can't even get past sector 4, let alone unlock a ship?

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Dudenell
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2012 6:06 am

can't even get past sector 4, let alone unlock a ship?

Postby Dudenell » Wed Nov 14, 2012 6:08 am

I really need some help, its driving me absolutely insane. Is there no other way to beat this game other than relying on missiles? Not to mention it misses 50% of the time

Ok I get it, get the shield up as fast as possible? then what?..
boa13
Posts: 829
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2012 11:42 pm

Re: can't even get past sector 4, let alone unlock a ship?

Postby boa13 » Wed Nov 14, 2012 6:40 am

Are you pausing the game enough while you play? One important thing is to synchronize your shots. Wait until all your weapons are fully loaded, pause, be smart in targeting enemy systems, unpause and watch all your shots go at once. This is a good way to have lasers pierce through shields.

If you have a beam weapon, wait until all weapons are charged, fire your lasers (assuming you have enough to pierce the shields), unpause for less than a second (just enough time for the laser volley to leave your ship), and then fire the beam weapon. There will be no shields when it lands on the enemy ship, and it will do maximum damage in that case.

Typically, concentrate all fire on weapons room; the less they fire at you, the less scrap you spend on repairs, the most scrap you spend on upgrades. If they have big shields, damage them (after the weapons room). If they have high evasion, or are trying to escape, target the helm and/or the engines. If they have a dangerous drone (and only in that case), damage their drone room at some point, but typically, you can handle one drone if their weapons are out of order.
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More Dakka
Posts: 47
Joined: Sun Nov 04, 2012 1:08 am

Re: can't even get past sector 4, let alone unlock a ship?

Postby More Dakka » Wed Nov 14, 2012 11:32 am

Shields (level 2 early, level 3 is vital later), teleporter, engine, scrap recovery arm, doors (to level 2) are all good to obtain or upgrade early. The teleporter is very, very useful not only for boarding (at least if you have a decent pair of crew for the job) but for various events where having one unlocks an extra option.

Watch your spending; if you're buying weapons, do so very carefully since selling only gets half value back and weapons are not all THAT uncommon as drops and bribes. It's more important for some ships like the Mantis B (/no/ weapons to start with...) than others (like, say, the Torus, where you're likely to be drone-focused instead).

*Don't* race straight for the exit in each sector; you need to fight and explore to earn enough scrap (and extra crew / weapons / augs) and to train your crew to survive. Difficulty is based on sector, rather than how many jumps you've made, so racing just results in you being very weak for where you end up.
Farlark
Posts: 28
Joined: Sun Sep 30, 2012 1:28 am

Re: can't even get past sector 4, let alone unlock a ship?

Postby Farlark » Wed Nov 14, 2012 9:13 pm

If you were to record a playthrough and post it to Youtube, you would undoubtedly gets tons of very specific advice.
Number43
Posts: 177
Joined: Thu Oct 25, 2012 11:40 pm

Re: can't even get past sector 4, let alone unlock a ship?

Postby Number43 » Wed Nov 14, 2012 10:10 pm

The topic title is kind of funny, as getting past sector 4 unlocks a ship. Specifically, the engi cruiser is unlocked by getting to sector 5 for the first time. Another ship is unlocked by beating the game. The rest are unlocked by doing specific things in certain events in the home sectors of different races (though for most races only the later sectors have a chance of being their home sector, so you won't be seeing many of those in sectors 1-4.)
Groudon12321
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2012 11:02 pm

Re: can't even get past sector 4, let alone unlock a ship?

Postby Groudon12321 » Wed Nov 14, 2012 11:48 pm

Are you playing on normal? if so, then try playing on easy.
Neoviper
Posts: 24
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2012 7:38 pm

Re: can't even get past sector 4, let alone unlock a ship?

Postby Neoviper » Thu Nov 15, 2012 3:16 am

Make sure you're exploring as much of each sector as possible before going to the next one. If you rush straight to the exit, you're down on scrap and equipment, and the enemies are stronger. Set the game to easy if you haven't, it's much better to learn the game on easy before setting it back up to normal.

Once you learn a bit more, experiment with some of the additional systems like crew teleporter, cloaking, and drone control. They cost a good bit of scrap to buy, but they can change up the style's of play open to you quite a bit.
FDru
Posts: 51
Joined: Fri Oct 26, 2012 12:08 pm

Re: can't even get past sector 4, let alone unlock a ship?

Postby FDru » Thu Nov 15, 2012 12:47 pm

I regretted playing on Easy, though I did unlock a couple of ships that way. The thing is, the game is pretty easy with the Kestrel B which is already simple to unlock. Once you get to sector 5 you get another awesome ship.

Of course, the game is never really "easy" on normal, but these ships are some of the best in the game and should carry you for awhile til you unlock more (and give you a good success rate once you get the hang of the game).

If you could give some examples of what you're having trouble with, it would be easier to help.