Considering ACTA

[HirnKhan]

Hi all,
we are a small group of players that are interested in starting up with playing ACTA. For now we'll stick with the revised ed rulebook.
I was wondering how ballanced the races were and whether the fleetboxes contained what was necessary to build a viable force (5pt Raid) or whether it would be better to buy single packs and only get the ships I think I'll need?

Thanks

Michael

 

[Burger]

On the whole, the fleet boxes have a pretty good selection and are excellent value for money compared to buying ships separately. Some are a bit top-heavy (Crusade EA, Minbari, Shadow for example) but you'll likely use most of the supplied ships at some point.

As for balanced, well opinion varies Which races are you interested in?

 

[Iain McGhee]

The fleet box sets are better value for money than buying singles. There is a breakdown of their contents and the points costs in the player resources sticky thread above. Some of the box contents may only appear in Sky Full Of Stars (which you should consider getting at some point)

The fleets are generally well balanced but some players have felt that the Minbari were far too powerful with the original stealth rules and the ISA White Star was too agile (both issues corrected with Armageddon). There has also been a change to fighter rules and some other ship stats since the revised edition.

 

[HirnKhan]

Thanks for your replies.
For now we are 3 players that want to try out ACTA and we'll play Centauri, EA and (Narn or ISA).
The reason we decided to stick with the revised ed to begin with is thta we did not want to get overwhelmed with rules and ship choices, but if the newer SFOS and Armageddon have important rule changes we may as well get a hold of them to begin with instead of having to 'relearn' the game later on.

Michael

 

[Silvereye]

On the whole I have found the races to be reasonably well balanced against each other, although some races take a lot more skill to use well than others.

There are still a couple of niggly ships (as you have no doubt seen from other posts) but on the whole most balance within a fleet aspect well.

The revised box set contains a load of counters for the ships in the game, I would suggest having a few games with the counters until you get a feel of the game and the play style of the race you are looking for. Once you know what you like then I'd think about shelling money out on the minis - The fleet and reinforcement boxes are good value for the models within them, but that is not much use if you do not want to use most of those particular ships.

If you do like the game, I would strongly suggest the Sky Full of Stars (SFoS) as a worthwhile purchase, as this beefs up the fleet lists (and splits the League into individual races) and adds a load more options for use in the game and campaigns.

 

[Locutus9956]

Yep Id definitely say that SFoS and Armageddon are very worth getting for the rules updates (and new fleet lists particularly if one of you is going to play EA).

As for the lists you mentioned I think theyre all pretty well balanced these days though not all of them will suite everyones play style. My advice as always is unless youre really set on one particular race or intend buying multiples in any case, buy the books and revised box and play some games with the included counters. Then you can decide which fleet you REALLY want to play before spending loads on miniatures!

 

[fluffy05]

The rules updates in Sky Full of Stars aren't to heavy.

The best think about SFOS is the fleet list as it brings variants to the standard ships e.g. - EA Hyperion has an Assault, Missile, Pulse? and Command Variant.

My LGS was shipped SFOS by mistake by an Australian Wholesaler and I picked it up first. I don't regret getting it for a second.

I don't have Armagedeon yet and have been playing EA, Narn, ISA, Shadows and Centauri with friends.

I have now got the EA & Centauri reinforcements boxes - assembled and mostly painted. I prefer to use minatures for gaming than card counters as for me it helps add to the games atmosphere but the Card counters are excellent too.

You won't regret getting into the game. I have played GW games for years as well as others like Warmachine etc but I get a real buzz of of this game!

All the best!

P.S. post battle reports when you get up & running

 

[MustEatBrains]

With the fixes in Armageddon, fleets (and the rules in general) tend to be pretty well balanced. Some issues remain after Armageddon (some of which not having been there before), but in general, balancing ist pretty good.

The game itself is a lot of fun, and every fleet plays a little differently. As has been ssaid before, some fleets are easier to play then others, some fleets tend to do better in bigger games, some in smaller ones, but there´s a fleet for just about everybody out there!

One thing you can read every now and then is that many people who turned away from the hobby because they were dissapointed with some other game (GW is mentioned often in this regard), came back to gaming becaus of ACTA-

And this forum is generally a great place to hang out, too - after Armageddon, there´s been some tension (still way below what you find in some other forums I know), bnut things seem to get back to normal again.

 

[Cerebral Cortex of the Da]

I picked up ACTA for my group and used the counters before deciding which mini's to buy. We want to try all the fleets in different scenario's before shelling out $99.95 US for a box of ships we might wind up not using.

At the moment we have 6 games under our belts and really like the destructive capabilities of the Beam weapons. We have also decided to get SFOS due to mastery of the rules in the revised edition and hearing about different variants for things like Narn Energy Mines and breaching pods.

But playing with just the revised is a good idea until you get all the rules down, then introduce the additional rules.

It's a hella lot of fun to play.

Welcome to the addiction.

CCotD'

 

[Locutus9956]

Worth noting is that some of the rules revisions in SFoS are counter revised in Armageddon... in particular E-Mines and Fighters which lost alot of their bite in SFoS but have gained it back to the point where I think theyre about right now in Armageddon. Personally I consider the Armageddon rules updates pretty damned essential but it is after all a matter of personal taste!

 

[Chernobyl]

Welcome to the ACTA game, HirnKhan. I'll go ahead and echo the sentiments and advice above - its a fun game, generally well balanced, and has some cool backgound being set in the B5 universe.
The 3 races you and your friends have chosen are pretty decent against each other, so I think you'll be happy with them.
To start, I'd pick up the revised box set, which will get you started with the rules, and as stated before, gives you plenty of ship counters to play with, from every fleet. And there are a lot of fleets!
After that, pick up Sky Full of Stars and Armageddon - these will get you up to date with the variant ships, additional rules and loads of scenarios to play. by this time you'll have a good idea what fleet combinations you like to play, and you can see if the box sets suit you or now. They're generally a good value, but may not have a particular ship you want, or ships that you won't use right away.

And there's no lack of advice around here on modeling, tactics, game-play, campaign examples, and various player aids...so pipe up and get in the conversations! enjoy!

Chernobyl

 

[HirnKhan]

Again thanks for your replies. Tuesday we will play some games and see whether we like ACTA or not.
I am considering fielding this Narn fleet:

1x G'Quan
1x Dag'Kar
2x Sho'Kar
1x G'Karith
2x Frazi Wings

Any comments would be appreciated.
Another question. Using a jump point takes 3 turns? 1 to open, 1 to fly into and 1 to exit?

Michael

 

[Silvereye]

Another question. Using a jump point takes 3 turns? 1 to open, 1 to fly into and 1 to exit?

To open a jump point, you need to use the Initiate Jump Point! (IJP) Special Action.

A jump point works in the following way:

Turn a: Ship IJP! No ship/auxillary craft can enter a jump point on the turn it is created.
Turn b: Ship needs to IJP to maintain the jump point. It is now stable and available for use by the creating ship, other ships in the same dimension and auxillary craft in the same dimension. Any ship or auxillary craft can use it by entering/exiting the open arc of the jump point counter. If the ship IJP uses the point, it is immediately removed.
A jump point may be maintained for three turns.

On exiting a Jump Point or Jump Gate, the exiting ships traits for Jump Point and Advanced Jump Point determine how the ship acts, not the traits of the ship that created it.
Once a Jump Point closes, the creating ship needs to let its jump engine recharge for three more turns before you can create another.

As to your fleet, I'd probably drop the Dag'Kar for a couple of skirmish ships. Possibly a Ka'Toc and Thentus.

 

[Locutus9956]

To clarify what was meant I think though basically you dont have to spend a turn 'entering the jump point' in hyperspace when youre jumping in, you simply open the point and move through (exiting from the point) the following turn (or any either of the two following turns you can hold the jump point open for).

Any other ships you have in hyperspace can jump in too but as soon as the ship creating the jump point enters the table the jump point closes.

Also note that if you jump OUT your ship counts as having withdrawn and cannot return (its stated pretty clearly in the rules but some people have been known to miss that one when starting the game and this has led to some very nasty tricks which arent really allowed (like shadows phasing out and reapering behind your fleet and blowing it all to bits.... (if you want to let them do that for fun in a scenario fine but if your trying to play fair people WILL get annoyed )