But to answer the original question:

Engage and try to help new players, whether answering and engaging on here or loaning someone a jet or weequay deployment at a local tourney. Keep encouraging people to go try a tourney. All it took was one and I got hooked.

There are many threads in here where a new player lays out their content and asks for help building a list for a tourney. When that happens, maybe we don’t lead with telling that person to go buy another copy of Jabba’s Realm only to get a second eJet/eWeequay card. Those might be strong but that’s not the question they asked. You don’t have to have multiple copies of all expansions to have a blast.

55 minutes ago, Fightwookies said:

Skirmish is awesome and going nowhere. FFG has spent some considerable time and effort fully fleshing out the skirmish game. Pulling the ripcord now that it’s in the most balanced and competitive state it has ever been in would just be foolish. IA has a stable base of players that will buy whatever they put out and new app players are stumbling into skirmish and asking beginner skirmish questions on here everyday. Again, skirmish is awesome and doing just fine, thank you.

Now, if they’ll just make some *expletive* bleed tokens already...

This. The last two waves (Droids and HOTE) has really positioned IA as a 'great' Skirmish game. I don't play campaign, but I assume it has been great from the get-go. But for skirmish, they've nailed the powerlevel at this point and managed to create very interesting pieces both new and old. Even managed to suprise us gamers once or twice regarding the strength of some deployments. Chewbacca, Greedo and Weequays were all frowned upon at release. Now they are stables or centerpieces of many lists.

3 hours ago, aermet69 said:

This. The last two waves (Droids and HOTE) has really positioned IA as a 'great' Skirmish game. I don't play campaign, but I assume it has been great from the get-go. But for skirmish, they've nailed the powerlevel at this point and managed to create very interesting pieces both new and old. Even managed to suprise us gamers once or twice regarding the strength of some deployments. Chewbacca, Greedo and Weequays were all frowned upon at release. Now they are stables or centerpieces of many lists.

Campaign has never had structural issue and proved immediatly to be fun and intriguing, therefore it required less effort to become popular.
Still, campaign has serious end-game unbalancing problems which should be solved imo;

Skirmish has had structural issues due to deployments cost and many other factors, therefore it required more effort to become challenging (HotE did an amazing job with this).
Still, skirmish has not solved this balancing problem completely yet, which is the best way to move on with the efforts onto skirmish imo.

Solutions? I'd say there's one for each part of this awesome game:
1) As for Campaign, the Imperial player needs stronger units during the last quarter of the game, otherwise rebels will keep on obliterating him. Advantages and Disadvantages from RTH have been a nice addiction, therefore i can imagine FFG introducing passive stats bonuses which become usable as soon as threat reaches a determined level, otherwise they might consider adding a third rank of units just for campaign, with even more strong units than the elites. This kind of work is best suited with a full expansion of the game, rather than a new wave;
2) As for Skirmish, we have already seen how effective it has been to fix older deployments, and i personally believe they should keep on doing it, there are so many cards waiting only for their fix to make their mass show up into the board (Boba, Weiss or Dengar just to name a few). This kind of work is best suited with a new wave rather than a full expansion of the game, because you can just place 1 deployment fix into each box of the wave containing a new figure, best if closely related to the fixed character. Not to say that this would increase the number of sales for that wave in an exponential way, if you really want to concern about cash.

How can the community assist?
We already do a lot by sharing our opinions and confronting each others on the forums, so we should keep doing so.
Plus, there's a lot of custom created content which FFG could just take a look at in order to get some ideas upon what is the community wishing to see or even wanting. Being an open minded company has never been proven wrong, but i can't say the same for closed-internal groups (just recall what happened with EA and DICE with Battlefront II).

IA is a game that comes on the shelf with high expectation. People starts playing it and finds following issues:

1. Campaign gets spoiled by rules misinterpretation because ruling system is just mental and overcomplicated. Most of the times application is not thematic or realistic, many RPG players would consider it wrong from their point o view (see line of sight system). Reasoning for playing this game by the book is the same of a lawyer, I may like all the hairsplitting it brings but I guess I'm one among very few.

2. Campaign snowballs. It used to snowball in Core Set, it continues to do it in expansions for 2 reasons:

- game still doesn't adapt to differences among player skills

- expansions don't provide enough content to prevent issues of previous campaign and doesn't even force you to use fixed content. In example HotE provides 3 of 4 heroes for the campaign, you can get those 3 and put them back in the box breaking no rule. In fact looking at some heroes (I'm talking about you Gideon, Fenn, Verena, Shyla) the HotE heroes deserve the box. Perhaps only twin shadows and besping gambit had worse heroes. So to fix things up a bit, players should be forced to use all the new content for the campaign and use old content only if components are lacking (agenda, side missions), anyway some of the old content requires a nerf or ban (in example old heroes, imperial classes, some agenda cards).

3. Skirmish. If you own only core or few expansions, you get all the unsolved issues that we had back in the days. Today's skirmish is a much better game but it's an investment.

I didn't want to mention that when they came out with FAQ in core set they nerfed stuff like Saboteurs and this broke campaign missions. I think they made a good game, and they're doing a decent job dealing with its complexity but we can definitely see a gap between state-of-the-art and legit expectations for such a title, this gap isn't fulfilled by expansions.

My personal opinion is that this game can get better only if complexity of the system is reduced. This way designers will be able to better manage mechanics and balance. App has definitely reduced complexity of the game, however I believe it's going down the wrong path (I don't want to elaborate more on that because app isn't mature enough yet, and I want to see what comes next before criticizing it).

"Ideas to improve IA and how the community can assist?"

We can play more Imperial Assault. Reach out to new players and get them hooked on Imperial Assault. Organize gaming nights and mini-conventions etc. Writing new scenarios/missions and (for campaign style IA) create fan-made campaigns* Basically, we need to keep loving IA and suckering others into investing in it, and that's how the game will remain worthwhile for FFG to support for all time to come.

I personally am not the least bit worried about the current lull in support/advertisement for Imperial Assault. FFG is a business and right now they have to push Legion which they invested great hoards of cash into, so it's all hands on deck for that now. Behind the scenes (as we have had confirmed from a handful of different sources) new IA waves are coming along and IA releases will commence when the time is right for FFG. That, and FFG recently released the IA app.

So, keep gaming. Try that old box you've got sitting on the shelf again -- you know, that one mini-campaign or whatever that you haven't played since its original release, and have a jolly good fun with it together with some old and/or new IA fans, and that will make you feel better (Just to clarify, "you" here is not addressed to any person in particular; it's the collective specific "you" or whatever it is called [filthy foreigner writing here so what do I know about English? )).

Anyway, love the game and FFG will continue to love you.


*As for writing new campaigns, @IanSolo_FFG & I are working on a full fan-made campaign that plays with just the core set. We think that's a pretty good idea for supporting IA, to give potential investors a second campaign that they can play right off the bat with only that expensive initial buy-in product. And we all know what happens when someone finally decides to buy the IA core box... before long they throw all their cash at FFG (I myself bought IA Core in late July 2017 and by early December my gf and I were proud owners of everything IA... we didn't eat much that fall, but you know... priorities were made... mistakes were made... awesomeness were made... ).

<3 ImpAss <3

Skirmish never really interested me.

I played 40k for 30 years and gave up 5 years ago when I discoverd XW and Armada. So large scale land battles had already ground my heels to dust standing up for hours on end and my eyesight is going now I'm a tender age of 47 so painting isn't top of my agenda anymore.

For me I still like XW but Armada is my preferred space combat these days. However, I can safely say that I truly love the campaigns in IA and no other SW game will get close to that experience (in the same way that the multiple SW card games have never matched Deciphers version).

45 minutes ago, Gallanteer said:

Skirmish never really interested me.

I played 40k for 30 years and gave up 5 years ago when I discoverd XW and Armada. So large scale land battles had already ground my heels to dust standing up for hours on end and my eyesight is going now I'm a tender age of 47 so painting isn't top of my agenda anymore.

For me I still like XW but Armada is my preferred space combat these days. However, I can safely say that I truly love the campaigns in IA and no other SW game will get close to that experience (in the same way that the multiple SW card games have never matched Deciphers version).

You bring up a few good points. Soooooo many people avoid IA because it really feels like it needs to be painted. So many people I met in my X-wing days loved how they didn't have to do a thing. I was one of them. But then I felt IA was a better game, and decided to start painting for the first time in my life. Now I consider myself an average painter and it actually made me love the game more. You've done the painting thing with a whole other game, so I get it. That's a big reason why I'll avoid Legion, but also I'm not convinced the game is for me anyway.

Secondly, that's cool that you love Armada. Some of my best friends do. To me, as long as you like a Star Wars game, you're not half bad. Which also makes me think that my fellow IA brother and sisters on here should not worry about the state of the game of IA. As long as we (and campaign lovers like yourself) keep buying it, it will be fine. If it dies some day, so be it. We can make up our own content like @angelman2 mentions above. It might inspire others, like me, to make some new content as well!

1 hour ago, NeverBetTheFett said:

But then I felt IA was a better game, and decided to start painting for the first time in my life.

Right there with you. I wanted to play the game, and just figured they would stay the way they came. I never intended to paint them. A friend started painted his and said it was fun and relaxing.

One night the kids were being rowdy and the stress from work was high. After getting the kids to bed, I said screw it, I'll try this out.

I grabbed the walmart paint from my daughter's art supplies, and a sixer from the beer fridge. I must have been in the garage for hours, and it was the first time in ages my head was that clear.

I'm completely an amateur painter, but it's been fun.

With that said, you don''t have to paint them to love IA, but at the same time you don't have the be intimidated if you want to paint them. You don't have to buy professional paint and be at the Sorestro level.

17 minutes ago, ImperialOfficer said:

Right there with you. I wanted to play the game, and just figured they would stay the way they came. I never intended to paint them. A friend started painted his and said it was fun and relaxing.

One night the kids were being rowdy and the stress from work was high. After getting the kids to bed, I said screw it, I'll try this out.

I grabbed the walmart paint from my daughter's art supplies, and a sixer from the beer fridge. I must have been in the garage for hours, and it was the first time in ages my head was that clear.

I'm completely an amateur painter, but it's been fun.

With that said, you don''t have to paint them to love IA, but at the same time you don't have the be intimidated if you want to paint them. You don't have to buy professional paint and be at the Sorestro level.

Yup. My buddy had painted his and I remember thinking, ya no way. I used sharpies at first to colour a few parts of my figures, to tell them apart. Then he gave me all of of his painting stuff for free! I felt obligated to at least paint something. I checked out Sorastro and thought, yikes, I'm no where near that level. So with a few basic tips from my buddy, I gave it a go. I've never looked back. I'm like a proud papa now. Most of my models are not that well painted, but they're all beautiful in my eyes! LOL.

I've of the opinion that any paint is better than no paint. You don't need to be an expert. Just over wash them like I do! It blends everything nicely and makes your figures look ready to battle.

That's definitely one good thing about this game. Unlike a lot of wargames where you have a ton of seasoned professionals, IA attracts a lot of Star Wars fans who maybe haven't painted figures before.

Definitely the case for me too, much like @Imperial officer and @NeverBetTheFett. I just started painting one day, with almost no experience, and I love it. Once I was done, I craved painting so bad that I painted War of the Ring, Rebellion, Cyclades, and Shadows Over Camelot.

I recently bit the bullet and finally got Descent. Some WIPs as of now:

21 minutes ago, subtrendy2 said:

I craved painting so bad that I painted War of the Ring, Rebellion, Cyclades, and Shadows Over Camelot.

The same buddy that got me into painting the IA got me into Bloodbowl, so that's where I'm spending my painting time now.

One thing I'm planning to do is make an appearance at the Legion events once they get up and running at my FLGS.

I played Destiny when it was first introduced because there was a large player base interested in the game. The meta escalation really did not fit what I want out of a casual game so I sold my stuff. However, it did give me the opportunity to meet a few new fellow SW fans and that lead to talking about IA. I'm now 3/4 thru my first campaign and ready to start up another group for another campaign.

You never know how many people may try out Legion only to find that the game is not their style and be open to trying out IA.

4 hours ago, NeverBetTheFett said:

I checked out Sorastro and thought, yikes, I'm no where near that level.

Oh come on now, with a little practice, you can up your paint game even farther. @Sorastro to me quickly became a gold standard in video painting tutorials. He's really great at offering up alternatives and advice on where to stop if you don't want to get too advanced, but sir, if you follow him to the end, you'll see some amazing results.

He helped me bang off my Zombicide Black Plague models, and a good deal of IA.

He's like a British Bob Ross, hypnotic voice and all. Someone more skilled than me needs to now make the inevitable photoshop meme of Sorastro at a paint station, palette in one hand, massive 'fro on his head...

IMO it's absolutely OK to play with unpainted figures. Usually, I have all figures painted on tournaments, but close to no figures I've not used in skirmish.

For a nice compromise, it looks OK to spraypaint all figures bronze or gold and then just give them a layer of GW wash. That way, they look like expensive playing pieces... ?

Edit: I wished, someone had told me that, before I painted all these Stormtroopers shiny white.

Oh yeah, totally. Nothing wrong at all- we did our entire first campaign with totally unpainted figures. I didn't even have a way to differentiate elites from regulars, aside from stickers on the bottom of their bases.

I just think that if you're going to want to learn to paint, this game is a solid starting point.

Yes it is. And with some experience, they are painted quite fast, because they are not as overdetailed as e.g. GW minis.

And don't get me wrong, I love to play with and against painted figures.

But what I really love about that topic: Even on high level tournaments, no one tells you, that you MUST paint your figures. E.g. the current Dutch AND German champion doesn't have a single figure painted and it's absolutely OK for everyone...

In my group(s) unpainted models are a bit frowned upon, but we play with what we got as the collection slowly get its colors.

(But dang! I'm tired of painting Stormtroopers!!! )

3 hours ago, angelman2 said:

In my group(s) unpainted models are a bit frowned upon, but we play with what we got as the collection slowly get its colors.

(But dang! I'm tired of painting Stormtroopers!!! )

It's not bad once you get caught up (since you're likely only painting a few at a time), but if you have core + another group of stormtroopers to start up with that's pretty overwhelming.

I definitely don't miss those days, and as many have said before, it's likely a big barrier to me ever getting Legion.

1 hour ago, subtrendy2 said:

It's not bad once you get caught up (since you're likely only painting a few at a time), but if you have core + another group of stormtroopers to start up with that's pretty overwhelming.

Yeah, I began with the Core box stormies + the Stormtrooper Villain Pack that I bought at the same time (not realizing I couldn't use the extra stormies in IA). So, that's 12 stormtroopers + 2 scouts. In quick succession, I also bought Twin Shadows (4 Heavy Stormtroopers), Jabba's Realm (4 Jet Stormtroopers), and finally Heart of the Empire (4 Riot Stormtroopers); so that's 24 stormies + 2 scouts. And then I've not even counted the Return to Hoth Snow Troopers! I REALLY hope we don't get any new white stormies anytime soon... *whine whine whine*

To confound the problem, I'm a slow painter, not terribly good at it, AND I'm a blasted perfectionist unable to say "karabast, that'll do"...

...I think the word I'm looking for is torture...

That said, painted Stormies do look rather swell

29 minutes ago, angelman2 said:

Yeah, I began with the Core box stormies + the Stormtrooper Villain Pack that I bought at the same time (not realizing I couldn't use the extra stormies in IA). So, that's 12 stormtroopers + 2 scouts. In quick succession, I also bought Twin Shadows (4 Heavy Stormtroopers), Jabba's Realm (4 Jet Stormtroopers), and finally Heart of the Empire (4 Riot Stormtroopers); so that's 24 stormies + 2 scouts. And then I've not even counted the Return to Hoth Snow Troopers! I REALLY hope we don't get any new white stormies anytime soon... *whine whine whine*

To confound the problem, I'm a slow painter, not terribly good at it, AND I'm a blasted perfectionist unable to say "karabast, that'll do"...

...I think the word I'm looking for is torture...

That said, painted Stormies do look rather swell

I am right there with you. I am a slow painter and also a perfectionist. I feel if I am putting in the time I want to make them look as I possibly can. So I feel you on that point. I also hate the stormtroopers because of the white. I want to see other types of imperial forces as well. Do you hear me FFG NO MORE STORMTROOPERS!!!

38 minutes ago, angelman2 said:

Yeah, I began with the Core box stormies + the Stormtrooper Villain Pack that I bought at the same time (not realizing I couldn't use the extra stormies in IA). So, that's 12 stormtroopers + 2 scouts. In quick succession, I also bought Twin Shadows (4 Heavy Stormtroopers), Jabba's Realm (4 Jet Stormtroopers), and finally Heart of the Empire (4 Riot Stormtroopers); so that's 24 stormies + 2 scouts. And then I've not even counted the Return to Hoth Snow Troopers! I REALLY hope we don't get any new white stormies anytime soon... *whine whine whine*

To confound the problem, I'm a slow painter, not terribly good at it, AND I'm a blasted perfectionist unable to say "karabast, that'll do"...

...I think the word I'm looking for is torture...

That said, painted Stormies do look rather swell

Are you counting Somos, Terro, and the Dewback rider, too?

28 minutes ago, subtrendy2 said:

Are you counting Somos, Terro, and the Dewback rider, too?

No, I forgot about those... but have painted them all at this point... KARABAST!!!!

(For all my whining though, I really love the Stormies; great cheap groups that no one expect to live long, but they usually get in a few DMG before they die, and it is easy to maximize their efficiency too. I do love me some stormies! The next time I run the core campaign, I'm gonna go all stormies + Somos & Co, with Military Might and pushing for 501 training and all the other trooper goodies I can get my hands on. It's gonna be great! Also, Dewbacks ftw!)

When the Stormtrooper Meta came up, I played these painted 5 units of Stormtroopers ...