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Is the basic FO TIE a little expensive in comparison to the original? I know a shield upgrade is 4 points and the difference between them is only 3 for a shield and a target lock, but is it too little for too much? It makes it far less swarmable and it feels like it will only be a tiny bit more survivable.

So, is there a niche for the TIE/FO or is it doomed to obscurity?

I prefer to fly the FO so far, mainly because the dial is that bit nicer, along with the shield

1 shield, target lock action, tech upgrade slot, green turns, and Segnor's loop manoeuvre.

I do not think that the F/O will be doomed. You just get too much stuff over the Academy Pilot for that to be the case. However, I do believe that it is certainly not an auto-take.

I think they are about right points wise, it's the same as an A-Wing (with refit) and is about on the level, trading boost for S-loop and being 1-3 rather than 2-2

Yeah, I definitely was just looking at the card without taking the dial into account, so that was my bad. I still don't know whether to go full swarm or use them as medium ships supporting an Ace or whatever. I guess time (and definitely more tech upgrades) will tell...

I think that you're probably right for basic pilots - The problem with a basic (Epsilon Squadron) TIE/fo isn't that the upgrades aren't worth the points.

The Eyepatch has improvements over the original Eyeball that are the equivalent of:

~ Targeting Computer (2 points)
~ Shield Upgrade (4 points)
~ Twin Ion Engines MkII (1 point) - sort of, for the green turns and segnor's loops

That's 7 points worth of improvements for 3 points of cost increase - and that's not counting the value of the Tech slot.

The reason it's a problem is that you're taking the price over two of the 'magic point values' - 12 points and 13 points - which determine the maximum number of fighters you can fit into 100 points. Since you can't max out a squad with TIE/fo generic pilots like you can with TIE/ln fighters, it's less useful for a pure swarm.

Where it's much better is in an elite swarm. Whilst going from Academy Pilots to Epsilon Squadron Pilots costs you two ships, going from Black Squadron Pilots to Omega Squadron Pilots only costs you one - and with their elite slot, Black Squadron Pilots have the abilities to make the best use of that improved green dial - with Push The Limit, for example.

The A-wing isn't a bad comparison. 4-5 reasonably well equipped eyepatches can do a nice job on most lists - yes, you only have two attack dice, but at range 1 this isn't too much of a problem, and whilst the TIE/fo can't keep up with the A-wing's speed in fast slashing attacks, it's tied with the B-wing for one of the best knife fighters in the game - white hard 1 turns, green 2 turns, speed 2 segnor's loops and barrel roll. Plus, it can take lots of cheap ways to weaken your defence - Crack Shot or Juke.

The main characteristic of the TIE/fo is that it's very tough for its points. If you consider the Comms Relay equivalent to an extra shield - and personally I'd suggest it's better - then 5 TIE/fo fighters so equipped are essentially equivalent in toughness and firepower with 5 pre-TIE/x1 TIE Advanced - giving you an extra ship and with a much, much better dial.

The problem with considering the raw point values of the TIE/FO's upgrades is that it has a very simple role: be as cheap as possible. And that's the role the generic TIE fighter does better. So it fits into that awkward hole where you want a ship that is more than just the cheapest possible meatshield, but you aren't willing to invest enough points to get a good ship. Talking about adding upgrades to the TIE/FO only makes the situation worse. Once you've spent points on PTL and a PS upgrade to get the EPT slot you might as well just take an AC TIE advanced or PTL interceptor and do it right.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

locarno24 wrote:
The A-wing isn't a bad comparison.

You're right. And what we've found is that the a-wing swarm is not a viable option. Spending 20ish points on a ship with a 2-dice gun just doesn't work.