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[the_prime_mover]

Is cloaking worth it? Do you guys use it as a last minute evasive maneuver when you see lots of stuff headed your way?

The cooldown is so damn long...

I like it because it gives me a bit of wiggle room when up against missiles. The cool down is long, but if you can grab the stealth weapons augment then you can get a few volleys off with a lvl 3 stealth. I tend towards teleporters, so stealth allows me to melee their weapons system and avoid the initial missile shot which save me a lot of hull damage.

If you are going through the Rockman or Mantis sectors then stealth is fantastic. If you are going through Slug or rebel sectors, I would focus on teleporters (if scrap quantities are an issue and you can't pick both).

For the final boss it is incredibly useful but you can get by without it if you have high level engines, 3 or 4 shields and a crew member who has the dodge bonus.

 

[j_k_redtail]

:lol I like this guy, he's endearing. But without playing the tutorial and using the pause function and him immediately starting out on normal, he'll be struggling to make any headway for a lot longer than just 40 minutes.

I'm watching Northernlion's LP - if anyone has any other worthwhile FTL LPs, please share them, I love watching these videos (same with Dark Souls blind and Spelunky)


edit: also, the victory screen needs to mention your fallen comrades as well. The guy who repaired my Oxygen and valiantly fought off boarding drone after boarding drone deserves to be remembered just as much as the survivors.

NorthernLion is entertaining, but Kikosia really knows what he's doing.

 

[Azih]

Stealth is a really effective extra layer of defense. It's even useful at level 1 you just have to micromanage it and only use it when a barrage is incoming. Or heck it's even a decent opening move as your own weapons keep charging while your opponent's don't. You can get your initial attack in before he responds.

 

[Jintor]

I DID IT. I MOTHERFUCKING DID IT. I BEAT FTL ON NORMAL.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

preigniter + halbard + small bomb + ion + multilaser

defence drones

but mainly just sheer luck and timing my vollies properly

oh my god.

/edit still got a lower score than one of my previous runs where I exploded gloriously when I got up to the boss

 

[mike23]

Not my video: Yeoz, no! Yeoz!

I suspect this has been the best $100 I have and ever will spend on kickstarter.

Seriously needs to go back and play the tutorial. It drives me crazy how poorly he's playing it.

Also, why does he bother renaming his ship every time.

 

[Nymerio]

Just bought it and can't stop playing. This game is amazing. Also: that image in the op is true. Went from clueless to trying to put out fires by opening the airlocks in about that timespan.

 

[Danj]

Are there any particular strategies for people just starting out with this game? I must have died like 10 times by now... I only have access to 2 ships, the starting one and the Engi one. The Engi one seems easier to get further with but I've never managed to get more than 6 sectors or so, anyone got any tips?

 

[mike23]

Are there any particular strategies for people just starting out with this game? I must have died like 10 times by now... I only have access to 2 ships, the starting one and the Engi one. The Engi one seems easier to get further with but I've never managed to get more than 6 sectors or so, anyone got any tips?

Attack their weapons.
Time your shots to be most effective.
Repair rooms after each fight.
Pause constantly.
Use the hotkeys.
Save your scrap until it's necessary. So you can afford opportunities in stores.
Make as many jumps as you can each sector.

 

[Danj]

Attack their weapons.
Time your shots to be most effective.
Repair rooms after each fight.
Pause constantly.
Use the hotkeys.
Save your scrap until it's necessary. So you can afford opportunities in stores.
Make as many jumps as you can each sector.

Okay, this is mostly proving helpful so far. What are the hotkeys? Are there buttons I can press to select a weapon and target the enemy weapons room?

 

[Haunted]

Okay, this is mostly proving helpful so far. What are the hotkeys? Are there buttons I can press to select a weapon and target the enemy weapons room?

You can pause the game at any time, so selection speed is not an issue. Hotkeys are 1 2 3 4 for your weapons and 5 6 for your drones. You'll have to click on your target.

A good general strategy is to get up to two shields for the earlier sectors and then focus on upgrading the engines to evade. Doors lvl 2 are also essential starting in sector 3 or so.

When being presented with only white choices in events, consider your position carefully, it pays to be prudent. If you have weak weapons and someone asks you to take out a rogue defence platform, don't do it. If you have only human crew members and a station needs help with a plague contamination, don't do it. If your engines aren't upgraded yet and you're asked to explore a dangerous looking asteroid field... you get the idea.

NorthernLion is entertaining, but Kikosia really knows what he's doing.

Bookmarked, thanks for the recommendation.



edit: question: do augments stack? I've found the Scrap Recovery Arm twice in a run, I assume it's fine to sell one.

 

[Mindlog]

I DID IT. I MOTHERFUCKING DID IT. I BEAT FTL ON NORMAL.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

preigniter + halbard + small bomb + ion + multilaser

defence drones

but mainly just sheer luck and timing my vollies properly

oh my god.

/edit still got a lower score than one of my previous runs where I exploded gloriously when I got up to the boss

At long last!
The score thing happened to me as well. I still have an easy non-victory in my top 5.

Speaking of victory:

!

 

[j_k_redtail]

Bookmarked, thanks for the recommendation.



edit: question: do augments stack? I've found the Scrap Recovery Arm twice in a run, I assume it's fine to sell one.

IMHO it's the best one out there.

Spoiler

He plays on normal, he wins, and his commentary is actually useful.

.

Yes they stack (source) - I tend to hold on to things until I have to sell them.

 

[Haunted]

IMHO it's the best one out there.

Spoiler

He plays on normal, he wins, and his commentary is actually useful.

.

Yes they stack (source) - I tend to hold on to things until I have to sell them.

Nice, didn't expect them to stack.

I think he's too good at the game for me, if that makes any sense. I love to see people struggle along and find things out on their own. For these types of games, the journey to good play is what counts for me, not the good play itself.

Bookmarked his channel for his other LPs anyway.

 

[Lonewolf_92]

OK, just got the game and got a Defense Drone Mark 2 during an encounter, how do I install this thing? I have the power for it, but I can't seem to move it out of my cargo.

 

[mike23]

OK, just got the game and got a Defense Drone Mark 2 during an encounter, how do I install this thing? I have the power for it, but I can't seem to move it out of my cargo.

You probably don't have the Drone Control system or whatever it's called. You need to buy it at a shop for most ships.

Otherwise, drag it to the bar underneath the weapons bar in the inventory screen.

 

[LiQuid!]

Just got brave and decided to try a run with the Stealth ship again.

Got super lucky early on and had NO problems, got shield upgrade. By the time I got to the last stand I had max shields and engines and scrap to burn. Also had weapon pre-igniters. How did I fail then? Only got ONE weapon the entire run (burst laser 1). Nothing else from random events, no weapons in shops. Nada, zip, zero. I think one shop had some missiles for sale, the rest was all drones, slaves and systems and junk. Fricken RNG.

 

[Lonewolf_92]

You probably don't have the Drone Control system or whatever it's called. You need to buy it at a shop for most ships.

Otherwise, drag it to the bar underneath the weapons bar in the inventory screen.

Yep the Kestrel A doesn't come with Drone Control unfortunately. My run with the Torus (which does) went much better though, got all the way to the flagship before I ran out of drone parts. Tough little bastard that ship is, the only additional weapon I found that entire run was a Firebomb (I also picked up a Hall Repair and a System Repair Drone), yet a still managed to cut my way through some bad space to get to the last stand with the Ion Blast Mark II and Anti-Ship Drone Mark I that come standard with the ship.
I actually picked up a Mantis crewmate while in Engi space, an Engi ship had just destroyed a Mantis ship and the last surviving crewman beamed aboard my ship begging for asylum. I thought that took real balls (perhaps not much in the way of brains, but certainly balls) to decide to beam aboard a recently arrived Engi ship after another blew your ship to atoms, begging for help. Of course I let him join and took out the Engi ship to escape, who wouldn't? He manned my weapons system until our fateful run at the flagship. Poor guy.

 

[Nymerio]

Beat the game on easy with the engi cruiser (The Torus), during most of the game I only used the ion cannon, a burst laser and drones. By the end I had a shitload of missiles so I switched to drones + 2 breach missiles to kill the flagship. Now to try it on normal...

What's the best way to get the variant of the kestrel?

Oh, and fuck that boarding bullshit. Those rebel fuckers from the flagship killed half my crew :/

 

[Des0lar]

Everydone deserves to do himself the favor of doing a Mantis B run.

Easiest bossfight even on normal, you just feel so goddam powerful.

 

[Danj]

Everydone deserves to do himself the favor of doing a Mantis B run.

Easiest bossfight even on normal, you just feel so goddam powerful.

How do you unlock the Mantis ships?

 

[Haunted]

How do you unlock the Mantis ships?

It's an event in the Mantis homeworlds. Meeting a named pirate, killing its crew (but not destroying the ship itself) with a Teleporter and Medbay lvl 2 installed on your ship and always choosing the blue options when you can gives you access. The second to last ship I unlocked.


Layout A is one of my favourite ships, B is seriously weak in the early sectors.

 

[Des0lar]

It's an event in the Mantis homeworlds. Meeting a named pirate, killing its crew (but not destroying the ship itself) with a Teleporter and Medbay lvl 2 installed on your ship and always choosing the blue options when you can gives you access. The second to last ship I unlocked.


Layout A is one of my favourite ships, B is seriously weak in the early sectors.

If you get any kind of missile launcher on B you have already won.

 

[Haunted]

If you get any kind of missile launcher on B you have already won.

I died twice without ever getting a weapon. Damn auto-scouts.

I do want to use it (dat 4 man teleporter) but it's been slapping me down so far.

 

[Danj]

It's an event in the Mantis homeworlds. Meeting a named pirate, killing its crew (but not destroying the ship itself) with a Teleporter and Medbay lvl 2 installed on your ship and always choosing the blue options when you can gives you access. The second to last ship I unlocked.


Layout A is one of my favourite ships, B is seriously weak in the early sectors.

Oh. Yeah I've never been able to afford a teleporter. The tips given about getting level 2 shields and then improving engines have helped a bit but according to the stats screen I've played like 20 times now and never gotten past sector 6.

EDIT: also steam says I've played this thing for 12 hours.

 

[Nymerio]

Quick question regarding teleporters: If you board another ship and destroy it, do you loose the crew you sent over? I bought a teleporter in the last game and ended up not using it because I was afraid I'd loose some guys.

 

[Haunted]

Quick question regarding teleporters: If you board another ship and destroy it, do you loose the crew you sent over? I bought a teleporter in the last game and ended up not loosing it because I was afraid I'd loose some guys.

Oh, you definitely lose them. I've blown up a quite a few away teams by accident. Even funnier is when the enemy ship powers up its FTL and just jumps away while your Mantises are still onboard.

Either stop attacking the ship when it looks like your boarders will prevail, or pull them out and blow the enemy ship to smithereens (a boarding team works great as a distraction when you don't want them to man their stations or repair their damaged systems). Always have an eye on the enemy's hull when you've got people on there.

Oh. Yeah I've never been able to afford a teleporter. The tips given about getting level 2 shields and then improving engines have helped a bit but according to the stats screen I've played like 20 times now and never gotten past sector 6.

EDIT: also steam says I've played this thing for 12 hours.

20 attempts is not a lot. And well, sector 6 isn't all bad, just two more until the rebel flagship! Are you playing on Normal or Hard?

 

[Danj]

20 attempts is not a lot. And well, sector 6 isn't all bad, just two more until the rebel flagship! Are you playing on Normal or Hard?

I don't have a "Hard", only an "Easy" and a "Normal", I've been playing on "Easy". The key appears to be having a preigniter, I got given one of those by some wandering Engi ship or something and I was able to get as far as the flagship. It kicked my ass though... 4 separate weapon rooms? so lame

 

[fallout]

A weapons pre-igniter is useful, but isn't some kind of necessity. Some combinations of items and strategies work better than others, but you can make it pretty far with anything providing you're willing to play dynamically.

I find people get trapped in a very "this is my strategy" mindset that they can't seem to vary from. Then, a particular run doesn't offer up what fits that strategy and they have a shitty run. I'm not saying that the game doesn't offer up some "impossible" situations (that's part of the fun), but you really have to learn to live off the "land". I think the real key is making the most out of what you have available and not taking unnecessary risks.

 

[ShaneB]

Just beat normal. Woooo. Used The Torus as well, worked out pretty great.

 

[Tempy]

First time playing FTL: easy mode; got to the 2nd phase of the Flagship. 3187 score. Not bad for a first run I think.

 

[Haunted]

I don't have a "Hard", only an "Easy" and a "Normal", I've been playing on "Easy". The key appears to be having a preigniter, I got given one of those by some wandering Engi ship or something and I was able to get as far as the flagship. It kicked my ass though... 4 separate weapon rooms? so lame

Easy isn't easy and normal is hard so I've grown accustomed to saying Normal and Hard. Pet peeve of mine in restaurants as well. L, XL and XXL on the menu? My fucking ass, you've got small, medium, large. >_>


The Pre-Igniter is a very powerful augment, but not necessary for a successful run, it just helps a lot.

A good strategy vs the rebel flagship is to board their weapon rooms one by one because they're not connected to the rest of the ship, so their superior crew can't help. Also note which weapon gives you the most trouble and prioritise them accordingly (I usually go 3-1-4-2, that's missile, ion, beam, laser).

The second form is where the real fun begins, though.

First time playing FTL: easy mode; got to the 2nd phase of the Flagship. 3187 score. Not bad for a first run I think.

Grats, that's a damn good first run.

 

[r1chard]

Has there been any mention of fixing the scoring? It seems that the bulk of the score comes from scrap collected which is naturally much higher in Easy. I guess a related question is: has anyone finished the game in both Easy and Normal and managed to get a higher score in Normal?

 

[Danj]

Easy isn't easy and normal is hard so I've grown accustomed to saying Normal and Hard. Pet peeve of mine in restaurants as well. L, XL and XXL on the menu? My fucking ass, you've got small, medium, large. >_>


The Pre-Igniter is a very powerful augment, but not necessary for a successful run, it just helps a lot.

A good strategy vs the rebel flagship is to board their weapon rooms one by one because they're not connected to the rest of the ship, so their superior crew can't help. Also note which weapon gives you the most trouble and prioritise them accordingly (I usually go 3-1-4-2, that's missile, ion, beam, laser).

The second form is where the real fun begins, though.

So basically what you're saying is, while a pre-igniter isn't a requirement, a teleporter is? And I need to have some combat capable crew?

 

[YianGaruga]

So basically what you're saying is, while a pre-igniter isn't a requirement, a teleporter is? And I need to have some combat capable crew?

Nothing is a requirement, you can beat the game with a lot of different combinations. Personally, I like to have one or two Mantis, a teleporter and stealth. But you can beat the game without either of those.

 

[Des0lar]

So basically what you're saying is, while a pre-igniter isn't a requirement, a teleporter is? And I need to have some combat capable crew?

Don't play the game like there is a certain strategy to win.
Always think before you do something and plan your strategies on the fly.

Got a lot of scrap to spare and some mantises on board? Get a teleporter.
You can't get through shields? Get missiles or ion cannons.
Got some awesome drones? Buy a drone hangar and build your weapons accordingly.

The only thing that is pretty important and almost mandatory is level 1 in cloak because it saves your ass against the flagship so much.

 

[Thraktor]

The only thing that is pretty important and almost mandatory is level 1 in cloak because it saves your ass against the flagship so much.

That's funny, as on my only victory (on easy) I had cloak but completely forgot to use it on the flagship, given how hectic everything was.

 

[famousmortimer]

Yeah I was going to say that you don't always have the option of getting the things people are listing as mandatory. The game is all about making the best choices with what is available to you during *that* run.


It's so good. Soooo goooooood.

 

[cametall]

My first time playing Easy mode and I unlock the Engi ship (which I love btw).

Of course after not playing for a few days I jump back in and proceed to immediately get my ballin ship destroyed by a rebel ship. Those things don't play around in Easy or Normal.

 

[Vamlock]

I seem to have gotten myself in a predicament. I don't have enough damage output to kill the enemy, but they can't kill me either...

Any advice? I didn't realize my heal beams were using missiles until they were all gone...

 

[ShaneB]

Can't you just teleport over and take out their shield at least enough to use your laser/beam?

 

[Azih]

Any advice? I didn't realize my heal beams were using missiles until they were all gone...

Well what helped me when I was in a similar situation was I teleported my two best borders to the flagship and then teleported two more (instead of using it to bring the original two back), the four of them in the shield room were strong enough to kill a few of their crew even while the AI was cycling them out to heal. It was hard though and my two best boarders were fully leveled Mantis.

 

[Vamlock]

Can't you just teleport over and take out their shield at least enough to use your laser/beam?

Well what helped me when I was in a similar situation was I teleported my two best borders to the flagship and then teleported two more (instead of using it to bring the original two back), the four of them in the shield room were strong enough to kill a few of their crew even while the AI was cycling them out to heal. It was hard though and my two best boarders were fully leveled Mantis.

I kinda tried this, but yeah, my people aren't as strong as mantis. I lost my mantis boarder in an unfortunate accident. Since the game was kind enough to not even let me come across a store with good weapons, I was trying to board an AI ship to knock down the shields some and healing up with heal bombs, but then it turned on it's cloak and I found out the hard way you can't teleport back while cloak is up.

I'll just have to jump to another spot and hope I finally have some luck and get another weapon or another attack drone.

Edit: ...I thought I'd have time to go to the store quick and intercept them again, so I went and bought 2 mantis crewmen, but I didn't make it back to the mothership in time and lost.

 

[I speel my dreenk]

This game is like playing a love/hate relationship.

 

[Nymerio]

Finished it on easy again, but this time with the default Kestrel variant. Got extremely lucky and had a weapons pre-igniter and three lasers + 1 missiles. Made everything a cakewalk, you can usually shut down their weapons or teleporter before they can do anything.

 

[toddhunter]

Finally finished on normal with the Type B Kestrel. Never quite got the weapons I wanted (actually got a pre-igniter but had nothing to do with it). But made it through with 2 hull left and my Plan B boarding crew going down with the ship just because I didn't want to risk teleporting them back. I thought it would make for a better war story anyway.

Great game. Personally, 2012 has been a pretty average year for gaming, but this, XCOM and the walking dead have really brought it back in style.

 

[Seraphis Cain]

Friend gifted me this on Steam the other day, and I've been enjoying it so far, save for one small thing. It seems like getting boarded is an absolute death sentence. Hell, the last time I got boarded I even had an Anti-Personnel drone, and it didn't seem to do a damn thing. What the hell should I do when I get boarded?

 

[YianGaruga]

Friend gifted me this on Steam the other day, and I've been enjoying it so far, save for one small thing. It seems like getting boarded is an absolute death sentence. Hell, the last time I got boarded I even had an Anti-Personnel drone, and it didn't seem to do a damn thing. What the hell should I do when I get boarded?

If you have upgarded doors and the invaders are far enough away from vital areas in your ship: suffocate them by opening the doors to the outside, that should take out 1/3 of their health before they even break through the doors.

Generally though, send as many people as you can to fight (not the pilot if possible) and send them to the heal bay when they are close to dieing. That's pretty much it.

 

[Majukun]

is the game getting costant updates terraria-style or the base game is all you got?

 

[toddhunter]

Friend gifted me this on Steam the other day, and I've been enjoying it so far, save for one small thing. It seems like getting boarded is an absolute death sentence. Hell, the last time I got boarded I even had an Anti-Personnel drone, and it didn't seem to do a damn thing. What the hell should I do when I get boarded?

Standard tactic is to open up the doors and suck the oxygen out in a way that forces them to go into your med bay. then you can fight them whilst getting constantly healed.

 

[kennah]

is the game getting costant updates terraria-style or the base game is all you got?

The devs have said they will be updating - but not as frequently as something like Minecraft.

That's all the details we have so far.