57 hours, on easy, zero victories

General discussion about the game.
Maury Markowitz
Posts: 15
Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2013 4:04 pm

57 hours, on easy, zero victories

Postby Maury Markowitz » Sat Feb 09, 2013 2:23 pm

Well I think I'm hanging up my captains hat. After 57 hours of play I've managed to see the flagship about five times, made it to level two battle three times, level three once. That was all on easy.

It was fun at first, beating my head against the game. But now it's the same defeat over and over and over and I have no idea how to progress.

Oh well.
ruler
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2013 12:34 pm

Re: 57 hours, on easy, zero victories

Postby ruler » Sat Feb 09, 2013 2:32 pm

Have you read any of the guides in the guides forum?
IConquer
Posts: 64
Joined: Fri Feb 08, 2013 1:24 pm

Re: 57 hours, on easy, zero victories

Postby IConquer » Sat Feb 09, 2013 3:07 pm

what ships and strategies have you been using? is there a set of weapons you've been favoring?
postman
Posts: 32
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2013 9:03 am

Re: 57 hours, on easy, zero victories

Postby postman » Sat Feb 09, 2013 5:03 pm

I applaud your dedication...

There are a few threads with good tips that are worth reading through. I'd take a few minutes to peruse the Tips subforum and open up and of the "longer" threads like: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=8914
Maury Markowitz
Posts: 15
Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2013 4:04 pm

Re: 57 hours, on easy, zero victories

Postby Maury Markowitz » Sat Feb 09, 2013 9:39 pm

Read all the guides, including the tips forum. Tried the Kestrel, Stealth, Torus and Rock. Tried ions, missiles, bombs, lasers.

At least 30% of the time I die before the Last Stand because I run out of something. Some of the time it's fuel and the fleet catches and kills me. The rest of the time it's either missiles in a missile boat or drones in a drone boat.

50% of the games I died because of a string of unlucky chance encounters. Each one beats me down a little and by the second or third whatever trick they pull is the one I am no longer able to defend against. Lost my boarding party when the ship broke up? Next encounter is a boarding party. Ran out of missiles knocking down someone's shields? Next encounter has super shields.

10% of the time I end up trapped in a corner of the map where the only way out is through the fleet. This has been reduced with the optional show routes, and I can't for the life of me understand why this isn't turned on by default.

The last 10% is the flagship, which inevitably destroys my hull.

I was wrong, it was 63 hours. Steam didn't synch.
Kenshkrix
Posts: 51
Joined: Wed Oct 03, 2012 9:00 pm

Re: 57 hours, on easy, zero victories

Postby Kenshkrix » Sat Feb 09, 2013 9:43 pm

Maury Markowitz wrote:Read all the guides, including the tips forum. Tried the Kestrel, Stealth, Torus and Rock. Tried ions, missiles, bombs, lasers.

At least 30% of the time I die before the Last Stand because I run out of something. Some of the time it's fuel and the fleet catches and kills me. The rest of the time it's either missiles in a missile boat or drones in a drone boat.

50% of the games I died because of a string of unlucky chance encounters. Each one beats me down a little and by the second or third whatever trick they pull is the one I am no longer able to defend against. Lost my boarding party when the ship broke up? Next encounter is a boarding party. Ran out of missiles knocking down someone's shields? Next encounter has super shields.

10% of the time I end up trapped in a corner of the map where the only way out is through the fleet. This has been reduced with the optional show routes, and I can't for the life of me understand why this isn't turned on by default.

The last 10% is the flagship, which inevitably destroys my hull.

I was wrong, it was 63 hours. Steam didn't synch.

Part of the game is improvisation, the other is opportunism, the third is luck, planning doesn't have that much of a place, which throws quite a few people off.
If you're having problems with running out of supplies, try to accept bribes/surrenders more often, you'll get less scrap but more fuel/drones/missiles.
Dontmindme
Posts: 85
Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2013 9:22 pm

Re: 57 hours, on easy, zero victories

Postby Dontmindme » Sat Feb 09, 2013 10:38 pm

That being the case, you have your answers.

30% of the time, you need to plan a little better. Spend a little scrap when you find stores on supplies you are low on.

50% of the time, you need to play a little better. There really is no excuse for losing a boarding party because the ship blows up or jumps away. If to kill a ship is going to use up all your resources, maybe you are better off jumping and just losing 1 fuel. So what if he has super shields, you can still jump away.

Instead of blaming the game for being too hard, instead focus on your decisions. Most of us still make mistakes, the key is to minimize them and get better. The fewer poor decisions, the less scrap spent on repair (or replacement crew) and the more spent on making your ship stronger. Make few enough and you will win.
ruler
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2013 12:34 pm

Re: 57 hours, on easy, zero victories

Postby ruler » Sat Feb 09, 2013 11:15 pm

I use some Ion weapons and multi-shot lasers to focus down the enemy weapons system. Usually, this means I'll take little to no damage in most encounters.
Keep a Bomb-type weapon on standby for when you're up against a well-shielded or particularly tough opponent.

Weapon tip: Instead of auto firing, wait until all weapons are ready, and then fire all simultaneously to give you a better chance of punching through their shields.

Think carefully about which paths to take in each sector. Before your first jump, mouse-over all the beacons and plan a path.
Try to time it so that you reach the exit just before the rebels arrive, allowing you the maximum time to explore everything.

If you find a Scrap Recovery Arm, BUY IT.

If you find a good weapon early on, upgrade your weapon system first to support it, and then shields, then engines. Otherwise, upgrade shields first then engines, then weapons.

To "farm" experience:
Weapons - after you have disabled an enemy's weapon system, have weak multi-shot weapons shoot at it, with the purpose of not killing it but keeping it alive and non-dangerous for as long as possible.
Engines/Pilot - upgrade engines ASAP to increase evasion. Whenever you evade, both the engine and pilot crew get experience. If you are up against an opponent that has weapons that simply cannot penetrate your shields, allow it to attack you until all are max level.
Shields - as above, except engine upgrades/evasion doesn't grant experience.

If you get boarded, move all your crew to one or two rooms and open the rest of the doors.

On the weapons route, you'll need a maxxed out weapons system for the final boss. You can thus only get 3 shield bubbles to still have energy for everything else.

If you get drones, keep in mind that anti-ship and beam drones are completely useless if you can't disable the enemy shields. A great combination is a high-ion-damage weapon to focus their shields while the drones tear away.
Dontmindme
Posts: 85
Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2013 9:22 pm

Re: 57 hours, on easy, zero victories

Postby Dontmindme » Sun Feb 10, 2013 12:08 am

Not sure why everyone seems to say to max out weapons. I usually throw 6 energy maximum into weapons for the boss. I figure 6 energy is enough for 6 shots with lasers and is enough to sometimes get through his shields and do damage. I've won with 5 energy (Burst Laser II and Ion Blast II). I've maxed out weapons once when the luck gods threw a bunch of good weapons at me, but usually I live with what I find only buying one if I seem to be behind the power curve or find a no-brainer like a Burst Laser II or Ion Blast II in the store.

Power allocation:
Weapons (0-6) - I'll often leave all of these off while the boarding crews take care of weapons
4 shield bubbles (8)
O2 (0-1) - I'll temporarily borrow this energy for one more engine for missiles and special attacks
Cloak (1) - 1 energy is enough to cloak through any special event.
Drone (Defense I) (0-2) - On until missiles and boarding drones
Teleporter (0-3) - I'll often bump this up to take out weapons quicker with boarders.
Rest goes to engines

Max shields and max engines with a trained pilot and shield gives 55% evasion. The specials at best scratch you and with most of them cloaked. If I find one in a store late in the game, I do like to have a Hull Repair drone handy to repair up after the stage is over.

You can consider this strategy in games where you are weapons-lite getting to the boss.
postman
Posts: 32
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2013 9:03 am

Re: 57 hours, on easy, zero victories

Postby postman » Sun Feb 10, 2013 4:35 am

You ought to try the Red-tail if it's available to you... you get 4x Basic Laser and you can replace them with better weapons as you go, so you're not as reliant on missiles/drones and you can stock them for the mid/end game.