Easy mode is easy, normal is impossible.

[diet a&w]

Easy mode has gotten easy, unless I have some crazy bad luck I win about every game. I switch to normal, and get completely wrecked. I don't understand what I'm doing so wrong.

The last easy game I played, I ended with fully upgraded systems, 300+ scrap I didn't use, extra weapons, and I destroyed the final ship without taking much damage at all.

My last normal game, I had only jumped a couple times, I come across a ship that had a missile launcher, laser, and cloaking. Their first missile shot hits my engine room and starts fires. They get off a second shot before I can take down their weapons, and that hits my weapons room and starts more fires. It didn't go much better from there and after a couple sectors I got destroyed.

It seems like my shots miss all the time when I need them most. Half the things I get hit with start fires. I spend way too much scrap repairing my hull, and I never get ahead.

Anything obvious that works well on easy but not normal that I might be missing?

[Mike]

Originally posted by diet a&w:

My last normal game, I had only jumped a couple times, I come across a ship that had a missile launcher, laser, and cloaking.

That's impossible. The only ships that get cloaking in sector 1 are Auto-scouts, and they have level 1 weapons.

^ This is completely wrong and I can't believe I wrote that. My brain wasn't working. They get level 2 or 3 weapons in sector 1.

Anything obvious that works well on easy but not normal that I might be missing?

It's a substantial jump in difficulty overall.

Enemies are more upgraded and you get less scrap. Those things combined are a pretty big difference.

The main thing is you need to be more strategic and efficient about using your scrap.

I recommend watching my beginners' guide video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oB2XJ2NfEU

Also the difficulty of each run can vary drastically, so you might just have gone from a lucky run on Easy to an unlucky run on Normal.

[New Moon On Monday]

Aside from getting better through experience, my winning percentage took a big jump when I learned how to get Hacking Drones past Defense Drones. That encouraged me to use Hacking Drones more and I discovered what versatile problem-solvers they are.

Another big moment was when I finally accepted the strategy of upgrading Shields ASAP in sector 1 (for most ships). There are a lot of encounters in sectors 1&2 where enemies cannot hurt you if you have 2 layers of Shields. This doesn't just save scrap on repairs. It gives you the opportunity to have training missions (letting the enemy attack without returning fire so crew gets experience in Piloting, Engines, Shields- and if you have a single weapon you can fire that doesn't hurt them, you can auto-fire for Weapons crew experience too). It also gives you some early opportunities for extra rewards via crew kills (e.g., keeping enemy Oxygen destroyed to suffocate the crew and leave the ship intact).

It also helps, particularly early, to understand which systems need to be continuously powered and which don't. For example, I routinely have Engines and Oxygen share a power bar- it's in Engines when an enemy burst is actually en route to my ship, then switched to Oxygen between volleys. Figuring out how to swap power around will save you from spending too much on Power too soon.

There's plenty more to learn, but for me, these were things that made a huge difference.

[diet a&w]

Originally posted by Mike:

Originally posted by diet a&w:

My last normal game, I had only jumped a couple times, I come across a ship that had a missile launcher, laser, and cloaking.

That's impossible. The only ships that get cloaking in sector 1 are Auto-scouts, and they have level 1 weapons.

It was an auto-scout. Pretty sure it had missiles and a laser, for sure it had missiles, because it hit me twice with them, starting fires twice. I was shocked that such a thing could exist in the first sector.

It seems like no matter how much scrap I throw at my engines I get hit, and things I shoot miss, far more than easy.

[diet a&w]

Originally posted by New Moon On Monday:

Aside from getting better through experience, my winning percentage took a big jump when I learned how to get Hacking Drones past Defense Drones. That encouraged me to use Hacking Drones more and I discovered what versatile problem-solvers they are.

Is that advanced edition content? I've been playing without that enabled. Does that give you more tools to win once you learn it?

Originally posted by New Moon On Monday:

Another big moment was when I finally accepted the strategy of upgrading Shields ASAP in sector 1 (for most ships). There are a lot of encounters in sectors 1&2 where enemies cannot hurt you if you have 2 layers of Shields. This doesn't just save scrap on repairs. It gives you the opportunity to have training missions (letting the enemy attack without returning fire so crew gets experience in Piloting, Engines, Shields- and if you have a single weapon you can fire that doesn't hurt them, you can auto-fire for Weapons crew experience too). It also gives you some early opportunities for extra rewards via crew kills (e.g., keeping enemy Oxygen destroyed to suffocate the crew and leave the ship intact).

My biggest problem seems like missiles. I don't know what to do with missiles early game; it seems like they can always fire before I can.

Using ships that can't hurt you for experience and more scrap is a great idea, I'll definitely be doing that from now on.

Originally posted by New Moon On Monday:

It also helps, particularly early, to understand which systems need to be continuously powered and which don't. For example, I routinely have Engines and Oxygen share a power bar- it's in Engines when an enemy burst is actually en route to my ship, then switched to Oxygen between volleys. Figuring out how to swap power around will save you from spending too much on Power too soon.

I do that, I always have more systems than I have power for. But I do sometimes get lazy and forget to switch when I should. I work on being 100% right power at the right moment. Thanks for the help!

[New Moon On Monday]

Originally posted by diet a&w:

Is that advanced edition content? I've been playing without that enabled. Does that give you more tools to win once you learn it?

Hacking is Advanced Edition.

It adds more complications, so if you feel like you are still learning, you may want to keep things simple and keep it off. Of course, enemy ships will be taking advantage of the Advanced Edition equipment.

But if you feel like you have the basics down, then Advanced Edition ultimately gives the advantage to you. When you figure them out, you can use systems like Hacking and Mind Control to far more devastating effect than your enemies can.

Originally posted by diet a&w:

My biggest problem seems like missiles. I don't know what to do with missiles early game; it seems like they can always fire before I can.

Defense Drones give you imperfect but pretty good defense against missiles. (With Hacking from Advanced Edition, the decision is almost always either/or between Defense System and Hacking, and I would almost always take Hacking).

Cloaking is a great option too. After the missile fires but before it gets to your ship, activate your Cloak for that +60% Evasion bonus. That buys you extra time to destroy enemy Weapons before they get another shot at you.

There are a lot things you can do with Hacking- hack enemy Weapons to delay first firing, or hack Shields or Piloting to maximize the damage your first volley sends into Weapons.

Early in the game, before your Weapons crew has experience, you will almost never be able to hit enemy Weapons with your first volley before they strike back. When you have Weapons crew with 2 levels in Weapons and reasonably fast weapons, you can almost always strike first. Add in Cloaking or Hacking, you can frequently get off two volleys before the enemy can make a meaningful counter-attack.

Missiles are one of the most dangerous threats to you early on. But don't fear them so much that you invest in defenses too early. After upgrading to 2 layers of Shields, your next priority is almost always going to be offense, either a weapon or a system you can use offensively, so you can deal with enemy defenses that will be improved once you hit Sector 3. Be careful not to over-invest in Engines early. (If you get a "training mission" in sector 1 or 2 and max-out your Pilot and Engines crew, that's an extra +10% for free).

Though I haven't watched all of them, Mike's videos have pretty good advice, it's well worth watching the beginners' tips at least.

[Mike]

Originally posted by diet a&w:

It was an auto-scout. Pretty sure it had missiles and a laser

Oh I'm sorry, you're absolutely right.

I had a complete brain malfunction there and somehow was thinking Auto-assaults (with drones, not cloaking). Auto-scouts can have level 3 weapons and level 2 cloaking in sector 1.

I don't often make a mistake like that, but I'm human and sometimes being tired does that.

[diet a&w]

I played normal again, this time I at least got through 2/3 of the final ship. I never had enough money when I ran across teleporters, so it was rough. But at least it seemed in the realm of possibility this time. Thanks all!

[jotwebe]

Personally I'd recommend against Advanced Edition content if you have problems beating the game. You just have to, as they say, git gud. And the great thing is, you don't even need good reflexes to do it.

Some tips: Don't buy weapons unless you're sure. Good early buy is drone control center if it comes with a defence or combat drone (mk I, the mk II versions have their drawbacks). For weapons, stuff that deals with shields efficiently is more important than fancy effects when you hit. (The Burst Laser II you start with on the Kestrel is probably one of the best weapons in the game.) The best early game augments are scrap recovery arms and long range scanners, they let you snowball, the latter by letting you avoid wasted jumps.

Priority targets while fighting should usually be weapons, unless you have problems getting through the shields, then you should first go after those.

Just as proof that it isn't all luck, I recently started with on a new save with no unlocks, but a couple hundred hours of playtime over the years.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2964504460
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2964504409
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2964504371

It may be worth it to look for some youtubers, I know there are a lot and many better at the game than me.

[New Moon On Monday]

Originally posted by jotwebe:

Some tips: Don't buy weapons unless you're sure.

I agree somewhat. However, here is the balancing consideration: Do not assume the next store is going to be any better than the last store. If you are too quick to turn down mid-tier of weapons, you can find yourself heading into the next sector under-gunned. Of course, you can't be too quick to buy a bad weapon, because a lot of weapon-churning wastes a lot of scrap.

There are alternatives to weapons. Hacking (if you are using Advanced Edition) is usually just as good, maybe better, than adding a weapon. While I am not so much of a fan of Drone Control, a combat drone is definitely an alternative if decent weapons aren't available.

So yeah, you want to be sure about buying a weapon. But don't be too picky, and keep your alternatives in mind.

[diet a&w]

All this stuff seems perfectly reasonable, and it all works fantastically for me on easy mode. On easy, I've won the last 6 or so times in a row I've played. I feel like I have to really play insanely bad to lose.

On normal, I just never get ahead. I'm particularly bad defending against missiles. Drone control always feels expensive early game, and even when I get it I've had defense drones get destroyed. I've also had missiles hit even when I cloak, and it seems like the more desperate I am to hit enemy weapons the more likely my shots are to miss. There's always at least one ship where I have really bad luck and sets me back.

I'm doing better. I watched Mike's video, and I was doing most of it, but there are some bits I've learned to do better. I've made it to the flagship and won 2/3 encounters on normal a couple times now. I just need to keep tightening everything up, make good decisions, and eventually I'll get it. Thanks all.

[Mike]

Well done! You're making great progress already.

There's a lot to learn in this game. If you want help with the Flagship specifically, I also have a video for that.

[jotwebe]

That's the right attitude! Getting to the boss is the more difficult part, once you've gotten used to its foibles.

And yeah, missiles are frustrating. Seems so unfair that the enemy can spam them all day, and you can't. You're also not wrong that drone control is pricey (it's "only" 85 scrap on AE, but that comes with a higher chance of being preloaded with weird stuff). And a drone at 8 scrap to buy it would be only worth if it prevented 4/3/2 pips of damage, depending on how far in you are. That's not counting the fact that a missile hit may have knock-on effects and you get enough drones for free that it'll cover frugal use. So maybe don't prioritise it over two shield layers, but after you get that IMHO I think it's better than putting that scrap in engines.

[Lord_Chencho]

You don't play FTL. FTL plays with you..

[jotwebe]

Originally posted by Lord_Chencho:

You don't play FTL. FTL plays with you..

No. That's why I posted those screenshots (okay also I wanted to brag). But as you see that's a 20 to 25% win rate, and I'm not even that good a player. When I was starting out, that was about my chance of reaching S5. Sure, the RNG is a member of the crew, but it's not the captain.

[Lord_Chencho]

Originally posted by jotwebe:

Originally posted by Lord_Chencho:

You don't play FTL. FTL plays with you..

No. That's why I posted those screenshots (okay also I wanted to brag). But as you see that's a 20 to 25% win rate, and I'm not even that good a player. When I was starting out, that was about my chance of reaching S5. Sure, the RNG is a member of the crew, but it's not the captain.

cheating? I don't cheat.