Do you think that droids will be or should be upgrades for the larger ships. Both the Empire and Rebels used them. R2 was on board the shuttle, Tantive IV and Falcon. What do you think would they make a good upgrade

could you imagine han with nien and r2d2?

I must admit that my Star Wars trivia knowledge is severly lacking as I spent that time trying to get girls naked but weren't the astro droids made for the purpose of reparing large ships in flight. Like in the Episode 1 movie where George Lucas shows how much he hates us Star Wars fans, the droids go out on the outer hull to make repairs during a space battle. Surprised my subconscious hasn't blocked that out, anyway, that is my recollection.

I must admit that my Star Wars trivia knowledge is severly lacking as I spent that time trying to get girls naked but weren't the astro droids made for the purpose of reparing large ships in flight. Like in the Episode 1 movie where George Lucas shows how much he hates us Star Wars fans, the droids go out on the outer hull to make repairs during a space battle. Surprised my subconscious hasn't blocked that out, anyway, that is my recollection.

that's not the point

They didn't add the astromec droids for the same reason lamdas don't have elite pilot talents. It would have broken the game

See how the X-Wing and Y-Wings have a specific astromech port on the back of them? That's why they can accommodate (and utilise the upgrades of) astromech droids.

Just because an astromech droid can travel aboard a larger ship, doesn't mean their abilities can be put to use by the ship. Personally, I don't think it fits canon at all.

See how the X-Wing and Y-Wings have a specific astromech port on the back of them? That's why they can accommodate (and utilise the upgrades of) astromech droids.

Just because an astromech droid can travel aboard a larger ship, doesn't mean their abilities can be put to use by the ship. Personally, I don't think it fits canon at all.

Or, the types of ships are not available at present. R2D2 did a load of work on the Falcon in various situations, it is not too out of "canon" to see a droid on either the Falcon or Slave 1 that performed some sort of duty.

It sounds crazy but they could be crew. Also what about in cinimatic play or in games of more than 100 points. A ship with one evade can't do much if there are 4 or 5 ties flying around in a pack. I'm just thinking where the game could be headed. As people get bigger fleets you jsut know there going to start playing beyond the 100 point

I must admit that my Star Wars trivia knowledge is severly lacking as I spent that time trying to get girls naked but weren't the astro droids made for the purpose of reparing large ships in flight. Like in the Episode 1 movie where George Lucas shows how much he hates us Star Wars fans, the droids go out on the outer hull to make repairs during a space battle. Surprised my subconscious hasn't blocked that out, anyway, that is my recollection.

that's not the point

They didn't add the astromec droids for the same reason lamdas don't have elite pilot talents. It would have broken the game

Would it have broken the game with the current point system? I agree with you that you could pack a lot into one ship were the options available but there is a point where the damage output potential drops below a servicable level. You could put 93 points into a Slave 1 and then try to fend off 4 A-wings....good luck!!

Or, the types of ships are not available at present. R2D2 did a load of work on the Falcon in various situations, it is not too out of "canon" to see a droid on either the Falcon or Slave 1 that performed some sort of duty.

But the work he did on the Falcon was vastly different to his standard astromech work aboard a fighter.

You could most certainly add a crew character to the Falcon for a droid or even R2-D2 specifically. However I would expect droids to give a different bonus to large ships, and I would expect them to operate as crew - since there is no astromech slot on the large ships.

if han solo took r2d2, chewie, and nien numb, he would have his hull + shields + 2 damage +amount r2d2 heals.

Here would be the point cost

Han Solo
-Chewbacca

-Nien Numb

-R2d2

-Shield Upgrade (OPTIONAL)

55/59 Points for a tank that can just destroy ships.

Sure you loose marksman but who cares if you can constantly do green maneuvers and regen 1 shield then chewie off another two damage.

Or lets look at the basic r2 unit, all 1-2 speed maneuvers green......Ok so my hard 1 on lando is now a green move, opening up my movement options and my ability to pass around a free action much more efficient. Combo with nien numb and now I can do all 1-2 maneuvers + my straights.

Chewbacca with shield upgrade, millennium falcon and r2d2, good luck taking that guy out, he would be the hardest kill in the game.

If you don't believe me try playtesting the combos and see how much harder the falcon would be to take down, it would take a significant point increase to balance out taking a droid.

It doesn't look like having droids on large ships has any chance of working. It was and idea i had, i havn't played all that much but thought it was a cool idea looks like it wasn't a good idea. OK so mabey not large ships but why not other ships, FFG talks about how the new ships (hwk-290 and Lambda) change and add to the mata game and that was my thinking behind droids on ships other than fighters

It doesn't look like having droids on large ships has any chance of working. It was and idea i had, i havn't played all that much but thought it was a cool idea looks like it wasn't a good idea. OK so mabey not large ships but why not other ships, FFG talks about how the new ships (hwk-290 and Lambda) change and add to the mata game and that was my thinking behind droids on ships other than fighters

They could definitely add in new ships (plenty still available) that act similar to the yt-1300 or y-wing and can take the droid upgrade. The issue is looking so far down the line, then having to look backwards with the stuff the are adding in. Looking for broken combos or trying to avoid a single "A-Llst" has obviously been one of their main focuses.

Instead of astromec droids maybe in-flight computers (similar to the SWG ship attachments) that are similar to droids in a way but do their own thing. Other "large ship only" modifications would be a cool idea as well. Only time will tell.

I've always thought the outer rim smuggler was a bit too generic, I'd like to see an elite smuggler card for the yt1300 with loads of upgrade options.

-Higher ps with Attack 0.

-option for a turret or cannon.

-crew member, astromech and advanced systems slots.

Perhaps limited to one from each of the lists above to stop abuse such as r2 d2 with nien numb.

Or we can just hope for alternative R2-D2 upgrade card which instead of beng Droid Upgrade will be a Rebel Only Crew Upgrade - with different ability, of course Who knows, maybe he will be one of he cards in Tantive?

Yeah I was thinking about this an an alternative R2-D2 which is crew is probably the way to go, though it should probably do something slightly different.

In other words what Shanturin said.

Well this isn't Attack Wing. Any card for anything isn't the way this game rolls.

if han solo took r2d2, chewie, and nien numb, he would have his hull + shields + 2 damage +amount r2d2 heals.

Here would be the point cost

Han Solo

-Chewbacca

-Nien Numb

-R2d2

-Shield Upgrade (OPTIONAL)

55/59 Points for a tank that can just destroy ships.

Sure you loose marksman but who cares if you can constantly do green maneuvers and regen 1 shield then chewie off another two damage.

Or lets look at the basic r2 unit, all 1-2 speed maneuvers green......Ok so my hard 1 on lando is now a green move, opening up my movement options and my ability to pass around a free action much more efficient. Combo with nien numb and now I can do all 1-2 maneuvers + my straights.

Chewbacca with shield upgrade, millennium falcon and r2d2, good luck taking that guy out, he would be the hardest kill in the game.

If you don't believe me try playtesting the combos and see how much harder the falcon would be to take down, it would take a significant point increase to balance out taking a droid.

Are you looking at adding a droid slot IN ADDITION to the basic crew requirements? I thought we were just considering replacing crew with droids. Thus you could COMBINE R2 and R2-D2 on a YT-1300 for some VERY consistent shield boosting. If you actually can get some helpers I'd actually go with Chewie (Pilot) and a gunner over Han and Chewie as you can avoid all crits that way where some could slip by and hit Han, especially with Proton bombs in the mix.

Larger ships are probably assumed to have a compliment of droids on board to give the ship it's base stats (like a rebel blockade runner for example). I don't think swapping one r2 for another type of r2 on board is really going to have as much impact as it would on a fighter.

Same thing for the falcon, i think a ships computer upgrade would be more fitting than a droid..

In-Universe Argument

Astromech droids interact with fighters in which they are mounted in a drastically different way than other ships in which they are crew.

When an astromech droid is mounted in its socket in a starfighter, it is directly interfacing with essentially all of that starfighters systems. This is what makes them such useful co-pilots, as they can reroute power and perform calculations while the pilot performs other duties. In some instances, they can even maneuver the ship and use its weapons with moderate effectiveness. Furthermore, they are usually located near the center of the starfighter, and so some models can physically repair or at least bypass damage that the starfighter sustains. This near-total access to the starfighter allows them to contribute so much to its performance.

In larger ships, the systems are more numerous, more complex, and farther apart. These ships have integral navigational and combat computers where most starfighters have only limited preset hyperjump memory and relatively simple targeting computers. If I remember correctly, some fluff refers to the Millennium Falcon's systems being controlled by no less than three individual droid brains integrated with the ship, and their disagreements lead to some of her malfunctions. With multi-being crews and more advanced systems, the presence of astromech droids on such a ship simply doesn't matter as much as it does on a starfighter. Anything it can do, a trained crewman or integral computer can do better.

Game Balance Argument

Nothing mechanically prevents a ship from having both Astromech and Crew Upgrade slots. However, existing Astromech Upgrade Card abilities were written with starfighters in mind. R2-D2, R2-F2, and R5-D8, in particular, have defensive abilities well-suited for the moderate agility, hull, and shield values of medium and large fighters. When applied to multi-person ships, their effects are far out of proportion to their point costs. The Lambda Shieldshuttle (R2-D2 + Shield Upgrade, he's not listed as Rebel only). A YT-zombie (Chewbacca Pilot + R5-D8 + Hull Upgrade for infinite repairs). The TIErespray (Boba Fett + Push the Limit + R2-F2 + Stealth Device for 4 defense dice with evade). Even the generic R2 Astromech would turn Jan Ors's special ability into an Imperial nightmare.

Think about Pilot special abilities. They were written with one specific ship type in mind (although we may see some Unique pilots double up onto new ships in the future). Wedge with access to anything with a Turret Arc would be terrifying. Mauler Mithel and Backstabber were not written to fly TIE Interceptors (5 attack dice at Range 1 and outside enemy arc!). Maarek Steele should never touch something with a Torpedo slot. Biggs in a YT-1300, 'nuff said.

Final Opinion

Large ships that use astromechs in the same way as starfighters do are vanishingly rare, and extremely specialized. I could see FFG releasing a J-327 Nubian (the Episode I Naboo Royal Starship) with one Astromech Droid Upgrade slot, alongside 2 Crew slots. However, since this ship has no weapons, we would need a wider selection of Crew Upgrade Cards to make such a ship worthwile. I can't think of any other ship that could utilize or would benefit from astromech droids in a way that would necessitate a specific Astromech Upgrade slot, as opposed to a Crew Upgrade slot where the crew are described as being mechanical, rather than biological.

TL; DR: No, with the J-327 Nubian being the exception that proves the rule.

Honestly, I would not at all be surprised if another R2-D2 as "crew" card was printed which would solve most of these issues. I have thought the same thing, thats its odd that droids can't be crew, but I expect that they kept them separate to help with balance issues.

Originally I was hoping that FFG separated the pilots, droid, etc... from the craft. Looking at some of the STAW builds and knowing how this game is balanced I am no longer hoping they do that.

Some of the combinations will critically change if not break the game.

My idea was to make a C-3PO crew card (rebel only) which allows you to use an astromech slot. Since people think R2-D2 is "broken" if put on a YT-1300, try this:

C-3PO (Crew. Rebel Only) [Cost: 2?]: You may treat one of your [Crew] as if it were [Astromech].

Now, you have to use both crew spots on a YT to achieve it. It allows for the thematic use of R2D2 and C3PO together on the Falcon, but it costs you 6 points (could be more if necessary), plus the opportunity cost of using up BOTH of your crew slots on the Falcon. So, no stacking Nien or Gunner or Chewbacca, or combo with another Astromech in the second crew slot.

C-3PO (Crew. Rebel Only) [Cost: 2?]: You may treat one of your [Crew] as if it were [Astromech].

That wouldn't be so bad. Would avoid some of the worse combos, by effectively limiting you to just R2D2.

Droids just perform different duties on large ships. R2D2 couldnt add a shield to the immensely larger Millenium Falcon any more than an r2 could make all green manuevers on a lambda.

What about if you needed multiply droids to have an effect?