Bare Bones is a special little snowflake. It is (un/retro) designed to make X Wing 1st edition a more balanced and story accurate game. The ideal is also to make casual or novice play more enjoyable.
The ship options are strictly limited. The first three movies, the direct extended universe, but only as far as the end of the Empire and no ships from the new movies (Rogue 1 and Solo).
The main reason for this is feel and game structure. The later ships shift some of the glorious balance of the basic X Wing game and the post Empire or New Republic ships are timeline inconsistent with the core fleets.
If something is needed to expand the basic concept what would it be?
Titles.
Named titles are problematic, because FFG has hard baked some story relevant capabilities into specific ships, so this is handled “to taste”. A “Mist Hunter” without Tractor Beam or Roll seems odd, the lack of “Havoc” effectively removes the proper Nym experience, but some are just added bonuses that seem to be there to make the ship, not the pilot or player, better.
Class Titles however have traditionally been simple bandaid fixes for existing ships, that the simpler environment of BB goes some way to eradicating. In 2e some of these have been dropped or nerfed, so even FFG was in two minds there.
Named Titles, use as you please, Class based Titles, no thanks.
Modifications.
Mods are the one that to me stick out the most. The ability to rob a unique ship of it’s uniqueness and endow another with it is the main edge with a Mod seems at odds with the core design principals. Reading down the list is a strong case of something breaking what works, then patch fixing it to suit the gaming community. They are generally too powerful to be used without risking a ship losing it’s relevance by comparison to another. Often the Mod and the Title-fix go hand in hand.
Nope. Still feel they break the game, especially if mixed with any of these other elements.
EPT’s.
The argument for EPT’s is strong.
With Elite Pilot Tactics (we prefer not to say Talents, because those are the ones on the Pilot card), the game is more fun, more diverse (a full layer of synergy is added, but only one) and easier to reconcile. In a large way the game was designed for EPT’s as they allow the player to change the feel of a squad without actually changing the physics of the game world. EPT’s increase game options without breaking canon.
There are pilots that specifically need them by printed talent (Tomax Bren), a Droid that can only play if you have them (R2-D6) and several missing elements can be added moderately and gently*, but most compellingly, they allow the player to tactically prepare a squad with a “flavour” that is consistent with the game. EPT’s on their own do not run the risk of doing too much damage. It is when mixed with Titles or Mods that they get out of hand.
Like they need to be meaner.
EPT’s like mods also help ships with no other slots like Tie Fighters or M3’s, but only if their pilots are of a calibre to use them, rather than mods that are applied to most. This also makes some of the Pilots relevant and logical. The Royal Guard Pilot, Black Sun Ace and Assassin, Mandalorian Merc, or Contracted Scout are average Jo’s who can be wild cards with EPT’s.
A small factor, when looking deeper is that the A Wing, an important ship to the Rebels is helped by EPT’s but not mods. This is a tipping point. A swarm of Tie Interceptors with mods can be better in any number of ways, where unmodified A Wings are left seemingly reduced by comparison. EPT’s on the other hand have the opposite effect. Some Tie pilots can aide their swarm, of just get better individually, but so to the A Wing pilots.
EPT’s are also only available to agile ships and some Pilots. Punishers, Y Wings etc have slim or no pickings and the spread of EPT’s is balanced to ship type. The X Wing for example is under represented in EPT’s (4 from 10), which fits with the simple, honest Rebel offering. Most Scum Fighters are over represented, suiting their unpredictable and sneaky natures.
The other thing is, they can be used to max out squads, which can be hard (limiting) without for those ships with no slots at all.
Finally, the cards have the Icon.
This pilot centric metric is more logical than a ship based one. Changing ships messes with story fidelity, augmenting pilots has little effect on canon, but adds to the game.
*Manoeuvres and combat EPT’s that can make the difference for some pilots, like limited Barrel Rolls with a stress condition (rather than Vectored Thrusters that have no restrictions) or swarm tactical effects, that just fit with the Empire.