This came up in a game two friends of mine were playing today. Garven had a focus, but did not have an available shot to take, nor was he shot at to spend the focus token to transfer it. I told them that if he rolled dice he could spend the focus for no benefit if he rolled all successes or blanks just to pass it along like it says in the FAQ, but I also said that if he didn't roll dice he would be unable to spend the focus on his turn to pass it off. I assume what I was saying was right, just looking for confimation.

I'm pretty sure you got it right.

That's my understanding of the rules as well.

Yeah, you're right - it's in the FAQ:

Q: Can Garven Dreis spend a focus token to modify dice even if he didn’t roll any [eye] symbols?
A: Yes.

Related questions:

Q: Can a ship spend a target lock and choose not to reroll any of its attack dice?
A: Yes.

Q: If a ship already has a lock on an enemy ship, can the locking ship acquire a target lock again on the same enemy ship in order to trigger an effect (such as “Dutch” Vander)?
A: No.

The more advanced version of the question: Can Garven spend the focus token when he actually rolled 0 dice but did attack or defend (there are critical hit cards that could reduce his agility to 0 or keep him from rolling on his next attack)?

I think the answer is still "yes." You still go through the attack/defense process even when the number of dice rolled was 0 and thus can spend the focus token to change all 0 of you [eyeball] results.

Yeah, I agree with that interpretation.

Yeah I think the FAQ made it pretty clear that Garven doesn't actually need to DO much of anything with it.

If he HAS the focus, he can pass it off. It surprised me a bit but his use of it seems like it can be almost entirely theoretical.

He does have to be able to make an attack though, even if he can't roll any dice. Odd that the FAQ phrased it specifically around him though, “a pilot” would have been better, as it would cover as yet unreleased situations.

or attacked.

Yeah

He does have to be able to make an attack though, even if he can't roll any dice. Odd that the FAQ phrased it specifically around him though, “a pilot” would have been better, as it would cover as yet unreleased situations.

Where does it say this? It says he has to "spend a focus token," not "be able to make an attack." And it was made pretty clear to me that the 'spend' part of the phrase didn't require him to actually apply it to anything. He didn't have to actually modify any dice, for example. Worst case I would say that he could just as easily spend it on a defensive dice modification he never actually rolls, just as easily as an offensive one. And the ruling as it was explained to me made it clear that him 'spending' it was very loosely defined, since he didn't need the focus to actually DO something for it to be spent.

I mean make an attack even if he doesn't roll any dice - ie there has to be someone in range, and in his arc (or somebody attacking him, even if he rolls no defence dice). The only occasions to spend a focus token are during an attack.

Yep, I get from the way things are worded that you need to have made an attack or defense roll (I believe 0 dice is still counted as a roll), but you don't need any eyes to spend the focus.

Garven can't just pass it off at will - he has to be able to spend it. That pretty much means he has to get to Step 3 when he's making an attack, or Step 5 if someone is attacking him. I can't think of any other situation where he would have an opportunity to spend the token.

The FAQ clarifies that assuming you have the opportunity to do so, you can spend the token regardless of whether you'll gain any benefit from doing so. It doesn't let you spend it whenever you want.