Talk:Expose/@comment-89.1.60.76-20180213201701/@comment-454133-20180213230430

Anonymous: Agility Value and Defense Dice are two separate concepts, just like Primary Weapon is separate from Attack Dice. The Value affects the number of dice you roll, but the number of dice you roll doesn't go backward and change the value. They are distinct concepts and they are calculated separately, at different times. You have a total Agility and Primary Weapon value independent of attacks and number of dice rolled.

An important example is the ARC. Your primary weapon value is 2. With the title, you roll an additional die but your primary weapon value is still 2; this matters if you try to use Guidance Chips. The title doesn't increase your primary weapon value.

Another thing to consider is having two damage cards from the original damage deck on your ARC, and using Expose, then getting a boost from Jan Ors. At this point your primary weapon value is -1, which caps to 0. Then you add bonuses like the title and Jan for a total of 2 dice. If you don't believe me, ask in the FFG rules forum (see link below).

In this case, as with agility, you have already calculated your Agility or Primary Weapon value before you choose the number of attack dice. It is a ship stat that exists outside of attacking. It influences attacking, but is not itself the attack. Any bonus dice that are added to the Value are calculated separately from the value.

Agility exists and is calculated even if a ship is not being attacked. This matters for Saturation Salvo splashing damage onto a ship with Stealth Device, which determines agility on its own; no defense dice are being calculated.

Last of all, let's look at the FAQ: it's talking about calculating a "value" such as "agility" or "attack dice rolled".

''When multiple card effects or abilities increase or reduce a value, such as agility or attack dice rolled, ignore any “to a minimum of 0” or "to a maximum of X" restrictions until the calculation is complete. For example, if a ship with a printed agility value of “0” and the “Structural Damage” Damage card (reducing its agility by 1 to a minimum of 0) uses Countermeasures, (increasing its agility by 1) its agility is “0.”''

The misunderstanding you're having appears to be that you are combining the agility calculation and the defense dice rolled calculation into one step, but they are separate values. You calculate your agility value, then you calculate the defense dice rolled value.

To get a bit more personal, I also notice your wording shows you believe I'm just interpreting the rules in my favor, e.g. "order that benefits you most" and so on. Quite the opposite. I'm simply explaining how the rules work. I don't have a horse in this race, other than wanting to explain the rules to players who have questions. I'm the admin here, it's what I do. I realize you will want to argue your point until you win, but instead of brow-beating the people here, I suggest you go to the FFG Rules Question Forum where you can make your point to a much larger crowd and hear what they all have to say. Maybe they can explain it better than I have here.

But I am not infinitely patient. I suggest you take your argument straight to FFG's doorstep and fight it out with the larger community who reside there. I'd be surprised if they overturn my interpretation, but you'll have to ask them before you can know.