Tips for beginners.

[ChemWarrior53]

So far I've completed two normal play-throughs using The Red Tails and the Adjucator, and I would like to give a few tips to new players on some aspects of battle.

Power Distribution
- It is not necessary to have everything powered at once. In fact it is nearly impossible in normal if you want to save up scrap for other upgrades and weapons.

-Power down the medbay if it's not being used. Having more than one power bar for oxygen is not necessary unless you need to re-pressurize large sections of your ship or negate the oxygen loss caused by hull breaches.( See damage control section)

-Distribute power according to the enemies weapons. If the enemy has lasers, or beam weapons, it is best to fully charge shields. If the enemy has misslies or bombs, you may need to consider diverting some power from shields to engines. Shields are useless against misslies, so higher engine power is needed to dodge the missiles.

-Have a spare unused power bar in shields. It is good to have an odd number of shield bars, although only an even number will get a new level of shields. That way if shields are hit for one damage it does not lower the shield level.

Damage Control

-Fires. Not much to say about this. Vent fires out into space if possible. Keep in mind that systems destroyed by shields will do 1 damage to the hull. Keep the volume on to listen for fires if you are in a nebula or otherwise lack sensors. Try not to allow door control to get damaged or destroyed while venting.

-Hull breaches. Hull breaches in system less rooms can be ignored for a while. However, while repairing a hull breach, opening doors to adjacent rooms will keep the repair crew from dying. You will lose oxygen in those rooms however. Powering up oxygen past level 1 can negate or slow down the loss of oxygen from affected rooms.

-Boarding Parties. Again try to vent the atmosphere. When the boarding parties are trying to break down a door, vent the room they are trying to break into without opening the door they are using. A powered up med bay can be used as a refuge while the rest of the ship is vented.

Miscellaneous.

-More scrap can be collected if enemy ships remain intact and the crew is killed. Boarding parties are best for this. I have recently found aout that a certain slug ship has an unconnected oxygen system. You can destroy this and sit back if you have the patience.

-Save up your scrap. I try to keep at least 50 scrap saved for a shopping trip if I get the chance. If you find a store, it may be best to explore nearby beacons to gain extra scrap for your purchases.

-Exploring is the ONLY way to win. Do not try to rush through a system. Make sure the Rebels are right behind you every time you jump to another sector.

-I found out it's hard to be a good guy. Make decisions that are beneficial to you and your ship. Sometimes you will do wrong and sometimes you will do right. In my opinion, it makes for a better story to tell.

Thanks for reading and please add any other ideas or criticism.

[Gorlom]

Good tips, but aren't there like 3 threads like this already.

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1887 "core tactics: basic, intermediate and advanced"
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2550 "Faster than light - tips for new players"
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1889 "advanced tips"

I realize the third one is "advanced tips" rather than for beginners, but I included it anyway since I said three :p