Talk:TIE Punisher Expansion Pack/@comment-118.82.176.234-20161230092719/@comment-454133-20161230172444

1-Agility ships tend to die terribly to focus fire, and that's actually fine if you use it right. Just remember, it's not so much a matter of whether your ship lives long, but whether it's able to deal its worth in damage to the foe before it dies, and absorb damage for the team while they operate. For example, did it manage to deliver all of its Concussion Missile, Cluster Mines, and/or Proton Torpedoes? Did your buddies focus-fire the enemy back? If so, then it's okay for your punisher to be blasted out of the sky -- that just means your other ships are more free to attack with less shots coming their way, and the punisher did plenty of damage of its own before dying.

That said, 40 points is pretty valuable, and anything you can do to squeeze another round of life out of it might be worthwhile. If you don't need Guidance Chips (e.g. it's a bomb/mine layer more than a missile boat), then Lightweight Frame is a great option since it will help against almost every attack (equating to 2 agility on a 9 health boat). If you're flying a large ship with Tactical Jammer, then fly the punisher behind that ship for a slight defense boost while you try to offload munitions.

The punisher can be a tough ship to field effectively. You're doing a good job by keeping it lower in points so it's not too tasty a target. You might even consider trading the named pilot for a generic and dropping the points even further if you still have trouble, so the enemy is wasting rounds trying to kill something in your fleet that isn't nearly as dangerous or valuable as your other craft. You can drop 6 points by swapping with a worse pilot and 3 - 4 points per munition, so try to key the shot count and squad points to fit how many rounds it's likely to last. For example:

"Redline" + FCS + Proton Torpedoes + Extra Munitions + Concussion Missiles + Guidance Chips

is powerful, but about 40% of a normal-sized fleet and it probably will not get 4 rounds to fire all those munitions. An alternative is:

Cutlass Squadron Pilot + FCS + Extra Munitions + Concussion Missiles + Lightweight Frame

or Cutlass Squadron Pilot   + FCS + Extra Munitions + Plasma Torpedoes + Concussion Missiles + Guidance Chips

or  "Redline"   +  FCS   +  Extra Munitions   +  Concussion Missiles   + Guidance Chips

The cutlass pilot is remarkably less dangerous without Redline's extra lock and maybe Guidance Chips, but it's dropped to a third of your fleet and thus less important a target. You could also just drop a munition from Redline. If it's more lightly equipped (2 munitions instead of 4), then it's more likely to deliver the ordnance you paid for before death. With lightweight frame, it'll behave as though it has 2 agility most of the time, stretching that 6 hull and 3 shield even further (nearly doubling the average evades per attack, and a good agility is potent for outlasting focus fire).

However, going back to the principle of doing as much damage as you can before death, Guidance Chips may still be the best choice -- trade higher defense for higher attack. Just eat the 1 agility and give your opponent as much hell as you can before burning up. And you may even prefer to return to Redline for maximum damage and a better PS. Alternatively if you need a focus token to pair with your lock, an ally granting actions could help there (e.g. a Squad Leader buddy, or a TIE Shuttle with Systems officer and/or Fleet officer). (note while editing: odd, I can't type a capital 'o' all of a sudden... derpy Wikia!)

Also, the lower pilot skill could make it much harder to obtain a lock for range 2-3 munitions, so it may actually be harder to deliver ordnance that way (unless an ally is delivering you actions, e.g. by Squad Leader, or you switch to closer range Cluster Missiles). These are all things to consider and possibly try out on the table.

BTW I should point out that for missiles, a similarly equipped TIE Bomber costs 22 to 26 points at 2 PS, or 32-36 at higher PS. The bomber is quite a bit cheaper, more agile, and can fly slightly faster. The punisher offers more HP, a systems slot, and the "Redline" pilot. FCS helps acquire a 2nd lock for free on the target you just hit with plasma torps, for example, so that you can either k-turn for the 2nd shot, or scoot forward while allies block the other ship, and you line up a focused 2nd shot. And Redline is quite a bit more damaging with missiles. If Redline and FCS aren't what you need, then downgrading to a simpler bomber may be more effective (though I hate to say it, as I love Punishers).

Finally, look at how you fly the punisher. Your opponent may be more than happy to have you fly straight at him trying to deliver a missile. If you can, try to come at him sideways through asteroids, or from behind your allies, so that he has more trouble maneuvering his fleet to focus-fire one ship. Though this is a tough thing to advise on, because so much of maneuvering and tactics depend on context (e.g. what your opponent is doing, and how things are laid out). Also know what you're fighting and plan appropriately. For example, asteroid positioning helps a ton against TIE Defenders (limiting their jousting opportunities, and their options for performing 3+ speed maneuvers whenever they like), especially when using lower-PS ships to block their k-turn when you see that they're going to try a joust.

And if all goes poorly and your punisher dies by the 2nd round of contact, but it was lightly equipped and gave 'em hell, then that's 2 combat rounds where relatively little fire was directed at his friends. Have those buddies exploit your opponent's focused attention.

Sorry I wrote a book at you; I hope something here helps!