Star Wars: Squadrons/TIE Defender

Hull	400
Shield	1200
Speed	130
Acceleration	256
Manoeuvrability	76

The TIE Defender is a variant of the TIE Fighter. The TIE Defender is highly adaptable, featuring extremely powerful shields rivaling that of the Y-wing. At only 400 hull, however, the TIE Defender has the least amount of health of any Imperial ship, including the TIE Interceptor. The TIE Defender relies heavily on its shields for survival, and can thus fall quickly to ion weapons.

Offensively, the TIE Defender is a mix of the TIE Interceptor and the TIE Fighter's anti-starfighter loadout. Unlike the TIE Fighter, it cannot equip torpedoes, so it fares poorly against capital ships unless you equip Onslaught Rockets. Like the TIE Reaper, the Defender cannot shunt power between engine and weapons. It instead can be equipped with the Advanced Power System, which overcharges whichever subsystem has the most power.

Official Description: Based on prototype blueprints, this experimental TIE Defender's systems offer amazing performance to pilots skilled enough to manage them.

Cockpit

Components

For specific component numbers and statistics, see the Components page.

Weapons

	Name	Description
	Standard Sienar L-s1 Laser Cannon	A well balanced weapon with good range.
	Sienar Burst Cannon	Burst cannons, as their name suggests, fire in 3-shot bursts. They lose less damage over longer ranges, making them more reliable over distance. Their general damage per minute, however, remain identical to the standard. Burst cannons are unique to the fighter class.
	Sienar Ion Cannon	Ion cannons are often seen used in conjunction with Onslaught rockets - the ion cannons to remove a target's shields, followed by rockets to finish them off.
	Plasburst Laser Cannon	Plasburst weapons are rarely seen due to their low rate of fire and slow charge time. Plasburst lasers also are the only short range weapon on the TIE Fighter, having a range of 600 instead of 1000 like other weapons.

Countermeasures

	Name	Description
	Sienar XX-5 Seeker Warheads	Seeker Warheads, or sometimes called "flares", are the most common and flexible anti-missile countermeasure. TIE Fighters are often found turning and manoeuvring, making chaff less useful, and the sensor jammer only has a single use.
	Chaff Particles	Chaff particles is not often used on the TIE Fighter, as in order for it to reach maximum effectiveness, enemy missiles must fly through the static cloud. This cloud can be used to cover capital ships on occasion, but flares are the more popular choice.
	Sienar Sensor Jammer	The sensor jammer's short 4 second duration and single use make it not often used. Its biggest benefit is being able to shake missiles at any rate and from any direction.
	Sienar Sensor Inverter	The sensor inverter only functions at short range, but can surprise opponents. The sensor inverter hacks the enemy missile in range and sends it back to its launcher. With two charges, it's superior to the sensor jammer in versatility and number of uses. Inverted missiles can be re-inverted by an enemy A-wing.

Auxiliary

	Name	Description
	Sienar Advanced Power System	The advanced power system, when triggered, will provide a moderate overcharge for the system at maximum power. For example, if you need an immediate surge of boost power, simply divert all power to engines and then trigger the APS. It thus functions similarly to the power shunting found on the TIE Fighter, Bomber, and Interceptor, but does not deplete other systems when used.
	Sienar CB-08 Concussion Missile	Concussion missiles are no-frills missiles that simply lock onto and destroy their target. Like other missiles, it can be fired without a lock, usually against a target too slow to dodge it. Concussion missiles hit hard and have decent tracking, but lack the power to be used against capital ships on a regular basis.
	Sienar Anti-Starfighter Missile	A part of the stock Interceptor loadout, the anti-starfighter missile causes about three rockets worth of damage (or a third of the default concussion missile). It's not enough to finish a fighter on its own, but it works well in conjunction with the Defender's lasers.
	Sienar XG-9 Cluster Missile	The cluster missile locks onto a single target several times before unloading up to four missiles against it. This missile is best used against hardened targets like TIE bombers and capital ships with their shields down.
	Sienar I-7 Ion Missile	Ion missiles are designed to be used against starfighters, and have half the lock-on time of concussion missiles. They cause minimal damage upon hits, but are strong against shielding. They inflict a stun on the target. Stunned targets continue on their previous trajectory and spin out of control, giving a pilot ample time to finish their opponent. They can be dumbfired and travel much faster than a torpedo, allowing a pilot to quickly hit-and-run capital ship shields or disable subsystems.
	Sienar Seeker Mine	Drops a mine behind you. The mine locks onto and chases any enemy that gets too close. Mines are most effective in narrow corridors where enemies will have to run near them.
	Sienar Onslaught Rockets	The Defender's best weapon against capital ships, these unguided rockets can cause notable damage to capital ship turrets and subsystems. It is difficult to land hits on moving starfighters. Individual rockets are light on damage, but with over 40 rockets in reserve and a good rate of fire, they cause considerable damage as a group.

Hull

	Name	Description
	Sienar Ferroceramic Hull	The standard hull, with no strengths or weaknesses.
	Sienar Dampener Hull	Increases the amount of time an enemy needs to lock onto you. It is a situational upgrade for fighters, dependent on how often missiles lock onto you.
	Sienar Laminasteel Hull	Reduces incoming missile damage, but increases incoming laser damage. Missiles in general are much rarer to find than lasers, making this a situational upgrade at best.
	Sienar Agile Hull	Equip to receive a reduction in maximum health, but receiving improvements to manoeuvrability and acceleration. Fairly useful for brawling and turning fights, though the most powerful technique to use in turning fights is microboosts, not traditional turns. The light hull does not offer any benefits to maximum speed, so this part alone will not help you make hit and run attacks.
	Sienar Deflector Hull	The deflector hull places more emphasis on your shields rather than your health. This provides some extra effective hull, and is a good catch-all system on the TIE Defender.

Engines

	Name	Description
	Standard Twin Ion Engine	The standard sublight engine with no benefits or drawbacks.
	Unstable Twin Engine	This engine makes you lose a moderate amount of both health, but offers greatly increased acceleration and speed. What really makes this engine stand out, however, is the large explosion you create when you are shot down. Some players use this explosion as an anti-capital ship weapon, hoping to take out the capital ship's turrets when they die.
	Twin Microthrust Engine	Use the Microthrust Engine for close-quarters brawling. You lose a notable amount of maximum speed and acceleration, but gain it back in mobility.
	Twin Propulsion Engine	The propulsion engine makes you start and stop quicker by a significant margin, at the cost of a small loss in manoeuvrability.
	Twin Thrust Engine	This engine greatly increases maximum speed, but reduces acceleration and manoeuvrability. Use this to make quick attack runs on enemy capital ships, or using boom and zoom tactics.

Shields

	Name	Description
	Standard Sienar Deflector Shield	This shield offers no benefits or drawbacks.
	Sienar Nimble Deflector	Increases shield regeneration, but decreases shield capacity. This shield is good for hit and run attacks - hit the enemy quickly and then leave the battle to let your shields recharge before going in again.
	Sienar Scrambler Shield	An alternative to the Dampener Hull, the scrambler shield offers even longer lock times than the dampener hull, but it is only effective when your shields are at 100% or are overcharged. Even a glancing hit at normal shield power will eliminate the scrambler shield bonus, so users of this shield must be adept at switching shield directions. Once these shields are down, they take longer than normal to regenerate.
	Sienar Fortified Deflector	The Fortified Shield offers a bonus to shield capacity at the cost of shield regeneration. This shield is best used when taking heavy fire to attack a capital ship.
	Sienar Ray Shield	This shield falls quickly to missiles, but takes less damage than normal from lasers. The biggest threat to this shield are Barrage Rockets. Defeat normal missiles and mines with standard manoeuvres and countermeasures, but switch away to a different loadout when rockets are a factor.