Is it just me?

[JayXL]

I really want to like this game. FTL is one of my favorite games ever. But for some reason, I can't seem to get more than one or two battles into a game before I get all my vehicles destroyed. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.

I read a couple of guides, I pause a lot when playing, but it just seems like I take way too much damage in each battle. Is the only way to repair and/or upgrade at a camp?

I'm pretty new to the game, just played a couple of times. I may be missing something obvious. I just learned how to ram vehicles into things lol. This game seems to have a difficulty curve similar to that of FTL.

[Vzzdak]

It’s something to do with how you’re playing. I can often finish FTL on Normal, and my first time playing Convoy I got to the end-boss.

Maybe you need to be more aggressive with your vehicle upgrades. Don’t neglect handling or weapon range.

For combat, try to focus down one enemy at a time, so there’s less damage coming your way.

[JayXL]

Thanks for your reply!

Got to the end boss the first time? Impressive. I'm guessing you did the same in FTL? It took me many playthroughs to get my first boss kill recorded in FTL lol.

It's ironic really.. I had the same issue when I first started playing FTL. Now I can pass it on Normal most of the time with no issues. Games are just about figuring out the patterns, no magic involved.

That said, I really suck at Convoy. But I love these types of games and really want to get better!

To your advice: I've never even gotten to the point where I can upgrade my vehicles. That must be cool. Should I go to the camp first to get upgraded before I go looking for my main quest parts? Great advice on focusing on one vehicle, I've been splitting my vehicles between enemies and losing a lot of health.

I'm getting better at ramming, but they still seem to wiggle out of death's way sometimes.

Any additional wisdom you can bestow upon me would be much appreciated! Is there a particular guide that helps noobs? I read a couple but they weren't too extensive.

[Linux Felon]

A few things you might want to try-- Unattacked enemy vehicles tend to attack the truck. See if you can divert their attacks with hit and fades.

Ramming is not a very good attack in most cases. Once you upgrade armor on a high armor vehicle, it's better, but fresh games are a suicide mission if you opt to ram.

Find a camp as soon as you have enough scrap. Upgrade your weapons ASAP.

If you can smash FTL on normal difficulty, this game will be a breeze after a few playthroughs. Although often compared to FTL, this game isn't nearly as tactical or deep. Don't get me wrong-- I LOVE this game! I used to play a PnP game called Car Wars / Autoduel when I was really young, and I think that this is a great representation of that game. That said, this game will get stale after memorizing the best options and builds.

[Vzzdak]

I only ever played FTL on Normal, though I later tried Easy when I just wanted to screw around.

It’s been too long, so I can’t remember how many tries it took me to reach the FTL end-boss. I think I died plenty of times around the 4-5 sector, so it was great when I could make it to the final sector. But I died to the FTL boss on three attempts, so it wasn’t a cake walk. I recall once having the boss down to two armor pips when he killed me.

For Convoy, I don’t think ramming is a good strategy because that increases your repair costs. But if you want more advice, then what I might add is:

- To conserve fuel, look at the quest directions, and try to minimize running back-and-forth over long distances.
- There is a karma system in place, based upon your decisions in the text chains.
- Driving over rough terrain slows you down, which causes higher fuel usage.
- As I’ve said, when upgrading your vehicles, don’t neglect the handling, and the range boost for weapons.
- The range boost is particularly useful in boss fights, where the fighting area is larger than the usual gang encounters.
- There is a roving casino that you can only find if you happen across an encounter that adds its current location to your map, and after you visit the casino, you will again need an encounter that tells you were it moved to.

The exception to this gameplay is the end-game final boss. The final boss is more like a classic arcade-style multi-stage nemesis that has weapon systems for you to peel off like layers of an onion. It’s a jarring endurance-match compared with everything in the game that you encounter before then.

[Vzzdak]

For my first time playing Convoy, though I reached the end-boss, that was after quite a bit of strategic guesses about what I *should* be doing. I was essentially deciphering the game mechanics as I went, and it was apparent that I should maximize fuel retention by avoiding going back-and-forth across the wasteland.

Using the map details, journeys were a discovery process, but there was enough there to judge the riskier places to go (i.e., have a sense of where to circumnavigate).

I remember quite distinctly how my first game wrapped up. I had been seeking to collect resources in the SW, but I wasn’t getting more fuel. I even ran out of fuel, but was able to get more by waiting. Other than fuel, my convoy was in good shape, so I figured I should just head to my crash site base, where I was ambushed by the end-boss, who demolished me because it was such a different experience from everything up until then. As it turns out, you can expect the end-boss to take 30 minutes to fight; it’s quite drawn out.

[Ninth Hour]

I know this post is old but it's still on the first page of the forum and elicited a lot of sympathy from me, so I thought I'd respond. No, you're not alone. I just started playing a few days ago and, in the first 3 hours, restarted at least 10 times due to all escorts or the MCV dying. You may not need this opinion, at this point, but it might still be encouraging for any new player.

I made the mistake of starting out on Normal mode and stubbornly refused to drop down to easy until after the 12th or 13th try. The 2 default Bobcats are difficult to keep alive, mainly because they're slow and unresponsive (poor handling stat) and can't get out of the way of obstacles unless you start moving them almost an entire screen away. It does not help that, because they have such short range, you have to spend most of your time and attention moving them close to the enemy. In the process, it is very easy not to notice obstacles until it is too late. I had more vehicles getting smashed by rocks or buildings and falling off bridges in the very beginning, than by the enemy.

Once I scaled back to Easy, the game became more manageable- I think the enemies don't do as much damage and are less beefy. You also receive larger rewards from battle.

You still need to get lucky, however. The first 8 to 9 runs, I did not find anything particularly helpful in the first few camps, But by the 2nd easy run (I think my 12 or 13th overall), one of the camps offered me an MCV railgun and an MCV rocket. If you win just 2 or 3 battles or find something to sell, it is not too difficult to afford the railgun. Having it made the early game very manageable, as I did not have to rely on the pitiful escorts to survive the first several battles. Once you start racking up wins, a virtuous cycle begins. If you survive long enough, odds are that you will eventually find events that will reward you decent to amazing vehicles, which will allow you to win key battles.

And in winning those battles, you will unlock better starting vehicles and MCV's for the next run. The key is to just wander around and find events that will build your team. I completely ignored the main objectives for a while.

If you're lucky enough to get a good team in an Easy run and the right objective is available-, you can defeat Andy and get arguably the best escorts for the next run.

In the end, the main factor is just perseverance. Eventually, luck and experience will favor you. If you watch Youtube playthroughs, you'll notice that a lot of successful runs involve a lot of luck in the early game- e.g. meeting and recruiting a powerful escort- and knowledge of how to respond to events (gained through experience).

[emceelam]

I played normal from the start. I failed a lot. The key to success is getting that third vehicle before the difficulty ramps up. Then don't let any of your vehicles die. Making moral choices in events sometimes yields a free vehicle. I even got a free vehicle for not bugging a guy for payment.

The other thing I do is lots of ramming with that shield that prevents me from suffering ram damage.

To keep my fuel abundant, I will accept every fight. Again, you need that third vehicle very early on.

Keep on roads as much as possible, and make sure you can get to a camp before the accumulated damage becomes crushing.