There have been many ideas floating about Imperials lacking a specific upgrade type, and how to fix this problem. I'm not here to talk about those, but rather the eventual possibility of their inclusion.

Do you think it is possible that Imps will get something only available to them? Let's not talk about the what , there are plenty of threads about that, I'm more interested in the if and the how .

To me it seems obvious that without an answer to this problem the long term balance of the game is at stake. Obviously there are difficulties in implementing such a change so late in the game, but the problem isn't going to get any better as more and more waves are released.

Do you think we are too late for something like that? Or it is feasible that this problem will be solved in a future expansion or errata?

(If you don't think this is a problem, let's save ourselves from a long and tiring argument, and just keep it to yourself.*)

(*He said cynically)

Well right now the only faction unique is the regular <Astromech> as Scum does not have a way to get <Astromech>. Imperials do have more pilots but given how 90% of the pilots are mediocre that doesn't give them much an advantage. So back in inception Imperials had a larger pilot selection but Rebels had more upgrades with Imperials having entire ships without a single upgrade slot. Now with more and more upgrades (90% of them either mediocre or get displaced into the mediocre category thanks to power creep) given the ability to combine upgrades with pilot abilities have given more advantage on ships with upgrade slots.

As for Imperials there could be say an Imperial Astromech (I would use the mouse droid) but again the problem is what ships would take it. Only one ship may be good for the start but you would need at least 2 because it doesn't make any sense in the slot system for list building to have a slot for only one ship, although there is a lot being done to the slot system recently that is trailing on the edge if madness so I guess you could have an upgrade slot for only 1 ship in the entire game.

Admiral Trawn crew: 4 points

once per round when a friendly ship is attacking or defending, you can spend a token from any friendly ship as though it was on the attacking or defending ship

What is the Empire that Rebels and Scum are not??

An organized military state with the might to back that up.

Every Imperial ship needs a slot like a Title or Modification called Orders.

Then, they essentially get some sort of mandate from command that helps the list synergize.

15 minutes ago, Marinealver said:

Well right now the only faction unique is the regular <Astromech> as Scum does not have a way to get <Astromech>. Imperials do have more pilots but given how 90% of the pilots are mediocre that doesn't give them much an advantage. So back in inception Imperials had a larger pilot selection but Rebels had more upgrades with Imperials having entire ships without a single upgrade slot. Now with more and more upgrades (90% of them either mediocre or get displaced into the mediocre category thanks to power creep) given the ability to combine upgrades with pilot abilities have given more advantage on ships with upgrade slots.

As for Imperials there could be say an Imperial Astromech (I would use the mouse droid) but again the problem is what ships would take it. Only one ship may be good for the start but you would need at least 2 because it doesn't make any sense in the slot system for list building to have a slot for only one ship, although there is a lot being done to the slot system recently that is trailing on the edge if madness so I guess you could have an upgrade slot for only 1 ship in the entire game.

I'm not saying we need an astromech slot, but what could be done is to allow TIE only modifications to be equipped without occupying the mod slot.

2 minutes ago, Moneyinvolved said:

Admiral Trawn crew: 4 points

once per round when a friendly ship is attacking or defending, you can spend a token from any friendly ship as though it was on the attacking or defending ship

We had Palp that was functioning like "the imperial uniqueness" but he was nerfed. Thrawn would meet a similar fate.

1 minute ago, Darth Meanie said:

What is the Empire that Rebels and Scum are not??

An organized military state with the might to back that up.

Every Imperial ship needs a slot like a Title or Modification called Orders.

Then, they essentially get some sort of mandate from command that helps the list synergize.

That, or TIE only mods without taking a slot, or some additional operative and officer cards, ANYTHING at this point.

Thrown may or may not get nerfed, but it wouldn’t be till FFG made their money and they need to make room for the new hottness

2 minutes ago, RufusDaMan said:

That, or TIE only mods without taking a slot, or some additional operative and officer cards , ANYTHING at this point.

Yeah, I know people aren't keen on shuttles, but boats full of commanding officers making the fighters do better (yep, Palp Lite) is 100% Imperial.

Just now, Moneyinvolved said:

Thrown may or may not get nerfed, but it wouldn’t be till FFG made their money and they need to make room for the new hottness

Apt username for this post

Just now, Darth Meanie said:

Yeah, I know people aren't keen on shuttles, but boats full of commanding officers making the fighters do better (yep, Palp Lite) is 100% Imperial.

I mean... I really don't care WHAT at this point. Just something to show that FFG is aware of the problem, and they are trying to fix it.

As far as my username, it has to do with my casual play style when.... money isn’t involved

I feel like they have the best crew, @RufusDaMan it a great question though, I feel like giving the imps faction only titles that effect 4 or more of the same ships in a list could be really strong.

Example Tie Fighter only - when you get a focus/evade give it to all ships of the same type.

10 minutes ago, RufusDaMan said:

I'm not saying we need an astromech slot, but what could be done is to allow TIE only modifications to be equipped without occupying the mod slot.

We had Palp that was functioning like "the imperial uniqueness" but he was nerfed. Thrawn would meet a similar fate.

That, or TIE only mods without taking a slot, or some additional operative and officer cards, ANYTHING at this point.

Well we already have two invisible upgrade slots, and on those two slots most of the TIEs don't have a title (which is usually restricted to a specific ship). So another invisible slot with the TIE only restriction won't make that much of a difference since there is already a slot that is not used for most ties.

But yeah it doesn't have to be an astromech, but if not another droid then what, another slot like system/tech?

2 minutes ago, Cubanboy said:

I feel like they have the best crew, @RufusDaMan it a great question though, I feel like giving the imps faction only titles that effect 4 or more of the same ships in a list could be really strong.

Example Tie Fighter only - when you get a focus/evade give it to all ships of the same type.

In my opinion both Rebels and Scum have a greater selection of crew upgrades. (3PO, R2, Sabine, Kaanan, Hera, Rey, Jan Ors, K4, Ketsu, Dengar, Zuckuss, Boba, Cad Bane.... Just to name a few)

4 minutes ago, RufusDaMan said:

In my opinion both Rebels and Scum have a greater selection of crew upgrades. (3PO, R2, Sabine, Kaanan, Hera, Rey, Jan Ors, K4, Ketsu, Dengar, Zuckuss, Boba, Cad Bane.... Just to name a few)

Kylo / Rebel Captive / Kallus

this guy

2 minutes ago, RufusDaMan said:

In my opinion both Rebels and Scum have a greater selection of crew upgrades. (3PO, R2, Sabine, Kaanan, Hera, Rey, Jan Ors, K4, Ketsu, Dengar, Zuckuss, Boba, Cad Bane.... Just to name a few)

6 minutes ago, RufusDaMan said:

In my opinion both Rebels and Scum have a greater selection of crew upgrades. (3PO, R2, Sabine, Kaanan, Hera, Rey, Jan Ors, K4, Ketsu, Dengar, Zuckuss, Boba, Cad Bane.... Just to name a few)

Totally agree. The Imps need more crew. And the defining feature of Imp crew is that they don't help the ship they are on, but a different ship on the board. Ya know, commanding .

Or, consider creating a boarding mechanic that is solely available to Imperials.

Just now, Cubanboy said:

Kylo / Darth Vader / Rebel Captive....

Kylo is great, no denying, Vader has a very serious cost associated with him, and yeah, rebel captive is also good...

Just now, Cubanboy said:

Just consider how much damage Palp causes/prevents during a game for 8 points and 2 slots, then consider how much damage Sabine Wren causes for 2 points and 1 slot. The comparison is not even funny. I think it is fair to say that the two cards can have comparable effect on a game, with staggeringly different costs.

And you know... even if the upgrades you listed were the best cards in the game (they aren't by a long shot), rebels and scum still have much much more options, many of them are better.

7 minutes ago, Marinealver said:

Well we already have two invisible upgrade slots, and on those two slots most of the TIEs don't have a title (which is usually restricted to a specific ship). So another invisible slot with the TIE only restriction won't make that much of a difference since there is already a slot that is not used for most ties.

But yeah it doesn't have to be an astromech, but if not another droid then what, another slot like system/tech?

Adding a few of these cards could be a godsend. Imagine effects like the generic astros (like TIE MK II). Adding action economy, extra movement options, offensive or defensive capabilities, possibly regen...

The solution is not difficult. The pieces are there.

@RufusDaMan

Imps get reload with the gunboat. It might not be what you’re looking for but it’s unique.

Just now, weisguy119 said:

Imps get reload with the gunboat. It might not be what you’re looking for but it’s unique.

ehm... Kimogilla?

1 minute ago, RufusDaMan said:

ehm... Kimogilla?

I guess I wasn’t aware the Kimo had reload too. I don’t plan on buying one so I haven’t read anything about it. I guess Imps get the shaft again, then.

Aren't Missiles Imperial only? Oh **** they took that away.

Aren't Bombs Imperial only? Oh **** they took that away.

Isn't RAW efficiency Imperial only? Oh **** they took that away.

Aren't Aces Imperial only? Oh **** they took that away.

The Imperials have the fewest faction restricted cards in the game. In return we had efficiency, well before wave 4 and the current goons ruined the game.

I like the idea of additional crew that are restricted to the Imperial side that give some kind of bonus for planning ahead. Something like the command dials from Armada, except instead of planning them multiple turns ahead, you give some kind of bonus at the start of the combat phase, like you can change 1 eye result to a critical result but don't gain a range bonus for defense.

Of course, in the game that is dominated by turrets and more turrets, this would probably be terribad. So perhaps something that gave a bonus for being near a friendly ship, much like swarm tactics but ACTUAL swarm tactics, put Howlrunner's ability onto an Imperial only card.

One unique thing about Imperials is that every small-base Imperial ship has a Boost, Barrel Roll, or soon SLAM. There isn't a single one without a movement action of some kind. However, they don't have any large-base ships with built-in movement actions. Imperials are also the only faction without a 0-point crew. Vizago is only "kinda" zero points, since he's useless without an Illicit, but still.

I don't necessarily think there ought to be a unique-to-Imperials upgrade type, since I don't think Astromech and Salvaged Astromech ought to have been separate types--it was just necessary since none of them said "rebel only."

That said, I want "formations" or "squadrons" which provide some sort of benefit to groups of ships which all meet some sort of condition. Imperials perhaps should get "better" formations. Or rather, the kinds of ships which get the "best" formations would probably be the Imperial ones.

As to another upgrade type, how about "Trinkets" or "Momentos." This would be Han's Dice. Anakin's/Rey's Lightsaber. Vader's Helmet. More generically, Imperial Code Cylinders. Kind of like a title, but weaker and often more specific.

Orders, Squadron build bonuses, Formations, funny thing is all of these are super lore accurate, could give equivalent bonuses to Attani, Lowhhrick, Pava, etc (so hardly unbalancing) and certainly have been floated and suggested for awhile (I’ve brought it up for as long as I’ve been on these boards, and frequently, and I doubt I’m the first or only to do so).

Unfortunately, the devs basically said that they prefer to use new expansions to find a good meta, so sadly, if the Gunboats and Kylo Fel preform well and put the Imperials back into play, we’re not very likely to see fixes designed to bring old ships up to speed...

...that being said, their actions might speak louder than words. We have Guns for Hire... it’s pretty solid at doing just that...

So maybe?