I'm struggling in my campaign to think of situations where this talent comes into play, especially due to the number of ranks my Slicer PC has to take in it to get to his other talents...

So my question is: what situations have you had where Defensive Slicing came into play?

The only time it's come up so far was for preventing Imperial Customs from seeing through the fake ID the PCs' starship was bearing.

If anyone uses the "Slice Enemy's Systems" starship action on the players you could replace the default difficulty of Hard with your slicer player's Computers skill with all the upgrades from Defensive Slicer. I'm in precisely the same situation as you, and I've done this to my slicer player's great satisfaction.

I've got a new player joining us this weekend, making a Wookiee Outlaw Tech. I'm sure hell be getting the talent soon. The next storyline is gonna be some safe cracking, so I want to see about coming up with something for him to be included.

When my slicer is in the grid so to speak, I use his defensive slicer talent when I roll the bad guy slicer's attempt to retake the system.

Just because the bad guy isn't present, doesn't mean he can't affect the battle.

For example, have the computers control things like the turrets shooting the PCs, the atmo, the gravity, the elevator bringing the bad guy reinforcements from H3NCHM4N-R-US. Then the PC slicer can try to roll to grab control over one of the systems. I usually use opposing slicer skill as a base difficulty, x number of black dice for the firewall/security system, and an additional if the NPC slicer has defensive slicing himself. Once the PC gains control over a system, the NPC can then try to "hack" it back, in that case his defensive slicing kicks in.

In all, makes for a fun encounter for a character who hacks things. He also feels like the most important person in the room, although the other PCs trying to hold off those bad guy reinforcements with guns might disagree.

I've got a new player joining us this weekend, making a Wookiee Outlaw Tech. I'm sure hell be getting the talent soon. The next storyline is gonna be some safe cracking, so I want to see about coming up with something for him to be included.

So, yeah I just realized that's in the Slicer, not Outlaw Tech. *sigh*

dammit, MoonMoon.

There are five basic archetypes of character abilities:

Offensive combat

These kill things. Often spectacularly. Players like these because they are "active", not in the sense of game mechanics, but that the player decides when to use them, and they achieve immediately visible positive results.

Defensive combat

These keep the player alive. They aren't as popular as offensive combat abilities because they are "passive": their use is determined by the GM's actions, rather than the player's; and they prevent negative results rather than achieving positive ones, but players still appreciate them because they visibly prevent Wounds, Strain, or other effects.

Utility

These give lots of options. They are a mix of "active" and "passive", but since they often facilitate other abilities rather than achieving results on their own, that distinction is irrelevant. Somewhat popular, but usually taken specifically to augment another ability of the character rather than for their own sake.

Offensive non-combat

These allow the player to affect their surroundings. While they usually aren't as flashy as offensive combat abilities, their use is still initiated by the player, and certain types (like hacking) are very popular.

Defensive non-combat

These protect the character from their surroundings. Their use is almost entirely determined by the GM. When most successful, they result in nothing tangible, because they are preventing something that isn't tangible in the same way that an incoming blaster bolt is. Rarely used, and therefore unpopular.

Defensive Slicing falls into the last category, as do a number of other oft-overlooked abilities. Few players go out of their way to take these because few GMs put players in situations where they are necessary. As the categories suggest, they are used primarily when the PC is on the defensive in a non-combat situation.

In other words, they are used when an NPC is on the offensive in a non-combat situation. This isn't something that happens too often, as it requires the GM to be proactive about controlling NPCs, rather than just having them react. It's easy to be passive as a GM, especially given the players' natural tendencies to do things and the fact that you are responsible for orders of magnitude of more stuff than they are. But when you can do it, abilities like this come into their own.

So have your NPCs start putting pressure on the players, and not just in a blaster-bolts-and-vibro-axes sort of way. Have their opponents take the initiative. Bounty hunters slice their bank accounts to track them, customs officers insist on detailed inspections of their ident chips or cargo manifests, criminals try to scam them, etc.