FTL

I just recruited Nick Breckon. I feel so much safer now.

Dyni wrote:

I just recruited Nick Breckon. I feel so much safer now.

He will abandon you.

For any of you guys who may have finished the game multiple times on Normal difficulty, if you're still playing, what objectives have you set for yourself as you play (beyond "win, again")?

Getting through the game smoothly doesn't (necessarily?) seem to correlate with getting a high score. I'm wondering how much replayability FTL will turn out to have for players who have become pretty good at the game and can usually win.

WolverineJon wrote:

For any of you guys who may have finished the game multiple times on Normal difficulty, if you're still playing, what objectives have you set for yourself as you play (beyond "win, again")?

Getting through the game smoothly doesn't (necessarily?) seem to correlate with getting a high score. I'm wondering how much replayability FTL will turn out to have for players who have become pretty good at the game and can usually win.

I have yet to unlock the Slug Cruiser and Mantis Cruiser and the Crystal Ship.

So far I have only gained the alternate ships for The Kestrel and the Torus.

Currently working on the Stealth Ship's alternate.

I have been winning 7 out of every 10 games and yet it's still a long way to go.

WolverineJon wrote:

For any of you guys who may have finished the game multiple times on Normal difficulty, if you're still playing, what objectives have you set for yourself as you play (beyond "win, again")?

Well I have a soft goal of getting a score of at least 4000+ on easy with every ship. At the same time I also work on unlocking the variant. Once both of those are done I switch over to Normal and the real challenge begins.

I want to beat the game with every ship on Normal. I know it's going to take me a while but FTL is the kind of game that is really easy to pick up and play.

Just beat the game on easy for the first time, using burst lasers and teleporting rockmen. When's the DLC?!

WolverineJon wrote:

For any of you guys who may have finished the game multiple times on Normal difficulty, if you're still playing, what objectives have you set for yourself as you play (beyond "win, again")?

Getting through the game smoothly doesn't (necessarily?) seem to correlate with getting a high score. I'm wondering how much replayability FTL will turn out to have for players who have become pretty good at the game and can usually win.

I try to set goals for myself beyond just winning winning the game once. At the moment, I am alternating between trying to unlock ships (I still need get that damn crystal ship) and playing to win with each of the ships. Given there are 18 ships in-game, it seems like there is plenty of room for replayability just to accomplish those two tasks. I could also see myself attempting playthroughs with some challenge conducts like winning without using drones or winning with just one crewman, that sort of thing.

Gah! I kicked the crap out of final boss round 1, I took no hull damage at all. Round 2 however just whipped me good.

I couldn't seem to get past his shields before he took out my weapon systems. I had a decent beam weapon, decent missile launcher, and decent laser; normally I go laser + missile till the shields are down and then beam them to death, but the shields just weren't budging and when I lost one of my weapons due to damage it was all over.

Which leads me to ask: what's a good strategy for dealing with a drone onslaught? My shields weren't fully upgraded, and I kinda get a feeling that would have helped. But one extra shield doesn't seem like it would've made enough difference; my ship was just falling apart before I could do anything meaningful.

gore wrote:

Gah! I kicked the crap out of final boss round 1, I took no hull damage at all. Round 2 however just whipped me good.

I couldn't seem to get past his shields before he took out my weapon systems. I had a decent beam weapon, decent missile launcher, and decent laser; normally I go laser + missile till the shields are down and then beam them to death, but the shields just weren't budging and when I lost one of my weapons due to damage it was all over.

Which leads me to ask: what's a good strategy for dealing with a drone onslaught? My shields weren't fully upgraded, and I kinda get a feeling that would have helped. But one extra shield doesn't seem like it would've made enough difference; my ship was just falling apart before I could do anything meaningful.

Well, you can't go into the 2nd wave of the fight if missiles are crucial to your strategy since the boss's defense drones will shoot them down 95% of the time. So you need to make sure you have the means to knock out 4 shield points plus do some damage beyond that without missiles. You might be able to send over some boarders to disable the shields or drone system, but it would be very, very difficult. Or you might luck out and get a laser shot off that hits his defense drone, taking it out. If he has run out of drones at that point your missiles would then be useful again, but I wouldn't rely on this strategy since this whole time you're going constantly under attack by the drone swarm.

As for the dealing with the swarm, your best bet is cloaking, at least level 2. That will negate almost all of the damage, but the recharge time on the cloak is longer than the downtime on the swarm, so you would also want to complement that with extra power to the engines for the evasion bonus. Even if you can't keep your engines fully powered at all time, you should have them upgraded so you can get around 40% or 45% when you need it. If you're running a drone heavy ship, it might be worth getting a defense drone II to use for this stage to shoot down lasers. It will shoot down lasers from anti-ship drones.

EriktheRed wrote:

Well, you can't go into the 2nd wave of the fight if missiles are crucial to your strategy since the boss's defense drones will shoot them down 95% of the time. So you need to make sure you have the means to knock out 4 shield points plus do some damage beyond that without missiles. You might be able to send over some boarders to disable the shields or drone system, but it would be very, very difficult. Or you might luck out and get a laser shot off that hits his defense drone, taking it out. If he has run out of drones at that point your missiles would then be useful again, but I wouldn't rely on this strategy since this whole time you're going constantly under attack by the drone swarm.

Ouch! Well, I guess that was my issue, since I only managed to find 3 decent weapons the whole game. They were however very effective prior to the boss fight, so I was surprised at how badly I got creamed.

My favorite combo would normally be Ion weapons plus a strong beam weapon. I had the beam, but I never managed to find an Ion weapon at all this playthrough. Perhaps it would have tipped the scales...

As for the dealing with the swarm, your best bet is cloaking, at least level 2. That will negate almost all of the damage, but the recharge time on the cloak is longer than the downtime on the swarm, so you would also want to complement that with extra power to the engines for the evasion bonus. Even if you can't keep your engines fully powered at all time, you should have them upgraded so you can get around 40% or 45% when you need it. If you're running a drone heavy ship, it might be worth getting a defense drone II to use for this stage to shoot down lasers. It will shoot down lasers from anti-ship drones.

Hmm, I did not upgrade cloaking. I will keep that in mind next time. I did upgrade the engines to about that level since the defensive bonus looked pretty big (and as you say, I can turn them off/on as needed). I think having good engines helped me a lot with the last few zones.

Don't use cloak 2 for the swarm, use cloak 1. The extra 5 seconds of cloak means your cloak won't recharge in time for the 2nd swarm.

What is the use of having cloak 3? I use cloak as a catch-all emergency evasion button to dodge missiles and stuff. So it kind of helps when my guns fire 3 seconds into the cloak and it begins to recharge faster. Though I can see the benefit of 15 uninterrupted seconds where you don't take damage and you are free to charge weapons.

Tamren wrote:

What is the use of having cloak 3? I use cloak as a catch-all emergency evasion button to dodge missiles and stuff. So it kind of helps when my guns fire 3 seconds into the cloak and it begins to recharge faster. Though I can see the benefit of 15 uninterrupted seconds where you don't take damage and you are free to charge weapons.

Cloak 3 + Stealth Weapons + Preignition = EZ mode

I want an endless mode, sure it would be tough balancing it out so there was still a challenge and eventual defeat, but even if they just scaled back opportunities for repairs and drones (hull repair) then eventually you'll get to the point where you're running, held together with bubblegum nad stickytape and a single missile getting through will kill you. AWESOME!

I've just made it to sector 7 with no weapons. Sold all my weapons in the stealth ship in sector 1 for my pacifist run for the cheevo. I'm currently in sector 7 stranded with no weapons and no fuel. The first people to respond to my distress beacon were Mantis pirates... Who couldn't get through my microed stealth and shield (1) management. They eventually jumped away and gave up.

Then a Slugman fuel ship came by and asked exorbitant prices and when I tried to negotiate them down to a price I could afford they decided to attack me instead. They had two missile launchers and pounded on me down to about a 1/3rd hull then inexplicably jumped away.

The third ship to find me drifting in space was the rebel fleet and they bumped me off.

I'm still proud of getting to sector 7 and nabbing the cheevo though.

Prozac wrote:

eventually you'll get to the point where you're running, held together with bubblegum nad stickytape and a single missile getting through will kill you. AWESOME!

That describes about most of my runs so far already

Finally got my first win last night!

Here was my setup.
IMAGE(http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/1135162649622742717/6A5E37D877FAB07A3B10EF5FF4BF071F2270D3A2/)

Thank goodness I looted that Ion Bomb right before the last sector. That single-handedly won me the fight.

Now to start trying different ships...

RoutineMachine wrote:
Dyni wrote:

I just recruited Nick Breckon. I feel so much safer now.

He will abandon you.

Right you are.... F*** that guy.

I'm really enjoying Borderlands 2, but FTL is the game I'm thinking about when I'm not playing. This is most unexpected.

I so badly want a version of this game for iOS.

gore wrote:

I couldn't seem to get past his shields before he took out my weapon systems. I had a decent beam weapon, decent missile launcher, and decent laser; normally I go laser + missile till the shields are down and then beam them to death, but the shields just weren't budging and when I lost one of my weapons due to damage it was all over.

Which leads me to ask: what's a good strategy for dealing with a drone onslaught? My shields weren't fully upgraded, and I kinda get a feeling that would have helped. But one extra shield doesn't seem like it would've made enough difference; my ship was just falling apart before I could do anything meaningful.

Maybe use the missile teleporters instead? I also enjoy using rapid recharge Ion weapons to shut down enemy systems. Put one on their shields and another on the most annoying offensive system and the fight is pretty much over.

Tamren wrote:

Halberd only does 2, its the Glaive that does 3 and the Pike that does 1 if I remember correctly.

The glaive takes fifteen years to charge though, so timing is important. Is there any way to reduce the charge time of weapons? I noticed charge times of some of my weapons shortening over time, but couldn't tell why.

complexmath wrote:
Tamren wrote:

Halberd only does 2, its the Glaive that does 3 and the Pike that does 1 if I remember correctly.

The glaive takes fifteen years to charge though, so timing is important. Is there any way to reduce the charge time of weapons? I noticed charge times of some of my weapons shortening over time, but couldn't tell why.

Having a crew member at the gunnery station speeds up reload by 10%; as they level up, the bonus increases to 14% and 19%.

Tanglebones wrote:
complexmath wrote:
Tamren wrote:

Halberd only does 2, its the Glaive that does 3 and the Pike that does 1 if I remember correctly.

The glaive takes fifteen years to charge though, so timing is important. Is there any way to reduce the charge time of weapons? I noticed charge times of some of my weapons shortening over time, but couldn't tell why.

Having a crew member at the gunnery station speeds up reload by 10%; as they level up, the bonus increases to 14% and 19%.

There is also the Automated Reloader augment (weapon charge times down 15%?) and the beastly Weapon Pre-Igniter augment (all powered weapons begin encounters ready to fire).

complexmath wrote:
gore wrote:

I couldn't seem to get past his shields before he took out my weapon systems. I had a decent beam weapon, decent missile launcher, and decent laser; normally I go laser + missile till the shields are down and then beam them to death, but the shields just weren't budging and when I lost one of my weapons due to damage it was all over.

Which leads me to ask: what's a good strategy for dealing with a drone onslaught? My shields weren't fully upgraded, and I kinda get a feeling that would have helped. But one extra shield doesn't seem like it would've made enough difference; my ship was just falling apart before I could do anything meaningful.

Maybe use the missile teleporters instead? I also enjoy using rapid recharge Ion weapons to shut down enemy systems. Put one on their shields and another on the most annoying offensive system and the fight is pretty much over.

One extra shield is a huge difference. Most of the drones are basic beam drones which cannot penetrate shields on their own.

Quintin_Stone wrote:

One extra shield is a huge difference. Most of the drones are basic beam drones which cannot penetrate shields on their own.

With level 3 shields it just takes a bit longer for the Ion weapons to work their way through them though, right? But either way, once you've hit the shield with an Ion blast and keep on it, the shields will stay down. I'll admit to having not beaten the end boss yet though. Last time through I got to the last section and then engaged a random enemy by accident rather than heading towards the boss, and ended up dead. From the screens you all are posting, it looks like I need to spend more time just exploring and building out my ship before heading to the end. I'm nowhere near as well equipped when I reach the last section as you all are.

complexmath wrote:
Quintin_Stone wrote:

One extra shield is a huge difference. Most of the drones are basic beam drones which cannot penetrate shields on their own.

With level 3 shields it just takes a bit longer for the Ion weapons to work their way through them though, right? But either way, once you've hit the shield with an Ion blast and keep on it, the shields will stay down. I'll admit to having not beaten the end boss yet though. Last time through I got to the last section and then engaged a random enemy by accident rather than heading towards the boss, and ended up dead. From the screens you all are posting, it looks like I need to spend more time just exploring and building out my ship before heading to the end. I'm nowhere near as well equipped when I reach the last section as you all are.

Sorry, that was mainly a reply to gore's drone woes.

Has anyone gotten very far with the Stealth B ship on Normal? It's insanely tough to get even a few spaces away without getting pummeled. Yes, the glaive can often kill in one hit. But staying alive long enough? One hit to the weapon system and you're screwed.

complexmath wrote:
Quintin_Stone wrote:

One extra shield is a huge difference. Most of the drones are basic beam drones which cannot penetrate shields on their own.

With level 3 shields it just takes a bit longer for the Ion weapons to work their way through them though, right? But either way, once you've hit the shield with an Ion blast and keep on it, the shields will stay down. I'll admit to having not beaten the end boss yet though. Last time through I got to the last section and then engaged a random enemy by accident rather than heading towards the boss, and ended up dead. From the screens you all are posting, it looks like I need to spend more time just exploring and building out my ship before heading to the end. I'm nowhere near as well equipped when I reach the last section as you all are.

Yeah, one of the little tips from the devs is that you need to spend as much time in each sector as you can without the rebels catching up to you. Each sector is an opportunity to upgrade your ship for the final confrontation and you have to exploit those opportunities. This is what the nebulas are for -- slowing down rebel pursuit gives you more opportunity to maximally exploit each sector.

Since the danger of death escalates with each sector, it's best if you can pick up some powerful equipment in earlier sectors. But the game partly compensates for this dynamic by increasing scrap drops in later sectors, so that if you are weak for the first few sectors but manage to hold together, you are rewarded with the possibility of faster power growth in the later sectors.

Quintin_Stone wrote:

One extra shield is a huge difference. Most of the drones are basic beam drones which cannot penetrate shields on their own.

I'll be sure to try and get that next time. I'm starting to think that my up-to-now-most-successful run was still just doomed to failure, since I never had enough scrap to upgrade further, and I never found a single Ion weapon.

Sometimes, you're already dead, and you just don't know it

Quintin_Stone wrote:

Has anyone gotten very far with the Stealth B ship on Normal? It's insanely tough to get even a few spaces away without getting pummeled. Yes, the glaive can often kill in one hit. But staying alive long enough? One hit to the weapon system and you're screwed.

I've managed to win with it once, after many failures. I think maxing out cloak early is very important, to give you time to charge up the glaive. I would cloak right as they let off their first weapons volley and hope and pray that my glaive would be charged up before the cloak ended.

You pretty much want to avoid all environmental hazards if at all possible. Get a shield as soon as humanly possible. After I got my first level of shield I focused on getting a defense drone up and running before I went back to upgrading my shields. Those two things will keep beams and missiles from being so much of a problem. You can cloak to avoid laser weapons until you get your shields boosted up.

It also might be worth getting a fast charging weapon you can spam to give your weapons officer something to practice with, otherwise you'll be waiting forever to get him trained up on just the Glaive Beam. You'll definitely some sort of weapon that can get through at least 2 points of shields to give your beam a chance in the later sectors.

IMAGE(http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560953186776271233/7AE1538F4C7AECD282F2F61911E27234C5441ACE/)

So you clearly need a pretty hefty damage output to win as well. I just fought the final battle with my class A Engi ship and was holding my own, but my hull got wiped out and it was game over. I only had level 3 shields though, so maybe level 4s would have been in order. Think I may go back to the Kestrel too. I'm getting a bit bored of fighting with drones.