The developers recently talked about how difficult it can be to define how a new game mechanic will feel.

For me generally speaking anything that enables the game to feel like a top-gun dogfight between spaceships is awesome.

So here is the question....at its best how does X-Wing feel? What moments contribute to that? Basically w hat is fun for you?

My Favorite X-Wing Moments:

• Anticipating an opponents movements before they move and....
  • Boosting or barrel rolling out of arc
  • Blocking a higher PS opponent
  • K-Turn, Sloop, or Talon flip behind their arc
  • Catching them in Range of a bomb
  • Catching them in Range for a Missile/Torp
  • Setting up overlapping arcs with multiple ships
• Baiting an opponent with a priority target and pulling them into a trap
• Landing super close to a ship, rock, or edge of the board
• Flying 3+ Ships in perfect Formation, especially Tie Fighters and X-Wings.
• De-cloaking and Circle Strafing with Whisper on a knifes edge.
• Shooting the same ship with both the rear and front arc with a Special Forces Tie
• Rotating the Lancer's Special Turret after a high speed move
• Basically anything Jake Farrell or BB-Poe or Snap does
• Flying a Shuttle or Upsilon and actually keeping things in Arc
• Barely surviving into the next round of combat
• Catching a big base or ace with snapshot
• Tie Striker Bank 1 and Hard 1 Turn
• Any time Echo decloaks
• Anything an A-Wing or Tie-Interceptor does
• Taking on a big base turret ship with Omega Leader
• B-Wing Keyan Farlander spending stress tokens as offensive focus tokens
• Destroying a ship with Ion Tokens
• Seeing Huge Ships used as an obstacle
• Lining up a 4-5 speed cruise missile shot
• Winning with Imperial Boba Fett with 1 hull left

Thankfully...Guns For Hire, Gunboat, Tie Silencer, and Kimogilia at least on paper all seem like somewhat intentional step towards placing the emphasis back on arcs and dogfights.

This....this....is why I play!

More point and shoot please

At its best, it feels like chess with spaceships and excitement.

1 hour ago, Boom Owl said:

• Tie Striker Bank 1 and Hard 1 Turn

There it is! I was hoping to see Adaptive Ailerons make an appearance; glad to see it on your list. I actually prefer the Turn 2 after an Aileron bank to cover more distance, or an Aileron bank followed by a Bank 3. So good! Or the serpentine Aileron bank followed by Segnor's Loop in the opposite direction! Sigh. I am in love with this ship.

19 minutes ago, takfar said:

At its best, it feels like chess with spaceships and excitement.

Really, I didn't fee chess fit well as a comparison. Star Wars has an originally simple set of rules that, over time, have extremely complex interactions almost to the point of winning by knowing the best combinations. In some cases a win is foregone with the right combinations. Plus with the rule and new mechanics ever evolving it fells more like the old Star Fleet Battles where you could easily win by using some obscure rule your opponent wasn't aware of.

But ditch most of the upgrades, a big part of the game, and some ships and you have the X-Wing PC game all over again. But not in it's current version I'm afraid.

2 hours ago, Boom Owl said:

anything that enables the game to feel like a top-gun dogfight between spaceships is awesome.

So here is the question....at its best how does X-Wing feel? What moments contribute to that? Basically w hat is fun for you?

My Favorite X-Wing Moments:

• Anticipating an opponents movements before they move and....
  • Boosting or barrel rolling out of arc
  • Blocking a higher PS opponent
  • K-Turn, Sloop, or Talon flip behind their arc
  • Catching them in Range of a bomb
  • Catching them in Range for a Missile/Torp
  • Setting up overlapping arcs with multiple ships
• Baiting an opponent with a priority target and pulling them into a trap
• Landing super close to a ship, rock, or edge of the board
• Flying 3+ Ships in perfect Formation, especially Tie Fighters and X-Wings.
• Barely surviving into the next round of combat
• Lining up a 4-5 speed cruise missile shot
• Winning with Imperial Boba Fett with 1 hull left

Thankfully...Guns For Hire, Gunboat, Tie Silencer, and Kimogilia at least on paper all seem like somewhat intentional step towards placing the emphasis back on arcs and dogfights.

For me, I want something slightly larger in scope than a dogfight. I want to feel like the commander of a squadron who got in there and got it done. So I like a lot of the components that, little by little, give you and edge over the opposing forces.

So, not Viper vs. Maverick, but Baa Baa Black Sheep making it happen for another week.

17 minutes ago, Darth Meanie said:

For me, I want something slightly larger in scope than a dogfight. I want to feel like the commander of a squadron who got in there and got it done. So I like a lot of the components that, little by little, give you and edge over the opposing forces.

So, not Viper vs. Maverick, but Baa Baa Black Sheep making it happen for another week.

I like this analogy. Basically a small scale battle between skilled pilots.

Maybe occasionally made more chaotic by a mad scramble to bring down a flying fortress.

But always at its core focused on pilots lining up their attack runs and avoiding the absolute danger of letting an opponent(s) flank them.

If they do get into a bad spot having a wingmen save them or pulling a daring move to turn the tables.

Those are the moments I play for.

Personal X-Wing Design Priorities:

• #1 Small Arc Dependent Ships with low to medium hp trying to outmaneuver each other
• #2 Turrets/Bomb platforms that balance the equation

Forward Arcs and maneuver decisions should always take priority over #2. Turrets/Bombs should always exist in some capacity to provide balance.

I have heard it referred to as an X-Wing Design Triangle. But it sort of obviously doesnt exist and probably never did.

Maybe it should be more like 3 pillars of X-Wing with one being a bit larger than the other 2 at all times.

Of course this is 1000% more complicated I am probably able to comprehend.

If balance is ultimately an extremely complicated pipe dream why not at least settle for tilting the meta a bit more in the favor of core movement mechanics.

Showing up to a tournament with all 3 factions making an appearance, and each faction having multiple different lists.

2 hours ago, Ken at Sunrise said:

Really, I didn't fee chess fit well as a comparison. Star Wars has an originally simple set of rules that, over time, have extremely complex interactions almost to the point of winning by knowing the best combinations. In some cases a win is foregone with the right combinations. Plus with the rule and new mechanics ever evolving it fells more like the old Star Fleet Battles where you could easily win by using some obscure rule your opponent wasn't aware of.

But ditch most of the upgrades, a big part of the game, and some ships and you have the X-Wing PC game all over again. But not in it's current version I'm afraid.

Which is why I said it feels like chess when it's "at its best". At its best, it's a balanced game of tactical maneuvering, with added surprises due to different abilities and some controllable randomness, plus SW fluff (all of which are things make it superior to chess, too, imo). Mismatched opponents or OP abilities are not X-W "at its best".

Managing to reform a tight formation after a break (especially if that reformation is right behind an enemy you can then focus fire down).

When that one week little ship your threw in with spare points manages to survive every match of a campaign/tournament, and becomes a named hero in your eyes, even if he's a generic.

Great list! I would add for myself it's:

-flying my favourite ship the Ghost like it's a leaf on the wind and weaving around ships/obstacles especially in the super rare events I'm using Hera as a pilot and there are lower pilot skill enemies.

-Using Ahsoka to grant a ship (usually again my Ghost or the Phantom) a combat round boost/barrel roll to get them out of an ace's arc and into an advantageous punishing spot.

-making machine gun noises as I blindly fire turrets all around me and then watching as my wife evades all of the shots with a range three stealth device/autothrusters Fel hahaha

-a fantastically played close game that comes down to a final joust/die roll/maneuver, regardless of how it ends

-playing against a brilliant and skilled opponent (usually this is my wife) and being forced to fly my very best. I don't like being on either side of a one-sided beat down

At its best? I don’t really care if I win or lose.

Used to be that way every match I played.

12 hours ago, Boom Owl said:

• Flying 3+ Ships in perfect Formation, especially Tie Fighters and X-Wings.

One thing I love to do is start my 3 or 4 ships spread out all seemingly randomly in my zone, perhaps even at some odd angles. I will then have them move in on the highest priority target for a pincer move to get all guns on target. Finally, after the first pass, they turn, bank and roll to end up in perfect formation as they regroup and pounce on target number 2 in diamond formation.

10 hours ago, Darth Meanie said:

Nothing really to say. I just love the picture.

The game is at its best when arcs and blocks matter.

Dropping a Conner net pie into an ace’s face!

18 hours ago, Innese said:

Showing up to a tournament with all 3 factions making an appearance, and each faction having multiple different lists.

So every event at my FLGS?

Feels like.... a bag of sand.

18 hours ago, Boom Owl said:

If balance is ultimately an extremely complicated pipe dream why not at least settle for tilting the meta a bit more in the favor of core movement mechanics .

If there has to be imbalance, it should be this .

18 hours ago, Innese said:

Showing up to a tournament with all 3 factions making an almost equal appearance in the final cut , and each faction having multiple different lists.

This should be FFGs target, not “interesting game mechanics.”

You know, pre-S&V interview, I thought FFG’s goal could be ultimately nurturing the core game ships and mechanics, though I couldn’t understand their obvious errors and delays; I now understand it’s clearly not. So, my focus is on old-school casual, missions and Epic! Can’t touch that with your bad decisions FFG! Woohoo!

And ultimately the best part of the game is interactions with friends and family. Question @GILLIES291 , how did you get your wife to play you seriously? I’ve tried, I just get smiles and jokes. ?

20 hours ago, Parakitor said:

There it is! I was hoping to see Adaptive Ailerons make an appearance; glad to see it on your list. I actually prefer the Turn 2 after an Aileron bank to cover more distance, or an Aileron bank followed by a Bank 3. So good! Or the serpentine Aileron bank followed by Segnor's Loop in the opposite direction! Sigh. I am in love with this ship.

Or the Segnor's Loops.

My favourite is the 'kill box burst' - I've only managed to do partially (because I'm usually a ship or two down by the mid-game), but it's so satisfying when it works.

Approaching in more-or-less line abreast,

1. aileron bank left, segnor left.
2. aileron forwards, segnor left.
3. aileron forwards, koiogan
4. aileron forwards, segnor right
5. aileron right, segnor right
6. opponent parks in between the five of them, facing the direction I was originally coming from
7. 

15 hours ago, clanofwolves said:

If there has to be imbalance, it should be this .

This should be FFGs target, not “interesting game mechanics.”

You know, pre-S&V interview, I thought FFG’s goal could be ultimately nurturing the core game ships and mechanics, though I couldn’t understand their obvious errors and delays; I now understand it’s clearly not. So, my focus is on old-school casual, missions and Epic! Can’t touch that with your bad decisions FFG! Woohoo!

And ultimately the best part of the game is interactions with friends and family. Question @GILLIES291 , how did you get your wife to play you seriously? I’ve tried, I just get smiles and jokes. ?

Haha She hated games until I started her with Battlestar Galactica, and then took off with some coop games from there. Eventually we picked up X-Wing and played our very first game against each other. Her two TIEs obliterated my X-wing and she loved it ever since. Probably because she beats me most of the time and gets to play her Amanda's Aces (a bunch of Imperial high PS arc dodgers) and I usually fly low PS easy to hit Rebels haha.

We play for fun and she really only enjoys playing against me but she has come to a tournament with me and done fairly well.

In summary, ease her into it slowly, so she can learn the various nuances one at a time. Let her find what is fun and that she enjoys and roll with that. Don't play things she finds annoying haha. And make it something fun you do together.

Also I sort of lucked out with her (did I mention she is crazy fit, into guns and makes some excellent food in addition to games? Hahaha) so don't push your wife if she isn't feeling it, try other coop games and work into it

I've had 3 kinds of amazing moments in X-wing.

The first, and least, was the first time I rolled a natural 4 crits, without modifiers of any kind. My opponent resigned...

The second is the thrill I get when I win a game against all odds - the dice aren't with me, I lost the initial exchange and a ship along with it and the clock's ticking. I manage to claw my way back up to par, and in sheer desperation for the win I dial in a tallon roll on Poe into Debris, then boost back towards my starting position with Primed Thrusters on the final game round in the hopes of killing one more ship and being up on points. My opponent falls for a move they simply didn't think of, and parks their wounded ace at R1 with no shot. Good game.

Now I'm very competitive and so is my local community, but my closest friends are Co-op players at heart. So I printed the HotAC campaign book and spent an afternoon learning all the rules, then organised a day to take a bite out of the campaign. We played the intro, and loved it (my first time playing HotAC with other people), and we churned through all the level one missions that day. Except one. The flipping Shuttle mission was our bane, and after failing twice in a row (and barely upgrading due to some poor eject rolls) we started our third and final attempt of the day.

It started out well - Plasma torpedoes stripped the shields of the Shuttle on turn 1, and the escorts hadn't got a shot off yet. But by turn 3 every one of our ships was down to 2 hull after the shuttle pulled a fantastic blocking move and let the escorts tear into us. We disabled the shuttle, but had a truly stupendous amount of ships on the board, with all our tricks spent. We colluded for a minute and then followed the most hive-minded cooperation I've ever had in a game (dice may have helped too). We pointed our arc-based ships in exactly the right direction, with squadrons melting into insignificance before they could fire.

We won the scenario, on the second-to-last turn, with only 2 ships on the board. I looked around the table and saw on the face of every player immense satisfaction. Every player left the table feeling that they had accomplished something meaningful, against all odds. That is X-Wing at its finest - giving all players an experience that they will remember months later, with/against people they enjoy the company of, and playing towards a goal they all share.

That "Capture Officer" mission is so misleading. You look it over, and it looks easy ... but it's not easy. Of the Start missions, that's the one we fail most often. It's the win condition, I think: disable the Lambda? Okay, it's tough, but that's doable. (Stupid #$%^ Sensor Jammer and Flight Instructor ... ) Now what? Oh, just kill every enemy ship on the board before more show up? ... Right.

X Wing at its best for me is runnign 4- or 5-ship swarms that don't have any need to be close together. There's something very satisfying about a well executed dogfight in that situation, where you corral all your arcs together to focus on a single target and keep doign so, round after round.

The best version of that for me is Scyk Fangs - 2 ion scyks, 2 PS5 fangs with title and autothrusters, all with Mindlink.

Took some learning, but by far and away the most fun squad I've played in X Wing, and whilst it was never tip top in effectiveness, surprisingly useful. I keep trying to fit it together with PRS on the Scyks, but it's just too much compromise.

8 hours ago, Jeff Wilder said:

That "Capture Officer" mission is so misleading. You look it over, and it looks easy ... but it's not easy. Of the Start missions, that's the one we fail most often. It's the win condition, I think: disable the Lambda? Okay, it's tough, but that's doable. (Stupid #$%^ Sensor Jammer and Flight Instructor ... ) Now what? Oh, just kill every enemy ship on the board before more show up? ... Right.

I've played it solo maybe 10 times now and only succeeded once due to some amazing early rolls, and Expertise. I get the feeling that it would be a lot easier with PS 5+ pilots, since you can get far better pilot abilities at that point, but I always seem to get it early on.

8 hours ago, thespaceinvader said:

X Wing at its best for me is runnign 4- or 5-ship swarms that don't have any need to be close together. There's something very satisfying about a well executed dogfight in that situation, where you corral all your arcs together to focus on a single target and keep doign so, round after round.

The best version of that for me is Scyk Fangs - 2 ion scyks, 2 PS5 fangs with title and autothrusters, all with Mindlink.

Took some learning, but by far and away the most fun squad I've played in X Wing, and whilst it was never tip top in effectiveness, surprisingly useful. I keep trying to fit it together with PRS on the Scyks, but it's just too much compromise.

You really should try 5x Cruise Missile Tie Advanced Prototypes with Chips and the Title. Pretty fun stuff.