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Hello guys, im looking to start Firestorm armada.

I know little to nothing of the game and was looking for help deciding on which race to play
also could you nice dudes give me a run down of each races strenghs and weakneses (not power levels as i dont want to pick the hardest race on purpose)
also an opinion of the coolest looking stuff

if it helps i LOVE Babylon 5 and would love a earth armada fleet sort of thing, like fighters and cruisers... you get the idea

Well, I don't have a lot of direct experience with some fleets, but the Terrans (my main fleet) are good all-arounders. They aren't fast, but they do have shields, lots of torpedoes, and the most flexible firing arcs in the game. As such, they probably have the shallowest learning curve in the game.

The Sorylians (my other fleet) are the "assaulty" race. Their units tend to be faster, and they have lots of boarding potential. Their firepower, while nothing to sneeze at, isn't the best in the game.

In general, the different sides are roundly considered fairly balanced, though. It might just come down to which models you like best .

Last I heard you'd gone for the Directorate, I guess you've changed your mind.

Just to put this into context for those who aren't part of the Norwich Dakka contingent there's a decent sized group of us all getting into the game, this could result in comments that only we understand.

Anyway if you look through the Spartan Games website it actually gives a run down of the strengths and weaknesses of each race.

Ah, the Directorate. I got these guys for Christmas, but haven't had much time to do anything with them yet thanks to DW .

Their stats look interesting; I get the impression that I will need to bide my time, looking to get a good front arc shot with them. Given their lack of shields, I figure they will probably take a while to learn how to use.

Formosa wrote:Hello guys, im looking to start Firestorm armada.

I know little to nothing of the game and was looking for help deciding on which race to play
also could you nice dudes give me a run down of each races strenghs and weakneses (not power levels as i dont want to pick the hardest race on purpose)
also an opinion of the coolest looking stuff

if it helps i LOVE Babylon 5 and would love a earth armada fleet sort of thing, like fighters and cruisers... you get the idea

Best help I can give you is play dystopian wars instead, better ships newer rules but essentially the same system. If firestorm armada is ever to get big it will be because Dystopian Wars puts the company on the map, and that in itself is increasingly likely after their grand entry.
If steampunk doesnt float your boat then get BFG instead, much better game than Firestorm Armada. Or play the Babylon 5 naval game, which you can pick up from eBay.

got a link to the B5 naval game?

Orlanth wrote:

Best help I can give you is play dystopian wars instead, better ships newer rules but essentially the same system. If firestorm armada is ever to get big it will be because Dystopian Wars puts the company on the map, and that in itself is increasingly likely after their grand entry.
If steampunk doesnt float your boat then get BFG instead, much better game than Firestorm Armada. Or play the Babylon 5 naval game, which you can pick up from eBay.

What in particular are the differences between DW and FA that lead you declare DW much better? As for BFG vs FA, what are the particulars there? I got so burned against Necrons and Eldar that I can't even imagine trying to play BFG again, and its been something like 7 or 8 years. The latest BFG resurgence at the LGS got totally derailed by FA, for what its worth.

As for the B5 game, check out Sky Full of Stars by Mongoose. I haven't played it much, but its been solid from the 2 or 3 games I've gotten in. The other B5 Games by Agents of Gaming are really old, but probably still available on ebay: B5 Wars and Fleet Action. I've played quite a few games of fleet action which is fun, but gets a bit tedious with Narn on the table.

Endgame wrote:

What in particular are the differences between DW and FA that lead you declare DW much better? As for BFG vs FA, what are the particulars there? I got so burned against Necrons and Eldar that I can't even imagine trying to play BFG again, and its been something like 7 or 8 years. The latest BFG resurgence at the LGS got totally derailed by FA, for what its worth.

The differences between Dystopian Wars and Firestorm armada rules are minor, just a few tweaks to cover little glitches in the earlier Spartan games mechanic systems. The rulebook is also better presented. The main difference being the quantum leap in miniatures quality Spartan has made when it moved to steampunk. Firestorm Armada ships are blocky and fairly featureless, though impressively big.
Also Dystopian is fast becoming the lead game, releases for Firestorm have been slow, and Dystopian is getting much of the attention and probably will keep it. Spartan has underestimated the games impact and is moving to fill up the fleets quickly. Within a couple more months we will see more stuff per faction for Dystopian Wars than we will see for Firestorm Armada. And that just counts the surface fleet forces.
Dystopian Wars doesn't just offer more ships though, it involves a widening range of air and soon land forces.

The rulebook provides four into factions, with at least nine planned.

Each faction gets:
Dreadnought, Battleship, Heavy Cruiser (Gunship), Cruiser, four types of escort sized vessel, Carrier, flying carrier, large flying vessel, scout flying vessel, large bombers, small flyers of different types (carrier based) as 3d token s with three flyers per stand, a special unit normally a big robot, plus ground units. The ground units include 'small' tanks, displayed as 3d token like the carrier flyers at two tanks per stand, super heavy tank (they call them medium), super heavy artillery (again considred medium), and a land ship. Also unreleased are a mobile airbase (think carrier on tracks) for each faction and a long list of static fortifications including airfields, bunkers coastal fortresses etc. This game is going to be big.


BFF is still a good games system because of the order dice. This means according to a player choice a vessel is either more maneuverable, more shooty or more survivable, each with a trade off. This makes the game inherently cerebral, also BGF has nice toys of its own and good models and scenarios. Firestorm Armada and despite the tri-service nature of Dystopian Wars that too is two dimensional in comparison. BFG needs some fixing and isn't getting it, being left in the hands of lesser minds, but Andy Chambers did a a sterling job with the original ruleset and its still stands as the best GW has made.
While mismatches can occur hey need to be self policed, if someone offers Necrons vs Eldar you say no!

Endgame wrote:
As for the B5 game, check out Sky Full of Stars by Mongoose. I haven't played it much, but its been solid from the 2 or 3 games I've gotten in. The other B5 Games by Agents of Gaming are really old, but probably still available on ebay: B5 Wars and Fleet Action. I've played quite a few games of fleet action which is fun, but gets a bit tedious with Narn on the table.

B5 has been done by a number of people, the best idea is to get the miniatures you like first, then consider the ruleset afterwards. Some B5 rules are based on Full Thrust, others on integral rules mechanics, i haven't played any of them, but once the shiops are chosen you can play about with the ruleset or swap one for another.

Orlanth: It is clear that you really love BFG, and I must first say that I do as well! However, while most of what you said is correct, I do want to point out that I find a few things factually wrong in your post.

First of all, Firestorm models really aren't any larger than BFG models are (sorry if this isn't what you meant, I took "impressively large" to mean "bigger than BFG"). Also, the releases for Firestorm Armada haven't been all that slow; the last wave was in the Fall, with the release of the R&D ships. The next wave is scheduled to start next month, and a total of 40 models are planned for release this year. As for land combat integration, the forthcoming Firestorm Invasion has been stated to allow the integration of space and ground combat (albeit on seperate tables).

I would argue that Firestorm Armada is a better bet than either B5 or BFG right now, all things being equal. This is principally because the game is being actively supported with new releases and has a growing fan base. I also happen to think that FA is a better game than BFG mechanics wise, as I think the integrated turns, exploding D6 mechanic, and range bands for weapons all combine to make the game faster-playing and more interesting.

I think that absent an established and highly active local community for another game, Firestorm Armada is the space combat game of choice at the moment. Granted, it is still fairly early in its development, but I disagree with your assertion that the success of DW will result in a drop in support for FA.

Orlanth wrote:Firestorm Armada ships are blocky and fairly featureless, though impressively big.

Now that I've got my starter fleet in the mail I have to say I disagree with your first point (although they are indeed pretty massive). I think the detail on the FA models is fantastic sure it's not to the same quality as a lot of GW models but it's still very good. If the DW stuff is even better well I look forward to giving it a go (which I will definitely do if I like FA).

My fleet arived today aswell, and i must disagree with the bland and featureless comment too, i see alot of things i can do with this fleet (converting it to look like earth armada ships from B5) and it has plenty of room for some cool little details (like go fater stripes... once an ork player always an ork player)

Which fleet did you order in the end?

Sorylians, i have cut the engines off and sawed the shipt in half, placing the engines in the centre, thus making them look like they have gravity drives like B5, I also cut the front off to make it more blockish again to look like B5

I will post some pics.

I'd bee interested to see them! They sound like interesting conversions.

im about halfway done with my fleet (saw blade broke) but i will upload some pics tonight if i get the time.

i need to make some blocks to put on the central gravity generater for the B5 earth armada look, so plasticard is needed.. i hate being poor