A-Wing being unbalanced?
Am I the only one who struggles up against A-Wings? I understand it's a ship that's supposed to require skill to operate, but at the moment you can put all pips into weapons and shields and have abs...
Forum Discussion
Best way to deal with A wings is to use turrets and targetting beacons. Also you need to keep cycling targets to ensure that you identify A wings when they are in range. If they use stealth you need to ensure you do not forget about them - count to 5 and cycle again until you find them. A wings are like mosquitos - you can't always swat them so you have to use repellent.
@Merc_Security wrote:... Also you need to keep cycling targets to ensure that you identify A wings when they are in range. If they use stealth you need to ensure you do not forget about them - count to 5 and cycle again until you find them...
I fly an A-Wing and I find this very true! The most effective "weapon" against the A-Wing is the cycle targets key. Maybe add the ping target key. If you manage to target an A-Wing coming in to make a pass, turn into it and attack it with anything. It *will* break off or risk destruction. Then you have basically nullified its attack.
So, cycle targets and find that pesky A-Wing (me) from 1.5km away, turn into it and fire.
Again, I didn't say the A-Wing was indestructible. But just reading the suggestions on how to deal with them should make it obvious that they are way out of balance, at least at the early levels that are so critical to gaining and retaining a player base. The effort and coordination it requires to deal with them is far greater than the effort it takes to use them. Can you kill them? Sure. Are they much more difficult to deal with than they are to use? Yes, by a ridiculously large margin.
More to the point, they are not at all fun for new players to deal with. While I was reading some other threads here, my 14yo and his 13yo cousin got on the Xbox to play some Squadrons. He has been very excited for the game, and having a great time in general. He is only level 10 right now. He tends to come in towards the top when playing Republic, and prefers the Y-Wing. He will do about as well playing Imperials using an Interceptor. Unless, of course, there is an A-Wing of any level higher than about 10, at which point he just gets annoyed. The last 3 games he was playing with @tryhard (1 time) and then against (2 times); a level 108 A-Wing, VR-Using * who seems to get his rocks off clubbing seals in unranked games. It wasn't fun for anyone except Mr. TryHard, and the "challenge" he faced was... what exactly? On the other hand, even when losing against the occasional very-high rated player who was NOT using an A-Wing that same level of "it's pointless to even try" didn't happen. My son wound up walking away for hours out of sheer frustration, after happily spending an entire afternoon slowly going from a consistent 0-8 to a consistent 8-3 in a Y-Wing. Interceptors didn't bother him. Losing hard to high level players wasn't a problem. Switching sides and dealing with Captain "wish I had a real girlfriend" in his A-Wing? 3 games later he is done.Yes, it's good to have a game with a very high skill cap. No, it is not good to have a particular ship be so dominant. No, allowing a 108 to enter a room, any room, where they can beat on brand new players is not healthy, especially when the only way one of the only 2 game modes (and the one most likely to have new players) is exclusively uncontrolled by rank or MMR, and most especially when that same * can take an already overbalanced ship and ruin the fun for the new people.
I'm going to watch the next half dozen or so games my son plays. I will count the number of times a level 25 or higher enters the room in anything OTHER than an A-Wing, vs the number who enter IN an A-Wing. Just to see...
Game 1: lvl 208 (A-Wing, 13-0), lvl 106 (A-Wing, 12-0) lvl 14 (A-Wing, 2-0). Next highest level, my son at lvl 10 as the highest level Imperial. A-Wings vs. not A-Wings: 3-0
Game 2: No players over level 15
Game 3: lvl 30 (TIE Def, 6-6), 27 (A-Wing, 9-2), 26 (A-Wing 6-5). Interestingly, the best record in the room was a lvl 7 (A-Wing, 14-2). A-wings vs not: 5-1 (5-0 for Republic)
I lost interest, sorry, will stop at 3. Somehow, I doubt with the numbers this skewed and so in line with my subjective experience that the next 3 games will be any different. The 14-2 A-Wing run by a lvl 7 seems particularly telling to me about just how over the top the ship is regardless of skill level.@StGregoriMost of your analysis is unrelated to A-wing usage and more related to Star Wars Squadron’s ineffective matchmaking system. When I play, most of my “dog fighting” matches are filled with newer players in the lobby where I normally achieve a 15 - 0 kill ratio. On the rare occasion that I’m in a match with other lvl 100+ pilots and comparable K/D stats, my ratio drops to maybe 10 - 3. Unfortunately, I can’t control the poorly designed matchmaking algorithm that determines which players enter the lobby. Regardless, I’m sorry that your son is encountering some frustration with his gaming experience and I do hope that the developers enhance the overall game design over time.
