If you can only take one of the two upgrades, which would it be and why? Assume that you've only got discardable munitions for this purpose, no modifications.

Personally I'm never sure - EM is guaranteed to work, from minute 1, whilst Crane needs a condition to be fulfilled - but EM only ever gets one use where Crane can be used more than once.

Equally, EM gets one use PER item, where Crane only ever gets one guaranteed.

I guess the answer is that it depends on the build - with multiple munitions, you're probably better off with EM, with only 1, I think I swing to Crane.

What about everyone else?

scavenger crane has more uses than EM. If i'm loading up on stuff that isn't munitions i'll go with Crane (like glitterstim/hotshot blaster etc) or if i'm gonna be facing Boba.

If i'm loading up on munitions/bombs etc i'll go EM.

3 minutes ago, taulover55 said:

scavenger crane has more uses than EM. If i'm loading up on stuff that isn't munitions i'll go with Crane (like glitterstim/hotshot blaster etc) or if i'm gonna be facing Boba.

If i'm loading up on munitions/bombs etc i'll go EM.

Erm. Crane doesn't work on Illicits. It has no interaction with HSB and Stim, and you can only combo them on the Lancer anyway. Boba (crew) is also a WAY bigger threat to Crane, because he can just pull the crane itself off which he can't with EM.

The main issue; the crane fills up an Illicit slot, and there are a lot of shiny things you can put in there - Glitterstim is a very nice cheap means of getting fully modified missile shots, for example; would you rather hit once or miss twice?

The only ship I can think of which packs a choice of either is the Jumpmaster.

13 minutes ago, thespaceinvader said:

Erm. Crane doesn't work on Illicits. It has no interaction with HSB and Stim, and you can only combo them on the Lancer anyway. Boba (crew) is also a WAY bigger threat to Crane, because he can just pull the crane itself off which he can't with EM.

heads not on, for some reason i thought it worked on illicits (no wait, that's the slimy green fella!!)

i don't play scum much lol.

I'd use it on my Bombing ahsoka list if i could free up the points for it, can give you the bomb back or the Captured Tie mod if you did need to ditch it for some reason.

5 minutes ago, Magnus Grendel said:

The main issue; the crane fills up an Illicit slot, and there are a lot of shiny things you can put in there - Glitterstim is a very nice cheap means of getting fully modified missile shots, for example; would you rather hit once or miss twice?

The only ship I can think of which packs a choice of either is the Jumpmaster.

Yup, it's the Jump I'm thinking of, specifically in this context in reference to adding Cad Bane and using it as a bomber.

My inclination is that EM is probably better in that context as it allows you to be proactive about your bombing, but I'm not certain by any stretch of the imagination.

Scavenger Crane is more niche due to the timing. Depending on your list composition and your opponent's list composition, the triggers may come too early (you haven't had a good chance to use your 'disposable' upgrades) or too late (having an extra use of one of your upgrades isn't going to help you win either because you are already dominating the match or already too far behind). For example, I've been running Dengar / Fenn / Inaldra mindlink and I run Countermeasures on Dengar but I don't bother running Scavenger Crane. That's because getting an extra Countermeasures on Dengar via Scavenger Crane is unlikely to occur at a time that will affect the match outcome. If I'm triggering it off of losing one of my ships, it's because Dengar isn't being shot at, so he hasn't needed to use his Countermeasures. If I'm triggering it off of killing an enemy ship, it's probably already well into the midgame and by killing that ship I've most likely already pulled ahead and an extra Countermeasures use is more of a "win more" effect rather than shifting the momentum.

For ordnance lists, in order for Scavenger Crane to be better than Extra Munitions, you need to have enough collective firepower to ensure the Crane triggers early so you can keep the firepower rolling. If your alpha strike goes off and doesn't produce casualties, you're now up a creek. You may not have enough punch to finish off the wounded ships quickly and the longer it takes to trigger Crane the more the match shifts against you. One place that Scavenger Crane may work well is on Z-95 ordnance swarms, where you use your own inevitable casualties to trigger your Cranes and maintain the firepower of the remaining ships. Something like: Black Sun Soldier w/ Cruise Missiles, Scavenger Crane, Guidance Chips run in multiples.