During my time at Gaming Fans I started the “best mods” series of articles which turned out to be what put the site on the radar of the community and with EA Capital Games. While I enjoyed our brief time with a communicative Capital Games consistently working myself and the other SWGoH GameChangers, there was an inability to support that level of community engagement from within CG, so I became just another member of the community, only with a bit more of a public voice. Now that my days with Gaming Fans are well behind me, I will seek to keep the same kind of content going as I resume the “best mods in SWGoH” series today with the Best Mods for Grand Moff Tarkin.
Grand Moff Tarkin has had a rollercoaster of importance in Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes, starting as an early-game character who had some relevance on Empire teams, later as a Fleet Commander of the Executrix, an Imperial Star Destroyer that has some solid value as a counter in the Fleet Arena and GAC. In addition, Tarkin is a requirement for Sith Eternal Emperor at Relic 3 and for Lord Vader at Relic 7. A 2017 rework made him more effective against Rebel enemies under a Zeta Darth Vader lead, but the days have long since passed. A character in Star Wars who has his own backstory in the form of a novel, appropriately named Tarkin, Grand Moff Tarkin in Galaxy of Heroes is a Support character, Fleet Commander and Leader who is a member of the Empire faction. Let’s take a look at how we want to focus the mod stat gains for Grand Moff Tarkin in Galaxy of Heroes.
Note that I have learned that I get a bit wordy in these Best Mods articles, so as a result the TL;DR on mods for Grand Moff Tarkin is below.
Main Mod Stats to focus on…
Whenever we review mods for a character in Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes, it is important to know how that character is used in the game. In the case of Grand Moff Tarkin, he has been announced as a major character to be used in the not-yet-officially-named Lord Vader Raid (or Revenge of the Sith Raid or whatever you want to call it). Potency is a major area of focus, as both of Tarkin’s special attacks need Potency to be effective. Ultimate Firepower is his AoE attack and has a 100% chance to remove 50% turn meter from each enemy it strikes, and the attack gains offense equal to double Tarkin’s Potency percentage. Intimidation Tactics grants Tarkin Potency up and can apply Offense and Critical Chance down for 3 turns, and Rebel enemies cannot resist the debuffs.
The 2017 rework helped as Tarkin’s Callous Conviction unique has him gain Defense equal to his Potency percentage. While keeping him alive is important, you want him attacking often, especially against Rebel enemies, so Speed is critical as well. He is one of the slower characters in the game with a base Speed of just 154, so getting his Speed up is going to help a lot to make sure Tarkin maximizes his usefulness on your squad.
Modding Grand Moff Tarkin for 3v3 GAC Battles
Grand Moff Tarkin’s early 2025 rework adds a synergy with two of the new Dark Side Clone Troopers to do battle in the Grand Arena Championships 3v3 mode. The addition of the final Dark Side Clone – RC-1262 “Scorch” – enhances Tarkin in multiple areas of the game, 3v3 GAC being the most notable.
Modding Grand Moff Tarkin for the Revenge of the Sith / Operation Knightfall Raid:
With the addition of the new Raid, which we’re still waiting for an official name for at this time, I am sure that mods for Grand Moff Tarkin will be an important thing to review. When the time comes we will update this information here to help the SWGoH community out in deciding on the best Grand Moff Tarkin mods.
Modding Grand Moff Tarkin for Ships & the Fleet Arena
Mods for Grand Moff Tarkin do not differ in the types of mods for the Fleet Arena and ships in SWGoH, and the stats gained do not matter either. The key is having the most maxed out mods possible, as every mod enhancement adds to the Total Power of the Capital Ship. Thus, Mk VI mods, enhanced to Tier A (as pictured) are the way to maximize this Capital Ship Crew Member in SWGoH.
Which Mod Sets to use & Dev Recommendations for Grand Moff Tarkin
Grand Moff Tarkin is not a top-tier character in the game at the time of this revision, but with the new Raid incoming we may see that change. I use him in a few random Rise of the Empire Territory Battles and his Capital Ship is a counter at times in the GAC and TW, but he is not a must-have character. Currently, the devs have recommended Speed & Potency mods for GMT, but with a base Speed of just 154 I find it very hard to even consider him for a Speed set. My recommendation is to go all-in on Potency and try to get decent secondary speed gains. With all of that having been said, here are my recommendations for the best mods for Grand Moff Tarkin:
- Transmitter (Square) – The Transmitter mod always has a primary focus on offense. For Grand Moff Tarkin, you want to use a POTENCY mod here and be sure to closely look at the secondary stats to ensure that you get a heavy secondary focus on speed, health, offense and potency.
- Receiver (Arrow) – The Receiver mod can have a primary focus on several stats including speed, critical avoidance, accuracy, health, protection, defense and offense. For Grand Moff Tarkin, you want to use a POTENCY mod here with a primary focus on speed and a secondary focus on potency, health and offense.
- Processor (Diamond) – The Processor is always going to have a primary focus on defense. For Grand Moff Tarkin, you want to use a POTENCY mod here with a secondary focus on speed, health, offense and potency.
- Holo-Array (Triangle) – The Holo-Array is a very specialized mod that can have a primary focus on critical chance, critical damage, health, protection, offense and defense. For Grand Moff Tarkin, you want to use a POTENCY mod here with a primary focus on Critical Damage and a secondary focus on speed, potency, health and offense or critical chance.
- Data-Bus (Circle) – The Data-bus mod always has a primary focus on either health or protection, and with Grand Moff Tarkin it is an easy choice – POTENCY mod with as much potency in the secondary stats as possible, meaning either health or protection for the primary is fine. The secondary focus stats should be speed, potency, offense and critical chance, health or protection.
- Multiplexer (Plus) – The Multiplexer (plus or cross) mod can have a primary focus on potency, tenacity, health, protection, defense or offense. For Grand Moff Tarkin, you want to use a POTENCY mod here with a focus on Potency, making sure to have your mod sets complete. For the secondary stats look to add speed, health, offense and critical chance, protection or tenacity.
Grand Moff Tarkin Mods TL;DR
- Square – Potency mod with speed & potency
- Arrow – Potency mod, Speed focus with potency & offense
- Diamond – Potency mod with speed & potency
- Triangle – Potency mod, Critical Damage focus with speed & potency
- Circle – Potency mod, Health/Protection focus with speed & potency
- Plus – Potency mod, Potency focus with speed & potency