I unlocked the Mantis cruiser very quickly once I started looking for it. The slug cruiser took a little more time. But in both cases, knowing beforehand which system upgrades I would need, I unlocked each the very first time I found their respective homeworld sectors.

I've found remarkably consistent success after getting the hang of the Zoltan B cruiser. Zoltan shields+high evade are an incredibly powerful and lucrative combo, as you'll beat most ships without them getting through the shield. As for weapons, as powerful as they are I'm not a huge fan of missles ...

I've never encountered that drone, and I've logged about 70 hours on this game. Huh.

I got the achievement from a random event where boarders appear, not from an actual boarding party from an enemy ship. Four dudes appeared all at once right on top of one of my crystal guys, so I moved in some other fighters and locked it down. Easy achievement, though it might cost you a crew member.

Nice guide, I like your thinking on the pacifism achievement. I'll give that a shot. I already have the redshirt achievement simply from a good regular run, but out of curiosity, why skip rock sectors? I haven't noticed anything that Rockmen throw at me kill crew more often than other races, but per...

No screenshot, but I got some great luck with the Noether (Zoltan B) ship on my last run. Normal mode. By the end of the game, my weapon set up, if memory serves, was an Ion Blast, an Ion Blast mkII, an Ion Bomb, and a Halberd beam. I was also able to acquire both the weapon pre-igniter and the auto...

I was having a great run with my new Slug Cruiser A, and had gotten to the seventh sector. High evade, master-level guys on each system, three shields... I thought I was well on my way to winning. Hit the seventh sector, and it wound up being shaped like an "n". I didn't immediately realiz...