Star Wars: Squadrons is finally here and everyone is excited and ready to jump straight into intense dogfights all over the galaxy.
But once you are in, the complexity of the game might take its toll on new and inexperienced players with a plethora of options and gameplay mechanics.
For gameplay mechanic and tips, we've covered all offensive and defensive manoeuvres in our comprehensive Combat Guide.
In this article, we will focus more on your Starfighters in order to explain all customisation options and how to optimize your ships in the best possible way that will suit your playstyle and offer tactical advantages in Fleet Battles.
Starfighter Components
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Ship components can be equipped to change how your ships function and customize your ship to suit your playstyle and offer more specialisation that will the needs of your team.
Ship components can add passive or active benefits.
Starfighters can be equipped with up to three passive components and four active components:
How to unlock and earn new Ship Components?
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Components are unlocked with Requisition
The requisition is the second in-game resource (the first one is Glory), which players earn by levelling up. You level up simply by playing the game and earning Experience (XP), in any available game mode.
- Upon reaching level 40, you will have enough Requisition to unlock every component in the game.
- Beyond that, levelling up will only grant you Glory.
- Players are unlocking components in the hangar.
- You can enter your hangar in two ways:
- Access the Imperial and Republic hangars from the customization tile in the main menu.
- When a multiplayer match starts, players will have a brief period of time to access their assigned faction’s hangar, to customize and prepare their ship for the battle.
How to customize Starfighter Components
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- Once you enter your hangar look at the starfighter and interact with it.
- Once you click on it you should be on the starfighter ship selection screen.
- Select the ship you wish to customize which will bring you to Starfighter components tab.
- There, you pick the component slot you wish to edit.
- You will now see available components for that component slot.
- Equip the desired component or unlock it with Requisition.
- Components cost one Requisition point to unlock.
Bomber Loadouts and Builds
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The Bomber classes in Star Wars: Squadrons, the Imperial TIE bomber and New Republic Y-wing, are primarily designed to carry out bombing runs on capital ships.
They can deal a huge amount of damage to the capital ship’s shields and hull but allies will need to escort you to the target and protect you from the enemies.
They are rather weak in a dogfight against the other starfighter classes.
Bomber "Anti-Capital Ship Specialist" Build and Loadout
A pure anti-capital ship build that lacks anti-starfighter capabilities.
- Starfighter: New Republic Y-wing
- Primary weapon: Krupx JR-89 Ion Cannon
- Left auxiliary: Taim & Bak Ion Bomb
- Right auxiliary: Arakyd PW-16 Proton Bomb
- Countermeasure: ArMek H/M Seeker Warheads
- Hull: Fabritech Dampener Hull
- Shield: Krupx Conversion Shield
- Engine: Incom SLAM Engine
Bomber "Tank/Joust Specialist" Build and Loadout
A defensive build that sacrifices manoeuvrability and aims for head-on trades against incoming enemy forces
- Starfighter: Imperial TIE bomber
- Primary weapon: Sienar Rotary Cannon
- Left auxiliary: Sienar R/D-77 Assault Shield
- Right auxiliary: Sienar Seeker Mine
- Countermeasure: Chaff Particles
- Hull: Sienar Reinforced Hull
- Engine: Unstable Twin Engine
Fighter Loadouts and Builds
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Fighter class starfighters The X-wing and TIE fighter, are easy to handle and adaptable to multiple situations. Their main advantage is in their versatility. They are good for players confident in their dogfight skills.
Fighter "Anti-Capital Ship Specialist" Build and Loadout
Can deal decent capital ship damage without fully committing to a bomber run.
- Starfighter: Imperial TIE fighter
- Primary weapon: Sienar Burst Cannon
- Left auxiliary: Sienar KB-D28 Proton Torpedo
- Right auxiliary: Sienar Ion Torpedo
- Countermeasure: Sienar Sensor Jammer
- Hull: Sienar Dampener Hull
- Engine: Twin SLAM Engine
Fighter "Flexible Ion Cannon" Build and Loadout
An ion build suitable for many different situations.
- Starfighter: New Republic X-wing
- Primary weapon: Krupx JR-89 Ion Cannon
- Left auxiliary: Astromech Repair Droid
- Right auxiliary: ArMek Barrage Rockets
- Countermeasure: ArMek H/M Seeker Warheads
- Hull: Incom Ferroceramic Hull
- Shield: Sirplex Nimble Deflector
- Engine: Koensayr Microthrust Engine
Interceptor Loadouts and Builds
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The interceptor class, A-wing and TIE interceptor, includes the fastest and most agile starfighters in the game.
They are exceptional in head-to-head fights and are extremely difficult targets to lock on, because of their speed and manoeuvrability.
Interceptor "Stealthy Assassin" Build and Loadout
A stealthy build for pilots that like to keep the enemy at very close range.
- Starfighter: New Republic A-wing
- Primary weapon: Plasburst Laser Cannon
- Left auxiliary: Incom E-73 Repair Kit
- Right auxiliary: Carbanti Targeting Jammer
- Countermeasure: Carbanti Sensor Inverter
- Hull: Carbanti Reflec Hull
- Shield: Fabritech Scrambler Shield
- Engine: Koensayr Microthrust Engine
Interceptor "Dogfight Specialist" Build and Loadout
A build that focuses on tightly-locked dogfights to quickly deal damage to close, fast-moving targets and deal with enemy missiles launched at close range.
- Starfighter: Imperial TIE interceptor
- Primary weapon: Sienar F/A Rapid Fire Cannon
- Left auxiliary: Sienar Seeker Mine
- Right auxiliary: Sienar Anti-Starfighter Missile
- Countermeasure: Chaff Particles
- Hull: Sienar Ferroceramic Hull
- Engine: Twin Microthrust Engine
Support Loadouts and Builds
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Support class starfighters, the U-wing and TIE Reaper are focused on supporting your squadron with life-saving supplies and repairs, but can also be viable in dogfights.
Asides from supporting your team, they can also disrupt enemy systems to make their job harder and easy prey for your teammates.
Defensive Support Build and Loadout
A fully defensive build for improving team survivability and help them stay in fight longer.
- Starfighter: New Republic U-wing
- Primary: Taim & Bak KX8 Laser Cannon
- Left auxiliary: Arakyd Tactical Supply Droid
- Right auxiliary: Loronar Tactical Shield
- Countermeasure: ArMek H/M Seeker Warheads
- Hull: Chempat Deflector Hull
- Shield: Chempat Fortified Deflector
- Engine: Incom SLAM Engine
Offensive Support Build and Loadout
Offensive support build with a disruptive role with a goal to be an annoyance to the enemy team while your teammates are gunning them down.
- Starfighter: Imperial TIE reaper
- Primary: Sienar Au-8 Guided Laser Cannon
- Left auxiliary: Sienar Targeting Beacons
- Right auxiliary: Sienar Deployment Turret
- Countermeasure: Sienar XX-5 Seeker Warheads
- Hull: Sienar Reinforced Hull
- Shield: Sienar Scrambler Shield
- Engine: Twin Ion Engine
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