As revealed on the points discussion today, the rules for Tractor Beams will be updated.

In short; after moving your opponent's ship as a result of a tractor, that opponent has the option of receiving a stress token to rotate their ship 90 degrees one way or the other. This option is only available if they are moved - if you tractor them just for the agility reduction and do NOT move them, they can't do this. And it's optional, they don't HAVE to choose to do that.

Per the interview: the point of the change was that the designer's felt the biggest problem with the tractor beam as it was, is that it removed player agency from the defender. Basically that there was no counter to it or decision to make about it, you were simply passively getting hosed without any counter-action.

So they added an option for a counter-action.

Is it enough? Too much? Tractors still an NPE?

1 minute ago, xanderf said:

As revealed on the points discussion today, the rules for Tractor Beams will be updated.

In short; after moving your opponent's ship as a result of a tractor, that opponent has the option of receiving a stress token to rotate their ship 90 degrees one way or the other. This option is only available if they are moved - if you tractor them just for the agility reduction and do NOT move them, they can't do this. And it's optional, they don't HAVE to choose to do that.

Discuss?

As long as the asteroids still say "hello you can't shoot while on me..."

I thought it was "rotate 90 degrees OR get a stress."

Just now, Cloaker said:

As long as the asteroids still say "hello you can't shoot while on me..."

Counter-point: don't fly near asteroids when you are facing an enemy with tractor beams?

I think the point of the change wasn't to nerf tractors, per say, but rather to give the defender some control over the result. And you can choose to fly near asteroids, or away from asteroids, so you already had that choice. What made tractors an NPE otherwise was that no matter how good you DID fly, now matter how well you boxed your opponent in, they could tractor you and deny you the shot you worked for or otherwise completely nullify what decisions you DID make in that turn.

Just now, xanderf said:

Counter-point: don't fly near asteroids when you are facing an enemy with tractor beams?

I think the point of the change wasn't to nerf tractors, per say, but rather to give the defender some control over the result. And you can choose to fly near asteroids, or away from asteroids, so you already had that choice. What made tractors an NPE otherwise was that no matter how good you DID fly, now matter how well you boxed your opponent in, they could tractor you and deny you the shot you worked for or otherwise completely nullify what decisions you DID make in that turn.

agreed

7 minutes ago, Averross said:

I thought it was "rotate 90 degrees OR get a stress."

No, that wouldn't make any sense at all. Why would you ever choose not to rotate?? LOL...

Starts at about 20 minutes in the vid:

Gain stress TO rotate. Only when attacked with tractor (cannot do it on self-tractor), and it's the defender's choice.

8 minutes ago, xanderf said:

What made tractors an NPE otherwise was that no matter how good you DID fly, now matter how well you boxed your opponent in, they could tractor you and deny you the shot you worked for or otherwise completely nullify what decisions you DID make in that turn.

Uh, don't get shot??

Quote

I think the point of the change wasn't to nerf tractors, per say, but rather to give the defender some control over the result.

Yeah, I remember that scene vividly. Han saying, "We're caught in a tractor beam!! Luckily I still have some agency and we're just going to spin and head into the landing bay ***-end first. They won't get me without some rotation."

Just now, xanderf said:

No, that wouldn't make any sense at all. Why would you ever choose not to rotate??

I mean, if I had a great shot lined up that would be ruined by a rotate, then yeah, I'd take the stress.

I like it. I've had too many ships tractored into a position forcing them to fly off the board.

It's a really good change, and shows that the designers have some good brains behind what they think. Tractoring to just deny shots now isn't much of a thing, but if you're not paying attention you're likely to still get wrecked by asteroids and debris, and it still punishes aces that want a stress by forcing them to double stress to rotate. I like it. Also basically makes tractoring your opponent off the board impossible. Also Sun Fac + 6 droids won't be a thing anymore anyway, so I'm curious to see where all this lands.

Just now, Averross said:

I mean, if I had a great shot lined up that would be ruined by a rotate, then yeah, I'd take the stress.

Okay, well...that's not how it works.

If the attacker tractors you and doesn't move you, nothing happens.

If the attacker tractors you and DOES move you...you can stay put, just as normal, wherever your attacker moved you, OR (this is the change) you can now take a stress token to rotate 90 degrees left or right.

2 minutes ago, Darth Meanie said:

Yeah, I remember that scene vividly. Han saying, "We're caught in a tractor beam!! Luckily I still have some agency and we're just going to spin and head into the landing bay ***-end first. They won't get me without some rotation."

Clearly Han didn't want to get stressed? (It would also ruin the illusion he was trying to pitch of the ship being abandoned after takeoff)

16 minutes ago, xanderf said:

As revealed on the points discussion today, the rules for Tractor Beams will be updated.

In short; after moving your opponent's ship as a result of a tractor, that opponent has the option of receiving a stress token to rotate their ship 90 degrees one way or the other. This option is only available if they are moved - if you tractor them just for the agility reduction and do NOT move them, they can't do this. And it's optional, they don't HAVE to choose to do that.

Per the interview: the point of the change was that the designer's felt the biggest problem with the tractor beam as it was, is that it removed player agency from the defender. Basically that there was no counter to it or decision to make about it, you were simply passively getting hosed without any counter-action.

So they added an option for a counter-action.

Is it enough? Too much? Tractors still an NPE?

I think it's a nice change. It will certainly allow the devs the space to lower the points cost of things that shoot off tractor beams.

5 minutes ago, Darth Meanie said:

Uh, don't get shot??

Yeah, I remember that scene vividly. Han saying, "We're caught in a tractor beam!! Luckily I still have some agency and we're just going to spin and head into the landing bay ***-end first. They won't get me without some rotation."

This game would be VASTLY different if it followed the fluff more.

12 minutes ago, tracker7 said:

I like it. I've had too many ships tractored into a position forcing them to fly off the board.

11 minutes ago, DarkArk said:

Tractoring to just deny shots now isn't much of a thing,

Both of the above both seem the whole point in tractoring, so I guess I'm a little confused about why this is such a big issue. Then again, no one seems to be doing it in my local milieu.

7 minutes ago, Skitch_ said:

This game would be VASTLY different if it followed the fluff more.

Fair enough. Tractor Beams don't actually "tractor" a **** thing, so "whatever is the rule's effect but it ain't a tractor beam" in the first place.

7 minutes ago, xanderf said:

Okay, well...that's not how it works.

You asked a question and I answered it. I wasn't arguing what I thought it should be, I was only interpreting it based on what I thought I heard in the stream.

9 minutes ago, Averross said:

You asked a question and I answered it. I wasn't arguing what I thought it should be, I was only interpreting it based on what I thought I heard in the stream.

Fair enough, apologies for the tone of reply then. I had misunderstood your comment to be arguing the mechanic rather than explaining a comment, that's my bad.

45 minutes ago, Averross said:

I thought it was "rotate 90 degrees OR get a stress."

FWIW, I also heard it the same way you did. On reflection, it didn't make sense, but in the moment I definitely heard that.

So ensnare got double nerfed? Why though?

1 hour ago, Matanui3 said:

So ensnare got double nerfed? Why though?

Because nobody facing it enjoyed having all choice removed from their game. The attacker was often able to dictate their final position, facing, and who they could shoot at.