Why we should welcome more factions, and avoid them entirely
There has been a fair amount of discussion as to if Clone War era ships should be welcomed into X-Wing as standard ships (as in from their era, with pilots of their era, and generics from traditional squadrons of their era). So no, I'm not talking about the ARC-170 or the Y-Wing or the Z-95 as they are currently found in the X-Wing game. I'm talking about opening up the entire Episode 1-3 era, as a viable source for new ships.
Now, if allowing the era in, then follow up question would be... how? Should there be new factions or would all Clone War ships fall into Rebel/Imperial/Scum matrix? Well, depending on how you read the writing on the wall, you may feel like you already know how FFG will handle this.
Options...
Option 1) Keep the 3 faction dynamic: We have Black Sun, Freelance Bounty Hunters, Consortium, First Order, Rebel Alliance, New Republic, Resistance, and more factions already in the game... yet so far, there has only ever been the 2 original and the Scum factions for gameplay. Clearly new factions will fall into these categories. Any ships in the gray, can be given multi-faction dials and pilots. FFG has shown this is how the multiple factions of the Star War universe will be used in X-Wing
Option 2) They'll treat the Clone War Ships as 2 or 3 new and factions: They'd need to pick a point in time (most likely the cartoon series) and drop ships into Separatists, Republic, Independents. There's tons of material for all three if you draw from the Series and the 3 Cinematic Releases. FFG has already shown that they'll do this, with things like the Alliance Overhaul that have created some separation between the eras, and the fact that ships/pilots can stay in one faction and still be in a new one (all things Firespray).
Option 3) Not only will there be separate Clone War factions, the existing ships new trilogy will be split into 2 new factions too: There's some telegraphing from FFG that this is coming once the new trilogy and its accompanying EU is out. Not the least of which is that Resistance and First Order ships have different symbols an their cards from their Rebel Alliance and Imperial brethren. This could give up a potential 8 factions... Rebel, Imperial, Scum, Resistance, First Order, Republic, Separatists, and Independents.
Implementation of the above...
Option 1) Pretty simple. Continue as is. Wave 11 and the prior Most Wanted expansion have already done this. New ships are dropped into which faction makes sense and if it was used by multiple factions, make dials, pilots, or even multiple models of the same ship.
Option 2) Again, simple. New faction icons, take a wave off of the existing three factions if wishing and release a new starter (make it Republic and Separatists) and a 4 ships wave... giving 3 ships to each side and maybe toss in a new dial and some pilots with a couple existing ships, if wanting... easily able to get 4 or 5 ships for the two new factions in one release cycle. Drop in the Independents in a later wave and let them grab a few Scum ships too with extra dials and pilots... oh please let Jango fix the Firespray.
Option 3) Do the above, and a rule change. Again, not too crazy. Simply state that both Resistance and Alliance ships can use "Rebel only" upgrades and that the New Order and the First Order can both use "Imperial only".
Pros of each...
Option 1) Creates the least amount of confusion, maintains the status quo, allows for a greater variety in squadron lists, as ships are only divided out into three groupings, not five or more. Come backs of the K-Wing, Biggs, etc show that new upgrades can breath life into old ships. Clearly we've already crossed the time bridge (Asajj can fire at Poe, after all), so no worries there.
Option 2) Actually creates more variety... if only the best 4 ships in a faction get table time, then more factions would actually create more lists showing up in tournaments... especially if Clones, Droids, Jedi, etc get new mechanics that make them appealing (though smaller in ship count) and able to compete with much deeper existing factions. With more variety, it could become more difficult for one super list to meet multiple different build types instead of just two others and mirror matches become even more rare. Plenty of other games have done this (add new factions late in game development) and it can bring new life and interest to a game... and those that hate the Clone War stuff won't see it mixed into their existing beloved factions and can blow up things they don't like anyway... catharsis
Option 3) Even better... as new films and lore deepen the Resistance and the First Order, and these ships are now separated, the Clone War factions would have 2 more factions that are relatively low in hull type counts and would allow all five new factions to grow up together. Plus, as it is right now, the First Order especially can make solid "in-house" lists and will get even better with Episode 8 and 9 additions. This allows the Empire and the Alliance to develop titles, squadrons, or even take a few Waves off. The cost of entry would also decrease, with new players being able to buy into a new faction instead of feeling like they're coming really late to the Imperial/Rebel/Scum party
Cons of each...
Option 1) Bloating bloats more and more... too many ships, too little variety, and the hole gets deeper and deeper and more ships bury older ones under piles of new options... plus the perceived pressure for new ships to bring something new... where as more factions allows new ships to be similar to old, since they're not competing as they're in different factions... who cares if the N-1 is barely different than the A-Wing? But you would if they were shoehorned into some massive faction.
Option 2) Balance becomes even more difficult as now the variables and counters become even more diverse and the odds of some change marginalizing any one faction (or making a super faction) increase. There might also be a natural tendency to bypass the new guys since they lack the depth and model count to compete with the established factions
Option 3) All of option 2's problems hold true.. but also Scum rule, and it gets worse... suddenly the power faction sees its competition divided out into smaller factions while the rich get richer. The Imperials would be in worse shape as the /SF and Upsilon leave along with Omega Leader and all the other stuff departs too.
Conclusion
As I'm sure you've gathered, I'm all for new factions, but the cons can't be ignored. The game is seriously bloated right now. A little trimming down and new places for it to grow is truthfully past due, and I feel like new factions not only makes it all fresh again, but it brings new players in at a better place. I'd love to see Jedi Interceptors, Droid Tri-Fighters, and Shadow Squadron fighters all zipping around... plus it does something that's much needed...
X-Wing needs to be recognizably Star Wars again. Walking by a table now, seeing K-Wings, JM5K, Lancers, Consortium Interceptors, Wookie ships, etc a casual Star Wars wouldn't know the universe. Clone War factions or more could bring that all back... and that's good for everyone, not the least, FFG.
Next I'll talk about why I think more factions is bad for Armada
Now, if allowing the era in, then follow up question would be... how? Should there be new factions or would all Clone War ships fall into Rebel/Imperial/Scum matrix? Well, depending on how you read the writing on the wall, you may feel like you already know how FFG will handle this.
Options...
Option 1) Keep the 3 faction dynamic: We have Black Sun, Freelance Bounty Hunters, Consortium, First Order, Rebel Alliance, New Republic, Resistance, and more factions already in the game... yet so far, there has only ever been the 2 original and the Scum factions for gameplay. Clearly new factions will fall into these categories. Any ships in the gray, can be given multi-faction dials and pilots. FFG has shown this is how the multiple factions of the Star War universe will be used in X-Wing
Option 2) They'll treat the Clone War Ships as 2 or 3 new and factions: They'd need to pick a point in time (most likely the cartoon series) and drop ships into Separatists, Republic, Independents. There's tons of material for all three if you draw from the Series and the 3 Cinematic Releases. FFG has already shown that they'll do this, with things like the Alliance Overhaul that have created some separation between the eras, and the fact that ships/pilots can stay in one faction and still be in a new one (all things Firespray).
Option 3) Not only will there be separate Clone War factions, the existing ships new trilogy will be split into 2 new factions too: There's some telegraphing from FFG that this is coming once the new trilogy and its accompanying EU is out. Not the least of which is that Resistance and First Order ships have different symbols an their cards from their Rebel Alliance and Imperial brethren. This could give up a potential 8 factions... Rebel, Imperial, Scum, Resistance, First Order, Republic, Separatists, and Independents.
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| Mandalorians here, btw |
Implementation of the above...
Option 1) Pretty simple. Continue as is. Wave 11 and the prior Most Wanted expansion have already done this. New ships are dropped into which faction makes sense and if it was used by multiple factions, make dials, pilots, or even multiple models of the same ship.
Option 2) Again, simple. New faction icons, take a wave off of the existing three factions if wishing and release a new starter (make it Republic and Separatists) and a 4 ships wave... giving 3 ships to each side and maybe toss in a new dial and some pilots with a couple existing ships, if wanting... easily able to get 4 or 5 ships for the two new factions in one release cycle. Drop in the Independents in a later wave and let them grab a few Scum ships too with extra dials and pilots... oh please let Jango fix the Firespray.
Option 3) Do the above, and a rule change. Again, not too crazy. Simply state that both Resistance and Alliance ships can use "Rebel only" upgrades and that the New Order and the First Order can both use "Imperial only".
Pros of each...
Option 1) Creates the least amount of confusion, maintains the status quo, allows for a greater variety in squadron lists, as ships are only divided out into three groupings, not five or more. Come backs of the K-Wing, Biggs, etc show that new upgrades can breath life into old ships. Clearly we've already crossed the time bridge (Asajj can fire at Poe, after all), so no worries there.
Option 2) Actually creates more variety... if only the best 4 ships in a faction get table time, then more factions would actually create more lists showing up in tournaments... especially if Clones, Droids, Jedi, etc get new mechanics that make them appealing (though smaller in ship count) and able to compete with much deeper existing factions. With more variety, it could become more difficult for one super list to meet multiple different build types instead of just two others and mirror matches become even more rare. Plenty of other games have done this (add new factions late in game development) and it can bring new life and interest to a game... and those that hate the Clone War stuff won't see it mixed into their existing beloved factions and can blow up things they don't like anyway... catharsis
Option 3) Even better... as new films and lore deepen the Resistance and the First Order, and these ships are now separated, the Clone War factions would have 2 more factions that are relatively low in hull type counts and would allow all five new factions to grow up together. Plus, as it is right now, the First Order especially can make solid "in-house" lists and will get even better with Episode 8 and 9 additions. This allows the Empire and the Alliance to develop titles, squadrons, or even take a few Waves off. The cost of entry would also decrease, with new players being able to buy into a new faction instead of feeling like they're coming really late to the Imperial/Rebel/Scum party
Cons of each...
Option 1) Bloating bloats more and more... too many ships, too little variety, and the hole gets deeper and deeper and more ships bury older ones under piles of new options... plus the perceived pressure for new ships to bring something new... where as more factions allows new ships to be similar to old, since they're not competing as they're in different factions... who cares if the N-1 is barely different than the A-Wing? But you would if they were shoehorned into some massive faction.
Option 2) Balance becomes even more difficult as now the variables and counters become even more diverse and the odds of some change marginalizing any one faction (or making a super faction) increase. There might also be a natural tendency to bypass the new guys since they lack the depth and model count to compete with the established factions
Option 3) All of option 2's problems hold true.. but also Scum rule, and it gets worse... suddenly the power faction sees its competition divided out into smaller factions while the rich get richer. The Imperials would be in worse shape as the /SF and Upsilon leave along with Omega Leader and all the other stuff departs too.
Conclusion
As I'm sure you've gathered, I'm all for new factions, but the cons can't be ignored. The game is seriously bloated right now. A little trimming down and new places for it to grow is truthfully past due, and I feel like new factions not only makes it all fresh again, but it brings new players in at a better place. I'd love to see Jedi Interceptors, Droid Tri-Fighters, and Shadow Squadron fighters all zipping around... plus it does something that's much needed...
X-Wing needs to be recognizably Star Wars again. Walking by a table now, seeing K-Wings, JM5K, Lancers, Consortium Interceptors, Wookie ships, etc a casual Star Wars wouldn't know the universe. Clone War factions or more could bring that all back... and that's good for everyone, not the least, FFG.
Next I'll talk about why I think more factions is bad for Armada
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