FTL: Starter Guide

This is for players who have just recently purchased the game, or people who need tips and suggestions

1. The basics

FTL is a game about managing your crew, upgrading and repairing your ship, and making decisions that can lead you to victory or to death.
(If you haven't played the tutorial, I suggest you do first)
Some basic ideas to keep in mind

• Don't be afraid to pause (pressing spacebar) during combat, you can pause the game and still give orders like to move someone somewhere and to fire a certain weapon.
  
• The more crew the better off you'll be
  
• Different strategies for different ships

2. Starting a run

For whatever ship you choose to start with, you'll have strengths and weaknesses. But a good all around ship is the Kestrel A.
When you start, I highly recommend that you go to the options menu, and enable "show beacon paths on hover" this will help you in not screwing yourself over later on.



Also, turn off your med bay while you're not
using it, and add it to another system you're not using (like engines)

Anyway, your goal for each sector is to get to the beacon with the "exit" sign on it, then click the top right button to move to the next sector.

When you reach the 8th sector, you'll go up against the Rebel flagship, so you need to make sure you're ready to fight it!

3. Combat

Yep, those weapons on your ship aren't just for looks, you'll be fighting lots of ships during your runs, but i'll walk you through the basics.

There are 5 types of weapons in FTL
Lasers
Flak
Ion
Missiles/Bombs
Beams

Lasers
Lasers are basically bullets, and shield can deflect 1 per layer of shielding, no matter how powerful the lasers are, they both pop one shield bubble, they vary however on hull damage

Flak
Flak weapons fire, well, flak and debris from a cannon. The thing about flak weapons is that they can take out multiple shield layers per shot, but have a area of effect attack. If you're using a flak weapon, try to aim it so the area of effect can reach multiple enemy systems. (like O2, piloting, shields, weapons)

Ion
Ion weapons do no damage to hull, but disable systems for a bit. In my personal opinion, aim Ion weapons at shields first, then at weapons, then at engines/piloting. With your enemy unable to shield, attack, or dodge, you're able to take them out efficiently

Missiles/Bombs
Missiles can penetrate shields entirely, however they require ammo to launch, and are effective at taking out shields for your lasers and other weapons. Bombs require a missile to launch too, but they do no hull damage, only damage to systems. Bombs can target your own ship as well, and there are different types of bombs for launching at enemy ships and at your ship. (like repair bombs for your ship, and fire bombs for enemy ships) Make sure to watch your ammo count when using these weapons, as running out of ammo in a battle is a great way to get in trouble

Beams
Beam weapons never miss a target, however they are stopped by shields. (with a few exceptions, like the halberd and glaive beam) Beams do damage by hitting rooms, so to max out your damage, hit as many rooms as possible. (pausing while aiming helps)

Drones can also be used for combat, but i'll talk about it in the next section

4. Drones

Drones can be used to repair and defend your ship, and attack enemy ships, and i'll split them into 3 sections; attack, defense, and support
*Note, not all ships start with drone control, you can get it from stores*

Attack

These are for attacking the enemy ship, they'll fly around it, or board it

Combat drones (mk I and II)
Attack the enemy ship with laser weapons. Mark 2 moves faster and fires faster

Beam drones (I and II)
Attack the enemy ship with beams. Cannot penetrate shields, so consider using ion weapons to help them. Mark II has a longer beam length, but moves a bit slower than mark I, also it does extra dmg to zoltan shields

Fire beam Drone
Does no hull damage, but lights rooms on fire, killing crew and damaging systems

Boarding Drones
Boarding Drone
Breaches enemy hull, and attacks enemy crew, immune to fire and lack of oxygen, damages systems too!

Ion intruder
Breaches enemy ship, but does no damage. Instead, they produce an ion pulse that disables systems and stuns crew.

Defense

Defense drones orbit your ship until you jump or they're destroyed

Defense Drones (I and II)
Mk. I will shoot down asteroids and rockets (bombs teleport to ships)
Mk. II will shoot down asteroids and rockets, as well as lasers, boarding drones, hacking drones, and ion bursts!

Anti Combat drone
Deploys a drone that will stun (and sometime destroy) enemy combat drones around your ship. Same with boarding drones and hacking drones

Shield overcharger
Will fly around your ship and create a part of a zoltan shield. Zoltan shields destroy Missiles, bombs, boarding/hacking drones, flak, and ion weapons, however the shield can only be recharged by this drone(or after a jump if you have the zoltan shield augment)

Support

Support drones help you and your crew on board

Repair Drone
Will automatically repair systems, fix breaches, and put out fires. Doesn't suffer from burning/suffocating

Anti personnel drone
Will seek out intruders on your ship and fight them ( Doesn't suffer from burning/suffocating)

Hull repair drone
Flies around your ship, repairing 3-5 HP, then vanishes

5. Your Crew

FTL has many races, from humans to slugs

Humans
Basic crewmember, can upgrade skills (like manning shields, weapons, engines) faster

Engi
Repair systems faster, lack in combat

Slug
Immune to mind control, can see lifeforms in enemy ships, even without sensors

Rock
Slow, but have 150 HP. They're also immune to fire

Zoltan
Can provide 1 power bar to the room they're standing in (also their power negates ion effects) However they have 70 HP, and explode on death.

Mantis
Move fast, and great fighters. They lack repair speed however.

Lanius
Move slow, and suck O2 out of rooms, but can survive without O2

Crystal
Can use "Lockdown power" Suffocation damage is reduced, have 125 Hp, but move slower

These races have their own ships, and other guides here can help you use them

6. Systems

All ships are equipped with a variety of systems, from O2 to Hacking, I'll go over them and (in my personal opinion) how useful they are.

Subsystems:
Subsystems do not require power from your reactor, so don't worry about managing their power

Piloting
Gives you the ability to dodge enemy shots (along with engines) For you to dodge at all, you need a crew member for level one. Upgrading it gives you an auto pilot, so the pilot can move around the ship. I suggest upgrading this last, as you want a crew member to upgrade their piloting stats

Doors
Gives you the ability to open and close doors on your ship. Upgrading it will allow the doors to become stronger against intruders and fires. Upgrade it if you don't have a strong fighting crew, and need to vent out rooms

Sensors
The ability to see around your ship at level 1, you can see the inside of enemy ships at level 2, level 3 you can see enemy weapon charge, and at level 4 (with a crew member manning it) you can see enemy power distribution. Upgrading sensors to level 2 is useful for boarding parties

Backup Battery
When activated, it will provide some more power to your reactor for a short amount of time. I'd recommend maxing out your primary reactor first however.

Systems:
These systems require power from your reactor, so distribute it wisely

Shields
Power your shields, blocking lasers, ions, flak, and beams. You want around level 2-3 shields for your run, level 4 if you want. Shields are upgraded by getting 2 bars of upgrades, so keep that in mind. Can be purchased from a store if not equip already.

Engines
Give you the ability to dodge and FTL jump, goes along with piloting. You want to get your dodge to ~40 for the boss fight

O2
Produces oxygen and distributes it throughout the ship, make sure you keep it repaired. Upgrading it increases the flow of oxygen.

Weapons
Power your weapons, allowing you to charge and fire them. Be aware of how much power a weapon requires before buying it! Also, when your weapon system is damaged, the right most weapon will be disabled, so keep weapons that you need to the left of the bar.

Drones
Powers your drones, exactly the same as weapons.

Mind control
Allows you to make one enemy crew member hostile (or in your case friendly), you need to be able to detect lifeforms in the enemy ship to use it, so get someone on sensors or upgrade it. If your crew is mind controlled, mind controlling them will counter the mind controlling. Upgrading it will allow longer mind control time and power. Useless against slugs, I recommend aiming for rock or mantis crew members.

Hacking
Will disable enemy systems, reversing their effect. For example, hacking shields will disable them, hacking piloting or engines will put the enemy dodge to 0, and hacking weapons will reverse enemy weapon charge. (A trick I like to use it to hack the enemy ship's oxygen, lowering it, and then destroy it, so that the enemy crew has to break down the door, then repair it, and you can hack it again, killing all crew)

Cloaking
Adds 60 dodge to your ship, and stops enemy weapon charge. If you get your dodge to 40, your dodge will go to 100, making you invincible. Essential to fighting the flagship

Teleporter
Allows you to board enemy ships, and attack the enemy crew. You get more scrap for killing the crew and leaving the ship intact, Mantis are great for this.

Medbay/Clonebay
Allows crew inside to be healed, and in the case of the clonebay, be revived. Upgrades allow faster healing/cloning.

7. General Tips

This section is just tips that i've picked up from playing the game

• Put Engi crewmembers on shields, they can repair them quickly
  
• Vent out your ship to deal with boarders and fires (upgraded doors help here)
  
• Mantis should be the main crewmember in your boarding party
  
• Time out your volleys so that you don't waste an attack
  
• Only visit stores when you have ~90 scrap or more (or if you need repairs)
  
• The Blue option is always the best option
  
• Upgrade your shields to level 2 by the end of the first sector
  
• Try to keep crew in the same station for the whole run
  
• Only accept surrender when a ship offers you a weapon or an augment

8. Fighting the flagship

You've made it to sector 8, and you're about to face the flagship, here i'll give you some tips on how to take down the giant.

(spoilers ahead)

Before fighting, make sure you have
Cloaking
Level 3 shields (at least)
at least 40 dodge
level 2 oxygen

Fighting the ship:
Go and make your way to the federation base, and hit repair stations if you need more missiles, scrap etc.
When you get to the beacon, make sure your crew is fully healed, and everything is ready to go. You can upgrade your sub systems if you have the scrap, make sure your oxygen is at level 2, and prepare yourself. When the flagship arrives, it will start the battle by firing a hacking drone and cloaking. The reason I said to upgrade your oxygen to level two is that if the hacking drone goes for your oxygen, you can get the oxygen to spread out faster, preventing your crew from suffocation. If the drone went for doors, sensors, medbay, or clonebay, you can relax a bit. If it went for weapons or shields, take that drone down ASAP. The flag ship has 4 weapons, lasers, ions, beams, and missiles. Your first target should be the missiles, as it can be the most damaging. (A boarding crew is ideal here) Next you should target ion and beam, then focus on the shields to allow you to get more shots in. LEAVE THE LASER CREW MEMBER ALONE! If you kill the entire crew the ship will switch it it's AI, and trust me, you don't want that. Keep up your fire and remember to cloak when needed. When the ship has low hull, call back your boarding crew, and finish it off. Boom, phase one complete.

After the flagship jumps, make repairs, heal crew, upgrade if possible, and get ready for round 2.
When the flagship jumps back, it will lose it's ability to cloak and hack, but will focus power on drones. All weapons will be fully repaired as well, so get back on those missiles, and remember to leave the laser guy alone. When you see the "POWER SURGE DETECTED" flash, cloak to avoid substantial damage to your ship. Also, the flagship will launch boarding drones, so destroy the drone systems to finish them off quickly. Keep up the fight and you'll come out on top.

Repair, heal, upgrade etc.

This is it, the third round of the flagship. You're almost out of the woods, but stay alert. First, the flagship will lose drone control, but it gains a zoltan shield, teleporter, and mind control unit. First off, destroy the zoltan ship and get the missiles offline, deal with the mind control unit, and make sure to keep intruders in check by venting the ship. When you see "POWER SURGE DETECTED" one of two things will happen. One, the ship will recharge it's zoltan shield, or two, it will fire a MASSIVE barrage of lasers, so cloak when you see it to avoid the issue. When the ship is close to destruction, pull out your boarding crew, and finish the bastard off. Congratulations! you just destroyed the rebel flagship!

9. Best of luck

FTL is a rogue like game, (like the binding of Issac) so you're success is part skill and part luck, also the best way to improve is to practice

Best of luck to you, and have fun!

[farleypayne]

I am a guy who only plays games with controller (PS5 controller). I dont think you can use controller with this game can you? If I cant, how do you recommend I get use to K+M controls? Is there an easy way?

[SierraMadre]

ерч

[🙞Western Dragon🙜]

I would recommend an ion weapon of any kind for zoltan shields as it does double damage towards it

[ScOwOby]

It's always that Zoltan sheild on the 3 part of the fight, because I can't beam into the weapons to kill crew and destroy them I get shot by the missile cannon

[🙞Western Dragon🙜]

well I didn't learn the tactics overnight buddy, so consider yourself on the road to success

[ScOwOby]

I'm a Decent player on the Ipad version of FTL so the computer version is a bit challenging. On the plus side At least on the computer my win-loss ratio isn't as embarassing as my Ipad (265 games played, 0 games won)

[🙞Western Dragon🙜]

being a seasoned captain at the game, it is always nice to see someone lending a helping hand to the recruits destine for glory, good on you bro

[ScOwOby]

Thanks this helps

[liltiptop]

@Special Agent Scooby
If you're having issues with fuel, it may be a good idea to try going for a boarding party run. Salvaging a whole ship give a higher chance for more scrap, weapons, and crew. If you have the mantis b ship, you'll be a force to be reckoned with. Also, try to at least buy 1-3 fuel every time you go to a store.

[ScOwOby]

@Zulioner Well Depends...

If you need that crew type that yes! But if you need fuel, drones ect then don't take it, depends if you're playing morally or not

But hey thats just what I think