I've pretty much stapled it to Poe.

1 hour ago, Biophysical said:

One of the real surprises in the games I've played so far is the Epsilon Squadron Pilot + Advanced Optics for 17 points. I've only played a few games with them in supporting roles, but they have really been good. It's probably the toughest 17 points in the game, so you can hang them out there unsupported to block or just make opposing squads deal with them before your main force commits. They also spend a lot of time blocking, so it's pretty easy to pick up and keep your Focus/TL for the next turn. As these guys spend a lot of time at Range 1, it's a solid attack for the points.

Zeta Leader with Advanced Optics has been putting in work for me to. Sketchy little ship at range 1 and not something an opponent can ignore. Though...I kind of still prefer a score to settle to save the pts and get similar offense.

Optics on Kylo Silencer has been pretty nice to. So much time flying away to stay at range 3 on approach that its nice to return with focus tokens or more mobility.

7 minutes ago, Boom Owl said:

Zeta Leader with Advanced Optics has been putting in work for me to. Sketchy little ship at range 1 and not something an opponent can ignore. Though...I kind of still prefer a score to settle to save the pts and get similar offense.

Optics on Kylo Silencer has been pretty nice to. So much time flying away to stay at range 3 on approach that its nice to return with 2 focus tokens or more mobility.

Umm, you can only have 1 focus token at any one time if you use Optics.

Just now, Gilarius said:

Umm, you can only have 1 focus token at any one time if you use Optics.

Just edited

All I want to do with Optics is pull out Omega Ace for sneaky 3 crits at R1. More fun than competitive, but Optics makes it feasible.

Critty McCritterface is fun no matter how you build him. PTL was my go-to; nice to have this new option now -- 'cause it's easier to Swarm Leader him to 5 crits!

Optics is basically Rey crew. Rey has long been known to be strong.

The ship which really appeals to me with Optics is Quickdraw with a missile. Sure, Cruise Missiles and Harpoon Missiles are nice. But when you have both a focus and a target lock, they're really nice.

13 minutes ago, RunnerAZ said:

All I want to do with Optics is pull out Omega Ace for sneaky 3 crits at R1. More fun than competitive, but Optics makes it feasible.

At 22 points, it's not unreasonable. Toss in a Crack Shot at 23, and that's a valid filler ship. It seems like it'd be really cool alongside a QD/Vader Alpha Strike list. Less potent, but you'll be able to follow up an opening burst with a nice bunch of nasty crits.

“Quickdraw” (40)

Special Forces TIE (29), Veteran Instincts (1), Fire-Control System (2), Harpoon Missiles (4), Advanced Optics (2), Special Ops Training (0), Lightweight Frame (2)

Darth Vader (35)

TIE Advanced (29), TIE/x1 (0), Harpoon Missiles (4), Veteran Instincts (1), Guidance Chips (0), Advanced Targeting Computer (1)

“Omega Ace” (23)

TIE/fo Fighter (20), Advanced Optics (2), Crack Shot (1)

Total: 98, bid 2.

6 minutes ago, theBitterFig said:

It seems like it'd be really cool alongside a QD/Vader Alpha Strike list.

My version is with EU on Vader, and Cruise. That leaves 22pt for Sabacc

13 minutes ago, theBitterFig said:

Optics is basically Rey crew. Rey has long been known to be strong.

The ship which really appeals to me with Optics is Quickdraw with a missile. Sure, Cruise Missiles and Harpoon Missiles are nice. But when you have both a focus and a target lock, they're really nice.

At 22 points, it's not unreasonable. Toss in a Crack Shot at 23, and that's a valid filler ship. It seems like it'd be really cool alongside a QD/Vader Alpha Strike list. Less potent, but you'll be able to follow up an opening burst with a nice bunch of nasty crits.

"You get a crit, you get a crit, you get a crit!!!!!"

9 hours ago, Biophysical said:

It's like Comm Relay, but cheaper and better.

Nothing else really needs to be said. This is why this card is amazing.

Comm Relay, which costs a point more, saw comfortable play and more play than most upgrades. It is one of the upgrades that in my opinion hit the mark. It’s used enough, but not too much, and it has a lot of neat niche fits.

advanced optics is a point cheaper, and gives a universally available (and arguably better) token. It’s going to be used a ton, probably too much, and has no need to be niche since everyone can focus and everyone wants a focus.

Get on the bandwagon now everyone because it’s not stopping any time soon.

But seriously why is this 2 points and comms is 3. FFG please answer me. *batman voice* ANSWEER MEEEE!

13 minutes ago, theBitterFig said:

Optics is basically Rey crew. Rey has long been known to be strong.

To be fair, Rey is objectively much better. You can store multiple tokens, and you can grab one from her even though you already have one to get a short stack of Focus.

5 Omega Squad Pilots w/Adv Optics and Crack Shot?

Also, after the initial engagement, you can "recharge" optics when you go for a block, I guess! Just realized that!

2 minutes ago, HanScottFirst said:

5 Omega Squad Pilots w/Adv Optics and Crack Shot?

Also, after the initial engagement, you can "recharge" optics when you go for a block, I guess! Just realized that!

Yep, you could get a 6th (naked) ship if you dropped to Epsilons. Either way much tougher and not tied to Howlrunner, and they can bank a lot of actions on disengaged turns.

23 minutes ago, Kdubb said:

Nothing else really needs to be said. This is why this card is amazing.

Comm Relay, which costs a point more, saw comfortable play and more play than most upgrades. It is one of the upgrades that in my opinion hit the mark. It’s used enough, but not too much, and it has a lot of neat niche fits.

advanced optics is a point cheaper, and gives a universally available (and arguably better) token. It’s going to be used a ton, probably too much, and has no need to be niche since everyone can focus and everyone wants a focus.

Get on the bandwagon now everyone because it’s not stopping any time soon.

But seriously why is this 2 points and comms is 3. FFG please answer me. *batman voice* ANSWEER MEEEE!

Probably because Rey was way underpriced, and they felt bad about making it cost more than her, and being worse.

25 minutes ago, Biophysical said:

To be fair, Rey is objectively much better. You can store multiple tokens, and you can grab one from her even though you already have one to get a short stack of Focus.

Thats what I've been saying at my flgs, advanced optics is a worse version Rey and it's still a really strong card. I really wish they would adjust point costs on cards but from their developer interviews it seems they are adamantly against that kind of action.

5 Omega Squadrons with Crack Shot and Optics is pretty good. Weapons Guidance use to be in that spot, but always lacked mods after Crack is spent and the TIEs started slooping for position.

2 minutes ago, Tbetts94 said:

5 Omega Squadrons with Crack Shot and Optics is pretty good. Weapons Guidance use to be in that spot, but always lacked mods after Crack is spent and the TIEs started slooping for position.

Optics also lets you stack Focus/Evade to make your swarm super tough when it's warranted.

I'm curious what @Biophysical would think of five Omega Squads with Crack Shot and Advanced Optics? My default is always low PS spam.

1 minute ago, Biophysical said:

Optics also lets you stack Focus/Evade to make your swarm super tough when it's warranted.

Yeah the action economy is great. I played a casual thematic game with a Silencer and 3 of them versus Poe/Rey before we went to wait in line for the movie and there were numerous times my FO’s has TL/Focus/Evade, something I could never pull off in the other version.

39 minutes ago, Biophysical said:

Probably because Rey was way underpriced, and they felt bad about making it cost more than her, and being worse.

It's more because Comm Relay is essentially a rechargeable hull upgrade and focus is far more likely to be spent in any given turn, so the value of being able to retain it is way less consistent.

You can list-build to get a lot out of it, but Comm Relay is inherently more reliable and valuable. If AO and CR both cost 2 points, I would bring CR on the FO 9 times out of 10.

17 minutes ago, gamblertuba said:

I'm curious what @Biophysical would think of five Omega Squads with Crack Shot and Advanced Optics? My default is always low PS spam.

I like it a lot.

10 minutes ago, RampancyTW said:

It's more because Comm Relay is essentially a rechargeable hull upgrade and focus is far more likely to be spent in any given turn, so the value of being able to retain it is way less consistent.

You can list-build to get a lot out of it, but Comm Relay is inherently more reliable and valuable. If AO and CR both cost 2 points, I would bring CR on the FO 9 times out of 10.

I don't think I would. If you're taking a lot of something, offense is always more important than defense, and the overall defense of Optics vs Relay isn't much less anyway. If you want the Focus/Evade stack, you can still do it with Optics.

7 minutes ago, Biophysical said:

I like it a lot.

I don't think I would. If you're taking a lot of something, offense is always more important than defense, and the overall defense of Optics vs Relay isn't much less anyway. If you want the Focus/Evade stack, you can still do it with Optics.

You're going to spend the focus on offense about half the time you fire. You only spend the evade if you need it after getting shot at. Don't get me wrong, AO is great, but there's a reason why so many people expected it to cost 2 points to CR's 3 when the point cost was still unknown.

I'm not a giant fan of optics outside its incredibly obvious and incredibly powerful synergy with Poe

I treat optics like I do LRS, something you take before combat begins to get mods you otherwise would not have had. Problem here is optics costs points where LRS does not, and it similarly does nothing when you're in range to start shooting and have to start spending tokens for mods.

focus is basically the action of the game, and you will be taking it for the vast majority of your actions. Once you're taking focus actions and spending tokens, optics basically don't do a **** thing until you can disengage and come back in

but perhaps the biggest problem with optics is that none of the ships available particularly care unless their pilot is Poe Dameron. T-70s are too wildly inefficient to waste two more points on, FOs are too low impact to spend more points on (apart from OL who is stapled to juke + relay), and if the Bomber isn't bombing it's just trash

this just leaves us with the SF and Silencer, who both have to spend points on other upgrades long before tech and which imo derive far more usefulness out of the other tech offerings. I would look to Primed thrusters, PA, threat tracker and even targeting synch (in a dedicated list in combination with FCS) before I considered optics (though I'd def consider it before Clusters, Guidance and Comms)

Now Poe's ability alone probably makes it the most impactful upgrade of the wave. Otherwise, though, I'm just not seeing it over other persistent modifiers

3 minutes ago, ficklegreendice said:

I'm not a giant fan of optics outside its incredibly obvious and incredibly powerful synergy with Poe

I treat optics like I do LRS, something you take before combat begins to get mods you otherwise would not have had. Problem here is optics costs points where LRS does not, and it similarly does nothing when you're in range to start shooting and have to start spending tokens for mods.

focus is basically the action of the game, and you will be taking it for the vast majority of your actions. Once you're taking focus actions and spending tokens, optics basically don't do a **** thing until you can disengage and come back in

but perhaps the biggest problem with optics is that none of the ships available particularly care unless their pilot is Poe Dameron. T-70s are too wildly inefficient to waste two more points on, FOs are too low impact to spend more points on (apart from OL who is stapled to juke + relay), and if the Bomber isn't bombing it's just trash

this just leaves us with the SF and Silencer, who both have to spend points on other upgrades long before tech and which imo derive far more usefulness out of the other tech offerings. I would look to Primed thrusters, PA, threat tracker and even targeting synch (in a dedicated list in combination with FCS) before I considered optics (though I'd def consider it before Clusters, Guidance and Comms)

Now Poe's ability alone probably makes it the most impactful upgrade of the wave. Otherwise, though, I'm just not seeing it over other persistent modifiers

Advanced optics is the tech to take on silencers because it frees up actions for repositioning and taking target locks. PA and Primed thrusters are redundant because you take advanced sensors, and threat tracker really wants fcs to work well. Advanced optics is adding action efficency to the ship, which is actually how the ship survives and kills other ships.

10 minutes ago, SnooSnarry said:

Advanced optics is the tech to take on silencers because it frees up actions for repositioning and taking target locks. PA and Primed thrusters are redundant because you take advanced sensors, and threat tracker really wants fcs to work well. Advanced optics is adding action efficency to the ship, which is actually how the ship survives and kills other ships.

primed thrusters is not redundant at all

primed thrusters is ******* absurd with the amount of flexibility it gives you

forgo sensors to ptl normally? you can ptl to re-position again next turn with or without a green maneuver

PTL sensors but then reveal a white manuever? you can ptl to re-position next turn

red maneuver? boost and/or roll after

debris? same thing

Facing a stress inflicting list that would utterly neuter advanced sensors? primed thrusters

Primed thrusters + sensors make the silencer and turns it into arguably the single most maneuverable ship in the game

if anything, optics are far more redundant because you can just sensor out a focus and use the title (with decent flying) to give you offensive modifiers and thrusters for defense

EDIT: I find PA redundant on the silencer, it was an example for the SF. FCS and LWF and EPT will come long before it, though