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so I had my first game of X-wing on Thursday night (been busy between then and now). I took along Vader, a Tie interceptor (Fel) and the new Tie Punisher (Redline). my opponent took 4/B-wings and an x-wing. I got my butt thoroughly kicked but I have to say that the Punisher is a beast of a ship and for me the MVP. She coasted through four target locks in one turn with only loosing 1 shield and 1 Hull.

so some thoughts after my game;
number of ships plays a big part in the outcome not pilot skill points.
secondary weapons aren't always necessary.

Has anyone played the epic scale ships? any difference in the play style of them?

Yes, always good to have more ships and/or a higher total value of shields/hull than your opponent.

Some secondary weapons are handy. I love the Heavy Laser Cannon - useful for stripping shields/hull at long range.

I think the consensus is that missiles aren't that great. I guess it depends if they work or not. If they don't do any damage, you've wasted points that could have gone elsewhere. They're better if you're facing ships with low agility.

so some thoughts after my game;
number of ships plays a big part in the outcome not pilot skill points.
secondary weapons aren't always necessary.

Agree on the second - not necessarily the first.

Pilot skill is good for two reasons. One is obvious, the other you get used to and gets better as you do.

Shooting first is clearly good. However, you've got a squad that doesn't really benefit from it against a squad that doesn't really care about it - B-wings take serious fire to bring down, whilst you've not got much actual firepower in that squad.

Get the first shot against enemies in flimsy things like TIE fighters, X-wings and so on, and you can take them down before they shoot.


The other advantage matters more if you want missile heavy squads (which isn't that necessary) or if you have a ship with boost/barrel roll/etc.

Soontir Fel is the best example of this - get hold of a copy of Push The Limit, and after you move, you can pull a boost and barrel roll action - that can relocate you massively, and let you dance around the units which have already moved. In a head-on pass, he's paste, but actually getting a shot at a squint who doesn't want to be shot at is very difficult.

The counter-problem, of course, is that if your opponent moves first you can wind up getting blocked and losing your action. It's a balancing act.

Secondary weapons....

Depends on the ship and what you're trying to achieve.
Some ships are build around the idea of secondary weapons - a TIE Punisher or Y-wing with nothing but its two chin popguns will struggle to achieve much.

The best secondary weapons tend to either be reusable (turrets and cannons) or 'special purpose' ordnance which throws out splash damage, stress tokens or ion tokens. Most of it is cheap and nasty. Basic torpedos are okay, but not the end of the world.

The biggest advantage with secondary weapons is at range 3 - it's amazing how much difference not getting that extra green die can make.

locarno24 wrote:


The biggest advantage with secondary weapons is at range 3 - it's amazing how much difference not getting that extra green die can make.

Wait, what?

Secondary weapons don't allow range bonuses, so the only green bonus dice you get is for obstructed attacks.

 Mathieu Raymond wrote:

locarno24 wrote:
The biggest advantage with secondary weapons is at range 3 - it's amazing how much difference not getting that extra green die can make.

Wait, what?

Secondary weapons do not give range bonuses to the attacker or defender.

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:

 Mathieu Raymond wrote:

locarno24 wrote:
The biggest advantage with secondary weapons is at range 3 - it's amazing how much difference not getting that extra green die can make.

Wait, what?

Secondary weapons do not give range bonuses to the attacker or defender.

Defender does not get a extra green dice at range 3 when using a secondary weapon. Only primary weapon at range 3 would give you a extra green dice.

 Chute82 wrote:

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:

 Mathieu Raymond wrote:

locarno24 wrote:
The biggest advantage with secondary weapons is at range 3 - it's amazing how much difference not getting that extra green die can make.

Wait, what?

Secondary weapons do not give range bonuses to the attacker or defender.

Defender does not get a extra green dice at range 3 when using a secondary weapon. Only primary weapon at range 3 would give you a extra green dice.

...which is the long version of what I said. No extra green die at range 3 for the defender, no extra red die at range 1 for the attacker.