Is everything under control, Situation normal?: Inside ARC01
26th July 2025
Rosco
5 mins
The release of ARC01 is set to be a welcome breath of fresh air for the Star Wars: Armada community. With fresh points, rebalanced commanders, and new content hitting both the kitchen table and tournament scene around the world, the Armada Ruleset Collective (ARC) may firmly plant its flag as the new stewards of the game.
But with big changes come big questions: how fast will updates come? What’s the plan for long-term support? Are we ever going to see new factions? And perhaps most importantly—how can players get involved and keep the community strong?
We sat down online with ARC rep, Mack (@LargePackage), to get the answers straight from the source (i.e. answers from him and the entire ARC team… mostly the team lol). Here's what they had to say…
Who is this? What’s your operating number?
AF: G’day Mack. First of all, thank you very much to the ARC team for all the work that has gone into this project so far and for taking the time to answer our questions. Ok, straight off the bat - Why release new content now and not after a year or so after ARC has settled into a steady battle rhythm with rule set updates and OP support?
ARC: ARC initially formed as a way to keep the world’s tournament organizers (TO)’s unified on the same ruleset, so that Armada’s incredible tournament scene (culminating in Worlds each year) could remain in place. Reports from TO’s from around the world have reflected decreased attendance at local events; AMG eliminating official support for the game may have left players with the impression that “Armada is dead” (for the umpteenth time). ARC’s content release sought to change that. Our goal is to show players that we are committed to continuing the game and keeping Organized Play alive. ARC’s pace of release has been a frequent topic of discussion internally; the ultimate decision rested on the fact that some new content and card adjustments were needed to inject excitement and hope back into the playerbase, and keep the momentum going for Worlds 2026. With little content added after AMG took over, many players have stated that the game has gotten stale. Quite a few have dropped off entirely because of that, especially if they only played the original factions. In discussing with TOs and monitoring the community’s discussions on Facebook, Reddit, Discord, and Youtube, we have found that the Armada community is very diverse in its desire for pace of change: there is a significant portion of the community that wants more change quickly, and almost as many that want no changes for a long time. ARC is attempting to walk the line between both “too fast, too much, too quickly” and “too slow, too little, too late”. The first step was to add some content to flesh out the Clone Wars factions (which most agree were left “incomplete” by AMG and could use more ship options) in addition to buffing some of the most underused commanders and squadrons from the Galactic Civil War era.
“ARC is attempting to walk the line between ‘too fast, too much, too quickly’ and ‘too slow, too little, too late.”
AF: Ok, that’s fair enough. How long have these new ships been in development with ARC and what was the testing process?
ARC: The ships have been in development in various forms since 2024, though formal playtesting only began after the ARC-ARM was released. That project, which consisted of codifying the existing rules, correcting misconceptions, and collecting disparate rulings from across the internet, required a large part of our bandwidth. With a relatively nimble testing process we were able to cycle through various iterations of the cards rapidly.
Commander Sato provides a good example. (For more information, you can check out his Development Diary, here)
Our first thought was as simple as “Sato is fun, but time has shown that he’s not quite good enough to break into the competitive scene. How can we make him a little bit better, while keeping his identity intact?”. We brainstormed several ideas, all of which were lightly playtested as a proof-of-concept. The goal was always to keep Sato’s core gameplay puzzle as presently constituted, because it is interesting and fun–he just needed a buff for his payoff when things go right. Eventually, we settled on two versions: “Sato A” and “Sato B”.
I’m in way over my head… XD
During weeks of discussions, “Sato A” was thought to be too weak. However, further playtesting showed that not only was “Sato A” fun, he was good. Some playtesters were surprised. He opened up many options that previously didn’t exist, and he kept intact the beautiful jank of running a Fire-Control-Team MC75 with ACM and APT.
“Sato B” was discarded as too great of a change from his existing mechanic, and was likely to be overpowered as well.
He was then tested vigorously against a wide variety of fleets and commanders from players all around the world, all parts of distinct, local Armada metas. His current form was tested over months of work, and we are proud that it offers all of what made Sato fun in addition to something new that might also make him good.
Or, for another example, take the Venator; It was playtested over months through 6 distinct sets of upgrade slots as we sought to carve it a role without displacing either the Ven 1 or the Ven 2. This doesn’t include the late-term, delicate changes on its eventual points value. Our playtesters are drawn from groups around the world (USA, UK, France, Germany, Poland), with quite a few having playtested for FFG/AMG, and they proved eager to tackle the content. We collected data from each group of playtesters and subtly tweaked the cards until we arrived at our final, balanced conclusion.
AF: That’s a really good insight into the process that you guys use, thanks! Will there be a way to get prints of these cards, ship base tokens, or even 3D prints of the ships themselves?
ARC: We’re exploring options for this, probably in cooperation with the Legacy team as they have excellent 3D printing resources available on their website. The Armada community is collectively working to bring quality, printed components out into wider usage, but the community-run portion of our wonderful game is still in its infancy. Part of ARC’s goals are to grow the game and keep it accessible for as many players as possible. As such, this ARC-01 release is intentionally entirely Print and Play.
AF: Which fleet builders will these appear in for player use?
ARC: Holofoundry.net and Armada Warlords will have these available on August 1st, and we are hoping Star Forge will as well. We have been in contact with Ryan Kingston; however, he has stepped away from the game and any potential update for his fleetbuilder may be a longer time in coming.
AF: Are these expected to be part of the new OP season ARC is about to commence?
ARC: YES.
AF: That’s exciting for the tournament circuit! We noticed that you’re adding the MC30 to the Separatist Fleet with the Quarren Prototype Gunship. Can we expect more faction swaps in the future, such as Rebel Shuttle Tyderium, etc?
ARC: We are very much trying to limit the number of ships and squadrons that are faction-swapped, as we’re aware that diluting the faction identities too much will result in less interesting factions overall. That being said, Print & Play with existing components remains a good way to get updated content into as many hands as possible, while the community continues to build up resources on the 3D printing front.
AF: That makes sense. I know we’re in early days here, but I have to ask - are there any plans or aspirations for a new faction yet, such as Scum?
ARC: ARC has no plans for new factions in the near or medium term; for players interested in new factions, there is a very excellent and welcoming community established at Nexus that can help satisfy them.
AF: Ok, fair enough! So, with ARC01 going live on 01 August, what is going to be the release schedule for ARC going forward both for rules updates and/or new content?
ARC: We are planning on two updates annually: a “major change” update in the late summer/early fall (Aug-Sep) to kick off a new OP season each year and a minor update focused on tweaks instead of new content.
The “major change” update is what you are seeing now with ARC01. This winter (Dec-Jan), after many tournaments have been played and we can have honest assessments about the state of the game, we will release a much more modest update that will correct any issues found by the community (on either new or older) content. The winter update will be done in time for the community to adjust before Worlds this coming year (AdeptiCon, Mar 26).
The Armada community is unique in its resilience to a very modest pace of change, and we desire that the meta grow as it has–organically–rather than being whipped about by rapid updates. We feel that this pacing reflects the desires of the vast majority of the Armada community.
“We are planning on two updates annually: a major change update and a minor update focused on tweaks instead of new content.”
AF: Looking back at how FFG managed the churn generated from new content by using long pauses between drops, how does ARC plan to address that?
ARC: Our release schedule mirrors FFG’s rate of release to some degree, and we are expecting a similar set of pros and cons to go with that.
AF: I can see where you’re going with that, but we’ll unpack that another time, as I’m sure you’ll be watching the community closely following the release. However, that leads me to my next question: What will ARC be using as their feedback mechanism(s)?
ARC: Armada has an incredible community. All of the ARC members are active on Facebook, Reddit, Discord, and try to keep the pulse on the feelings of all players, regardless of their level of involvement. We read your comments, every single one of them. In the immediate term, we plan to assess the community by frequent contact with TOs, and by soliciting questions via email (via the ARC website).
AF: Great! I have been noticing all of the engagement that ARC has had recently on Discord, Facebook, and especially Reddit. I expect the quick and detailed responses are very much appreciated by most of the community so far.
Thanks again for your time Mack, and we wish ARC all the best with the release on 01 August. I know that I am already very much enjoying playing new community content so far this year, and I look forward to having some new options on the OP circuit as well! Before we go, can you let us know how we, as the player community, can support ARC otherwise?
ARC: Come to tournaments! ARC was formed to keep a central ruleset so that Organized Play could continue, from little store tournaments with 4 people all the way up to the events with more than 100 participants like Worlds or the Vassal World Cup. Every time a player comes to a tournament in any capacity - whether in person or online, that’s a success.
In addition, playing games of Armada at your local store or games venue can help draw interest from passersby and recruit new players to our fantastic community. Any Armada is good Armada!
AF: Can’t argue with that mate. Alright, that’s good stuff. thanks mate, we’ll catch ya later!
“Any Armada is good Armada!”
(Not) A boring conversation, anyway…
If there’s one takeaway from our chat with ARC, it’s that this game isn’t just coasting along into a black hole—it’s in good hands, with a team that has a decent understanding of the rhythm, spirit, customisation, and scale that Star Wars: Armada thrives on.
Two updates a year with organic growth and a focus on community and competitive play alike. Plus, a clear deep respect for the game we’ve all come to love.
I get the feeling that ARC isn’t here to reinvent the wheel—they’re here to realign it and keep it turning. And as long as players keep showing up, getting their fleets on the table, and rolling dice, the future looks bright.
Cheers
Rosco 🥃
