Tie Fighters are renowned in the Star Wars universe due to their screeching sound and fast-paced destruction. Naturally, it’d be an instinct to hop into one as soon as you boot up Star Wars: Squadrons. However, new players jumping in since Star Wars: Squadron joined Xbox Game Pass will see that the Empire’s standard ship is extremely hard to master.
Unlike the X-Wing, the Tie Fighter does not have any shields. Lasers and missiles alike will rip through your ship very quickly. However, there are ways to improve the Tie Fighter and make it a formidable killing machine. Here are the best Tie Fighter loadouts for both Dogfight and Fleet Battles in Star Wars: Squadrons.
Best Tie Fighter Loadout in Dogfight:
- Primary Weapon: Standard Laser Cannon
- Left Auxiliary: Repair System
- Right Auxiliary: Ion Missile
- Countermeasures: Chaff Particles
- Hull: Agile Hull
- Engine: Twin Propulsion Engine
Strengths of This Build
Although the burst cannons available for the Tie Fighter offer significantly more damage, the standard Sienar laser cannons boast higher recharge and fire rates. This allows you to fire more at your opponents whilst strafing, securing more hits and, ideally, more kills.
Tie Fighters don’t have shields – one of many things that don’t make sense in Star Wars: Squadrons – so this makes the repair system very important. You will lose health fast under fire, so prioritize repairing as often as you can.
Ion missiles pack a punch in regular Dogfights. They have the quickest lock-on time of all the missiles available for the Tie Fighter. Combine this with the ability to disable starfighters when you hit them, and the ion missile is sure to net you plenty of kills.
The chaff particles are an excellent countermeasure. This is most effective when you continue to fly in a straight line, as this ensures the rockets pass through the cloud. Boost towards the edge of the map and then deploy chaff particles to get some space from the enemy.
Weaknesses of This Build
As it has no shields and a fairly low health pool, the Tie Fighter is not ideal in one on one dogfight situations. Enemies will have cut through your hull before you even break through their armor.
This makes the Tie Fighter very hard to master, as you have to practice avoiding enemy fire at the same time as dealing out damage.
How To Use This Loadout Effectively
The key to this loadout is the high acceleration thanks to the agile hull and the twin propulsion engine. These components combine to slightly raise maneuverability, whilst improving the acceleration by over 100%. This boost is most effective when used to dart between enemies.
Try to act as a support attacker for other ships on your team. Instead of picking fights that you might not be able to win alone, prioritize assisting your teammates.
Best Tie Fighter Loadout in Fleet Battles:
- Primary Weapon: Burst Cannon
- Left Auxiliary: Repair System
- Right Auxiliary: Rockets
- Countermeasures: Seeker Warheads
- Hull: Reinforced Hull
- Engine: Twin Propulsion Engine
Strengths of This Build
The dumbfire rockets used in this build deal high damage, ideal for destroying Republic Cruisers. The recharge time is very low, so you can fire them continuously as you perform an attack run on the Republic’s ships. Burst cannons are also powerful weapons that serve excellently against capital ships.
The repair system is necessary in this loadout, since it can restore a large portion of your health between strafing runs. Generally, the repair droid is one component players should always use, and it’s one of the things we wish we knew before playing Squadrons. Combine this with the massive 60% health increase from the reinforced hull and you will be near indestructible.
Seeker warheads are also effective in this build, as you can use them whilst turning around after a strafing run. When deployed, they seek out any missiles locked onto you and blow them up, leaving you ready for another attack run.
The twin propulsion engine is here again thanks to its huge boost to acceleration. This is incredibly useful in Fleet Battles, as you can keep quickly flying between the various targets. You will be changing sides often, so the acceleration boost should ensure that you are always in the right area of the map.
Weaknesses of This Build
The propulsion engine and reinforced hull both decrease your Tie Fighter’s maneuverability, which makes you a much easier target. Although your acceleration is high, outpacing interceptors is going to be hard. To avoid being gunned down by an A-Wing, you will need to ensure you are always near max health.
The dumbfire rockets and burst lasers are less useful when fighting enemy fighters. They are much less accurate than the alternatives used in the previous build, which means dogfights are much harder. This can make the start of Fleet Battles, when you have to destroy enemy ships, very difficult.
How To Use This Loadout Effectively
As you can see from the different weapons, this loadout focuses on dealing high damage quickly. Whether you are jousting with an enemy or screeching towards a Republic Cruiser, the 40 rockets will deal loads of damage. Use these alongside the laser barrage to maximise your damage per second.
When playing Fleet Battles, consider using both loadouts interchangeably. At the start, you need to focus on eliminating enemies, so use the first loadout. Since it is geared towards dogfighting, it is perfect for the early stage of Fleet Battles before you start taking damage from capital ships.
When you push forward and begin attacking enemy cruisers, switch to the heavier loadout and start dealing higher damage with your laser barrages. Use the versatility offered by these two loadouts to ensure a victory for the Empire.
Next: Star Wars: Squadrons Flight Stick Configuration Guide
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