I am a bit new here, so forgive me if this has been posted before, but I thought it would be nice if some of us posted tips we wish we had gotten when we first got into this game.

- Don't ignore the usefulness of a Koiogran Turn. I know, it's a red maneuver that prevents actions with the stress, but it also allows you to get a burst into the tail section of an enemy fighter in such a way as to prevent them from shooting back.

- Relying on missiles may be a mistake. Unless you can guarantee a good hit by attacking something with low agility, they're probably a waste of points that could be used on something like an Engine Upgrade.

- Try to remember to make your ships work together. The abilities are not usually designed to work on their own, and many of them are good to use together. Biggs and Wedge or Luke is a good combo for instance, because Biggs takes the heat off the other ship while they attack the enemy force.

good thread to start up.

* practice moving your squad on your own (without an opponent), especially the setup you want. Place some asteroids in on your side of the playing surface. Sure the asteroid placement will be variable in an actual game. But look closely at how your ships move in the first 3-4 turns. Work on formation flying if thats a benefit to your squad. Try different setups, some with two or three wings if u have the ships to do it. Look at spacing and pick out imaginary targets (place an enemy ship out there if u want) and see how you'd approach it early in the game. This really helped me get better with a 6 ship imperial build i was using for a while.

-Don't always go for a green maneuver to clear stress when you have it, it helps you be more unpredictable

- Understand how the ships function without upgrades, if you practice with stock ships, you'll get a feel for what they can do, how they fly and what their weaknesses are, it's harder to see this when you're blinded by upgrade cards and pilot abilities...

- Notice that the length of a small ship base = the length of the 1 straight maneuver , likewise notice the relationship for the large ships base.

I agree with all these statements an cant stress the benefit of getting better/ learning where your ship will end its movement, whether avoiding an asteroid, bump or, in or out of arcs.

Also learn to play your squad bot to its strengths and against the opponents weaknesses.

Eg your flying interceptors with stealth. This is actually quite a defensive squad using range to It's advantage living to keep plugging away, don't get tempted to be too agressive with it.

There are many examples but practice is the only true answer.

With two identical squads the better should win more often.

I would liken it to poker. Everyone professional or amature gets equal share of good or crap cards but it is what the pros do with thiwr crap cards that makes them pros.

Sorry for waffling

the most important tip for a beginner

get 2 core set, seriously get 2 core set.

pimping out 1 unit isn't as effective as spreading out the upgrades to your whole list (HSF list not withstanding)

and also always pray to the dice gods, anger them and your wining rate will be low no matter how good you play

Remember to space out ships in a formation so they have enough room to bank- the bases are wider diagonally.

Remember to space out ships in a formation so they have enough room to bank- the bases are wider diagonally.

Yes. learn that two ships next to each other that both perform a 2 bank will collide if the gap is not big enough.

Have a little play on your own trying out banks and turns to see which collide

Don't fly into asteroids.

Don't fly into your own ships.

Don't fly into asteroids.

Before you get into advanced tactics, you absolutely need to get a handle on the things you can control. Now bear in mind I'm still new to the game myself but I know most of my mistakes thus far are my own piloting skills.

- Remember that extra dice for defense at range three and offense at range one only apply to primary weapons (not secondary weapons) and use that to your advantage.

Number one tip I have: play the long game. It's often a better move to set yourself up for future turns than to force yourself into a K-turn or some other maneuver that increases your short-term gain but puts you at higher risk. You don't HAVE to shoot every ship every turn.

From the list building thread.

There are two methods to creating an effective squadron. Choose one when you start to build a squadron, and stick to it.

1 - The Generalist: This is where diversity and flexibility shine. The goal is to create a squadron that will minimize its weaknesses. For example, Han shoots first. A large ship gives you good strength vs. an alpha strike, since it is almost impossible to kill a 13 hit point ship in one pass. Two Rookies provides you with some needed firepower in order to drop an opponent's large ship faster than he drops yours. Han's accuracy and 360 turret provides protection vs. high maneuverability/agility lists. HSF is a good list because it lacks any major weaknesses.

2 - The Specialist: This is where focus and maximization comes into play. The goal is to create a squadron that does one thing so well, that it can eliminate an opponent before its weaknesses can be exploited. For example, the Saber squadron (4 x Sabers with PTL and Stealth). This squadron plays to the maneuverability and high agility of Interceptors in order to maximize their defense. By getting high PS Sabers and using PTL, you are hoping to be able to consistently put your ships in positions where they cannot be shot at. Adding Stealth works well with the Sabers natural 3 agility and the possibility of an evade token from PTL to make them difficult targets to hit when they are shot at. This is a good list because no matter who you face you are a difficult target to hit.

When playing HSF, you will want to alter your play style based on what you meet. If you meet another large ship list, you will want to maneuver your big ship in front and allow it to combine fire with your two Rookies in order to put out more damage per turn than your opponent. Ideally, you will eliminate your opponent's support ships first in order to create an even greater imbalance in damage output, since dropping them is the quickest way to degrade your opponent's damage output. If you meet a swarm, you will want to use your Rookies to screen your Falcon. Han is your greatest asset against Agility 3 ships, so you will want to keep as much damage off him as you can while he puts accurate shots past your opponents defenses.

When playing Sabers, you want to maximize your defense no matter who you are playing against. The mistake I see people running this list (or others like it) make, is trying to play the list offensively. Specialist lists like this one must do everything they can to maximize their own strengths, not overcome weaknesses. So, if you use your PTL to boost and focus for a point blank shot on a Falcon, you will lose because you are not leveraging your strength. What will happen there is you will do 3 or 4 points of damage, and your opponent will shoot back and vaporize your tokenless Saber. On the other hand, if you accepted the Range 2 shot, but put focus and an evade on (and didn't use focus for offense), you will deal 1 or 2 points of damage but receive zero or 1 damage in return. Doing the math, it should be clear that 4 damage once is less effective than 2 damage over 3 turns.

When you make a list, know whether you are making a generalist list or a specialist list. Then, make every ship and upgrade work towards that end. Finally, when playing the list remember what kind of list it is and play it that way. Do not try to fly a generalist list the same way against everyone, and don't try to fly a specialist defensive list as an offensive juggernaut.

Having said all that, all lists are not equal. HSF is a better list than Sabers, because Han is very, very good at being a generalist and Sabers are only pretty good at defense. But by sticking to your design philosophy, you can make sure that each list is as good as it can be.

To which I would add something that seems obvious, but I see people screw up all the time. Any time you can get a shot, no matter how bad it is, without being shot at in return, that is the better choice. I see people leave their ships vulnerable all the time, believing their 4 dice shot at PS 6 will drop their target first, only to have the opponent evade well and blast their ship to pieces.

I shared this in another thread , but I think this may be helpful for beginners, especially those who struggle with spatial referencing (i.e. the ones that keep crashing).

Turns

Turns can be pretty tricky. You know they move you 90 degrees to port or starboard, but when your ship is at an angle it can be difficult to estimate where it's going to land. Here's the tip.

Imagine there is a line running from the back corner of your ship, to the opposite front corner (on the side that you want to turn towards). Your new location will be along this line, but it will change distance depending on the speed you've chosen.

You'll have to practice seeing how different speeds land you varying distances from your starting point. I don't have a good way to estimate that, but this has still been extremely useful for me.

An opposing ship's next move will always put it within its current arc of fire.

Maneuver against no one and play against everyone (even your buddy's 8 year old!). You can't ever over practice your placements and playing against anyone will make you more prepared for every kind of play and every shift in play. Seriously, I learned more from playing against that kid than against his dad.

Ive found most of this thread helpful. Kineticoperator, not sure if that's a cut n paste from a point by you but, in a thread for beginners, a post with a lot of acronyms and community specific language isn't helpful. Just an fyi.

It is a cut and paste, and here's the meaning:

HSF = Han Shoots First, a popular competitive build featuring a Han Solo Millenium Falcon and usually 2 X-Wings. Very difficult to beat.

PTL = Push the Limit elite pilot skill

PS = pilot skill

* Play BOTH factions. This depends on what available ships u have but even with a few core sets you should get behind the controls of tie-figter and x-wing ships. As your collection grows you can add more ships to your squads but playing both factions lets you understand the strengths and weaknesses of your enemy and will also let you predict their movements more often in an actual battle.

Yes, it was a cut and paste. Thank you for saying something, Grabula. After decades of wearing a uniform of one type or another, even having now that I have been out for awhile it is hard to remember most people don't speak acronym. I do get carried away sometimes...

And thank you Kestrel for translating.

An opposing ship's next move will always put it within its current arc of fire.

Very useful - but also important to remember that it applies to the move, boost, barrel roll and daredevil will can change the final outcome.

This thread has been very helpful, thanks guys!

I shared this in another thread , but I think this may be helpful for beginners, especially those who struggle with spatial referencing (i.e. the ones that keep crashing).

Turns

Turns can be pretty tricky. You know they move you 90 degrees to port or starboard, but when your ship is at an angle it can be difficult to estimate where it's going to land. Here's the tip.

Imagine there is a line running from the back corner of your ship, to the opposite front corner (on the side that you want to turn towards). Your new location will be along this line, but it will change distance depending on the speed you've chosen.

You'll have to practice seeing how different speeds land you varying distances from your starting point. I don't have a good way to estimate that, but this has still been extremely useful for me.

This was really useful. I got pretty good at predicting where my ships would end up after a couple of games, but with this tip I feel like I'll be able to predict with even more accuracy. I started messing around with a maneuver program to see if there was a similar relationship for a bank maneuver. It seems to me that there is a relationship as follows:

Draw a line from the back corner of your ship opposite to the direction of the turn you are doing (as in the previous example) such that it passes through the front center point of your ship (rather than the opposite corner).

After the bank maneuver is performed, the front center point of your ship in its new position will like along this line, or at least very close to it.

I have not done a really careful measurement of this, but it seems to work fairly well. Unfortunately, it is based on the front center point, which is not clearly marked and must be estimated by finding the midpoint between the two front guides for the templates.

This may not end up being helpful for people. If someone else has a better way to predict the outcome of a bank maneuver, I would love to see it!

An opposing ship's next move will always put it within its current arc of fire.

not always, depends on whether they have additional moves in the form of Actions. But it's a useful thing to know, works for most ships

Speaking to the whole crashing into your own ships thing, remember to keep higher skilled pilots behind your pilots with lower skill. The low skilled pilots will move first, and they'll bump into the likes of Wedge and "Howlrunner" if they are in the way.

This applies to more than just setup. In one game I had Wedge and two Rookies in a straight line in one corner, with Wedge on the inside so he could shoot the enemies in the opposite corner sooner. They moved straight up, then they all turned 2 to enter the asteroid field. Huge problem now: Wedge was in the front of the line with two Rookies following him. So do I bump the Rookies into Wedge so he still has his action, or do I try to make them overshoot him? Either way I ended up losing a lot of actions. If only I had realized that Wedge should have been on the outside during setup, then things would have been much smoother.

There are technical recommendations, and tactical ones. Develop your own tactical personality, and keep evolving it. For the technical side, you can debate the stats all day, but a Heavy Laser Cannon that can't maximize it's opportunities isn't worth the points. Checklist your pilot skill by value, know your maneuvers, and your opponent's. Learning your maneuvers is vital, but if you don't plot in order, you will fail. This will open up some options to you in your roster development as well, as you'll learn high, medium and low pilot skills all have a purpose.

Learn to build a fleet by the numbers. Your fleet idea has many dozens of possible builds, and the more obscure or crazy ideas can work better for you.

Learn to build a fleet by Synergy. Han-Shoots-First works off of the Synergy of Han Solo's ability to re-roll all of the dice in an attack with the Gunner or Luke Skywalker co-pilot ability to fire a second salvo if the first misses.

For a more extreme example, Kyle Katarn (HWK pilot, level 6) in the Moldy Crow (Title of the HWK), with a Recon Specialist (Co-pilot) and a Blaster Turret (Turret secondary-weapon), hanging out with his best buddy Garvin Dreis (X Wing Pilot, level 6) can pass Focus Tokens around the rest of your fleet, without ever actually running out of them. Focuses are one of the few abilities usable in both offence and defense, giving this fleet a good amount of utility. Also note that there is plenty of space after these two ships to add a third and several upgrades.... up to you

- go easy on secondary weapons, especially proton torpedoes. wave3 will make them better than they were previously but the jury is still out on whether they r worth the points investment.

- have a close look at squads winning x-wing tournaments, ask yourself what makes them good? Look to see if the ships complement each other in some way (they most likely will have some type of synegy).