[2022] Developer Insights: TIE Echelon

[ Developer Insights - Kit Reveal ]

Hi Holotable Heroes,

The TIE Echelon is landing on the holotables! This First Order Tank is prepared to cover its fleet allies with a host of abilities that make it tough to defeat.

Below we take a deeper dive into the inspirations and motivations of the design team as they collaborated to bring this ship to Galaxy of Heroes.

The Basics:

• The TIE Echelon works well with First Order ships and provides the fleet with a dedicated tank.
• The TIE Echelon will be crewed by First Order Officer.
• Its interplay with Target Lock and Advantage allows TIE Echelon to call First Order allies to assist. Read the strategy tips for more details on this.

Unique Attributes:

• TIE Echelon can provide its allies with Stealth via its The Galaxy's Edge Special ability.
• While TIE Echelon’s allies are Stealthed and TIE Echelon is not, TIE Echelon can’t be Critically Hit.
• The Defense, Max Health, and Max Protection bonuses provided by the Might of the First Order Unique ability stack, meaning for each Stealthed First Order ally the bonuses keep ramping. Read the strategy tips for more details on this.

Inspiration:

• We jumped at the chance to include the First Order’s TIE Echelon! The ship was created specifically for Disney’s Galaxy Edge.
• The large size and signature TIE-looking wings made this a great tank with a unique look in our game.
• We wanted to give the ship a crew, but most of the First Order characters in Galaxy of Heroes already serve as a ship’s crew member. To this end, the First Order Officer is the TIE Echelon’s crew member.
• Because of this, the Executor’s Bounty Hunter fleet can’t ignore TIE Echelon’s Taunt.

Strategy Tips:

• You'll want to keep allies Stealthed as much as possible and leave TIE Echelon without Stealth. This will help you ramp up the bonuses provided by the Might of the First Order Unique ability.
• Use TIE Echelon's Special ability as much as possible. With this in mind, you may not always want to give TIE Silencer the bonus turn from Kylo Ren’s Command Shuttle, especially if TIE Echelon’s Special ability is ready to go.
• TIE Echelon uses its Initiate the Hunt Basic ability to apply Target Lock to Hunted enemies. When targeting an enemy with Target Lock, it will call First Order allies who have Advantage to assist. It also uses its The Galaxy's Edge Special ability to call First Order allies to assist, and then the allies gain Stealth. So, that’s fun! Check out the kit reveal for more details.

FAQ:

• How does it unlock?
  • TIE Echelon unlocks via a Galactic Chase event.
• How does the TIE Echelon impact the utility of fleets?
  • It allows players to move other tanks out of this fleet to let TIE Echelon serve as the First Order fleet’s dedicated tank.
  • For example, if you’re currently using Hound's Tooth in your First Order fleet but want to move it to a different fleet, the TIE Echelon should slot in perfectly to give the First Order a tank that brings the fleet back to the level of power they would have with a strong ship such as Hound’s Tooth. You might even find the TIE Echelon to be a better synergy fit with First Order.