In a recent game I watched one player’s Millennium Falcon slam into a TIE Fighter, stop dead in its tracks, and get shot to pieces because of bad positioning.

Also, thematically, an A-Wing stopping a Decimator from moving makes no sense.

Here’s the idea in very rough form:

Configuration for Large-based ships only: Ponderous Bulk - Unknown Points Value (5 maybe? 10?)

When a medium or small-base ship overlaps you, roll an attack die. On a hit or critical result that ship takes one damage and acquires one tractor token.

Don't know about the tractor token, but legit ramming would be nice, especially for something like the decimator that looks like it was meant to ram into things.

It's not stopping the movement it's forcing it into the poorly represented 3rd dimension.

After seeing what an A-wing can do to a Super Star Destroyer, a Decimator would definitely leave the comfort of 2D flight to avoid running into one.

Well large ships are often represented by have a large number of upgrade slots and options. So I don't think a large ship configuration would be needed. However a few modifications or other equipment type upgrade (illicit, system, tech) with the Large Ship and/or Medium Ship restriction would help. But Flying Fortresses have been shunned by the more vocal players of the competitive scenes for not being X-wing and by X-wing Arc Dodgers.

Maybe make a modification that can only be taken by large base ships? It could be called Reinforced Hull or something like that. Make it so that it only works when the ship with the upgrade bumps so that you can't kill a swarm by parking in front of it. Auto damage is something I think we want to avoid, so tying any damage to a die roll sounds good, though I don't think the tractor token fits. Perhaps roll two dice and suffer just the hits, rather than hits and crits both resulting in damage? That way it could potentially be pretty painful to try and block whatever is carrying this upgrade. I feel like that would help them a bit without making them indifferent to enemy positioning.

32 minutes ago, Marinealver said:

Well large ships are often represented by have a large number of upgrade slots and options. So I don't think a large ship configuration would be needed. However a few modifications or other equipment type upgrade (illicit, system, tech) with the Large Ship and/or Medium Ship restriction would help. But Flying Fortresses have been shunned by the more vocal players of the competitive scenes for not being X-wing and by X-wing Arc Dodgers.

But flying fortresses are fun, they melt under sustained fire from multiple ships, but its fun to slow roll in all dakka dakka dakka just taking hits to the chin. Maybe I play to much Empire in Armada...

42 minutes ago, Marinealver said:

Well large ships are often represented by have a large number of upgrade slots and options. So I don't think a large ship configuration would be needed. However a few modifications or other equipment type upgrade (illicit, system, tech) with the Large Ship and/or Medium Ship restriction would help. But Flying Fortresses have been shunned by the more vocal players of the competitive scenes for not being X-wing and by X-wing Arc Dodgers. 

I consider myself a competitive player (though, perhaps, not a vocal one). I actually tend to lean towards swarms as well when I play.

I think that large base ships need a balance correction. Normally that correction belongs in the realm of points adjustments (in this case, decreased points), however I believe that large base ships should be powerful, and thus they need something more. Since their stats are hard-coded (printed), the only space available is in upgrades... but most upgrades are bad.

Compounding the issue, if you reduce the cost of bad upgrades, people will just slap them on small-base ships.

Other than tending to possess more health (often offset by a lower agility), large base ships are at a disadvantage in almost every conceivable aspect of the game from increased chance to bump/overlap an obstacle to being less able to dodge arcs. Is it acceptable that a lone Vulture Droid can block the Falcon while his 7 buddies swarm him from behind too? I don't think it should be.

The tractor token was my way of representing a small ship being displaced by a larger one. Perhaps there is a better way to do that, but currently, large base ships (with few exceptions) do not hold up in the competitive scene.

6 hours ago, thespaceinvader said:

It's  not stopping the movement it's forcing it into the poorly represented 3rd  dimension.  

Anybody who watched Solo has seen what happens when a large ship moves in to occupy the same space as a small one...

3 hours ago, markrivett said:

The  tractor token was my way of representing a small ship being displaced  by a larger one. Perhaps there is a better way to do that, but currently, large base ships (with few exceptions) do not hold up in the competitive scene. 

I can see where you're going with the assign a tractor token bit. I think the effect should apply when the big ship bumps a small one rather than the other way around. That would discourage blocking.

At the risk of being too complicated, my proposal would be a large ship only mod/config that says something like:

W hen you complete your maneuver at range 0 of a small ship or would fail a [Boost] or [Barrel Roll] because of overlapping a small ship, assign a Tractor token to that ship. After the effects of the Tractor token are applied it is removed and the ship rolls one attack die. On a [hit] or [crit] it receives one damage and on a [focus] or [crit] it receives one Strain token.

I like that idea because you move the ship out of your way.

8 hours ago, markrivett said:

In a recent game I watched one player’s Millennium Falcon slam into a TIE Fighter, stop dead in its tracks, and get shot to pieces because of bad positioning.

But here’s the rub. The MF player put his ship into a bad position and got punished for it. There’s really only one response for this:

Git Gud scrub.

5 hours ago, ViscerothSWG said:

After seeing what an A-wing can do to a Super Star Destroyer, a Decimator would definitely leave the comfort of 2D flight to avoid running into one.

I was thinking this exactly as I read the OP.

I like the creativity, but this is one of the major aspects I hated about 1.0 epic. As soon as you allow for damage to be applied by collisions, the fundamentals of the game are thrown out the window and it becomes a game of dodgem cars.

I agree that the large bases need a little something, but I don't think its a battering ram. At least in epic, the capital ships are so large they barely move, but use that same mechanic on a Scimitar and it becomes a spearhead that can be quite easily steered into targets.

First of all, blocking is a fundamental part of the game that counterbalances ace play, its a fundamental of jousting in general. Dissuading players from using blocking tactics creates a whole other set of issues to contend with, and further strengthens the small base ace advantage in the long run.

The other issue is this fix doesn't affect the underlying issues. If my A-wing has a 50% chance to take a damage, but it still stops a large base and allows my entire gun line to light it up, I'm going to take that risk anyway. It doesn't lower the damage that the large base ship is going to take, and doesn't make it easier for that large base to dodge these blocking moves.

I would personally like to see something along the lines of impervium plating but generic for large base ships. When I think of large base ships on screen, they are taking hits and shaking them off, rather than smashing into things (Han Solo barrel-roll not included). If they had a way to mitigate the increased damage they take due being a larger target that would make quite a difference in my eyes. I don't mind investing points in a ship if I know its going to stick around. I think that might be another candidate for a scalable cost corresponding to initiative.

Hmm... All excellent points @BVRCH . Pushing aside a single ship does little to lighten the load of incoming fire from the remainder of a swarm.