Welcome back to The Ship Files!
This is the sixth — and final — faction deep dive. After Empire, Rebels, and the Republic, we end with the Separatists. And I’ll admit it up front: I have less to complain about here.
Part of that is personal taste. I love the Clone Wars factions in general, but if I had to pick a favorite, it’d probably be the Clankers. Their ships look fantastic, they play differently, and many of them feel like they were designed with a clearer identity than some of the older Rebel and Imperial hulls.
It also helps that, even though Armada was cancelled before the Clone Wars factions were fully fleshed out, CIS arguably landed in a better place than GAR. There are gaps, sure — but fewer outright design casualties.
Alright. Let’s get into it.
CC-ROC-class Cruiser (CIS Flotilla)
Having a flotilla option at all is a big win for CIS (sorry, GAR). Unfortunately, this one still feels a bit underwhelming compared to its Imperial cousin.
Even after the drop to 24 points, the CC-ROC just doesn’t quite match the Empire’s Gozanti at 23, and it’s almost entirely down to the upgrade bar. Yes, you can do clever things:
Flight Controllers for squad play
Ordnance Experts in a TF fleet
Ion crit shenanigans with Kraken
Naked with Mar Tuuk for a surprising number of dice
But none of those make it essential. It’s an option, not a cornerstone.
What if: Nothing, really. This ship fits the faction just fine. It doesn’t dominate, it doesn’t vanish, and it doesn’t warp list building.
Verdict: It’s fine. Now give GAR a flotilla.
Hardcell-class Transport / Battle Refit
On paper, this should be an amazing ship.
Small base. Evade–Redirect–Brace. Five hull. A Defensive Retrofit. That’s already better than a Gladiator defensively. Add solid battery armament — especially on the Battle Refit — and you’d expect greatness.
So why does it feel… awkward?
A lot of it comes down to geometry and pressure. The ship is extremely forward-focused, but the front arc isn’t huge, so you’re constantly maneuvering to stay relevant — and the Hardcell isn’t actually that maneuverable. Side arcs are weak. Rear arc is nothing. You must move forward, do your thing, then disengage — because you cannot re-engage like a Recusant, and you cannot fight while retreating.
Then there are the side shields. One shield per side puts immense pressure on your defense tokens. The Transport can mitigate this with Auxiliary Shields Team, but the Battle Refit has to rely on its Defensive Retrofit — and that’s a problem. ECM isn’t great on a Command 1 ship that tries to remain inexpensive; it can’t take Thermals, and most other defensive upgrades are either too costly or ineffective on a small hull.
Command 1 itself is a double-edged sword. It’s responsive, yes — but once the ship gets more than lightly upgraded, that lack of command storage becomes a real drawback.
The Battle Refit was also clearly designed around Linked Turbolaser Towers. Losing LTT without meaningful compensation hit it hard. TRC is an option, but now you’re stacking even more pressure onto already stressed defense tokens.
The Transport comes out looking better. Double Officer, Support Team, Fleet Support, better squad value — it has a clearer identity than the post-nerf Battle Refit.
What if: The LTT change was a sledgehammer, and ships designed around it paid the price. Also: the game desperately needs affordable Defensive Retrofit options for small ships.
Verdict: Transport is fine. I wouldn’t object to 46, but it’s not necessary. The Battle Refit still feels expensive post-LTT — but how much more can it drop before spam becomes an issue? Especially now that the Munificent Comms sits at 65?
Munificent-class Star Frigate / Comms Frigate / Command Frigate (ARC)
The Munificent is one of the best-designed CIS ships both aesthetically and mechanically. Red dice everywhere. Red flak. Bombard, so LTT still works. Slow, yes — but if you’re willing to pay, you can make it move. The Star Frigate can take Thermals, the Comms can function as a carrier, and the ARC Command Frigate adds another interesting axis entirely.
The Comms Frigate is the weak link defensively — even at 65, it’s squishy — but it’s cheap enough now to justify the risk. 65 + LTT is 82 points; that’s not nothing, but it’s playable.
The ARC Command Frigate is not overpowered. Yes, you can make it a strong carrier — even fit Bomber Command Center — but you pay dearly for it. No Support Team slot, no PDIC, speed 2, and a massive upgrade tax just to make it do its job.
Example:
Munificent-class Command Frigate [ARC] (74)
• Flight Controllers (6)
• Expanded Hangar Bay (5)
• Thermal Shields (5)
• Linked Turbolaser Towers (7)
• Bomber Command Center (8)
• Sa Nalaor (5)
= 110 points
That’s an eye-watering 110 points (plus an officer) for a semi-hardened medium base crawling along at speed 2.
What if: Defensive Retrofits weren’t so mandatory for slow medium and large ships. But that’s a structural issue, not a ship-specific one.
Verdict: Comms at 65 is cheap but fragile — fine. Star and Command Frigates are also fine.
Pinnace-class Patrol Craft
Covered in detail in my Legacy Wave 1 article, so I’ll keep this short.
It’s a great addition to the game and to CIS specifically. Flexible, useful, interesting. That said, its existence further erodes the value of the Hardcell — especially the Battle Refit — because if I want a small combat ship, I’d usually rather take a Pinnace with D-Caps.
Providence-class Carrier / Dreadnought
The Providence is a ship that took time to unlock.
Early on, it was often dismissed as clunky or overpriced. That changed — and the price drops helped. The Carrier came down a little, the Dreadnought a lot, and suddenly both versions made sense.
Both are excellent carriers (the Dreadnought arguably the better one), and both are credible gunships. The Dreadnought’s upgrade bar is especially strong. The Carrier remains extremely popular because it’s one of the tankiest ships in the game, thanks to Defensive Retrofit (Venator-I cries silently in the corner) and access to Intensify Firepower!
What if: The Dreadnought didn’t have to take Invincible, and the Carrier didn’t want to. But again, that’s more about underlying rules than ship balance.
Verdict: Both variants are viable and in a good place. The Carrier is still the default pick.
Quarren Prototype Gunship (ARC)
This is an ARC design lifted straight from the MC30 Torpedo Frigate — and it shows.
It’s unique, so you only get one. Like the MC30, it really wants a defensive title… which it doesn’t have. As a result, it often ends up as a throwaway Boarding Troopers platform. D-Caps work nicely with the Ion slot, but that competes with PDIC, and without an Ordnance slot, the close-range punch is noticeably worse than the MC30 it’s based on.
The temptation is to overload it with upgrades. That’s a trap.
What if: Nothing, but once again ARC’s self-imposed “reuse existing cardboard” rule severely limited design space.
Verdict: A nice addition to CIS fleets.
Recusant-class Destroyer (aka Patriot Fist)
I love this ship.
It’s insanely powerful and hilariously fragile if misplayed. It has the wildest arcs in the game and can turn better at high speed than any other large hull. It also has one title — Patriot Fist — that is leagues better than the others for its cost.
Let’s be honest: Patriot Fist is not a 6-point title. It’s a 10-point title. The drawback is rarely relevant, and when it is, you can simply choose not to use it. That’s not a real drawback.
The Support Destroyer suffers by comparison. It wanted LTT more than almost any other ship — red flak, red dice — and didn’t get Bombard. Post-nerf, it lost its identity and didn’t get a price cut to compensate. Fewer reds, no Ordnance, and weak rerolls make it feel sad next to the Light Destroyer.
What if: Patriot Fist were priced correctly.
Verdict: The Support Destroyer is currently overshadowed. It was always slightly too expensive; post-LTT nerf it’s worse. Still good — just not competitive with its sibling.
Closing Thoughts
CIS is, overall, in a good place.
The faction has strong visual identity, clear roles, and fewer outright design failures than some others. Where it struggles, it’s often due to broader systemic issues — Defensive Retrofit dependence, sledgehammer errata, or self-imposed design constraints — rather than individual ships being badly conceived.
That wraps up Part 6, and with it, the faction breakdowns of The Ship Files.
Next: we zoom out. Overview and a final zoom-in on my most wanted changes.
Almost there.
