I am one of those people who'd really like these ships to be viable, and I've been looking over the Empire unboxing vid on Youtube...

Will TIE Bombers and Punishers have a gunner slot? Not only would that allow the Skilled Bombardier but even Fifth Brother for some missile/torp love.

If the Punisher can take a SB and Trajectory Simulator, then I think it can fling bombs 5 fwd or 4 fwd, or drop them 1 or 2 back straight.

With a SB the TIE Bomber can drop bombs 1 or 2 back straight or L/R bank. This would add much fun to bomber lists!!!

From what i can tell, Ordnance (missile/torps) are heavily more powerful than cannons/turrets which is probably why they got gunner slots.

The closest in raw power cannon/turrets can do compared to ordnance is HLC, which is critless (truely critless this time) and bullseye bound.

Not to mention with evades no longer adding results its considerably harder to dodge a good ordnance shot, actually its impossible because i think they said Cannons/Turrets apply range bonuses but ordnance does not.

5 minutes ago, Vineheart01 said:

From what i can tell, Ordnance (missile/torps) are heavily more powerful than cannons/turrets which is probably why they got gunner slots.

The closest in raw power cannon/turrets can do compared to ordnance is HLC, which is critless (truely critless this time) and bullseye bound.

Not to mention with evades no longer adding results its considerably harder to dodge a good ordnance shot, actually its impossible because i think they said Cannons/Turrets apply range bonuses but ordnance does not.

Yes, but turrets can change their arc, which is no small thing. I am kind of surprised that the turret options are so limited but it is probably for the best.

Which is their strength.

PWTs are the only turret that does significant damage. Dorsals are pathetic except in R1 where theyre decent and the rest only do 1 damage + an effect.

I have to imagine that the Bomber, Punisher, and the Striker will get gunners to help with their ordnance.

2 hours ago, Vineheart01 said:

Which is their strength.

PWTs are the only turret that does significant damage. Dorsals are pathetic except in R1 where theyre decent and the rest only do 1 damage + an effect.

Don’t forget that 2-dice attacks will actually work again, now that defensive stacking is basically gone etc. I’m looking forward to taking some on my Y-Wings

So, I am guessing that bombers will not have a systems slot, but the Punishers defintely will - which means Trajectory Simulator!

Since there are no "action bombs" now, does that mean you can now trajectory Conners and Proximinty Mines??

That could be pretty fun!

is TrajSim even a thing still? i havnt seen it.

4 hours ago, Pewpewpew BOOM said:

Will TIE Bombers and Punishers have a gunner slot?

Most likely not. Gunner slots seem more oriented to mobile arcs. Most of the gunners would be unusable with a Bomber/Punisher.

16 minutes ago, HanScottFirst said:

Since there are no "action bombs" now, does that mean you can now trajectory Conners and Proximinty Mines??

No. If you notice the device cards, there's keywords like "Bomb" and "Mine" on them. Trajectory Simulator specifically says launch a "bomb" so you cannot launch conner nets/prox mines.

27 minutes ago, miguelj said:

Most likely not. Gunner slots seem more oriented to mobile arcs. Most of the gunners would be unusable with a Bomber/Punisher.

Sure, but Bombardier is a gunner card that only works with bombs. What other Imperial craft would that apply to? The Deci? I think all the Imperial bombing ships will likely have a gunner slot.

Striker and Decimator for sure.

Doubtful on the Bomber and Punisher, they should not have any "Crew" or "Gunner" type slots since for nearly 40 years the Bomber has had a single operator. The Punisher is also supposed to just be a single cockpit pod, it would make up for it with the added Sensors slot and possibly more ordnance combos.

Just been watching an interview on bols and they said gunner slots were for turrets and specialist weapons. I would say based on that there is a chance the punisher might get it. Not holding breath though.

6 hours ago, Pewpewpew BOOM said:

I am one of those people who'd really like these ships to be viable, and I've been looking over the Empire unboxing vid on Youtube...

Will TIE Bombers and Punishers have a gunner slot? Not only would that allow the Skilled Bombardier but even Fifth Brother for some missile/torp love.

If the Punisher can take a SB and Trajectory Simulator, then I think it can fling bombs 5 fwd or 4 fwd, or drop them 1 or 2 back straight.

With a SB the TIE Bomber can drop bombs 1 or 2 back straight or L/R bank. This would add much fun to bomber lists!!!

I think Bomber swarm lists are going to be pretty viable. I've been running some 4 Bomber + Countdown lately and it does pretty well. I am of the opinion that the Bomber will have a better dial than a TIE Defender, aside from the white 4K. Those 2 hard turns are going to make them far better at keeping ships in arc. While I need to wait and see what costs look like, I'm very sure that generic Bombers will be the most common ships in my lists when 2nd Edition hits.

I do recall from some interview that it was mentioned that Bombers will be cheaper than they are currently, which could mean ordinance is more expensive, which makes sense and further aids their viability.

Not sure I want crew for Bombers, since I agree with @UnitOmega that it'd seem strange fluff-wise to put them on, but Skilled Bombardier on Tomax Bren could be pretty boss...

For the fluff, the Punisher could quite easily have a gunner slot and/or retain its System slot. I'm wary of having both on, since it would be expensive to field and would still burn down quickly, as it already does.

Overall, super psyched for the new, nimbler bomber. Mine are going to see a ton of action.

1 hour ago, UnitOmega said:

Striker and Decimator for sure.

Doubtful on the Bomber and Punisher, they should not have any "Crew" or "Gunner" type slots since for nearly 40 years the Bomber has had a single operator. The Punisher is also supposed to just be a single cockpit pod, it would make up for it with the added Sensors slot and possibly more ordnance combos.

Maybe, but didn't they have a bombardier crew in Rebels?

Not explicitly on screen that I can recall. They seem to have a passenger configuration, but when TIE Bombers are actually bombing I don't think they ever actually show a second-seater, unlike the explicit one in the Striker cross-section.

5 hours ago, miguelj said:

Most likely not. Gunner slots seem more oriented to mobile arcs. Most of the gunners would be unusable with a Bomber/Punisher.

I think that's exactly why they will give them the gunner slot. It won't matter as only the bombardiers will add value to a bomber or punisher.

4 hours ago, HolySorcerer said:

Sure, but Bombardier is a gunner card that only works with bombs. What other Imperial craft would that apply to? The Deci? I think all the Imperial bombing ships will likely have a gunner slot.

^This. If the bomber/punisher don't get gunner slots, then Fifth Brother is a kinda useless card. What else would he fit on? A phantom maybe? Not much other than the Deci, and RAC has his ability anyway.

4 minutes ago, BVRCH said:

I think that's exactly why they will give them the gunner slot. It won't matter as only the bombardiers will add value to a bomber or punisher.

^This. If the bomber/punisher don't get gunner slots, then Fifth Brother is kinda a useless card. What else would he fit on? Not much other than the Deci, and RAC has his ability anyway.

Maybe the Lambda will get a gunner slot?

15 minutes ago, HolySorcerer said:

Maybe the Lambda will get a gunner slot?

It might do. Depends how fluffy they stay with it. Technically it didn't have a gunner but it did have co-pilot so I guess it depends on what that translates to in game. Veteran Tail Gunner would be great on a Lambda, but it doesn't fit thematically.

Other than that, I'm thinking a Phantom or Aggressor is the only other place for a gunner.

On that note I'm hoping the app allows for an 'option 1' OR 'option 2' type upgrade system for the likes of the Phantom. Then you could choose between a gunner or a crew, but not both.

Just now, BVRCH said:

It might do. Depends how fluffy they stay with it. Technically it didn't have a gunner but it did have co-pilot so I guess it depends on what that translates to in game. Veteran Tail Gunner would be great on a Lambda, but it doesn't fit thematically.

Other than that, I'm thinking a Phantom or Aggressor is the only other place for a gunner.

On that note I'm hoping the app allows for an 'option 1' OR 'option 2' type upgrade system for the likes of the Phantom. Then you could choose between a gunner or a crew, but not both.

I think the devs said that the Phantom has a crew slot. A gunner on the Aggressor seems like a no-brainer choice though.

I thought that they might go with an option 1/2 solution with the app, but the Scyk leads me to believe that they are not planning to do that.

3 minutes ago, HolySorcerer said:

I think the devs said that the Phantom has a crew slot. A gunner on the Aggressor seems like a no-brainer choice though.

I thought that they might go with an option 1/2 solution with the app, but the Scyk leads me to believe that they are not planning to do that.

It's kinda fair. I think I'd rather the crew options on the Phantom anyway. Optional slots would be a 'nice to have', but if its not a thing then its not a big deal either. They can always change it too.

Yeah for sure, the aggressor needed a little sprinkle of something to make it good, a gunner slot will do that. Kestal with Ion Turret, Barrage Rockets and Fifth Brother is probably one of my favourite potential builds already

8 hours ago, HolySorcerer said:

I have to imagine that the Bomber, Punisher, and the Striker will get gunners to help with their ordnance.

With the app I’m wondering if there will be different load outs: like can I take an interceptor style TIE striker or fighter-bomber style striker?

(I guess I can always do that by leaving the bombs off the striker if I want, but it would be a nice touch if I saved my points for that slot for something else)

6 hours ago, FlyingAnchors said:

With the app I’m wondering if there will be different load outs: like can I take an interceptor style TIE striker or fighter-bomber style striker?

(I guess I can always do that by leaving the bombs off the striker if I want, but it would be a nice touch if I saved my points for that slot for something else)

I doubt there'll be 'varying configurations' per se. However, you can spend the points on a stealth device (making you back up into a Lightweight Frame equivalent striker) or else pack bombs.

I dunno if we'll get bombardier options, though. The thing is, the bombs on a striker are a nice-to-have, and shouldn't overshadow the TIE bomber itself.

13 hours ago, Vineheart01 said:

is TrajSim even a thing still? i havnt seen it.

Yes it's in the Imperial and Scum kits. Rebels apparently don't get a Device/System ship.

6 minutes ago, thespaceinvader said:

Yes it's in the Imperial and Scum kits. Rebels apparently don't get a Device/System ship.

Well, their main carrier (Nym aside) has been calved off into Resistance, now that's a separate faction.

Given that that faction currently consists of precisely 3 ships total*, expect a fair amount of new pilots.....

* Unless they do a cop-out and let you use Rebel A-wings

8 hours ago, FlyingAnchors said:

it would be a nice touch if I saved my points for that slot for something else

I believe that costs for ships no longer include paying to have a slot.