If Weapons Teams are prized and Defensive Retrofits are precious, then Offensive Retrofits are… the grab bag. This slot is where FFG/AMG tossed in all sorts of odds and ends: squadron toys, gimmicks, and a few powerhouse effects. Some are staples, some are pure binder fodder, and some are cards you wish had never been designed in the first place.
Let’s go through them one by one.
Advanced Transponder Net
Useless. This was made with pre-nerf Intel in mind, but once Intel got smashed to bits, ATN became not just binder fodder but full trash compactor food. Yes, you can dream up some corner-case scenario where it does something, but realistically: no. And it’s a modification, too. Hard pass.
Boosted Comms
A strong effect that’s been around since Wave 2. It detaches squadrons from their carriers by extending command range, which typically favors fast squadrons the most. At 4 points, it’s fine, though it looks pretty cheap next to Expanded Hangar Bay at 5. Probably deserves to be 5 or even 6 points.
If Armada had universal ship keywords, this card would probably be “Comms Ship only,” but in practice, that’s already where it lands. A classic that still works.
Disposable Capacitors
Good card, modestly priced at 3 points even as a one-shot effect. It was created specifically to prop up struggling ships (Raider-II, Victory-II, etc.), and in that context, it works.
But that’s exactly the design issue: ships shouldn’t need band-aid upgrades to function. Every new small/medium ship design has to account for the existence of this card. In an ideal world, the reliant hulls would get a cost drop, and DCaps would creep up a point.
Expanded Hangar Bay
Perfectly useful, perfectly costed. Nothing to see here — move along.
Flag Bridge
A great little design: medium or large flagship only, modification, but free and grants a Fleet Command slot. Zero cost for high flexibility, offset by strong restrictions. Leave it exactly as it is.
Flak Guns
They do their job, the cost is right, no fuss. Leave as-is.
Hardened Bulkheads
A weird one. At 5 points and limited to large ships, it’s rarely seen. Why not mediums too? The effect itself is fine, but the size restriction makes it awkward. Drop to 4 points and open it up a little — suddenly it’d see at least some play.
Phylon Q7 Tractor Beams
Manipulating enemy movement is powerful but hard to balance — lean too far and you get oppressive NPEs. As-is, Q7s feel maybe not overpriced but certainly clunky. If they worked like the Interdictor’s G8s (exhaust when an enemy moves, but with a refresh cost), they’d be much more useful. A less invasive change would be to drop Modification.
Point-Defense Reroute
Kind of useless. There are better, cheaper ways to flak. Yes, there are some corner builds where it synergizes with other upgrades, but those are the exception. Either rework it into something meaningful, bin it, or drop it to 2 or 3 points and accept it as binder filler.
Proximity Mines
Not sure mines were ever a great idea in Armada, but the card itself works fine. If you’re going to keep mines in the game, this is a fair implementation.
Quad Laser Turrets
Same problem as Point-Defense Reroute: too marginal, too niche, too expensive for what it does. Rework, bin, or cut to 3 or 4 points.
Rapid Launch Bays
The new version is more balanced but less flexible. No more Flight Commander tricks, but now there’s counterplay and no Squadron dial requirement.
At 6 points, with squads set aside rather than deployed, it feels niche or even overcosted. Not bad, but not common either. One of those cards that looks great in theory and ends up dusty in practice.
Reserve Hangar Deck
Still a great card. The bump from 3 to 4 points was deserved, even if it hurts generics a bit more. It was usually tied to Tri-fighters and TIE Interceptors anyway, so fine.
The bigger issue is wording: it should clearly say friendly squadron. If it doesn’t, ARC should fix that yesterday. Resurrecting enemy squadrons is just bad design.
Hyperspace Rings (GAR only)
Why, FFG, why? Scout is already a weak keyword, so why tie this to it? As-is, the card is useless.
Better version: squadrons with Scout gain speed 3 (unless they already have higher). That would actually give ARC-170s a neat niche. Right now? Trash compactor.
SPHA-T (GAR only)
I hate this card — not the design itself, but the way it forced the Venator to be built around it. Look at the Venator dice pools, then at the ARC Imperator variant with no Offensive slot. It’s all because of SPHA-T.
That said, unless you want to redesign the Venator from the ground up, the card has to stay. Within that context, its cost and limitations are correct.
B2 Rocket Troopers (CIS only)
Pretty great — but only with TF's black-dice-on-raid shenanigans. For other CIS fleets, not worth it even with the secondary anti-squad effect. Consider dropping to 6 as the “TF tax” is very much real.
Hyperwave Signal Boost (CIS only)
The CIS equivalent of Hyperspace Rings: underwhelming and awkward. It lets you use AI in the Squadron Phase to add dice. You can even “activate” zero squadrons, which technically works and is somehow more useful as a stall tactic than the intended design.
If you're using Legacy content, you could even take Vultures just for stalling so your Rogues go last. I’m 110% sure that wasn’t the intent, but here we are.
How to fix it? Let it fully activate squadrons in the Squadron Phase, but balance it with restrictions (modification, refresh cost, maybe no AI bonus if you move and attack). But that’d be a wall of text on a card. As-is, it’s just bad.
Verdict:
Offensive Retrofits are the ultimate mixed bag. Some are timeless staples (Boosted Comms, Expanded Hangars, RHD), some are niche but fine, and some are hopelessly dead cards that need either radical reworks or the trash compactor. The slot itself isn’t as universally valuable as Weapons or Defensive, but the right card in the right fleet can make or break a strategy.
Next Up: Defensive Retrofits — the true crown jewels of upgrade slots. From Electronic Countermeasures to Thermal Shields and everything in between, we’ll look at how this slot defines entire archetypes.
Lovely article. I don't understand what you mean by the SPHA-Ts restricting the Venator dice pools? Doesn't the Imperator have the same dice pools as the Venator-I?
ReplyDeleteThe Venator was designed alongside the SPHA-T card, so from the ground up it assumes that you're either using the Ven as a carrier or a SPHA-T platform. Not only does that limit the Ven 1 and 2, but any future Venator variants, such as the ARC Imperator. Design space is very limited.
DeleteOhh. Yea that really sucks.
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