Describe the moments you cursed at FTL. I start.

1) I was having really good time with Kestrel, easily blowing up the boss on normal - but then I decide to try out the Torus. The Torus must be synonymous with "Fuck" word. I hardly remember myself swearing that much since I was teenager and playing Xcom TFTD on the Superhuman.

Since the choice of weapons tended to be completely miserable with Torus, I managed to understand how Ion weapons work and survived quite nicely. Then FTL decides to bury me in presents and just a moments later to bury me literally.

It all began when I found the Damaged Stasis Pod. At next shop - Droid Extraction Arm and burst laser mk2 are sold (which together with ion means death, as ion can overload any shield). Only now I discover that all three slots are already occupied as I already have Silenced Weapons, Damaged Stasis Pod and stock Torus Healing.

So go ahead and sell the worst of the three - the unique (-ly useless) Torus Healing to make slot for Droid Extraction Arm, purchase the burst laser mk 2 and jump to next node (slug nebula) - and this is where game starts to screw me up. I simply forgot to purchase fifth energy weapon slot, so can use both ion and burst laser at same time when pirate appears. Too late!

I hold enough and decide to run away. To meet another pirate! Which I can still hold off, but loose one of five crew members (engi). I jump away - to be met by Mantis boarding ship! Three in a row. How nice.

I think I understood the logic... But before I understood it, FTL just had to make fun of me. :)

Just finished Engi Cruiser (Torus) Boss run on Normal. Got a stealth cruiser. Almost got the Slug cruiser, picked wrong choice, shouldve waited in the fog. Federation Flagship unlocked. All directly on normal, skipped easy.

Ok, understanding Ion shock effect payed off, worked ok with attack drone I.. up to some point.

When enemy shields go up to 3x+, Ion needs 3x consequential hits to freeze the shields - so Drone can go on physical rampage. The chance of 3x hit is abysmal (and I know why, its enemy engine upgrades) - and Drone can't punch away more than 1 shield layer. And to hit engine or cabin, one must punch shields too. So this is where bombs apply.

So, I think - lets sell Ion Blast II and replace with awesome Ion Bomb and Pegasus launcher(for security), and finish whats inside with Fire Beam. BIG MISTAKE. Even though I had over 30 rockets, they quickly depleted as the recharge time was far too long, and after barely beating 1st part of Boss, I had to run away and go suicide. :)

Speaking of missiles, defensive drone is useless. Engine upgrade+Stealth on rocket launch are so much better.

The 'Easy' difficulty setting is deceiving, you should definitely not skip it. Before AE, there used to be just 2 settings: Normal and Hard; those got demoted to Easy and Normal respectively with the arrival of AE and the adition of the current Hard mode.

Now some advice. FTL 101: Pause, pause early, pause often, pause more! Also micromanage everything a lot and remember that dying is part of the fun (and the learning process).

And now my latest story:

First run with Crystal B (considered one of the best ships in the game, but it starts with no weapons) on my current file: 1st jump drone ship, 2nd jump zoltan ship, 3rd jump drone ship in a pulsar and RIP run :)
The next run went like a breeze, I killed the flagship with a fully upgraded ship and spare scrap.

True! But I explained myself not clear enough, as I finished Kestrel run on easy, unlocked Kerstrel B and it was a breeze. :)

I'd say "easy" in FTL is actually what "normal" in other games is.

Well, Kestel B is a "top tier" ship, it has a very strong early game. I'd still recommend playing on Easy until you have unlocked most ships and can consistently beat the game with a fair amount of them. But if Normal suits you, then go ahead :)

Oh, and if you haven't yet, turn AE content on asap.

No, I haven't. Actually I don't plan to :) My new goal is to beat Boss ship with Torus on hard without AE :-]

The flagship difficulty goes up a notch on Hard. The first time I got to it on hard, I was having a pretty good run, so started with the usual tactics against the flagship - only they didn't work!

Then I realised the flagship is actually a slightly different design on hard... then my ship exploded... :(


I did beat it once on hard with the Kestrel C, after a lucky run where I had managed to build it into a pretty powerful vessel.

Good luck!

I once got hit by a boarding drone that breached my oxygen room. Managed to defeat it and had my two guys evacuate the room with a tiny bit of life left - only to have them both killed by a random bomb teleport in the adjacent room.

Watching an otherwise expert FTL player get screwed by RNG while doing esoteric quests, such as looking for the legendary slug or the entire Crystal Quest.

Just missiles in general, too.

So I had my profile wiped a bit ago, so I need to unlock all the ships again. I'm trying to get the "Defense Drones Don't Do D'Anything" achievement with Rock A (destroy an enemy that has a defense drone equipped using only Missiles). I manage to get a FREE Pegasus Missile in SECTOR 1! This achievement is doable with the Pegasus alone, but I keep the Artemis around so I have the ability to launch 3 missiles in 1 salvo. All I need now is the enemy.

And I don't find one. single. enemy. in the ENTIRE game that is using a Defense Drone...

I manage to survive through 7 sectors by using Flak I, Burst II, and the occasional use of an Artemis to soften the shields--which combined with the Zoltan shield from the quest was enough. But no achievement. So I think "Okay, I guess I'll try to get the Flagship Stage 2 with just the Artemis and the Pegasus."

For Flagship Stage 1, I de-equip the Pegasus and use Chain Laser in its place. Manage to get through with no damage while still having ~25 missiles in reserve. I re-equip the Pegasus, cross my fingers, and go in. I prioritize targeting the missile system, hitting Drones when that one is down. Things get a bit dicey part-way in, with my engines and drone system damaged and cloaking on fire (I only have 5 rockmen as crew). Also oxygen is venting out through a couple of holes in my ship. But I finally beat it down after pushing a dozen volleys of missiles.


And apparently, destroying the Flagship Stage 2 using only missiles doesn't trigger the achievement.