Empire Beats Rebels in Star Wars: Squadrons Default Starfighter Loadouts

After recent hands-on time with Star Wars: Squadrons – it’s great, by the way – I spent way too much time reviewing my footage and painstakingly transcribing all of the gameplay-impacting Component unlocks for the eight launch starfighters.

Bear in mind that these are likely to be tweaked and changed before launch, which is particularly clear given the stats sometimes go down to two decimal points, but all of the stats below will give you an idea of how balance is shaping up.

And if these stats aren't enough for you, be sure to check out a fleet worth of numbers and figures in every Component for the New Republic starfighters, plus every Component for the Galactic Empire ships.

You'll be able to tweak and test which starfighters are stronger when Squadrons launches in October for VR, PlayStation 4, PC, and Xbox One. Plus, the Force tells us this will absolutely be playable (and maybe even visually enhanced) on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.

The Empire may ultimately lose after Return of the Jedi, replaced by the Rebel-Alliance-turned-New-Republic, but as far as Squadrons is concerned, Imperial pilots will have the edge on New Republic starfighters.

While only the Imperial support ship (the TIE reaper) has shields, the base hull values of the TIEs is equal to the base hull values of the New Republic starfighters plus their shields. While shields regenerate and hull damage doesn’t automatically heal, the real edge of the TIEs over the X-wing, Y-wing and A-wing is found in the other stats.

Take a default-stats X-wing vs TIE fighter match-up, for instance. X-wings have 1,200.00 max hull with 800 shield, while the TIE fighter has 2,000.00 hull and no shields. X-wings have lower max speed (145.00 vs 150.00), less max acceleration (160.00 vs 211.00), and lower manoeuvrability (75.00 vs 80.00).

While auxiliary weapons like missiles are effectively on par at this stage, the max damage-per-second (DPS) of the default laser cannons are stronger on the TIE fighter (and all other TIEs) at 480.00, with the X-wing only dishing out 450.11 damage, despite a faster rate of fire (7.5 shots per second vs 6.7 shots for TIEs) and better recharge rate (9.00 energy per second vs 7.00 energy for TIEs).

Squadrons has cosmetic and gameplay-impacting unlocks. The gameplay-impacting unlocks are called Components, which are unlocked by spending earned Requisition points. The cosmetic currency is called Glory and is earned separately to Requisition. You’ll earn both by levelling up, and it’s worth noting that the game flags that unlocking one item for a faction doesn’t unlock its equivalent for the other.

The starfighter Components are separated into slots for seven categories:

• Primary Weapon
• Left Auxiliary
• Right Auxiliary
• Countermeasures
• Hull
• Shields (excludes TIE fighter, interceptor, bomber)
• Engine

They were once called the Rebel Alliance, but now that they’re in charge, they’re the New Republic. Check out all four default New Republic ship loadouts below for the X-wing, Y-wing, A-wing, and U-wing.

Note that all of the text and stats is transcribed directly from the preview build of Star Wars: Squadrons that I recently got to play.

“As the backbone starfighter of the Rebel fleet, the T-65B X-wing is an all-purpose starfighter that can deftly strike down enemy TIEs as well as capital ships.”

• Max Hull: 1,200.00
• Max Shield: 800.00
• Max Speed: 145.00
• Max Acceleration: 160.00
• Manoeuvrability: 75.00

• Primary weapon: Standard Laser Cannon
• Left Auxiliary: Repair Droid
• Right Auxiliary: Concussion Missile
• Countermeasures: Seeker Warheads

• Hull: Ferroceramic Hull
• Shields: Standard Deflector
• Engine: Sublight Engine

“Repurposed by the Rebel Alliance, these older bombers utilise Ion Cannons and Missile payloads to immobilise and eliminate larger ships in the Imperial fleet.”

• Max Hull: 1,200.00
• Max Shield: 1,200.00
• Max Speed: 110.00
• Max Acceleration: 121.00
• Manoeuvrability: 70.00

• Primary weapon: Standard Laser Cannon
• Left Auxiliary: Automatic Ion Cannon
• Right Auxiliary: Multi-Lock Missile
• Countermeasures: Particle Burst

• Hull: Ferroceramic Hull
• Shields: Standard Deflector
• Engine: Sublight Engine

“Since the early days of the Rebellion, the RZ-1 A-wing’s exceptional speed has made it an effective, agile counter to Imperial starfighters.”

• Max Hull: 500.00
• Max Shield: 500.00
• Max Speed: 160.00
• Max Acceleration: 196.00
• Manoeuvrability: 80.00

• Primary weapon: Standard Laser Cannon
• Left Auxiliary: Repair Kit
• Right Auxiliary: Quick-Lock Missile
• Countermeasures: Seeker Warheads

• Hull: Ferroceramic Hull
• Shields: Standard Deflector
• Engine: Sublight Engine

“A study gunship, the U-wing starfighter is a well-armed swing-wing vessel with support capabilities that make it dangerous against the Empire, and vital for New Republic squadrons.”

• Max Hull: 1,700.00
• Max Shield: 1,600.00
• Max Speed: 130.00
• Max Acceleration: 144.00
• Manoeuvrability: 70.00

• Primary weapon: Standard Laser Cannon
• Left Auxiliary: Supply Droid
• Right Auxiliary: Turret Mine
• Countermeasures: Sensor Jammer

• Hull: Ferroceramic Hull
• Shields: Standard Deflector
• Engine: Sublight Engine

Up until recently in the Squadrons timeline, the Galactic Empire was in charge of the galaxy. Now they’re fractured, leaderless and more like the Rebel Alliance they were once trying to eradicate. Here are the four default Galactic Empire ship loadouts for the TIE fighter, TIE bomber, TIE interceptor, and TIE reaper.

As above, all of the text descriptions and stats are transcribed directly a pre-release version of Squadrons.

“The TIE/LN fighter is the unforgettable symbol of the Imperial fleet. It is designed for high-speed dogfights against starfighters, and is flexible enough to challenge enemy capital ships.”

• Max Hull: 2,000.00
• Max Speed: 150.00
• Max Acceleration: 211.00
• Manoeuvrability: 80.00

• Primary weapon: Standard Laser Cannon
• Left Auxiliary: Repair System
• Right Auxiliary: Concussion Missile
• Countermeasures: Seeker Warheads

• Hull: Ferroceramic Hull
• Engine: Twin Ion Engine

“Slower than the standard TIE fighter, the TIE bomber boasts increased armour, an impressive explosives arsenal, and heavy blasters ideal for assaulting large targets.”

• Max Hull: 2,500.00
• Max Speed: 115.00
• Max Acceleration: 169.00
• Manoeuvrability: 75.00

• Primary weapon: Standard Laser Cannon
• Left Auxiliary: Assault Shield
• Right Auxiliary: Multi-lock Missile
• Countermeasures: Chaff Particles

• Hull: Ferroceramic Hull
• Engine: Twin Ion Engine

“Flown by the elite pilots of the Imperial Navy, the TIE interceptor combines high speed and four laser cannons ideal for hunting down Republic starfighters.”

• Max Hull: 1,000.00
• Max Speed: 170.00
• Max Acceleration: 256.00
• Manoeuvrability: 85.00

• Primary weapon: Standard Laser Cannon
• Left Auxiliary: Repair System
• Right Auxiliary: Anti-Starfighter Missile
• Countermeasures: Seeker Warheads

• Hull: Ferroceramic Hull
• Engine: Twin Ion Engine

“The TIE reaper is a support starfighter with advanced utility, meant to aid their squadron by empowering allies, disrupting enemy starfighters, and protecting the Empire.”

• Max Hull: 1,700.00
• Max Shield: 1,600.00
• Max Speed: 130.00
• Max Acceleration: 144.00
• Manoeuvrability: 70.00

• Primary weapon: Standard Laser Cannon
• Left Auxiliary: Supply Droid
• Right Auxiliary: Turret Mine
• Countermeasures: Sensor Jammer

• Hull: Ferroceramic Hull
• Shields: Standard Deflector
• Engine: Twin Ion Engine