#FTL SHIP STRATEGY FULL#

Fit them in when you can but do not allow engine upgrades to delay shield upgrades, or stop you buying an important weapon. A good question to ask yourself might be, “if an early store had a Chain Laser, would I buy it?” Other strategiesĮngines-2 and engines-3 are useful and cheap. If you’re only in the market for top-tier weapons, it’s probably incorrect to delay shield upgrades.

#FTL SHIP STRATEGY FULL#

Rock A need only float 18 scrap to afford even a teleporter, but Kestrel A would need to float 80 for hacking or a full choice of weapons.īeware greed. When a ship has more stuff to sell, visiting early stores is more worthwhile and does not delay your shields as much. Rock A needs to solve its missile problem fast. When a ship urgently needs extra offence, delaying shield upgrades is more worthwhile. Kestrel A and Rock A are a little safer, because they start with two-point weapons buffers for the Artemis. For example, Zoltan C is a lot safer because it starts with a Zoltan Shield and fast offence. When a ship starts with strong defence or offence, delaying shield upgrades is less risky. These concerns often compete with each other. Some ships have more stuff to sell at a store. Some ships are more desperate for additional offence. The biggest factor is what ship you are playing. It knows nothing of mercy, neither of fairness, nor yet charity and in its lifeless eyes, the noble pursuit of win streaks is but a guttering candle, soon to be extinguished. The shield hack event is out there, waiting for you with a beam drone. In most circumstances - but not all, and it depends on the ship - I think it’s incorrect to delay shield upgrades more than a few jumps. Or you could wait for a store at the end of sector 1 or early sector 2. You could delay just a few jumps, because you are circling around a store in the middle of the sector.

You can also choose how long you delay them.

Get shields-3 immediately, but delay shields-4.

Sector 2 could have an awful layout that prevents you from finding any stores, or all the stores might sell only crew and augments.įor that reason, it’s sometimes worth delaying your shield upgrades briefly. This strategy has a downside: it may stop you buying something useful in a sector 1 store, such as a weapon. Power can come much later save for a weapon first. Having two shields makes you vastly safer in sectors 1 and 2: many enemies will be unable to hurt you at all. Most of the time, you can get away without this but it only takes one nasty fight where you lose 20 hull to make you appreciate the value of shields-3.ĭon’t wait on power before buying shields-4. Bad luck if it’s an Artemis instead, but at least your shield comes back sooner. Shields-3 provides a damage buffer, so your shield will not go down from (say) a Leto.

Then save for a weapon, or other offence.

But ideally I like to start with a good weapon, then add hacking a bit later. When I say “look for a weapon”, that’s really shorthand for “look for a weapon, or hacking, or other offence”. Prefer 1- or 2-power weapons that you can get online quickly. “Offence” at this stage usually means a weapon, but it could be hacking, mind control, teleporter, or a combat drone.

Offence that works well against two-shield enemies.

To win consistently on Hard, you must play as “safely” as possible and get through the dangerous early game in good shape. I recommend skipping over the parts you don’t understand, for now. Less experienced players might find it overwhelming in places. Depending on your skill level and also how you prefer to play, you may want to ignore those parts. Some of these tips are tiny optimisations that usually don’t matter.

It contains all kinds of tips, from basic strategy to extremely advanced micro. I wrote this guide first for myself, second for others.

Ftl ship strategy