Corran’s Bullseye Arc is challenging to land

By TasteTheRainbow, in X-Wing

23 minutes ago, AllWingsStandyingBy said:

Bullseye Arcs are fantastically hard to use reliably, but I think we've known that since the Kimogila (and that had extra juicy nice abilities in its Bullseye).

I'm pretty comfortable saying that, with maybe a few exceptions, bullseye-arc reliant pilots and upgrades simply won't be used very much.

I flew Guri with 4 Scyks w/ HLCs last night. Bullseye-reliant stuff on low intitiave ships may not be the best points spent.

9 hours ago, JaxonEvans said:

Yes because Corran has always been known for being easy to play...

Haven't you learned the rules of F-wing yet?

If it won, it is because it is broken and needs a Nerf!

:rolleyes: (same applies to R-wing as well).

6 hours ago, AllWingsStandyingBy said:

Bullseye Arcs are fantastically hard to use reliably, but I think we've known that since the Kimogila (and that had extra juicy nice abilities in its Bullseye).

I'm pretty comfortable saying that, with maybe a few exceptions, bullseye-arc reliant pilots and upgrades simply won't be used very much.

Two observations:

  • Bullseye arcs are massively easier to line up on large base ships than small base ones. It makes the Kimogila a great IG-88 Hunter.
  • As observed, a lot of the Bullseye abilities are very cheap - Predator, for example, is the equivalent of 1 point in 1.0 - allowing a 'swarm' of cross-firing bullseye arcs. Being able to put 5 Black Squadron Scouts with Predator in the fields makes it very hard to avoid all their arcs.

I think a lot will depend on which kinds of ships the Bullseye ships are attacking. They get a lot stronger against medium and particularly large-base ships. It's hard to line up on a small-base, but large ships? Not too bad if you invest a Barrel Roll.

For example, generic Firesprays are 66 points, so three naked fits into a list, like when they first came out. With the Reinforce action, nerfed as it is (quick look only had it preventing about 1.5-2 damage against six focus/howl TIEs, expected damage a bit more than 4 compared to about 6 without defensive tokens), and higher Init than the Academy Pilot, they might be good things to bring up against TIEs.

So suppose there is a Firespray 93 meta, Blade Squadron Veteran B-Wings will be AMAZING. Predator and HLC add up to a 50 point build, so you can run 4, with the linked Focus > BR will slaughter lower-init Large Base and possibly Medium Base ships. Even switching to the two Init 4 unique pilots, they'll be 56 points for HLC/Pred each, leaving 88 for the rest of the list. Maybe some kind of Wedge Antilles to combat aces, since those B-Wings will pour damage into large-base ships.

14 hours ago, PhantomFO said:

Sure. But when that chassis is 74 points before upgrades, the lack of a defensive mod is a big thing. I have a hard time seeing Corran as being worth an 11 point premium over the Rogue Squadron Escort. For that cost, you could have Luke Skywalker with Instinctive Aim and Proton Torpedoes, who will have better sustain against focused fire and higher burst damage at the same PS. while saving you a point.

Wow, it’s almost like “random EU pilot” isn’t better than Luke Skywalker, literal chosen one and hero of the entire galaxy.

14 hours ago, TasteTheRainbow said:

Yea only Vader gets to play that game. : )

Not having force tokens to be able to mod 2-3 defensive rolls is still a consequence of your choices that round. I’d argue that Vader’s consequences are actually steeper, as once you’ve blown your force-load you aren’t gonna get it back for a while.

17 hours ago, AllWingsStandyingBy said:

I'm pretty comfortable saying that, with maybe a few exceptions, bullseye-arc reliant pilots and upgrades simply won't be used very much.

My experience with the new HLC Ten Numb very much disagrees. I would instead say that bullseye depends heavily on initiative. Bullseyeing swarms is actually pretty easy. Bullseyeing large ships is hard to miss. Soontir's double-reposition at I6, likely with a bid, will very much help him in this regard. I see him getting focus, evade, and reposition most of the time. With predator he'll be a beast.

Bullseye is pretty range-dependent though. Beyond range 2 it's definitely harder, though possible. Once again, it's a choice between:

a) a lot of arcs so at least something will get it, and

b) a super-powerful pilot who knows how to get what he wants

And point costs should balance those pretty fairly. I'm pretty comfortable saying that you're dead wrong.

On 7/31/2018 at 10:29 PM, player3010587 said:

The problem is his price tag forces him to be cagey. Unlike efficiency fighters that can spam crack or HLC without worrying too much about being in arc (or first edition Kimos with the likes of painbot), Corran has to dodge AND get the bullseye, all without the autothrusters of interceptors or the vectored thrusters of A-Wings.

I assume Nathan Eide has already mastered it, though.

So, it seems that the answer to how to fly Corran competitively in 2.0, is that you take Luke instead ;)

At least based on looking at Nathan playing on Gold squadron podcast at the moment.

But seriously, Luke is such a beast in 2.0.

You can take him bare, you can add Supernaturals, you can add Artoo and/or Torpedoes - and he’s great in each configuration and price point.

As it really should be, since Luke = Star Wars..

Edit: Forgot to mention - 2.0 ****ing rocks..

Edited by baranidlo

I've been pretty encouraged with this build:

Corran Horn (74)
Elusive (3)
Fire-Control System (3)
"Chopper" (Astromech) (2)
Afterburners (8)

Total: 90

Can probably swap the Afterburners for Proton Torpedoes. Either way, Chopper and Elusive are the bones here, to give you some 1.0-style shield regen. Then you just trade charges for shields, or shields for charges. The Burners are really there to give more charges to move in an emergency.

Bullseye is definitely a fun but weak mechanic in its current state, because to line it up reliably you need to both move second and have repositioning. it makes many of the 2.0 upgrades/abilities which require it not worth their points. Even when you fly well and line it up the reward is often so mild that it wont turn the tide(Corran aside). 2 dice attacks still wont hit, 3 dice attacks probably aren't modified because you re-positioned... it just seems like the effort you go to lining it up could be spent blocking or dodging to better effect.

On 7/31/2018 at 9:12 PM, PhantomFO said:

I'm still pretty convinced that the ships and upgrades that rely on the bullseye arc, outside of range 0 stuff, are only going to be useful against large-based ships. Small ships just don't have the surface area to target them reliably, especially once boosting and barrel rolls come into the equation.

Yes, that’s true. Sadly there are not a lot of good large ships being played except maybe the scum falcon.

mediums are more frequent, but often called Boba Fett, who is more maneuvrable than Corran himself.

Seeing how much less powerful Corran is -except like the OP says - as a torpedo carry, i would argue that unlike last edition he is overpriced. The sad thing is that the generic E-Wings still are. They were hampered all of 1st, but game designers still refuse to make them cheap enough to be viable.

Because with their infinite TL possibilities, they could indeed be some of the best torpedo carriers in the game (just lacking reload). But you nearly get 2 Y-Wings for the price and that’s just more bang for the buck then.

Edited by ForceM
On 8/1/2018 at 3:52 PM, nikk whyte said:

Wow, it’s almost like “random EU pilot” isn’t better than Luke Skywalker, literal chosen one and hero of the entire galaxy.

That must be one of the dumbest things I read on this forum.

You know, for the sake of the game's balance, there's a system called "squad points" to measure the efficiency of ships. Those aren't based on your personnal opinion on the pilots you choose.

So yes, if any pilot, even named Jar-Jar, happens to be around 70pts, he HAS to be somewhat better than Luke and his 62pts cost.

31 minutes ago, ForceM said:

Yes, that’s true. Sadly there are not a lot of good large ships being played except maybe the scum falcon.

mediums are more frequent, but often called Boba Fett, who is more maneuvrable than Corran himself.

Seeing how much less powerful Corran is -except like the OP says - as a torpedo carry, i would argue that unlike last edition he is overpriced. The sad thing is that the generic E-Wings still are. They were hampered all of 1st, but game designers still refuse to make them cheap enough to be viable.

Because with their infinite TL possibilities, they could indeed be some of the best torpedo carriers in the game (just lacking reload). But you nearly get 2 Y-Wings for the price and that’s just more bang for the buck then.

yeah double the attacks and nearly triple health makes 2 Ys way more viable than 1 E-wing as torpedo dudes.

z95s with homing missiles seem more cost effective too, as you can easily fit 4 Zs in a list with 96 points left for an ace

8 hours ago, Giledhil said:

That must be one of the dumbest things I read on this forum.

You know, for the sake of the game's balance, there's a system called "squad points" to measure the efficiency of ships. Those aren't based on your personnal opinion on the pilots you choose.

So yes, if any pilot, even named Jar-Jar, happens to be around 70pts, he HAS to be somewhat better than Luke and his 62pts cost.

Easy solution then, raise Luke’s cost.

I did adv corran along with Lando wingman. Gave corran a pre move action + lock with Landos ability, then he can adv sensors for another or a focus, so lining up that bullseye was a lot easier. Took whisper out in two rounds with one round being a double tap.

But the entire game, I just wanted supernatty luke and have more points.

Corran is way overcosted. 66-68pts seems more reasonable. No way he should cost more than Vader.

On 8/1/2018 at 9:52 AM, nikk whyte said:

Wow, it’s almost like “random EU pilot” isn’t better than Luke Skywalker, literal chosen one and hero of the entire galaxy.

the game is supposed to be balanced by squad points, so 2 things of equal cost should be reasonably even (discounting hard counters). their fame isnt really relevant

Plus Corran Horn is, much like Wedge Antilles, a better pilot than Luke if you discount force cheating. Hes not a random dude, hes one of the primary heroes of 2 decades of official Star Wars releases before the RetCon

12 minutes ago, Vontoothskie said:

the game is supposed to be balanced by squad points, so 2 things of equal cost should be reasonably even (discounting hard counters). their fame isnt really relevant

Plus Corran Horn is, much like Wedge Antilles, a better pilot than Luke if you discount force cheating. Hes not a random dude, hes one of the primary heroes of 2 decades of official Star Wars releases before the RetCon

To be fair, in those 2 decades Horn was also a Jedi on top of being a superb pilot. He isn't in FFG X-Wing though...

1 minute ago, Hiemfire said:

To be fair, in those 2 decades Horn was also a Jedi on top of being a superb pilot. He isn't in FFG X-Wing though...

Yeah I just meant Corran's whole thing is being an ace pilot, where Luke rarely runs fighter sorties outside of the first Deathstar run. Kinda like all Jedi are decent pilots via intuition, but Anakin and Plo-koon are Aces even amongst Jedi

Just chipping in my two cents on bullseye arcs: the kimogila absolutely shreds enemy ships in its bullseye, and it is much easier than I expected to get bullseye shots off, especially if you don't mind which ship you're shooting at.

20 hours ago, Giledhil said:

That must be one of the dumbest things I read on this forum.

You know, for the sake of the game's balance, there's a system called "squad points" to measure the efficiency of ships. Those aren't based on your personnal opinion on the pilots you choose.

So yes, if any pilot, even named Jar-Jar, happens to be around 70pts, he HAS to be somewhat better than Luke and his 62pts cost.

First: i’ve seen way dumber things than the suggestion that Luke is one of the best pilots in the galaxy

second: no, no he doesn’t have to be better than Luke.

7 hours ago, Vontoothskie said:

the game is supposed to be balanced by squad points, so 2 things of equal cost should be reasonably even (discounting hard counters). their fame isnt really relevant

Plus Corran Horn is, much like Wedge Antilles, a better pilot than Luke if you discount force cheating. Hes not a random dude, hes one of the primary heroes of 2 decades of official Star Wars releases before the RetCon

Squad points aren’t the total representation of balance in the game. You have to take into account stat line, action choices, ship abilities.

If 2 ships are costed the same, but one can only focus and the other has 5 actions, 2 of them linked to repositions, that second ship is going to win in a 1v1 almost every time.

Deluding yourself into thinking that the points are representative of power is foolish.

5 hours ago, nikk whyte said:

Squad points aren’t the total representation of balance in the game. You have to take into account stat line, action choices, ship abilities.

If 2 ships are costed the same, but one can only focus and the other has 5 actions, 2 of them linked to repositions, that second ship is going to win in a 1v1 almost every time.

Deluding yourself into thinking that the points are representative of power is foolish.

Squad points should take the dial and the actions into consideration as well. Otherwise it is bad design.

That was were 1st ed totally failed, compare e.g. 28pts Talonbane Cobra vs 28pts Fenn Rau, both very comparable abilities, but Fenn vastly better due to the Fang's dial (creep) and the actions. Stuff like this made 2nd ed a necessity, and sqd points now should much better reflect power, taking all facets into account. Otherwise, why even bother converting.

17 hours ago, wurms said:

I did adv corran along with Lando wingman. Gave corran a pre move action + lock with Landos ability, then he can adv sensors for another or a focus, so lining up that bullseye was a lot easier. Took whisper out in two rounds with one round being a double tap.

But the entire game, I just wanted supernatty luke and have more points.

Corran is way overcosted. 66-68pts seems more reasonable. No way he should cost more than Vader.

think it's because of the ship, on paper the E-wing looks vastly superior to the Tie Advanced X1. I could see Corran coming down to the cost you mentioned, it would seem reasonable.

On 10/8/2018 at 12:19 AM, nikk whyte said:

Squad points aren’t the total representation of balance in the game. You have to take into account stat line, action choices, ship abilities.

If 2 ships are costed the same, but one can only focus and the other has 5 actions, 2 of them linked to repositions, that second ship is going to win in a 1v1 almost every time.

Deluding yourself into thinking that the points are representative of power is foolish.

First, the insults and snooty tone are completely innapropriate, both because its rude and because I already addresses your point. I wrote "Discounting hard counters", making the same point but in a fraction of the words. Im glad to discuss things with you but no one has time for toxic crap

Second, the point system is the balance system in the game. calling me or anyone else "deluded" or "foolish" for expecting it to aproximate in-game power is absurd. Squad points exist to represent power in game. If FFG releases something imbalanced, they adjust squad point totals or buff/nerf until the points make sense.

5 hours ago, Vontoothskie said:

First, the insults and snooty tone are completely innapropriate, both because its rude and because I already addresses your point. I wrote "Discounting hard counters", making the same point but in a fraction of the words. Im glad to discuss things with you but no one has time for toxic crap

Second, the point system is the balance system in the game. calling me or anyone else "deluded" or "foolish" for expecting it to aproximate in-game power is absurd. Squad points exist to represent power in game. If FFG releases something imbalanced, they adjust squad point totals or buff/nerf until the points make sense.

You missed the point, pun intended.

Points are a piece of the puzzle, not the whole picture.