I've been developing a lot of respect for FTL over the past few days. As a learning experience, it's a lot like the tutelage of Pai Mei from Kill Bill - it keeps asking you to do seemingly impossible things, and then punishing you mercilessly when you fail. But if you stick with your training, you eventually discover that those seemingly impossible things weren't impossible at all, you were just doing it wrong. And then you feel like a badass.

So this is a thread to pass on the benefit of some of the lessons that FTL has cruelly beaten into my hide over the past few days (some of which I originally posted here). I'm hoping that others will add their own observations, as there are many aspects of the game that I haven't had time to fully explore yet.

I'm going to have to break this up over several posts, as the forum software won't let me post the whole thing at once. Edit: Apparently I'm not going to be able to post the rest until someone enters an intervening post to break things up. Could someone oblige?

1. Strategy Overview

Broadly speaking, there are two major elements of strategy in FTL: managing your scrap supply, and combat tactics. I'll be talking about each in turn. But before getting into this, I want to give you a sense of my overall approach to the game.

I noticed early on that my ships kept seeming to reach a point where they just couldn't do anything effective against the enemy ships anymore, and that this was usually where I died. I started getting better at the game when I learned to notice warning signs that I was about to get to that point, so that I could take steps to improve my build and avoid it. A lot of the tips I give are informed by this overarching concern of taking proactive measures to keep your ship build effective.

Also note that everything I say here should be treated as a 'rule of thumb' only. The game is so diverse and different equipment loadouts play so differently that there will almost always be times when following a particular strategy tip is a bad idea.

2. Human(oid) Resources: Managing Your Crew

The first thing to talk about is how to distribute your crew. Putting a little thought into this in the beginning is going to help your ship run much more efficiently.

A. Whenever you start a new game, the first thing you should do is distribute your crew between the various battlestations. I often get overeager and hit the 'jump' button right away, which leaves me with my pants down for a few precious seconds as the enemy ship blasts the shield generator that I forgot to staff. This is a small thing, but don't overlook it.

B. Many ships don't start with a 'full complement' of four crew members. I generally find it's safest to leave the engines unmanned (unless I'm being pounded by missiles, in which case I move my shield guy to the engines, since missiles ignore shields anyway). If I only have two crew, I'll keep one on weapons, and have the other dash from the helm to the shield room whenever a fight starts. (Edit: After more play, I'm now feeling that keeping the helm manned is more important - shields are not such a priority except when facing beam weapons, or in an asteroid field, etc.)

C. Try to keep the same crew members at the same stations, as that way they'll level up their skills and become more proficient.

D. Think about the strengths and weaknesses of your various crew members when deciding how to distribute them. I tend to think of Mantises, Rockmen and Engi as 'mobile' crew members, meaning that I'm more likely to want to have them run around the ship doing things, since the first two are good at repelling boarders and the Engi are faster at repairing damage. Since I'm more likely to want to call them away from their posts, I tend to stick them at the less critical stations (like engines). Zoltans give a point of power to any room they're in, so don't stick them at the helm or you'll be wasting it. Humans can go pretty much anywhere. I haven't played around enough with Slugmen or Crystals to have much to say about them.

E. If I have extra crew sitting around, I tend to stick them in key rooms like the weapons or shields, so that if those break in a fight, there's an extra guy on hand to start repairing them right away.
3. Scrap Management

This is a huge part of the long-term game strategy. You're not going to get nearly enough scrap in the game to buy everything, so you need to plan your purchases carefully. Wasting scrap on a weapon you find you can't use, or a drone system that doesn't end up being important to your strategy, can leave your ship underpowered and desperate towards the end of the game.

A. Don't buy things just because they look neat and you have the scrap lying around. Think about whether the item would work well with your current build, or whether it could be made to work well - for example, don't buy a big-ticket weapon near the endgame if you're not going to earn enough scrap to upgrade your weapons system so you can use it. On a similar note, don't be shy about selling off items that aren't being all that helpful to you anymore.

B. Don't upgrade your systems until you need to. I can't tell you how many times I've kicked myself for upgrading my sensors just because I could, only to jump to a store that has a perfect high-price weapon that I now can't afford. For example, don't upgrade your doors until you notice more boarding parties starting to appear (or you're about to enter Mantis space). It's probably not worth upgrading your med-bay at all unless you have an Engi Med-bot Dispersal system. Ditto for the helm, unless you're really short-staffed and have to call your pilot away all the time.

C. Exceptions to the above are shields, and to a lesser extent, engines. Upgrading these early and often can save you scrap in the long run, because you won't take as much damage and thus won't have to waste your scrap repairing it. In fact, saving up to make Lv2 Shields your first purchase is often a good move in the early game. Exercise self-restraint until you accomplish this! I know you want to buy that Zoltan crew member, but that 65 scrap has more important places to be right now!

D. Most enemies in a given sector will have the same level of shields, and I find that a good 'rule of thumb' for keeping my ship running is to have enough firepower to punch through those shields, plus deliver at least another 2-3 points of damage afterwards. If you're down to getting just a single point of damage through, it's time to start looking at options to beef up your weapons loadout. Each point of damage takes out a singe point of shielding, so if, say, you've got two two-shot, one-damage lasers, that's enough to take down four points of shields (the max in the game), but by the time you start seeing ships with three shields, you should be thinking about adding another (or a bigger) weapon so that you can do some decent damage once they're down.

E. Once you reach Sector 8, all the above goes out the window - repairs are free and you usually won't find a store, so spend whatever spare scrap you have upgrading anything you can. Obviously it's best to prioritize important systems like shields, but even having an extra point in sensors or O2 (even if you can't power it) could keep them from breaking in the midst of a fight, which in turn saves you a point of hull damage.

4. Galaxy of Terror: Exploration, Events and Hazards

A. Try to explore as many sectors as you can. You need to gather as much scrap and other materials as you can before jumping to the next sector, or you won't be strong enough to take the end-game. You should be jumping out just before the Rebel fleet catches you, and no sooner.

B. Get in as many fights as you can. This is your main source of the scrap you need to make yourself stronger. By default, you should never accept surrender, although there are a few exceptions - if you think they'll get away before you can kill them (or cause an unacceptable amount of damage in the meantime), or if they're offering something really good (like a decent weapon, or a crew member), or if they're offering a lot of fuel/missiles/drones and you happen to need them.

C. Don't let your fuel get too low. I like to keep mine around the 15-18 range so that I don't have to worry about running into a drought, though I'm probably being overcautious. Buying two or three points worth at each store you visit, combined with what you get from winning fights, is often enough to keep you running.

D. Tansit: Is it bad if a chicken bites you?
Space Ghost: Did a chicken bite you, Tansit?
Tansit: No, but he's gonna.
Space Ghost: Then MOVE YOURSELF AWAY FROM THE CHICKEN!

Sometimes it is best to take the cowardly option and just ignore events. You'll get a sense for which events to avoid after a few playthroughs. But for example, if you've noticed that the Giant Alien Spiders have a high probability of eating your crew members, then MOVE YOURSELF AWAY FROM THE GIANT ALIEN SPIDERS! The risk just isn't worth the potential reward; save these events for when you have the right item or crewmember to get the special 'blue' option.

E. If you wind up in a 'solar flare' hazard, start venting air from all non-essential rooms immediately. That way, if a fire starts in any of the airless rooms, it will go out before it becomes a problem that you'll have to deal with.

Some good points, and useful observations. You may continue now...you're welcome ;-)

Thanks! One more instalment to come after this one...

5. Combat

A. Time your weapon shots carefully. One huge mistake that I kept making early on was to just target everything on whatever system I wanted to take out, and then run the fight on autofire until it was busted. The timing of your weapon shots actually makes a huge difference - for example, laser weapons are WAY more effective if you wait until they're all charged and fire them all at once, as otherwise the enemy's shields have a chance to recharge and soak up more of the damage. Missiles and teleporter bombs should usually be fired just BEFORE laser weapons, since they ignore shields and may make it easier for your lasers to hit/penetrate (depending on what the missile was targeting). Ion weapons should be fired just before lasers for the same reason (unless you want to ion something other than shields). Beam weapons should be fired just AFTER the lasers connect with the shield, so that they're firing through a minimum of resistance.

B. In general, don't just target blindly - think about what systems you need to cripple. If they're light on shields such that several points of damage will get through on each volley, then I usually favour targeting their weapons and helm - the shields aren't enough of an obstacle to be worth taking down, when doing so would let the enemy get another shot off on me and possibly cause some expensive hull damage. On the other hand, if I'm usually only getting a single point of damage through per volley, then I try to wear their shields down a bit so that I can then hit the other systems more effectively.

C. If you're having trouble hitting the enemy because your shots keep missing, target the helm. It's easy to break, and their evasion will drop to zero until they fix it, which should give you time to fire at least one volley at whatever other system was annoying you. In my first few run-throughs, I greatly underestimated the value of crippling the helm - knocking out their evasive maneuvers even briefly can be enough to turn the tide of battle.

D. When deciding what to target, remember that breaking a system causes an extra point of hull damage. If the enemy is about to go under, then targeting a weak system like O2 or the helm might end the fight faster than continuing to pound on that fat shield system they're busily repairing.

E. Don't waste consumable weapons (missiles and drones) if you don't need them. If the enemy's lasers aren't penetrating your shields, take your time and pick them off with lasers and beam-weapons. For example, I often launch a few missiles initially to soften the enemy up, but then turn that weapon off once they're no longer really a threat to me. Save those consumables for the end boss.

F. As soon as you see that the enemy ship has a teleporter, vent air from all non-essential rooms immediately. That way, if they teleport into an airless room, they start taking damage immediately instead of four or five seconds later, which can make a big difference. Then you can have fun slamming doors in their face as they race to get to your door system or O2 unit. Another good tactic to combine with this is to periodically send in one or two guys to fight them - it distracts them from breaking whatever they were attacking, meaning that they take more asphyxiation damage before they accomplish anything harmful. When your guys get low on health, just run them out of the room and into the med-bay to heal. If all else fails, try to fight the enemy in the medbay so that it can heal you while you fight (just remember to put a point of power in it!)

As a rule of thumb, I tend to upgrade systems towards the end of a system when I see no stores left.

If I hit a store at the beginning of the next system, I get a few extra jumps to earn the cash to pay for equipment. Engines are a big deal if you have a stealth ship (to get 100% evade when cloacked) and before the final boss (every last bit count).

Otherwise, if you find yourself relying too much on them, you're headed for trouble, because the evasion rate is not high enough.

Shields, weapons and cloak (optional if you are lucky enough to find the pre-emptive upgrade) are a better investment.

The weapons & cloak are to cripple him first before he can hurt you.

With strong weapons and either the pre-emptive upgrade or cloak, he won't even have a chance to hurt you no matter what he's packing.

The best defense is a strong offense. You're not. I keep it at 20.

Agreed, but the first few Engine upgrades are pretty cheap, and their passive activity can save you enough hits over the long run that they'll pay for themselves. (Plus your engineer and pilot will level up faster.) I'd definitely put them at lower priority than shields and weapons, though.

Anyway, here's the final instalment of my tips:

6. The End Boss

Spoilers ahead. I've beaten the end boss three times on easy, but haven't engaged him yet on normal, so I can't comment as to any differences.

A. Approaching the end boss: in sector 8, you have to hunt down the enemy flagship across a system where almost every node is a fight. If you've upgraded your ship enough, these enemies shouldn't be able to do much damage to you, but if their shots are getting through, don't be shy about jumping away as soon as your FTL drive is charged. Try to engage the end boss at a point near one of the repair stations, so that you can heal up between rounds, but this isn't super-important - with a well-equipped ship, I've gone all three rounds without him even getting my hull down past 50%.

B. You definitely want to try to have four shields by the time you fight the end boss; upgrading your engine so that you have 40%+ evade is also helpful. As for weapons, you'll need to be able to punch through or disable four layers of shields and then then do some damage immediately afterwards. Options include knocking out the shields with missiles or teleporter bombs, ion-disrupting them, or just overwhelming them with laser fire.

C. In the first stage, the boss cloaks a lot, which is annoying and gives him time to repair. However, if you have four shields, the only real threat to you right now is the weapon on the inside-right of the flagship - it launches three big missiles that can change your tune from "This is going alright!" to "Oh crap oh crap oh crap!" in a big hurry. Taking this out should be your priority right now.

An important thing to notice is that the four weapons stations on the ship are all in isolated rooms staffed by a single crew member. That's right - they're not connected to the rest of the ship, so once those crew are dead, those weapons systems ain't getting repaired! This is a great job for a mantis crew member if you have a teleporter; if not, once you've taken out the missile-launcher, try to kill off as many other crew as you can before the fight ends, since they aren't replaced in subsequent rounds. (The far-left guy isn't a priority, since he's about to horribly decompress anyway.) Remember to teleport your invading crew back before dealing the final blow!

D. In round two, the enemy launches huge waves of drones at you, which can be problematic. They also tend to launch very annoying boarding drones at you, so keep your combat crew healthy. However, I still prioritize taking out the missile launcher (much easier this time, since you've killed the crewman who would otherwise repair it.) After that, I mostly ignore the drones and try to take down the shields and helm so I can end the fight as fast as possible, but if the drones are causing you a lot of grief, you might want to send a few points of damage towards the control unit periodically.

E. In round three, the enemy periodically launches huge energy-blasts at you. This isn't as big of a problem as it sounds - first disable the missiles, then the laser-cannon on the left, and if you have four shields and a decent dodge the super-weapon shouldn't damage you very often. The enemy will also send most of its remaining crew over to board your ship, but compared to the boarding drones last round, these pink squishy oxygen-dependent lifeforms go down with little difficulty. From this point it's just a straight up slog to whittle the enemy's hull down for victory.

*****

That's all I've got for now; what useful strategies have you discovered while being chewed on by this game? I'd particularly welcome input on how to effectively use drone-heavy or ion-heavy ship builds, as I haven't had a chance to play around with them much.

I hope these tips ease the learning curve a bit for new players, and help those who have been put off by the game's seeming unfairness to discover that there actually is a delicious, meaty game in there after all.

Cheers,
-Azilut

BUILDING SKILLS

If you face an enemy that has no way to damage you or pierce your shields, then you can max out a few skills. Put any weapons that can't harm the enemy on autofire and stick your crew at shields, weapons, helm and engines. Their related skills will max out after a while.

about the endboss:

leaving one enemy guy alive is a good idea. if they are all dead then the ship enters an AI mode, where everything, including the weapons, repairs itself without any crew.

one defense drone I will keep you safe from the boarding drone at the second stage.

the flagship will also have a defense drone, which will shoot down your missles. either you fire more than one at a time or dont use missles at all.
keep about 30 for the bossfight if you are planning to kill the flagship with missles.

whenever you get a warning about a "power surge detected", activate your cloak with 2 power in it to dodge the damage from its super weapon. dont forget that your weapons will break the cloak without the stealth weapon upgrade.

Very good tips so far. Here are some of mine.

Generally:

I can't emphasize enough how important it is to not buy anything until you really need it. You should always try to keep 150-200 scrap in the bank to maximize your chances of being able to buy a really good item when you need one. And never buy something that's not part of your overall strategy, though sometimes your strategy may have to be adjusted to what items turn out to be available.

Really good items include: cloak (activate just before a projectile is about to hit you and it will almost always miss); weapon pre-igniter; scrap recovery arm (if found early on); drone recovery arm (indispensable for drone-heavy builds); Burst Laser II (probably the most cost-effective weapon in the game); Ion Blast II (with a decent gunner, can keep the enemy's shields down indefinitely); beam weapons doing 3-4 damage (can go through up to 2 shields if need be).

About drones:

Drone system + defense drone I, though expensive, really pays for itself since it will take out incoming missiles and boarding drones with ~90% reliability. If you get these relatively early on, you save a huge pile of scrap in repairs. Defense drone II is IMO not worth the cost, since it needs 4 energy and isn't that much more reliable. 2x defense drone I is much better as long as your shields are up to par.

About fuel:

Also, buying fuel unless you really have to is wasteful I think. Instead, be on the lookout for surrenders and trades giving 6+ fuel and ideally something else you need. Since most battles tend to give you at least 1 fuel, I usually start to worry only if my fuel goes below 6.

Running out of fuel is not an automatic game over either. You're forced to wait while the rebel fleet gets one step closer. There is a decent chance (outside of nebulas at least) of a friendly ship showing up with a (sometimes quite favorable) fuel trade. If the rebels reach you, you need to take down one of their ships to get 3 fuel out of it.

I wonder if anyone can confirm something I think I spotted on my last playthrough - it seems like each laser shot, regardless of its damage rating, will only take out a single point of shielding. If true, this could have implications for the order in which you fire off your weapons (using low-damage multi-shots as shield-crackers, and then following up with the higher-damage shots after a slight delay.)

Yep, I'm pretty sure that's how it works. 1 hit removes 1 layer of shielding.

New strategy tip that came up in another thread: when your ship is on fire, you can hear a crackling 'fire' noise. This is very helpful if your sensors are hit or you're in a nebula, as you can still tell the fire is there even if you can't see it.

No no no! Bad strategy!

NEVER leave the helm un-manned! Your chance to doge drops to 0% and you will receive maximum punishment from the enemy, way more than a measly +10% shield recharge rate can handle.

In the Kestrel, put one crewman at the helm and NEVER MOVE HIM! Not even for battle repairs! Then put one crewman at the weapons and one at the engines. De-Power your medbay and put the extra power into engines. With Engines at level 2 and an untrained person manning the station, you now have a 20% dodge rate; 1 in 5 shots will miss your ship. Use the extra weapon speed to disable your opponent and you won't need to worry about getting your shields back up faster.

Agree with most of the major points, though I think the first blast door upgrade is worth it around the end of sector 2 or start of 3, even if you've never been boarded. If you're unlucky, your first boarding can wipe you out or do a lot of ship damage, which can be a death sentence itself if you're fighting a ship, too. (My first death ever was when I got boarded by 3 Mantises somewhere in Sector 3 and had no clue how to respond.) That's how lasers work in general. I think I've seen exceptions - can't recall what they're named, but there are weapons that say in their descriptions that damage is reduced by 1 per shield. Also, beams (if you weren't aware) are different - they do no damage to shields and are completely blocked by them (but can be brutal if you can take the shields down.) This does definitely have implications on firing order - as you said, use burst lasers to knock shields down, then heavy-damage beams to hit ship systems. I found the Burst 2 and Heavy 2 lasers work great, since the heavy's charge time is just a bit longer than the burst.

Yeah, I've been revising my thinking on this the more I play. My current approach depends on what the enemy weapons loadout looks like - if I see a missile bay or a heavy laser loadout, I prioritize helm followed by engines. On the other hand, if they're hitting me with beam weapons, then I prioritize shields, since as far as I can tell beam weapons don't miss, and getting those shields up a half-second earlier can be the difference between no damage and... a lot of damage.

I've definitely started prioritizing the helm more and the weapons systems less; I'll probably keep changing my mind on this as time goes on.

Edited the OP to reflect this.

I just noticed that zoltan power bars seem to be immune to ion! My shield just got hit with an ion blast but with two zoltan in the shield room, it's still up. Cool!

Also, if a zoltan visits the cloak room while it's recharging and then leaves, the blue power bar that the cloak occupied is returned to the pool. The cloak continues to recharge without using up power. I wonder if this should be considered a bug.