What are some basic principles for deciding what obstacles to bring?

I think this covers a lot of it.

How confident are you in your flying?

I have taken to the philosophy of bringing the biggest asteroids available on the hopes that my opponent will mess up.

It works sometimes.

I used to bring debris because the chance of damaging my ships was significantly reduced and my ships could still shoot when they landed on it.

But now I bring big rocks, because I'm better at flying and I hate giving Dash complete freedom of movement. If Dash didn't exist I'd probably still be using debris.

I really wish debris had the same drawbacks as asteroids in that you can't shoot when landing on them. Too many ships/upgrades in the game just don't care enough about stress for it to be an even playing field as it almost always is with asteroids.

1 hour ago, Boba Rick said:

What are some basic principles for deciding what obstacles to bring?

1 - How badly does stress affect you? Most ships with mechanics like push the limits might not appretiate the extra stress. Something with advanced sensors or Dash might simply not care. 4-Lom with wired and a collision detector might just enjoy debris for the opportunity to stress an opponent (not saying that it is a good combo, but it's an example).

2 - How badly does your ship need to shoot each round? A ship like a YV-666, Lambda or Upsilon often need to be able to shoot every turn to make their points worthwhile. This can't happen if you need to go around an asteroid, but can happen if you can sit on a debris.

3 - Do you need to keep the enemy at a distance? A ship with TLT needs to keep enemies away from range 1. Large asteroids help in that area.

4 - Can you use asteroids to devastating effects? Tractor beams can land an opponent on an asteroid before they can shoot. A Y-Wing with TLT and cluster mines can seal off "corridors" and force the enemy to take another path.

5 - What does your meta fly? Take all the points above and see how the usual squads of your meta are affected.

So an example:

- Upsilon shuttle with advanced sensors? Debris might be a good idea to remain in the fight every round.

- Ventress with title and 4 X Z-95? Take full advantage of that tractor beam in the middle of an asteroid field to stop enemy attacks and make enemy flight patterns more predictable for your Z-95s.

Debris are much less of a punishment, many people bring them because if they goof up on them its not as bad.
Because of this i always use rocks. Especially the crescent rock and the mustachoid because people ALWAYS misjudge those and clip'm

2 hours ago, Vineheart01 said:

Debris are much less of a punishment, many people bring them because if they goof up on them its not as bad.
Because of this i always use rocks. Especially the crescent rock and the mustachoid because people ALWAYS misjudge those and clip'm

I like the giant potato chip and the middle finger.

I'm running Biggs, Norra, and a generic Auzituck. I think I'll bring 3 big asteroids to give a hard time to Fairship and big bases.

I think Asteroid would beat Debris Field. Paper would beat Asteroid, though. Of course, Debris Field would rip Paper up.

@dotswarlock and the linked post by @Marinealver pretty much cover it.

Don't die in a ditch too much about 'the meta' but focus on what you want to see the board like for your squad; dense/open, is stress an acceptable substitute for being allowed to shoot and reduced damage (yes for some ships, probably not for push the limit aces).

Since I use TIE strikers; I want a big open area I can cover with long, sweeping banks.

Hence I tend to like small asteroids small rocks make for big open areas - or debris.

Strikers really like debris because they have a nasty little trick if you can judge your speed right; go through the debris on your aileron move, pick up a stress, then reveal a green move (speed 1 bank or any straight) and immediately remove it, getting your action anyway. It tends to catch people off-guard, especially if the action is an unexpected barrel roll.

Man you'd have to practically hit the debris to pull that off and not accidentally tag the debris twice.

Its funny though, i actually prefer the large rocks when i run strikers. I find i can hug them quite easily and most ships cant tail me very well since they lack the "extra" move i used to get around it in the first place.
Just goes to show how versatile strikers are.

Big rocks all the time, and I'm really learning how important asteroid placement is and I work really hard during placement to try and make good shooting/movement lanes for my squad. Rocks have won me games! Either by allowing me to hide behind them or by having the enemy chase me through the rocks and watching them land on one and just open up for destruction. I have killed Dengar 3-4 times this way!

1 hour ago, Vineheart01 said:

Man you'd have to practically hit the debris to pull that off and not accidentally tag the debris twice.

Its funny though, i actually prefer the large rocks when i run strikers. I find i can hug them quite easily and most ships cant tail me very well since they lack the "extra" move i used to get around it in the first place.
Just goes to show how versatile strikers are.

It's not as bad as it sounds - because youve got the width of a speed 1 straight plus your own base to "clear" the debris with.

Here's the thing, while there are some very important strategical considerations to make when choosing them regarding your list, I simply find taking the largest asteroids possible to be the most fun, so that's what I always bring unless my list gives me a much stronger reason to bring debris. Occasionally I'll bring the largest debris though for sheer size if I have fewer control elements.

As a result though, I think I can navigate obstacles better than many who have used the debris for training wheels however, and I also believe I have a strong turn zero and enough patience to bait people into the asteroids where my current tourney list, Backfire Messery (Backdraft, Clusters Deathfire, and Ion Vessery) can really hurt once they get the furball in there.