket signs.

...if you'd like to learn more, I have explanatory pamphlets...

1 hour ago, Malabor said:

... Am I alone in this "obsessive" x-wing addiction or have I found a home where we can all collectively drool over our new toys?

My second question is, and this may blow up in my face, but why all the negativity?

Question 1. Hell no. I have been collecting for over 3 years but until the last 2 months only played a few actual games. Now I am in a league at 8-6 but am 14-0 as far as having a fun match. But before that I set up the ships on my kitchen table and "flew" against myself. I went to online squad builder sites and created a thousand squads. Read every article about new releases. Its all awesome. A lot of people talk about collecting or flying only 1 or maybe 2 of the 3 factions. That is completely foreign to me. How do they not want 12 of every single ship?!?

Question 2. Probably something like 80% of people who have bought a core set for this game have no idea who makes this game or that there are forums and youtube channels and such. But the more competitive playersas well as avid collectors know. And they read them for many reasons but often yes it is to complain about a couple cards that are very powerful and define the meta. It is not all bad though. There are lots of great posters and resources. The rules sub forum is a great place to get questions answered and the squad forums can give you ideas even if you dont have all the ships yet.

Bottom line is at home if one ship is too powerful then change it or ban it or give the other player a few extra points to use or whatever because the object of any game is to have fun.

And welcome aboard! Glad you joined the fun.

You're not alone in your addiction. I started in February.

I own almost everything. (I think the only ships I don't own are ships that aren't out yet, those I just plain don't like, or don't come with upgrades I feel are worth it or don't come with ships that are "better" in my mind... so, I'm missing out on E-Wings, K-Wings, TIE Phantoms, Mist Hunters, IG-2000s, Quadjumpers and Punishing Ones)

I have 3 organizers FILLED. I've bought acrylic replacements for my tokens and templates.

Yeah, I'm hooked.

2 hours ago, Malabor said:

I'm a new player to the game. I learned about it at Celebration this year, and since watching a game and seeing the sheer badassery of the mini's, my girlfriend and I were immediately hooked. I mean, like, I'm quickly becoming addicted to X-Wing. So much so that we've build a custom gaming table in our house, just so we can keep the mat set up all the time.

I find myself being overwhelmed with the amount of Star Wars awesomeness that this game has. Finally, a chance to play some of the coolest ships from the stories that I've been a fan of since childhood. We can go head to head over and over and never play the same game twice. It's pretty freaking awesome.

That being said, I have two comments to make. One, does anyone else feel this way? I know I still have a lot to learn and many more games to play, ships to acquire, lists to build, etc. before diving into the competitive scene, but even when I'm not actually playing....I'm still thinking about playing. Am I alone in this "obsessive" x-wing addiction or have I found a home where we can all collectively drool over our new toys?

My second question is, and this may blow up in my face, but why all the negativity? I know it's a competitive game , but it seems like there's a terrible amount of negativity involved in this community lately. "this ship is too powerful!" "nerf this!" "Fix this, it sucks" "This card is broken!" Come on, people, don't you think that FFG playtested the CRAP out of these cards and ships to make sure that everything was legit? I feel like so many people are bitc#ing just for the sake of bitc@ing. It's a tough game with many layers of tactics and foresight. OR it's a game where you push little ships around and roll dice. Either way, it's a ton of fun and if one looks at each "broken" situation as a challenge then really the key is to..."Fly Better".

I really enjoy this game too, but the competitive scene really distorts it sometimes. And it isn't just the players. . .FFG focuses exclusively on tournament play. If you really want to get your SW on with this game, some of the best work is being put out by fans: Degoba Dave's Trench Run, a Battle of Scarif scenario, the HotAC campaign, and Shuttle Tydirium's Grayskull campaign.

I play with my brother: neither one of usually fields Biggs, I haven't seen a toilet seat in months, we both think X-Wings are in a great spot, I have flown the Scyk for years, and we play at 200, 300, 600 and 1,000 points.

My main complaint: I don't get to play enough!

I'll answer your second question first. The negativity comes from tournament play, particularly high level tournament play. In that format, best always takes precedence over good. If you realize that the majority of comments judging ships is about high level play, they aren't as bad. This has never really bothered me because it is the same as other collectible competive games I've been involved with in the past.

I've been playing casually for just over a year and my experience mirrors yours. My son and I are obsessed with X-wing. We play at home a lot and occasionally at local tournaments (there aren't very many where we are). We get a lot of use out of all of our ships and pilots, regardless of how good they are perceived by the community. I think there are a lot of casual players around, but the forums are dominated by the tournament perspective. I think many of those points are valid, but my experience as a casual player is very different.

2 hours ago, Malabor said:

I'm a new player to the game. I learned about it at Celebration this year, and since watching a game and seeing the sheer badassery of the mini's, my girlfriend and I were immediately hooked. I mean, like, I'm quickly becoming addicted to X-Wing. So much so that we've build a custom gaming table in our house, just so we can keep the mat set up all the time.

I find myself being overwhelmed with the amount of Star Wars awesomeness that this game has. Finally, a chance to play some of the coolest ships from the stories that I've been a fan of since childhood. We can go head to head over and over and never play the same game twice. It's pretty freaking awesome.

That being said, I have two comments to make. One, does anyone else feel this way? I know I still have a lot to learn and many more games to play, ships to acquire, lists to build, etc. before diving into the competitive scene, but even when I'm not actually playing....I'm still thinking about playing. Am I alone in this "obsessive" x-wing addiction or have I found a home where we can all collectively drool over our new toys?

My second question is, and this may blow up in my face, but why all the negativity? I know it's a competitive game, but it seems like there's a terrible amount of negativity involved in this community lately. "this ship is too powerful!" "nerf this!" "Fix this, it sucks" "This card is broken!" Come on, people, don't you think that FFG playtested the CRAP out of these cards and ships to make sure that everything was legit? I feel like so many people are bitc#ing just for the sake of bitc@ing. It's a tough game with many layers of tactics and foresight. OR it's a game where you push little ships around and roll dice. Either way, it's a ton of fun and if one looks at each "broken" situation as a challenge then really the key is to..."Fly Better".

*steps down off of soap box, goes back to being a newbie squid*

Welcome to x-wing. It is a wonderful game. If you want to enhance your experience i recommend buying acrylic templates. It just feels so much better. Once i got them i regretted waiting so long. And i can never go back now.

Also i recommend either buying accrylic tokens or painting the ugly brown sides of all the tokens with bright sharpie paint pens.

Finally, if you can find them online, the battlefield in a box 3d asteroids just make the game even more amazing.

Happy piloting!

Stay casual, keep having fun Bend the rules to your whim!

Seriously though, I got introduced to the game at a local shop and they play with their own house rules which I adopted (same core rules, standard points bumped to 150) and my friends and I have a blast. I don't like the tournament atmosphere... mostly because I can't demand a rematch and get revenge if I lose to a person like I can with my friends

1 hour ago, Malabor said:

and this is ok, I get that. I've been gaming for a majority of my life and my group through HS/College definitely were able to find the "cracks" and "smears" in each game that we played to death. I wanted to make this post and see if the "Sally Soul-Crushers" were the majority and that in my naive state of SW bliss I was stepping into a nasty group of grumps. So far, it seems that I'm not alone in my discovery of a fantastic hobby/obsession.

Competitive play ruins miniature games. Don't let "those people" get to you.

I have a playgroup that, like yours, finds the loopholes in systems, and instead of wringing our hands and twirling our mustaches as we unveil them on our unsuspecting friends, we point them out and all say "yeah, don't do that." Our "toy time" is far too valuable to play anything one sided. We have families and jobs and depression to deal with, our escapism needs to be dragged out for the sake of sanity.

But others? Sometimes that's all they live for is to crush their opponents. And even more unfortunate are those who don't have an established friendly playgroup and are victimized night after gamenight by the soul-less crusher types.

So all in all, you're right, this game is awesome, both in rules and in models that for the real Star Wars fans make it hard for us to stand up and walk around when we see them (keyword here being "hard"). But a lot of the online community for miniature games is made up of people who want to vent, so knowing that you can see why this place feels like a bar that ran out of booze after twenty minutes into a televised college sports championship.

So enjoy X-wing, and try not to brag about 1) having a girlfriend and/or 2) the fact that she plays this game with you.

Some people here might cut themselves to that tune.

16 minutes ago, TBot said:

Welcome to x-wing. It is a wonderful game. If you want to enhance your experience i recommend buying acrylic templates. It just feels so much better. Once i got them i regretted waiting so long. And i can never go back now.

Also i recommend either buying accrylic tokens or painting the ugly brown sides of all the tokens with bright sharpie paint pens.

Finally, if you can find them online, the battlefield in a box 3d asteroids just make the game even more amazing.

Happy piloting!

excellent advice! I've been checking out the acrylics for sure, but at the moment we're concentrating on building our fleet. The question at the moment is: TIE/SF or TIE/FO? U-wing or A-wing? All the ships!!

The last exclamation answers both your questions