Tie Defenders

[zealot4160]

I was just wondering what you guys thought about Tie Defenders. To me they seem to be too good. In Eras 1-2 a fleet of 40 Tie Defenders is not only viable, but it is also the cheapest fleet possible. At 650 credits a pop you can get a full fleet of 40 for about the same price as 4 ISD-IIs. They are also a light unit and therefor build-able on every planet. While I don't go so far as to make my main fleets only defenders they are very useful defending cut-off planets or attacking heavily-fortified planets (and only losing a few squadrons in the process). It isn't until eras 4-5 that the NR has the ability to counter them and even then they are useful hunting down the Viscounts the NR tends to organize into fleets by themselves (seriously, i have killed 2 viscounts without losing a single squadron in return on multiple occasions).

What do you folks think?

[JMDurron]

One of the things that I appreciate about this mod is that they prioritized being true to the Legends canon over game balance when the two clearly conflicted.  In the case of TIE Defenders, they clearly conflict, because the TIE Defenders honestly are/were that good/overpowered compared to everything else in the SW universe at the time. 

A TIE Defender fleet is my attack force of last resort as the IR, as I generally find myself not needing them even on Admiral (if you strike the enemy AI early enough and hard enough, they'll never build up enough of a doom stack for you to need them), and I find it slightly more appealing to go with SSD/VSD-2/Lancer fleets over an all-fighter fleet from a canonical Imperial doctrine perspective.  40 TIE Defenders are, essentially, an automatic win for the IR, which is cool for a couple of battles before it gets boring.  By the time I've had enough time to build up that fleet, though, the campaign is usually effectively over anyway, so I find it's a crutch that while available, is rarely necessary. 

[Corey]

The top-tier fighter/bomber spam is going to be nerfed for all the factions where it's currently a problem (TIE Defenders, Furions). Probably through pop cap cost

One of the things that I appreciate about this mod is that they prioritized being true to the Legends canon over game balance when the two clearly conflicted.

This isn't quite true. We try to make a good game, and reflect canon as well as we can within that, we don't intentionally overpower things, and if they are very powerful, there's usually a separate drawback with them (pop cap cost or production limits, for example). There's a lot of moving parts so tuning it properly can be tricky. Star Wars is an inconsistent mess in the first place, so prioritizing that wouldn't get us anywhere.

[zealot4160]

The top-tier fighter/bomber spam is going to be nerfed for all the factions where it's currently a problem (TIE Defenders, Furions). Probably through pop cap cost

Considering how expensive and rare they are supposed to be (Wookiepedia says none were produced after Endor, and that  "It was an indication of the rarity of the TIE Defender that the three full squadrons of the fighters located at the base were more than Rogue Squadron's commander, General Wedge Antilles, thought had ever been built.") maybe it would make more sense to raise their price and put in a build cap (either over all or at a single time).

[DarthRevansRevenge]

i think what Corey had in mind is a Build limit cap, not a Lifetime limit cap. for the Defender, something closer to 12-20 would be appropriate, because Defender swarms are annoying to fight(just ask Corey, he dealt with a massive in the PA Let's play, it reminded me of the Battle of Mindor, with the giant defender/interceptor swarm), compared to a cap closer to 30-40 for say, the X-Wing.

also, is putting buildable fighters in wings still a potential idea(aside from the defender)

[zealot4160]

My mistake, I misread his reply as planning to increase the points cost of Tie Defenders, and then basically repeated what he posted.