So I'm considering converting my current pile of X wing stuff to 2.0, but I really am not sure it's worth the cost just yet. I run a tabletop club at the high school I teach at, but we don't have much more than 3-5 people on a given day and we have a number of other games in our inventory as well. X wing comes out every once in a while, but it is far from being a big competitive scene or anything.

Main issue is that it's mostly me footing the bill for all this. It means the collection is pretty much just one of most of the expansions, which is good because I would only need one of each conversion kit.

That said, each kit is what... 40 bucks each at best? So that's 80 for the conversation and another 30 or so for the core, at best? Without scum which is another 30 at best? 110-140 dollars to play with a new set of rules?

I just don't know if a new ruleset is worth that kind of hit to my wallet, considering we don't play competitively... especially when we can get some of the new legion stuff for well within that price.

Any advice or thoughts would be appreciated though, if it would sway one way or another.

If its that rare and casual, 2.0 don't offer enough value and hassle with online list builders. 2.0 is a bunch of small but good corrections and the ability to rebalance stuff. The kind of stuff that broke 1.0 probably wont be an issue with a game group like yours.

If you're enjoying the game as it is, don't bother. If you find it's getting a bit clunky, or you want to put the ships on the table and have a slightly different experience, then you can pick them up over time. My group of four friends switched over to 2nd, and given each of us just bought one conversion, it was the right decision. If you're footing the whole bill yourself, and you don't care about Very Important Organised Play, it doesn't matter.

Yeah, while I do like the majority of the changes between 1.0 and 2.0, I’m not sure the cost/benefit ratio is favorable in your case.

1.0 should continue to serve you well as an addition to a game club repertoire.

2.0 is a vastly better designed and balanced game, regardless if you play competitively or casual.

For me, X-Wing 2.0 is overall a better game in many ways, as well.

Ha so I'm seeing a bit of both responses then? To those that argue that the rules make for a better game, is there anything specific in the improvement you could comment on?

I know that it helped with some of the competitive scene, where some overpowered or poorly balanced squads were making things stale... but does that equally apply to casual games? Most of my students just like to fly whatever appeals to them aesthetically, they're not min-maxing or playing to any kind of meta in any way. So is there something in the base ruleset changes that they would find appealing?

Honestly I might be swayed, if there is nothing else even, if 2.0 is just faster to set up!

Don’t forget you may be able to offset some of the costs by selling unneeded things on EBay.

I love 2.0, but for your situation and play circumstances, I'd say it's perfectly fine to stick with first edition, especially since it's not the primary game for your group and you have a number of other games to choose from.

Thanks for being a teacher, and thanks for being the kind of teacher that encourages tabletop play! ❤️

I play almost entirely casual games, mostly with people who don't own any X-wing material at all. I had to convert 2x rebel 2x Imperial and 1x scum (plus eventually 1x each resistance and FO) to convert my collection and there are still a few stragglers left unconverted. I have still found it to be mostly worth it as the fundamental issues with first edition could still be felt even in casual games (anyone who tried to play something like TIE Interceptors vs the Falcon on wave 2 launch could probably tell something was off). Casual games in 2.0 have felt much better and it's a lot easier to just put some stuff on the board that you like without running into an unintentional obnoxiously 1-sided game.

That is simply my own experience though, if your casual crew is fine with the First Edition game as it is they will probably not get a huge boost out of making the switch to 2.0

14 minutes ago, XPav said:

Don’t forget you may be able to offset some of the costs by selling unneeded things on EBay.

Hmm I hadn't thought of that. Since I only have 1 of each expansion, I'd have some 30-40 ships to resell. I just checked and it looks like they go for about 2 bucks each plus shipping. That would go a long way to making this feasible, do you guys thing they would sell well/that there is a healthy market for it?

11 minutes ago, stuffedskullcat said:

I love 2.0, but for your situation and play circumstances, I'd say it's perfectly fine to stick with first edition, especially since it's not the primary game for your group and you have a number of other games to choose from.

Thanks for being a teacher, and thanks for being the kind of teacher that encourages tabletop play! ❤️

Haha thanks! I'm a history teacher, so any excuse I get to introduce history topics with games is all a go for me! We just started Sails of Glory and they're getting a kick out of it, though I don't know if I can handle many more Assassin's Creed 4 references

The 2.0 rules are online and free, you could easily test them out beforehand. A lot of ships even have the same dials, so its easy to test.

Ignore

The quick-build aspect of 2nd Edition might appeal to your group.

It doesn't sound like you have the combo-wing problem and don't need to shift to second because of that though it might be why x-wing is a less played game. Guys sense the uneven aspects and shy away.

Lots of improvement in second and the only reason not to play if you are interested is not wanting to spend the money.

I would not be inclined to cull a collection until you have played and spent some time with second.

So if you sell on eBay, most of the time it’s all the dials, bases, and pilot cards for a specific ship type. So if you have one of each expansion and need to keep all the ships, well.... you probably won’t get as much.

Also price depends on the popularity of the ship.

And there are a few upgrade cards that are worth more due to their appeal to other factions.

There is actually no need for if you like and enjoy 1.0 But that do not means 2.0 is not better and more streamleaned. The very crude note is the total absence of missions which is a grave mistake. So you have to brew a little of adaptation for 'em. I am mostly in your same condition and can issue that hint: take your time and spent your money with prudence only on those products you like for themselves, and not for their intended use.

For me I almost didn't convert, and then Clone Wars

Alright, I pulled the trigger and went ahead and jumped in...

I took a look at the contents and key changes and saw that there seem to be a couple simplification aspects (e.g. target lock) that would go over well for my students (and poor wife who I force to play test with me 😁 )

Also, I have loved the **** out of that RZ2 A Wing since I first saw it in the Ralph McQuarrie piece and frankly... I needed one.

I figure I can sell a few of the upgrade pieces I don't need to help offset the price. Maybe I could even unload the old upgrade and pilot cards as a lot on Ebay, if I could cover even half the cost of 2.0 I think it'd be worth it. Sigh, feeling a little guilty for it but... also a bit excited too 😊

Welcome to 2.0! I consider myself a casual gamer, and I really like the improvements that came in second edition. The only complaint I have is we don’t have epic (yet), and we don’t have new stuff coming for established factions (however I’m getting over it, because I’m rediscovering just how many ships I have to fly already - I thought I did good using them all but I’ve got some work to do).

20 hours ago, Varulfr said:

I'm a history teacher, so any excuse I get to introduce history topics with games is all a go for me!

Well, Star Wars did happen a long time ago....

I can say that the 2.0 rules were really needed. They cleaned up a lot of various rules and balance. They reduced a lot of the upgrade options. There are only 2 turrets, for example. There are fewer Talents. This actually makes things a bit easier. The initiative dropped from 1-9 to 1-6 (with few 6's). The balance level of all ships was moved around and they are all really good options. The various tokens and rules (like tractor beam or jam) were cleaned up. The dials were made better. The flow of the game is just a bit easier. The special rules were straightened up. It's a much for straight forward game with less confusion and needing to look up flow charts as to what happens when.

With that said....the real question comes down to is it worth it. That's a tough one. I don't know if anyone can really answer it. If people are still having fun playing it as is....why rock the boat? Or...if you play numerous games, it might not be worth it. I'm pretty sure that conversion kits will probably drop in price at some point. You might be able to wait until then. I am a frugal person and I fully appreciate the costs. It is a fun game and the improvements are good, but it might overall have to be something that you have to answer for yourself. It's tough.

I wholeheartedly think 2.0's changes were sensible ones that fundamentally improved the game at a mechanical level. Tweaks to the rules have streamlined the game, reeled in the power creep, balanced stats like agility, and simplified some obtuse elements.

I'm always glad to hear sceptical people embrace the transition because I genuinely think it a superior system, and hope they can find and enjoy those benefits.

Something to consider? Check out @J1mBob 's site at http://infinitearenas.com/ . The Squad Viewer, Quick Build Squad-Builder, and Custom Quick Builds tools in particular.

For a group like yours it might be best to use tools like these to print lists out. Saves a lot of time sorting through cards, and if you want to use the official quickbuilds, they're all easily accessible here. But you can still build custom lists just fine.

I'd try it out like that for a bit, and you might just find that the cards are ultimately useless for your group? You still would have needed to buy the dials/cardboard somehow or other to convert, but if you did decide you don't need the cards, it's just that much more you can attempt to resell. Especially something like the Moldy Crow title, that only comes in the Rebel kit despite being a "necessity" for serious scum players. (Resell at your own conscience's risk 😜 It does suck for said scum players to not have reasonable access to it.)

Oh, and I do think it was a good decision. Not necessary for your group to play, no, but ultimately better for the play experience. Especially if you or your kids have any interest in the Clone Wars stuff that's coming out Either way, there's so much balance brought to the game, and interesting mechanics that came later on in 1e have been spread back to the earliest waves of 1e, now. Every ship that felt like it needed a sloop or a talon now has access, reverse maneuvers have been given to a few more ships, 0-stops... Bullseye mechanics are available to everyone, and some pilot abilities have been tied to those as well, now...

Lots of good, with 2.0. Red actions and linked actions are also much healthier for the game than Push the Limit was, as much as I wish I could link barrel rolls on my A-Wings instead of just boosts, and as much as I wish I could link focus with reposition on my E-Wings 😜

I'm a casual player to but I bought into 2.0 to update my current collection so I can play newer ships that appeal to me with the older ones that I still enjoy. That said I am going to generate my own dials/bases/accesories where possible with my 3d printer. There's a lot of x wing content on thingverse.

If your school's STEM program has a printer you might be able to do a cross over lesson/project.

La République!

On 2/16/2019 at 10:43 AM, Varulfr said:

Any advice or thoughts would be appreciated though, if it would sway one way or another.

First off, good on you for hosting that club at your school!! I would totally do that if I was a teacher.

Second, if you're playing casually, I wouldn't get the new core set. All you're really getting is the new damage deck, and you'd want at least two or three of those anyway.

Unless you really want to experience 2.0 with all it's fine-tuned crit damage stuff, the old damage decks you already have will do just fine.

I would highly recommend the conversions, since the dial updates and pilot updates are VERY substantial balance improvement over 1.0.

Plus, you can keep getting 1.0 ships on the cheap to fill out your extra conversion dials as you go.

Keep it up, and good luck!