Oh yay, another layer of visualization to add... 
Nicely presented and relieving to see the blog continue. Was kind of getting worried it had gotten shelved in the post release + RL shuffle that tends to happen.
X-wing blog: Starfighter Mafia: Ships I like #2, the TIE/Defender
2 hours ago, Hiemfire said:Oh yay, another layer of visualization to add...
Hopefully breaking up articles into smaller chunks will make it a little steadier. I'm still new to the blogging thing, so I'll have to feel it out.
1 hour ago, Biophysical said:
So zip in, block and nuke.
8 hours ago, Hiemfire said:So zip in, block and nuke.
If you're fast enough!
14 minutes ago, Biophysical said:If you're fast enough!
Or fat enough. Same thing though.
Blocking without using Intel Agent equivalents might be one of the most satisfying things in X-Wing.
2 hours ago, Boom Owl said:Blocking without using Intel Agent equivalents might be one of the most satisfying things in X-Wing.
I agree.
2 hours ago, Boom Owl said:Or fat enough. Same thing though.
In X-wing, unlike real life, being fat makes you fast.
This is great stuff. I think I'm intuitively doing this, trying to figure out where the opponent wants to go and how to avoid/engage. But I've never considered that certain lanes may be under threat from multiple bearings. Usually, it's "well, I hope I'm right about this." if I'm not sure. But this visualizes the safest places to be even if you aren't certain about the opponent's choices.
I guess this map is most applicable to lower initiative ships, while the previous post is more applicable to higher initiative ones? Do you visualize these simultaneously?
Edited by Q10fanaticMore thoughts.
42 minutes ago, Q10fanatic said:This is great stuff. I think I'm intuitively doing this, trying to figure out where the opponent wants to go and how to avoid/engage. But I've never considered that certain lanes may be under threat from multiple bearings. Usually, it's "well, I hope I'm right about this." if I'm not sure. But this visualizes the safest places to be even if you aren't certain about the opponent's choices.
I guess this map is most applicable to lower initiative ships, while the previous post is more applicable to higher initiative ones? Do you visualize these simultaneously?
Thanks!
I think both ways of visualizing game possibilities are applicable to both high and low initiative pilots. I think I probably focus more on the lower initiative viewpoint because you need to get those ships because the price of doing it badly is frequently a bit higher.
I do pretty much visualize both maps simultaneously, but usually after I pare all the options down to the most likely.
Edited by Biophysical6 hours ago, Biophysical said:
A very nice article.
Overlapping arcs creating no-go zones is a basic element of flying a heavy swarm, and there's something very satisfying about watching a silencer, or interceptor, or whatever look at its options and realise it's into "least worst" territory because there's so few safe spots.
The same thing applies with large numbers of bullseye arc weapons, too.
A bullseye arc is a touch wider than people give it credit for - the 'no go zone' in which you can't place a small base without it getting hit with the arc is about two small bases wide - but I will happily accept that getting a shot with a bullseye on a higher initiative ship is highly unlikely unless that ship either a) has no ability to reposition, b) has a large base, c) you have a range 1 shot, or ideally all three.
4+ ships with bullseye arcs (4 x Heavy Laser Blue Rookies, or 5 x Predator Black Scouts) , on the other hand, can create a 'lattice' of bullseye arcs that fills the entire side channel of a board....and frankly, since you can still fire in your normal forward arc with no massive reduction in effectiveness (unless using proton rockets or similar), the choice between "sit in the bullseye and tank it" and "roll out but have no tokens" isn't an easy one to make.
You don't have to fire all the cannons all the time- arguably even at all; to justify buying them - the fear factor they create can often be enough by itself.
8 minutes ago, Biophysical said:
Whoot! Been looking forwards to this.
32 minutes ago, Biophysical said:
Anyone who Swarm Tactics-ed Seevor before can Swarm Tactics other things now, which is kind of neat I guess.
Jamming Beam feels like a very "Scummy" kind of weapon despite Scum's relatively few cannon ships (changeable by update, but true until July at least).
I assume there's a point where Jamming Beam + ISB Slicers becomes good and also another point where it becomes degenerate, but I don't know where or whether we're anywhere close to either.
I also wonder if people playing with the new free Jamming Beam will realize they should've been taking stuff like Freelance Slicer more seriously all along? (Which is to say: I don't know if Freelance should be taken seriously, but I wonder now if we'll find out.)
Edited by svelok5 minutes ago, svelok said:Jamming Beam feels like a very "Scummy" kind of weapon despite Scum's relatively few cannon ships (changeable by update, but true until July at least).
🤨 Imps have 3 (Lambda, Defender and Gunboat), Rebels have 1 (B-Wing) that I can recall, Resistance has 1 (T-70), FO has 1 (Upsilon), Scum has 4.3 (YV-666, Scyk, Aggressor, Firespray and Misthunter titled G1-A, which is the .3). Scum has the most cannon carriers of any of the factions.
49 minutes ago, Hiemfire said:🤨 Imps have 3 (Lambda, Defender and Gunboat), Rebels have 1 (B-Wing) that I can recall, Resistance has 1 (T-70), FO has 1 (Upsilon), Scum has 4.3 (YV-666, Scyk, Aggressor, Firespray and Misthunter titled G1-A, which is the .3). Scum has the most cannon carriers of any of the factions.
I stand corrected.
I guess the perception was probably because the YV and Scyk are the ships out of the lot that I have literally never see in use in-person
7 minutes ago, svelok said:I stand corrected.
I guess the perception was probably because the YV and Scyk are the ships out of the lot that I have literally never see in use in-person
If you look at ships you're likely to see with cannon slots at useful Initiative, Scum pretty much has Boba. Resistance has any T70, though, so while it only has one ship model, it has tons of pilots that can take advantage of free Jamming Beams.
9 minutes ago, svelok said:I stand corrected.
I guess the perception was probably because the YV and Scyk are the ships out of the lot that I have literally never see in use in-person
That cannons are generally perceived as a bad upgrade doesn't help the matter. 
1 minute ago, Biophysical said:Scum pretty much has Boba
Serrisu. Same Init as Boba, just a fair bit less tanky (though Boba could benefit from Serrisu's defensive re-roll).
38 minutes ago, Hiemfire said:Serrisu. Same Init as Boba, just a fair bit less tanky (though Boba could benefit from Serrisu's defensive re-roll).
You almost never see Serissu. She might be more meta relevant someday, and she might be fine, but she's not a commonly taken cannon carrier.
3 hours ago, Biophysical said:If you look at ships you're likely to see with cannon slots at useful Initiative, Scum pretty much has Boba.
3 hours ago, Hiemfire said:Serrisu. Same Init as Boba, just a fair bit less tanky (though Boba could benefit from Serrisu's defensive re-roll).
And Boba is one of the worst primary shots in your list to lose, most likely. But if it saves Fenn Rau from eating a torp... seems worth?
4 hours ago, Biophysical said:If you look at ships you're likely to see with cannon slots at useful Initiative, Scum pretty much has Boba. Resistance has any T70, though, so while it only has one ship model, it has tons of pilots that can take advantage of free Jamming Beams.
Juking brobots will still like them