Boss Tips Needed

[CaptainManic]

Tips for the Kestrel vs Boss

Have suppression firepower to wear down shields i.e. Burst lasers and hull lasers. I personally prefer two Burst lasers Mk II (4 power bars altogether; 6 laser shots that land will knock out three shields out the Boss' 4), Hull lasers II (3 bars I think; 3 shots that land will take out the last shield with one pew pew getting through), and Arty missiles (1 bar; knock out bridge or shields to aid fast charging lasers to break through)

Save up missiles as much as possible from the moment you start a new game (25+ missiles is ideal for the Boss battles).

Dedicate crew to manning stations, have extraneous crew on hand for repairs and fire extinguishing duties (Engi and Rockmen, respectively).

Second isolated weapon system from the top right is the triple shooting missile launcher; these isolated rooms are best tackled with ONE strong boarding member each.

--I have yet to rely on ION cannons for fire support, but I'm certain I will depend on it in the future considering the random nature of ops--

um drones of any combination help but don't worry about having personnel drones if you're crew is fully staffed (unless they're all Zoltans)...defensive drones are a plus and so are offensive drones. The more shots fired, the likelier shields stay down.

Don't underestimate the merits of keeping their bridge down; missed shots are missed opportunities.

Hull lasers>beam weapons. The former can suppress shields and do significant damage, along with a relatively low cool down rate.

[jk47]

My favourite power build is definitely with the Engi Cruiser. I find the ship-wide healing incredibly valuable - especially for fighting off boarders.

As for the boss strategy, the whole game and boss was a cakewalk with the following build:

Drone Retrieval Arm
Medical Nanobots
Shield Regeneration Increase

Weapons: Ion Blast II , Heavy Ion II
Drones: 3 x Anti-Ship I


I didn't bother with a cloak, or boarding. Frankly I didn't need it. Use Ion to keep his shields down, and the three drones quickly decimate. I did it on easy, but this would work in normal too.

One thing, from my experience always try to have a full crew - and a couple engi's who can move around to help repair when necessary.

[Mr. Mister]

Ion Reverse Field, Shield Recharger Boost, and Drone Recovery Arm (got that last one in sector 8, so it didn't make a difference).
No repairs nor resuplies between the three phases.
And I ended up not using a single ion bomb for the whole sector.