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Hey all,

Just wondering if anyone sees any good uses for the new tech upgrades (Pattern analyzer/primed thruster primarily) for the TIE/ fo?

I'm thinking there must be some good use for the pattern, possibly in conjunction with Epsilon Leader (s-loop/k-turn, action, take stress, Epsilon removes it for the open dial the next turn)... but the 2 points for the upgrade seems too high.

Side questions 1) in what order would this work against Ventress? EL could be fairly handy as a wingman for a PTL ace (provided EL could keep up). 2) does this allow you to take actions even with carried stress? I doubt it, but a guy can hope, right?

Or maybe as a boost for Omega Ace? TL, then next turn flip, focus land 2-3 crits automatically?

No. Comm relay is way too powerful for any other option to compete on any ship that has the evade action. And no, pattern analyzer does not let you take actions with stress, it simply changes the order in which "perform action" and "check stress" are resolved. Anything that prevents you from taking an action will prevent it as normal.

Comm relay, as noted, is extremely powerful.

Pattern analyser could in theory be good on Omega Ace (who pretty much needs Push The Limit to work), but not being stressed next turn is of only so-so value compared to not dying this turn - making the most of his ability really wants you to be at range 1...and if you're at range 1 a TIE/fo needs all the help it can get to survive.

Primed Thrusters is the only one I can see having some use. Yes, it's not as good as comm relay, but it's also much cheaper and it's not a bad buy for a TIE/fo where you dobt want to invest many points. An Epsilon Squadron Pilot is a nice blocker - PS1, with an improved dial and shield relative to his academy pilot counterpart. For one point, retaining the ability to barrel roll whilst stressed could be worth it on a blocker.

Equally, on Zeta Ace, that speed '2' barrel roll opens up a lot of options to be annoying and unpredictable. I've used him in a TIE/fo all-stars squad as a blocker and got surprisingly good mileage out of adrenaline rush to barrel roll out of a segnor's loop to get somewhere annoying. Primed Thrusters is essentially the same thing, for the same price, but reusable and leaving the elite slot free for adaptability or (if you have points spare and nothing else to spend them on) Intimidation.

That being said, for the T-70, should we bother with the Tech slot in A)the generics and B)Other named pilots aside from Red Ace.

I remember our little talk about Generics with R3+Comm Relay and it wasn't seen as profitable. Anything else that we dirty Resistance lovers could leverage?

Pattern analyzer is a very strong upgrade on a PTL Ace, especially with R2-D2. It also allows you to boost or focus out of talon rolls/K-turns. I would say that it is therefore near-mandatory on Poe or Nien Nunb. Poe always wants to focus, and if Nien Nunb boosts into range 1 off of a K-turn, he does not get stressed.

Primed thrusters is, like on the TIEs, something that you can add if you have a couple points left at the end. Blue Ace may want to consider it (If you take Blue Ace).

 Mathieu Raymond wrote:
That being said, for the T-70, should we bother with the Tech slot in A)the generics and B)Other named pilots aside from Red Ace.

Oh yes. I've been playing with pattern analyzer since HOTR was announced and it's really good. It's not quite a white k-turn like the TIE defender since you still have to clear the stress next turn, but being able to k-turn/t-roll with dice modification gives you a huge advantage that turn. Maybe on the generics you could cut it if you're really tight on points, but on named pilots it's probably mandatory.

The ability to use it the other way around is just as nice - green move, perform action, push, check pilot stress, remove stress.

Its net effect is similar to BB8 - but since it's tech not Astromech, you can pair it with R2 Astromech so that youve got green hard turns...

Seems I'll have to re-read the Activation Phase passage again. What you said sounds completely hermetic to my ESL brain.

So, just to make sure I understand, with a Pattern Analyser, the Perform Action step (which was #3) now becomes step 2-b and all related text follows, and then the entirety of the text at step 2-b is now considered to be step 3, correct?

So, I tried to play a list with three T-70s, again, but this time all of them at PS9. The number of times I had to T-roll or K-turn Poe and have him actionless was infuriating. I kept a 2 pts initiative bid that I figured could be a Pattern Analyzer on him. In my two games last night, I was clearly on top of the PS chain, and on 11 separate occasions I could have used an action had I had a PA. Maddening.

And on a curious note, Nien Nunb is really good at hunting slow game like Y-wings and B-wings, not so great against TIEs,

 Mathieu Raymond wrote:
Seems I'll have to re-read the Activation Phase passage again. What you said sounds completely hermetic to my ESL brain.

So, just to make sure I understand, with a Pattern Analyser, the Perform Action step (which was #3) now becomes step 2-b and all related text follows, and then the entirety of the text at step 2-b is now considered to be step 3, correct?

Essentially, yes. As an aside, pattern analyser and R2 Astromech is an awesome combination as a result.

Try the following at least once against someone who doesn't think of xwings as "manouvrable" - snap wexley, daredevil, r2 Astromech, pattern analyser...

You can essentailly do a 180 on the spot, eh?

Slightly more than that - a 235' turn in theory.