Need Tips

[Eppiox]

Struggling to beat the current iteration of the game
I've beaten the game in the past- back when you could make a fast ramming ship, playing now however i've been smoked by the zombies twice. It used to be I could slowly grind the zomballs down, I could take on 3 at once, now I strugle to 1v1 a single zermbo, like i *need* my wingman, my and the z’s threat level is around 80-100.

The very last game I had the zambos spawn in between 4 factions, the zorbals formed a tightly packed zorganite cluster which quickly became a losing battle for the 4 factions as their members 1 by 1 converted to zomboobies. It was cool to see 15-30 enemies on screen at once.. but also not cool at the same time as i could not battle any of them without my wing man dying.

Besides being quick to get your faction strong and all that, my issue seems to be my ship, it sucks. I tend to go all snipers and my fleet ships have shield murdering weapons or drones, makes a good combo(at least I think) but it’s still nothing compared to the ramming days of old. I’m finding weapons are all lackluster in damage compared to ye olde ramming, like not even 1/8th as powerful. Also what’s this synergy mechanic? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks for reading!

[Blorf]

He Eppiox,

Here is a brief tutorial on Synergies and why you should use them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHNuypZnEBY

When ramming, you want a nose with lots of armor that is on a fast ship (synergies are good for this) It is important to soften a part before knocking it off too. I usually ram off enemy engines while I am reloading my capacitor.

Zombie wise, they are tougher than they used to be. It is ok to drop the difficulty down a notch as well. SPAZ 2 is a hard game so don't feel bad about that.

If you post a picture of your ship, people may be able to give suggestions. There are also multiple threads where people talk about ship designs.

It sounds like it has been a while since you played. The new weapons are quite strong since v0.8. The plasma discharger is pretty devastating against slow moving targets, so try one of those out as well. If it has been a really long time since you played, the strike craft system also got a big upgrade. You can customize them with pretty nasty weaponry, especially the big ones.

Good luck :)

[Bozobub]

First off, as always: Speed is King™. Personally, I consider 120 speed (for a 15-core build) to be an absolute minimum; perhaps 180 for a 21-core build (heavier ships are slower and less agile than lighter ships, at the same speed rating). Speed lets you use credible "hit-and-run" and kiting tactics, juices up your rams to ridiculous proportions, lets you "defensive ram" Zombies away from allies, and lets you "una$$" when things go south (they will, eventually). Also, never being hit is always the best "shielding", so to speak.

In other words speed, turn rate, and engine boost pool are always hugely important. DON'T upgrade your capacitor with perks! Let your modules do that (it just makes reloads take longer anyway) and save your perks for better things...

Second, in light of your given taste for ramming, I'd place shields and armor as a (rough) tie. Reload speed, weapon damage, and weapon recycle times all place third.

Of course, your individual taste and playstyle is most important, but I think that general philosophy will help a bit.

Some other tips (as they come to mind ^^'):

• Don't only use one weapon type. Sniper Cannons are extra-effective vs. strike craft, for example, but somewhat inferior to Plasmas and Pulsers vs. motherships. You need some weapons that have "punch", but you also need reliable weapons, such as Snipers =).
  
• Don't overuse indirect-fire weapons (missiles, torpedoes, and drones).
  
• Rams still work just fine — and they're buckets of fun — but are definitely more dangerous than in the past, most especially vs. Zombies. Build for it! You will definitely want a LOT of speed, however, so you can both ram more effectively and get the heck outta Dodge afterwards.
  
• Zapper fighters>Defensive fighters, nearly always. Personally, I use them more for defense than offense.
  
• Custom-ordered parts are just about always the best possible version, at a given star level, although they're fantastically expensive. Custom 6-star subcores, however, are a HUGE boost to your stats at roughly 1/10 the cost of weapon modules; go for these 1st!
  
• Don't ignore synergy! You get large bonuses to weapon module damage and recycle times, plus your ship will be far lighter (thus, more agile) and much cheaper, to boot. This is even more true in the early game, to be frank. Also, "sticks" and "bricks" *are not* the only effective chassis out there =). "Partial synergy" builds are quite effective, as well.

Here's an example of a late-game synergy build (my current ride, in fact, so of course I wanna pimp it a bit xD). I've used this overall design off and on since I got to 21 cores:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1161405562
(By turret: 4x Sniper, 2x Plasma, 2x Flak, 2x Zapper Hangar; all subcores,engines, and the small nose are "perfect" 6-star custom kit)

At 21 cores, that build is literally the strongest, fastest and most maneuverable thing in the galaxy, including ALL ships, drones, and weapons fire (hell, it has been for a long time - lol). Remember, even though that *looks* like a weaker ship than a "stick" with, say, 10-13 3-slot modules — the max possible with 21 cores is 14 13-slot modules + 2 1-slot modules — my weapons receive anywhere from 54% more damage and 23% faster recycle (the Snipers in the wings) to 115% more damage and 50% faster recycle (the Flaks in the small nose and engine). The Plasmas and Zappers (big noses and engines) get 84% more damage and 34% faster recycle. SO, you can consider my weapons as the (very rough) equivalent of 9-12 3-slot modules, if that makes sense.

Note: Any module I place across the vertical middle of this design would get that largest bonus, so putting the 1-slot nose and engine in the middle is merely an aesthetics decision; the ship is plenty strong enough, as it is.

To contrast, here's an older, but strong "partial synergy" build (still perfect subcores, but 2 to 5-star weapons):
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1124794833
(7x Sniper, 2x Plasma, 3x Flak, 2x Zapper Hangar, Zapper Pod; final design has the 2-slot nose on the right)

While the numbers make it *look* more maneuverable than the synergy "brick", it's far heavier so that's not close to the case. It's still quite agile, however. Its threat is also pretty equivalent to my current ship; I was quite a few levels lower at the time of that screenie. I used it until very recently, in fact.

Notice, by the way, that I use *almost* all Snipers, with a Plasma "punch" (and Zapper support)? In my opinion, any more than 2-3 Plasmas is overkill, to be honest.