X-wing vs. ISD

[Ghost Rider]

Ok forget the shields. Say they got disabled.

What would be the effect of the X-wing lasercannons on the ISD hull? Can it get trough or will it only scratch the paintjob

Can a spitball dent a tank?

Eventually a number of spitballs might have some effect...but that's giving a immense amount of spitballs within an immense amount of time.

With the X-Wing's limitations on supplies and power?

No.

[Knife]

Ok forget the shields. Say they got disabled.

What would be the effect of the X-wing lasercannons on the ISD hull? Can it get trough or will it only scratch the paintjob

Can a spitball dent a tank?

Eventually a number of spitballs might have some effect...but that's giving a immense amount of spitballs within an immense amount of time.

With the X-Wing's limitations on supplies and power?

No.

Meh, like a baseball bat and a modern cruiser, you might be hell on the windows and antena but other than that you just won't make much of a dent.

That and eventually one of those TBL's are gonna get ya.

[Ghost Rider]

Ok forget the shields. Say they got disabled.

What would be the effect of the X-wing lasercannons on the ISD hull? Can it get trough or will it only scratch the paintjob

Can a spitball dent a tank?

Eventually a number of spitballs might have some effect...but that's giving a immense amount of spitballs within an immense amount of time.

With the X-Wing's limitations on supplies and power?

No.

Meh, like a baseball bat and a modern cruiser, you might be hell on the windows and antena but other than that you just won't make much of a dent.

That and eventually one of those TBL's are gonna get ya.

Yeah...actually much better

All in all this is why you can't use games as a gauge.

[FOG3]

Ok forget the shields. Say they got disabled.

What would be the effect of the X-wing lasercannons on the ISD hull? Can it get trough or will it only scratch the paintjob

Can a spitball dent a tank?

Eventually a number of spitballs might have some effect...but that's giving a immense amount of spitballs within an immense amount of time.

With the X-Wing's limitations on supplies and power?

No.

Under the shields? So you're saying the Death Star was covered in tinfoil I suppose?

[McC]

So...okay, then what's the point of having starfighters at all? If they're superfluous when it comes to capital ships and can only win through gimmicks (i.e. DS encounters), why even bother with building them? It can't be speed -- Carrack cruisers can match X-wings for linear acceleration. What, then?

[Knife]

So...okay, then what's the point of having starfighters at all? If they're superfluous when it comes to capital ships and can only win through gimmicks (i.e. DS encounters), why even bother with building them? It can't be speed -- Carrack cruisers can match X-wings for linear acceleration. What, then?

Because not everything is the giant Dorito of Doom (TM). Fighters are good at intercepting bombers, strike craft, and gunships that pose a threat to smaller warships and/or civilian ships.

Truely a squadron of Xwings is more than enough to take out a cargo ship and building a ISD to defend a cargo ship is a little expensive and overkill, but a squadron of Tie Interceptors is perfectly suitable to repel an attack of a Xwing squadron.

[Alan Bolte]

Oh, plenty of reasons, actually. For one, a fighter is better and faster at taking down another fighter or bomber than a capship is. The heavier weapons carried by starfighters can "be hell against the windows and antena," essentially making pinpoint strikes against sensor or other equipment if warships are available to keeps the shields stressed. Massed bombers and even strafing runs can be moderately effective against the smaller warships. Note that in ROTJ the medical frigate was considered vulnerable to fighter attack, and it was thought to be worth the trouble to 'draw their fire away from the cruisers'.
Partly speculation: shielding in SW isn't one hundred percent effective against any significant level of firepower. As its power-rating increases, it is slightly more effective at blocking lower-power shots but mostly has greater capacity to deflect highter-power shots. Also, fighters can attack at point-blank range, meaning they can attack from within the outer volumes of the shields, giving the shields less distance within which to deflect or absorb the weapon's energy. Given the splintering effect, it seems reasonable to assume that sometimes fairly significant splinters can get through.

Besides that, fighters are useful for scouting, planetary attack, supporting ground troups, all sorts of escort missions, general force projection, and are quite effective against smaller vessels, especially civilian vessels.

[Mad]

Okay, so I know the games are to be ignored in terms of mechanics, but I've been playing XWA again recently and today I did a little mission where I single-handedly (in an X-wing) took down an ISD and its wing of fighters. Now, I'm fairly certain that everyone here would cry, "Bah, what a load of crap. Couldn't happen." I don't mean to challenge or anything, but I'm just kinda curious why. I did a search but didn't come up with any threads on the topic...

So what's to say a sufficiently skilled pilot couldn't single-handedly take down an ISD? Just curious, not looking to start any fights or anything.

I'm a little late jumping in here, but I don't think anybody noted that the shielding for ships in Star Wars are given in wattages. That is, the Acclamator troop transport has 16 teraton per second shielding. An ISD is bigger and newer, and thus would have better shielding. Compare 16 teratons per second to the few kilotons per second an X-wing can pump out, and you'll see why the X-wing doesn't stand a chance.

A squadron of X-wings armed with high-yield torpedoes (since such torpedo yields can only be guessed at at this point) may be capable of overcoming that with proper launch timing, though even Rogue Squadron can't be sure of nailing the timing down enough to be sure of stripping the shields from smaller craft (Interdictor cruisers and Victory-class Star Destroyers), so the chances of actually pulling it off against an ISD is essentially nil.

As for unshielded... an X-wing in Return of the Jedi managed to put a nasty hole into the bridge of an unshielded ISD with a few shots... but an ISD is so massive that even that hole is minor. The X-wing can do a bit of surface damage, but that'd be about it.

[Gil Hamilton]

Wasn't their an EU novel were a wing of X-Wings broke though the shields of a Star Destroyer with proton torpedoes?

[McC]

Oh, plenty of reasons, actually. For one, a fighter is better and faster at taking down another fighter or bomber than a capship is.

Well, sure, but you're using fighters as a reason for fighters, which is circular. If fighters cannot have any appreciable effect on capital ships without ridiculous numbers and/or combined action with other heavy vessels, why have them at all? They seem to be a vital component in SW space combat, yet if all calculations and figures pointing to their capabilities to be superfluous. Something's not adding up.

[Mr Bean]

Wasn't their an EU novel were a wing of X-Wings broke though the shields of a Star Destroyer with proton torpedoes?

Acuatal through several massed bombardments of Proton torps and yes in the Bacta War is the only EU were Capships get smashed by small numbers of fighters(Who just happen to be the Rebel's Number 1 Fighter talent)

[Knife]

Oh, plenty of reasons, actually. For one, a fighter is better and faster at taking down another fighter or bomber than a capship is.

Well, sure, but you're using fighters as a reason for fighters, which is circular. If fighters cannot have any appreciable effect on capital ships without ridiculous numbers and/or combined action with other heavy vessels, why have them at all? They seem to be a vital component in SW space combat, yet if all calculations and figures pointing to their capabilities to be superfluous. Something's not adding up.

Refer to my post, there are plenty of ships that are vulnerable to fighter attack, just not the really big and powerful ones.

[McC]

Well, canonically we know that Wedge appeared concerned about a TIE Interceptor attack against the medical frigate. Still, that's an awfully large disparity in shield and hull strengths, isn't it?

[Gil Hamilton]

Acuatal through several massed bombardments of Proton torps and yes in the Bacta War is the only EU were Capships get smashed by small numbers of fighters(Who just happen to be the Rebel's Number 1 Fighter talent)

No matter how talented the pilots of the spaceships are, that won't make their ordinance any more powerful. That would indicate that an X-Wing can carry capital ship bombs and a group of them are capable of beating a Stardestroyer.

[Robert Treder]

Well, canonically we know that Wedge appeared concerned about a TIE Interceptor attack against the medical frigate. Still, that's an awfully large disparity in shield and hull strengths, isn't it?

To be fair, we don't specifically know that he was referring to that Interceptor, since he just says "they".

[Murazor]

Wasn't the Imperator mark II model introduced with enhanced anti-fighter fire because of heavy usage of fighters by the Rebel Alliance? If so, the logic answer is that somehow fighters can be a real menace for capital ships and not a light one, considering that they redesigned the whole Imperator model.

[wautd]

Well, canonically we know that Wedge appeared concerned about a TIE Interceptor attack against the medical frigate. Still, that's an awfully large disparity in shield and hull strengths, isn't it?

Perhaps the Tie's were stripping it of its turrets so the big boys could take it down easier

[Mr Bean]

If you have not read Bacta War don't keep reading due to spoilers within

No matter how talented the pilots of the spaceships are, that won't make their ordinance any more powerful. That would indicate that an X-Wing can carry capital ship bombs and a group of them are capable of beating a Stardestroyer.

Unfourtionality they never to beat an ISD with mass torp fire, the Squadren itself never does take down any of the ISDs by itself, they were LOOSING to a Victory class destroyer when a handy capship shows up and smashs through the shields they weakened and takes out the bridge

Later with that same Cap ship, the equivlant of a wing or two of Fighters(Via converted frieghts that were turned into missle platforms) and the Rouges plus a Twilek squadron go up aginst a SSD and still never manage to kill it ever after reforceiments in the form of an ISD and another three wings of fighters arrive they don't manage to kill it