Last Update: 07/10/2019 with 2.0 Wave 4 and Points Update 1.4.
X-wing 2.0 launched with a wide variety of upgrades carrying over from 1.0. Similar to the guides we did for 1.0, we’re going to start looking at making sense of all of the new upgrades and how they will function in 2.0:
- Ranking– We’re going to rank each card within an upgrade slot. This is an imperfect ranking as the usefulness of any card is mostly determined by how and where you use it. But it’s an easy number to grasp and can serve as a starting point when trying to pick your upgrades.
- Comments- Some general thoughts about how to use this upgrade. If this upgrade had an equivalent in 1.0, we’ll give a few notes about how it plays differently
- Combos– If there are any noteworthy cards this upgrade combos with it will be noted here. Not all cards have this section.
Other Guides
- Personnel
- Pilot Upgrades
- Ship Upgrades
- Devices (Coming Soon)
- Illicit (Coming Soon)
- Modifications (Coming Soon)
- Sensor
- Tactical Relay
- Tech
- Weapon Systems
Sensors
Ships with Sensor Slot
- Aggressor Assault Fighter
- Alpha Class Starwing
- A/SF-01 B-Wing
- E-Wing
- G-1A
- Hyena Class Droid Bomber
- Lambda T-4a Shuttle
- MG-100 Starfortress
- Naboo Royal N-1
- Scurrg H-6 Bomber (w/ Title)
- Starviper Class Attack Platform
- TIE Advanced V1
- TIE Advanced X1
- TIE/ca Punisher
- TIE/D Defender
- TIE/ph Phantom
- TIE/SF Fighter
- Upsilon Class Command Shuttle
- UT-60D U-Wing
- VCX-100 Light Freighter
Ranked List
- Fire Control System
- Passive Sensors
- Collision Detector
- Advanced Sensors
- Trajectory Simulator
Sensors (listed alphabetically)
Advanced Sensors (Wave 1 Conversion Kits)
Cost: 10 points
After you reveal your dial, you may perform 1 action.
If you do, you cannot perform another action during your activation.
- Ranking- 4
- Comments
- With the rigid stipulation that you can only perform one action during your activation, Advanced Sensors loses much of its brokenness. No longer can you double action, gain a stress and then perform a blue maneuver to clear it.
- This rule makes it a questionable choice any ships that are known for their action economy; TIE Defenders, Darth Vader, N-1’s, Starvipers.
- Still, a very good upgrade as it allows you to stop or turn around and still get an action. The main drawback is really the price.
- Combos
- Redline (Punisher Pilot)- Redline is the exception in the action economy group. You can Advanced Sensors to take an action and still get his free Lock because he “acquires” a lock, he doesn’t take the Lock action.
- Guri (StarViper Pilot)- Guri’s efficiency comes during the engagement phase. Other StarVipers lose the ability to focus after using the funky barrel rolls if they Advanced Sensors.
- Trickshot (Talent)- Shooting through rocks is easier if you can fly straight at them, fire through it and then use Advanced Sensors to barrel roll next round before moving to avoid flying over it.
- 4-LOM (G-1A Pilot)- 4-LOM loves taking red maneuvers, gaining free calculates and then passing the stress onto his opponent. With Advanced Sensors he can also take a regular action.
Collision Detector (Wave 1 Conversion Kits)
Cost: 6 points
Charges: 2
While you boost or barrel roll, you can move through and overlap obstacles.
After you move through or overlap an obstacle, you may spend 1 Charge to ignore its effects until the end of the round.
- Ranking- 3
- Comments
- These things are great for arc dodgers. Two rounds of completely ignoring rocks.
- It’s important to note that the effect of being able to barrel roll/boost over obstacles does not require spending a charge. You can do it even after the charges are depleted. You’ll still suffer the effects but sometimes that’s worth it to escape a bad situation.
- Combos
- TIE Phantoms- decloaking is a type of barrel roll. Therefore, Collision Detectors give you a lot of flexibility for avoiding getting boxed in when cloaked.
- Gas Clouds- It might seem odd to use this with Gas Clouds, but if you’re an arc dodger, you’re mainly using Collision Detectors to ignore them when barrel roll/boosting. You can then play the game almost completely ignoring obstacles.
Fire Control System (Wave 1 Conversion Kits)
Cost: 2 points
While you perform an attack, if you have a lock on the defender, you may re-roll 1 attack die. If you do, you cannot spend your lock during this attack.
- Ranking- 1
- Comments
- Not as powerful as they were in 1.0, FCS is still a great addition. Especially for the price.
- Combos
- TIE-Advanced X1- While you still get the benefit of the X1’s bonus attack die even if you spend the lock, unlike in 1.0, you still want to try and keep it if you can. For all non Vader X1’s, that frees up your action for other things.
- Veteran Turret Gunner/IG-88B/Attack Shuttle- Anything that lets you make a bonus attack against the same ship loves FCS because then you get mods on both attacks.
Passive Sensors (Wave 4)
Cost: 3 points
Charge: 1 (Reoccurring)
Action: Spend 1 Charge. You can only perform this action in your Perform Action step.
While your Charge is inactive, you cannot be coordinated. Before you engage, if your Charge is inactive, you may perform a Calculate or Lock action.
- Ranking- 2
- Comments
- The solution to low Init ships not being able to get a lock on higher Init ships in order to fire their ordinance.
- Also allows ships with no Lock action to gain Locks.
- The inability to be coordinated can be a hindrance but only if you are building a coordinate focus list. You can also get around it with a lower Init coordinator.
- Combos
- C-3PO (Resistance/Rebel Crew)/IG-88D (Crew)- If you can’t Lock, why not get two Calculate instead of one?
- TIE Phantom- Now they can Lock again. FCS used to be the work around to getting them Lock (while keeping their mod slot open) but that loophole closed.
- TIE Advanced- Their chassis ability triggers on Locks so having an alternative way to ensure the ship you want to fire on is locked will be nice.
Trajectory Simulator (Wave 1 Conversion Kits)
Cost: 10 points
During the System Phase, if you would drop or launch a bomb, you may launch it using the 5 Straight template instead.
- Ranking- 5
- Comments
- The boogie man upgrade of 1.0. Its functionality hasn’t changed, but it is a lot more expensive.
- Combos
- Punisher/Aggressor/Starfortress/Scurrg (w/title)- are the only ships with bomb and sensor slots.
- Seismic Charges- Thanks to the added range of Seismic blowing up rocks at range one from itself, and then that rock hitting a target within range one of it, launching Seismic can hit targets over 11 base lengths away.
Tech Upgrades
Ships with Tech
- MG-100 Starfortress
- Quadrijet Transfer Spacetug
- RZ-2 A-Wing
- T-70 X-Wing
- TIE/FO
- TIE/SF
- TIE/VN Silencer
- Upsilon Command Shuttle
Ranked List
- Pattern Analyzer
- Primed Thrusters
- Advanced Optics
- Biohexacrypt Codes
- Ferrosphere Paint
- Targeting Synchronizer
- Hyperspace Tracking Data
Tech (listed alphabetically)
Advanced Optics (Wave 2 Conversion Kits)
Cost: 4
While you perform an attack, you may spend 1 focus token to change 1 of your blank results to a Hit result.
- Ranking- 3
- Comments
- This is 1.0’s Weapon Guidance. Regarded as a worthless upgrade in 1.0, it’s found a resurgence somewhat in 2.0, despite doubling in price. This is due in part to the prevalence of dice mods in 1.0 vs 2.0.
- Low Init pilots can make the most use of this as they usually don’t have to debate saving the Focus for defense.
- Combos
- A-Wing RZ-2/TIE SF/FO/Quadrijet/Resistance Transport+Pod- Two dice attacks gain the most as they are more likely to have a single blank and no focus results.
Biohexacrypt Codes (Wave 2 Conversion Kits)
Cost: 1
Requires Lock
First Order only
While you coordinate or jam, if you have a lock on a ship, you may spend that lock to choose that ship, ignoring range restrictions.
- Ranking- 4
- Comments
- Lock a friendly ship early, send it out to flank and then keep coordinating it from safety.
- Once you engage the enemy, lock the biggest threat and then keep jamming it while running away.
- Combos
- Upsilon Shuttle- The only First Order ship that can Coordinate or Jam.
Ferrosphere Paint (RZ-2 A-Wing Expansion)
Cost: 6 points
Resistance only
After an enemy ship locks you, if you are not in that ship’s Bullseye, that ship gains 1 stress token.
- Ranking- 5
- Comments
- When announced, this sounded like a great upgrade. It’s a strong ordnance defense. Ends up being expensive enough you rarely take it. Which means it’s probably balanced well.
- Combos
- None
Hyperspace Tracking Data (Wave 2 Conversion Kit)
Cost: 10 points
Large Ship only, First Order Only
Setup: Before placing forces, you may choose a number between 0 and 6. Treat your initiative as the chosen value during Setup.
After Setup, assign 1 focus or evade token to each friendly ship at range 0-2.
- Ranking- 7
- Comments
- This can become abusive when spammed and combined with Dormitz. Which was why the price was jacked up. Unfortunately, the result of that was to make it fairly useless. It only has a place on Dormitz. Otherwise, your squad won’t have a use for those free tokens.
- Combos
- Lieutenant Dormitz (Upsilon Shuttle)- Deploy Dormitz and then place the rest of your squad beyond the usual deploy zone and give them a token. A lot more expensive than it was a launch but still a fun tactic.
Pattern Analyzer (Wave 2 Conversion Kit)
Cost: 5 points
While you fully execute a red maneuver, before the Check Difficulty step, you may perform 1 action.
- Ranking- 1
- Comments
- Better than the 1.0 version because if you can clear your stress from taking a red maneuver, or can take actions while stressed somehow, you get two actions.
- Better than Advanced Sensors because it does not prevent you from taking more actions and is half the cost. But you don’t get premovement actions meaning bumps still result in no action and no using it to avoid flying over a rock.
- Combos
- Nien Nunb (T-70 Pilot)- T-roll or K-turn, get a free action from Pattern Analyzer, then shred your stress from your ability and get your regular action.
- TIE/SF- Lots of of good red maneuvers on their dial.
Primed Thrusters (Wave 2 Conversion Kit)
Cost: 4,5,6,7,8,9,10 when initiative is 0,1,2,3,4,5,6
small ship only
While you have 2 or fewer stress tokens, you can perform Boost and Barrel Roll actions even while stressed.
- Ranking- 2
- Comments
- This gets pricey on high init ships. But they do get the most use out of reposition actions.
- Combos
- TIE Silencer- With Autothrusters, an arc dodging Silencer can be stressed and still take two reposition actions.
- BB Astromech/BB-8 (Astromech upgrade)- With Primed Thrusters you can still use your pre-move barrel roll (or Booster with BB-8) when stressed.
Targeting Synchronizer (Wave 2 Conversion Kit)
Cost: 6
Requires Lock
While a friendly ship at range 1-2 performs an attack against a target you have locked, that ship ignores the Lock attack requirement.
- Ranking- 6
- Comments
- Now that in 2.0 you don’t have to spend a lock to fire ordnance, this is better and worse than 1.0 version. It’s better because you can get a single lock with a high Init ship and allow a whole squad of low init pilots to fire their ordnance. But it’s worse because you’d then be firing a bunch of ordnance without mods.
- The language on the 2.o version is far simpler and straightfoward.
- Combos
- None
Tactical Relay
This is an interesting upgrade because you can only ever have one in your squad, which, so far is a unique effect.
Ships with Tactical Relay
- Belbullab-22
- Hyena Bomber (DBS-32C Only)
- Sith Infiltrator
Ranked List
- Kraken
- TA-175
- K2-B4
- TV-94
Astromechs (listed alphabetically)
K2-B4 (Sith Infiltrator Expansion Packs)
Cost: 5 points
While a friendly ship at range 0-3 defends, it may spend 1 calculate token. If it does, add 1 Evade result unless the attacker chooses to gain 1 strain token.
- Ranking- 3
- Comments
- This trades calculate for evasion or a better attack. Anytime you can force your opponent to make a choice, he might make a bad one.
- Important to note, this ADDS an evade result, so you can end up with more evade results than dice rolled.
- Combos
- Named Vultures/Hyenas- You want your named pilots to survive more than you care about your mass generics.
Kraken (Servants of Strike Squadron Pack)
Cost: 10 points
Adds: Calculate action
During the End Phase, you may choose up to 3 friendly ships at range 0-3. If you do, each of these ships does not remove 1 calculate token.
- Ranking- 1
- Comments
- This upgrade is two pronged, gaining an action and letting ships (including yourself) hang onto tokens between rounds.
- Combos
- Wat Tambor/Captain Sear (Belbullab-22 pilots)- Each of these pilots have abilities that are tied to calculating ships. If you end up in endgame with just them, their abilities become useless. Unless you have Kraken giving you the Calculate action.
- Networked Calculation- Any ship with Networked Calculation gains the more calculate tokens that are available.
TA-175 (Hyena Bomber Expansion Pack)
Cost: 5 points
After a friendly ship at range 0-3 with Calculate on its action bar is destroyed, each friendly ship at range 0-3 with Calculate in its action bar gains 1 calculate token.
- Ranking- 2
- Comments
- If your opponent is shooting first, which is likely when flying Separatist, any time he finishes off one of your ships, he makes the rest of them more powerful.
- This is the main reason you can’t have multiple Tactical Relays in a single list. With this and any other Tactical Relay it would be OP.
- Combos
- General Grievous (Crew)- Grievous’ charge regenerates when ships blow up. Together losing a ship doesn’t feel as bad.
TV-94 (Servants of Strife Expansion Pack)
Cost: 5 points
While a friendly ship at range 0-3 performs a primary attack against a defender in its Bullseye, if there are 2 or fewer attack dice, it may spend 1 calculate token to add 1 Hit result.
- Ranking- 4
- Comments
- This ADDS a Hit result, not modifies so you can turn two dice into three if you can get bullseye. Though, that’s not easy, especially when flying a swarm.
- Combos
- Not Captain Sear. His ability would be great injunction with this, as they both work in Bullseye, but you can only spend your own Calculate tokens for TV-94 or Sear, which means you have to pick one or the other.
Wayne Basta
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