If the Weapons Team slot is the “muscle” and Defensive Retrofits are the “armor,” then Officers are the brains of the operation. This is one of the most hotly contested slots in the entire game. On most ships, you’ll fill it without hesitation. Indeed, on your more valuable ships, you’ll wish you had two or more.
And it’s not hard to see why: there are some absolutely stellar unique, faction-locked officers — think Adar Tallon, Minister Tua, Darth Vader, or the GAR/CIS token menagerie. Compared to that, the humble neutral officers don’t always shine. They lack the flashy tricks or faction synergies and often feel like filler.
But that doesn’t mean they’re worthless. Some are staples, some are solid utility, and yes — a few belong in the trash compactor. Let’s go through them all.
Chart Officer
One of those “forgotten” cards that actually has a niche. In Rebellion in the Rim Expanded where maps are smaller but obstacle density is the same, Chart Officer suddenly looks appealing. On standard 400? Not so much. The effect is handy, but the opportunity cost is brutal: you’re slapping this on a medium or large ship that probably wants an Intel Officer, an Expert Shield Tech, or some juicy faction officer instead.
Verdict: Balanced, useful, just rarely taken.
Damage Control Officer
At 5 points this was overpriced; at 3 points it’s at least something you might think about. Preventing crit effects is very strong in theory, but in practice it’s niche. Unless you’ve got multiple Contains and/or multiple officer slots, you’re probably passing this over. Still, if crit spam ever rises (nuScreed, future upgrades, or some meta shift), DCO might finally find a permanent home.
Verdict: For now, fine but fringe.
Expert Shield Tech
Now we’re talking. If you’ve got double Redirects, or you’re running Luminara (and I guess Obi-Wan), this is a fantastic card. Even with one redirect, it can be worthwhile, though less so. At 5 points, it’s not exactly overpriced, shall we say?
Verdict: No tweaks needed; this one is already a staple.
Flight Commander
Three points for some dial sequencing flexibility — not bad. Lets you move first, then launch squadrons, without needing Boosted Comms. On some carriers this is excellent, on others it’s redundant.
Verdict: The opportunity cost hurts, but 3 points is fair.
Hondo Ohnaka
Ah, Hondo. The one unique neutral officer. And let’s be honest: Hondo isn’t really neutral — he’s always working for Hondo. For 2 points he’s a steal. He’s in basically every fleet, and while it’s fun to have a ubiquitous pirate running around, his downside is usually so minor that it hardly registers.
Verdict: Realistically, he should be 3 points. But since Hondo’s offered me a “special deal” on some coaxium, we’ll leave him at 2.
Intel Officer
The OG. Seven points is a lot, but Intel Officer has been deleting defense tokens since Wave 1. Still valuable, still feared. Its stock dipped a little with the rise of Thermal Shields (our lord and savior, at least until they get a cost bump), but the fact IO remains relevant in the face of those kinds of meta shifts speaks volumes.
Verdict: Leave as is.
Skilled First Officer (SFO)
One of the few 1-point upgrades in the game, and worth every bit. Great for Command 2+ ships that need dial flexibility, and also doubles as a remote “choke victim” for Officer Vader.
Verdict: That specific Vader interaction does make a 1-point officer somewhat problematic, but we'll leave it as is.
Support Officer
The “premium” SFO. Now at 2 points, it’s fair. Lets you reshuffle your entire stack, which can be clutch, but the opportunity cost usually keeps it niche.
Verdict: Balanced, if rarely seen.
Veteran Captain
At 3 points this was laughable. At 2 points it’s tolerable. Is it better than Skilled First Officer? Rarely. Better than Hondo? Definitely not. Still, the one-time token can be nice in a pinch, especially if you’re stretching command economy.
Verdict: It’s fine.
Defense Liaison
In theory, decent. In practice, terrible. You’re paying points and a token tax to swap commands, and giving up the officer slot for the privilege. Nobody is taking this over the other options.
Verdict: Should be 2 points at most, and even then you’d hardly ever see it.
Weapons Liaison
Same problem as Defense Liaison, but with different commands.
Verdict: Same fix: cut it to 2, and it’s still niche.
Engineering Captain
Always being able to switch to Repair sounds handy… until you realize it’s 6 points and an officer slot. Nobody is paying that when better, cheaper officers exist.
Verdict: Not worth more than 4 points, and even 3 would be fine. As is, binder fodder.
Navigation Officer
Same as Engineering Captain, but for Navigation. Nav is arguably more valuable, but not that valuable.
Verdict: Needs the same price cut (3–4 max).
Tactical Expert
You guessed it: same template, this time for Concentrate Fire. Again, 6 points is way too much.
Verdict: 3 or 4 is where it belongs.
Wing Commander
The squadron version of the Captain/Officer cycle. This is the one that might justify 4, since squad commands are often the most valuable dial in the game. Still, 6 is too high.
Verdict: Another card begging for a discount.
Final Verdict – Neutral Officers
The neutral officer pool is a tale of two halves. On the one hand, you’ve got excellent staples (Intel Officer, Expert Shield Tech, Hondo, Skilled First Officer). On the other hand, you’ve got overcosted chaff (Engineering Captain and friends, and the Liaisons).
The big issue is opportunity cost. Officers are such a contested slot that any card that isn’t cheap, powerful, or both is automatically disqualified. Why pay 6 points for a one-dimensional command swapper when you could take Hondo, an Intel Officer, or a faction officer instead?
If these overpriced duds were brought down to 2–4 points, we’d probably see more variety. As it stands, neutral officers are a handful of staples surrounded by a wasteland of binder fodder.
Next Up: Officers of the Imperial persuasion.
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