Happy Friday - What changes do you make to the AWing?

By Cubanboy, in X-Wing

49 minutes ago, SpiderMana said:

Is that Wedge from Rebels?? I haven’t gotten that far in but I’d gladly take him on an A-wing, even with initiative reduction.

Yep, Wedge. Sabine helps him, Derek 'Hobbie' Klivian, and Rake Gahree defect, but Rake gets Crispus Attucks'd.

4 minutes ago, Hiemfire said:

Need to factor in the Scyk in your estmations. 28 pt bare A-Wing > Cartel Spacer by a long shot.

Accurate. I don't own any, so I forgot about that little ship. That one seems anomalously expensive as well when compared to Z-95's. Whatever - nobody's paying me to price these out, so I'm not gonna worry about it any more :P.

I think adding a second talent slot to those that already have 1 would go a long way. We're definitely getting more pilots, probably in the 4 and 5 range. I'll be surprised if we don't get at least 1 I6.

I don't want to see the A-Wing become too strong of a chassis. That isn't what the A-Wing is. I'm fine with the single missile slot and no mod slots. If they do anything for that, maybe they could point adjust missile costs for the ship slightly or give it a configuration card that removes the missile slot for a modification slot or two or even reduces the ship cost like the 1.0 refit did. Lose something to gain something.

The A-Wing isn't meant to be a powerhouse. Anyone asking for a second missile slot or something to boost its primary attack is kicking out the door to let the 1.0 power creep back in. If the A-wing had a 3 primary, why would you ever pick an X-wing?

One of the stated design goals for 2nd was to not make "ship-fix-cards," so I don't see something like Chardaan Refit happening.

I think the Scyk is over-costed as well as the A-Wing. I'd be happy to see both ship's get a cost reduction. At least with the Scyk, you can get somewhat reliable extra offense out of the hard-point. The single-missile-slot options just aren't as interesting as being able to take torpedoes or cannons (and that's saying a lot, considering the cannon options). Even with a point decrease, I still think an extra talent slot will be fine. Heck, I didn't even see an issue with given the low I generic a single talent slot.

I had forgotten about Wedge flying an A-Wing. I say put him in, keep him at I6, and keep his ability from the T65. That would actually give an a-wing with some punch while not going too crazy.

It probably has been told a lot, but two changes:

1. Two Elite Talents. Like Daredevil + Outmanoeuvre....

2. I5 and I6 pilots. It would seem from "Rebels" that Wedge Antilles begun as an A-Wing pilot in Phoenix Squadron. Why not a younuger, I5 Wedge? Plus I6 Tycho.

4 minutes ago, rhetor said:

It probably has been told a lot, but two changes:

1. Two Elite Talents. Like Daredevil + Outmanoeuvre....

2. I5 and I6 pilots. It would seem from "Rebels" that Wedge Antilles begun as an A-Wing pilot in Phoenix Squadron. Why not a younuger, I5 Wedge? Plus I6 Tycho.

I have a hunch I6 will be Hera if anything (though, if there's a second I6, Tycho is a shoe in). I like the idea of an I5 Wedge though :D

1 hour ago, SpiderMana said:

But... that’s part of what makes it an RZ-2?

Yes and no.

Lore: At least according to Legends, the RZ-1 was also capable of rotating its blaster. It's been suggested before that it is a element missing from them before.

Gameplay: The swiveling blasters can be seen as a distinction between the two A-Wings, but the need to differentiate them is reduced due to being in separate factions. From what we have been able to see of the RZ-2's ship ability, it can either take a red boost or rotate. Making the RZ-1's rotate not linked could provide the distinction necessary. We also have the tech slot advantage for the RZ-2 and likely extra shield, based on previous design.

This is spitballing, ultimately. Like I said, I think it is too late to implement it.

1 hour ago, Bad Idea Comics said:

New pilots for sure, though I don't mind the pilots they have now. I want to see Hera, Tycho, and Shara at the minimum - probably all In5 pilots.

With Shara being i4 in the Arc, I highly doubt she'll be bumped up to i5. The other two should be, what with Hera already in the game as i5 and Tycho being PS 8 in 1.0.

1 hour ago, Odanan said:

I know two missile slots would make it a beast, but that's not very thematic. A-Wing was never known as a missile platform - it should find it's own niche as the fast (and cheap) interceptor it is.

And yes, a slight point reduction would be good.

That's fair. While I did suggest the double missile slots, I do understand the lore and role objections against it.

Edited by SabineKey

Ah, yeah - I missed that about Shara.

4 minutes ago, SabineKey said:

Yes and no.

Lore: At least according to Legends, the RZ-1 was also capable of rotating its blaster. It's been suggested before that it is a element missing from them before.

With Shara being i4 in the Arc, I highly doubt she'll be bumped up to i5. The other two should be, what with Hera already in the game as i5 and Tycho being PS 8 in 1.0.

I think there might be some cases where Initiative might change with pilots in different ships but as we haven't seen it happen in second yet, maybe not. Poe being 8 and then 9 on the same ship in first is the closest thing I can think of.

The rotating lasers were mainly for rotating up and down on the RZ1. There were definitely some cases where it was seen going all the way backwards but I also have a vague memory of the rotation mechanism failing, so they'd only use them in a forward position to keep from getting stuck pointing backwards. It might have been speculation to explain why we mainly see them fire forward most of the time but occasionally saw them or heard of them firing backwards.

1 minute ago, CaptainIxidor said:

I think there might be some cases where Initiative might change with pilots in different ships but as we haven't seen it happen in second yet, maybe not. Poe being 8 and then 9 on the same ship in first is the closest thing I can think of.

The rotating lasers were mainly for rotating up and down on the RZ1. There were definitely some cases where it was seen going all the way backwards but I also have a vague memory of the rotation mechanism failing, so they'd only use them in a forward position to keep from getting stuck pointing backwards. It might have been speculation to explain why we mainly see them fire forward most of the time but occasionally saw them or heard of them firing backwards.

There have been examples of that in 1.0, but there was usually a reason like incomplete info (Poe and Kylo fit this) or a want to show growth (in the case of Ezra in the Phantom 2, since he already had an EPT). Shara doesn’t seem to fit the former and I don’t know enough of her story and timeline to know if she qualifies for the latter.

Theoretically those limitations for RZ-1 swivel blasters could be built into what i’m assuming would be a configuration upgrade. A mild version of this could explain my suggestion for it not being a substitute for the VT boost, like the RZ-2 has. More extreme could carry the potential of it becoming stuck in rear position as lore suggests. Anyway, like I said, this is more for theoretical exercises than something I actually think likely for the game.

It seems that A-Wing needs change, judging from the number of topics here on this forum.

1 minute ago, rhetor said:

It seems that A-Wing needs change, judging from the number of topics here on this forum. 

Not necessarily. There are only a few topics covering A-Wings and you'll notice that the people pushing for changes in one are also in this thread doing the same. # of threads in an of itself does not indicate the necessity of something, especially when most of what is being complained about can be summed up as the complainers wanting a slightly better (no Chardan Refit) 1.0 A-Wing in 2.0.

Just now, Hiemfire said:

Not necessarily. There are only a few topics covering A-Wings and you'll notice that the people pushing for changes in one are also in this thread doing the same. # of threads in an of itself does not indicate the necessity of something, especially when most of what is being complained about can be summed up as the complainers wanting a slightly better (no Chardan Refit) 1.0 A-Wing in 2.0.

and that is what I want too :D To clarify: by "change" I mean adding some new pilots, too.

1 minute ago, rhetor said:

and that is what I want too :D To clarify: by "change" I mean adding some new pilots, too.

Since there should be more pilots when the 2.0 A-Wing expac is released I suggest being patient. :)

1 minute ago, Hiemfire said:

Since there should be more pilots when the 2.0 A-Wing expac is released I suggest being patient. :)

hopefully. I just cannot wait to annoy my usual opponent with an A-Wing that always moves last :D

Adding talent slots... Hmm. Outmaneuver + Juke, Outmaneuver+ Crack Shot, Predator + Crack Shot, Predator + Outmaneuver, Crack Shot + Marksmenship, Trick Shot + Outmaneuver, Trick Shot + Juke, etc... No thank you. Facing that even on an Init 3 would suck.

4 minutes ago, Hiemfire said:

Adding talent slots... Hmm. Outmaneuver + Juke, Outmaneuver+ Crack Shot, Predator + Crack Shot, Predator + Outmaneuver, Crack Shot + Marksmenship, Trick Shot + Outmaneuver, Trick Shot + Juke, etc... No thank you. Facing that even on an Init 3 would suck.

Tax the second slot, then. Putting a talent in one slot makes the second talent more expensive. (Or just charge for a title that adds the second slot like in 1e.)

I Doubt they’d do that, but it would keep from making generics more expensive as a chassis.

7 minutes ago, Hiemfire said:

Adding talent slots... Hmm. Outmaneuver + Juke, Outmaneuver+ Crack Shot, Predator + Crack Shot, Predator + Outmaneuver, Crack Shot + Marksmenship, Trick Shot + Outmaneuver, Trick Shot + Juke, etc... No thank you. Facing that even on an Init 3 would suck.

It's still only a 2 attack ship. Some of those will work with missiles but the primary requirement of some of them removes a number of those combinations from existing in a scary scenario.

Outmaneuver + Juke is also ten points. Making a 30 point ship a 40+ point ship is not usually good list-building, though it might be worth it if there's an I6.

Edited by CaptainIxidor
26 minutes ago, Hiemfire said:

...the complainers wanting a slightly better (no Chardan Refit) 1.0 A-Wing in 2.0.

I prefer the term “A-Wing Advocater”. ? Also, I wouldn’t really care if A-Wings got Chardans. I never flew them with missiles in 1.0, and I wouldn’t happily drop missiles in 2.0 if I had any other way to spend points on my A-Wings.

13 minutes ago, Hiemfire said:

Adding talent slots... Hmm. Outmaneuver + Juke, Outmaneuver+ Crack Shot, Predator + Crack Shot, Predator + Outmaneuver, Crack Shot + Marksmenship, Trick Shot + Outmaneuver, Trick Shot + Juke, etc... No thank you. Facing that even on an Init 3 would suck.

At current pricing, an Outmanuever + Predator GSP would be 42 points, meaning you could only run 4. Is that worse than 4x I4 Outmanuever Saber Squadron Interceptors currently? Double Talents makes A-Wings more accurate not more powerful. A lot of those talents require some significant hoops to activate, and more than a few are primary weapon only.

Edited by Phelan Boots
2 minutes ago, SpiderMana said:

Or just charge for a title that adds the second slot like in 1e.

Title was free 1st ed.

3 minutes ago, CaptainIxidor said:

It's still only a 2 attack ship. Some of those will work with missiles but the primary requirement of some of them removes a number of those combinations from existing in a scary scenario.

I think you're underestimating the potency of 2 red dice, especially when paired with most of those Talent combos that I listed.

For flippy-guns on an RZ-1, the lore suggests that they'd often get broken, and stuck in backwards-fire mode (perhaps stuck in positions which aren't good for firing at all), and couldn't be adjusted until a maintenance dock. The updates of the RZ-2 were needed in order to make the front/back switch work properly.

32 minutes ago, Hiemfire said:

Title was free 1st ed.

I just meant making it a title like that would allow there to be a cost. Again, so that it would make powerful combos cost more without bumping up the chassis price at all.

pred/juke would be the only thing I would look at if A-wings got double talents.

a buddy had the idea of reintroducing PTL, but you got 2 stress for it. small base ships only. that might be interesting.

1 hour ago, CaptainIxidor said:

I think there might be some cases where Initiative might change with pilots in different ships but as we haven't seen it happen in second yet, maybe not. Poe being 8 and then 9 on the same ship in first is the closest thing I can think of.

Dalan Oberos is different in the Kimogil and Starviper