Can I play as a ship boarder?

[GoLookAndKill]

Hi everyone!

Yesterday my brother showed me this game and I feel like I wanna try it BUT I just don't have the time to test something, as I probably play video game 2 or 3 hours a week (I will probably make a couple of campaign, all in the span of 3 or 4 months I think).

So before I get into this game, I wanted to know if my idea what "Ok" or not. Because like a lot of sandbox game, you can do pretty much everything you want, but only a few combinaisons are actually fun to play AND will make you win (for example, see EVE Online ^^)

So my idea was to have a game experience close to ships in the 18e century, which is a fast ship that will first immobilize its ennemy, then board it and kill the crew. Then plunder. Then sink.

I have read the wiki so I know the theory (like basic beam can't go through shields, matnis make double dmg in hand-to-hand fights, etc...) but it doesn't tell me If a ship flying this kinda "gear" will be efficient or a loose of time.

I do understand that this experiment is part of the fun of the game and I'm not asking for the perfect combinaison, but I don't want to run straigh into a dead-end.

Do you already have or heard about game played with a boarding ship, which would be a ship that goes like :
- destroy ennemy shield
- destroy ennemy mobility and FTL capabilty
- board ship and kill ennemies
- plunder
?

Thank you in advance!

[GoLookAndKill]

I guess a first idea would be to attack shield with ion, then ion the FTL drive, then unload drone and mantis in the ennemy ship.
Nope ?

[UltraMantis]

In short, yes. But it's not quite the same, the order is a bit different.

It's not:
first immobilize enemy, then board it and kill the crew. Then plunder. Then sink.
It's just:
board it, kill crew, plundah.

Immobilising and disabling enemy vessels takes time and exposes you to counter fire. Experienced boarders can kill the enemy crew faster than weapons can do their thing whatever it is weapons do. Enemy crews also have an annoying habit of repairing broken systems.

The only weapon i like to have when pirating is a Breach Bomb, to disable their healing bay.

[boa13]

So my idea was to have a game experience close to ships in the 18e century, which is a fast ship that will first immobilize its ennemy, then board it and kill the crew. Then plunder. Then sink.

I have read the wiki so I know the theory (like basic beam can't go through shields, matnis make double dmg in hand-to-hand fights, etc...) but it doesn't tell me If a ship flying this kinda "gear" will be efficient or a loose of time.

FTL is the kind of game where you have to adapt to what is given to you, not the reverse. There is no winning formula, or specific build, because a huge part of your ship is your weapons, drones and augmentations, and that is randomly given to you in randomly generated shops and events. So, you will not be able to systematically play what you have described. Don't despair, because with experience, this will often be possible, just not guaranteed.

Furthermore, there is no ship movement during combat in FTL. This is not a naval board game. Ships exchange fire, evade incoming shots, and block lasers and beams with their shields, so there is still very much a phase of incapacitating the enemy before he does so to you.

The good news is that boarding is a very valid and frequent way to play the game. It is actually the one that brings the most resources to you, so you can best improve your ship. In a way, it is optimal play, if you can pull it off.

Initially, in the default spaceship, you will not have a teleporter, so you will need some experience and luck to buy one. They are pretty common, so it's not too hard. Teleporters bypass shields and cannot be evaded, so once you have one, you can board the other ship, kill the crew, and then immobilize it. The trick is that the teleporter has a cooldown period during which you cannot bring your guys back, so you have to be careful in how you manage your men. With frequent pauses, you can have them run around the other ship if the situation becomes bad for them, waiting to be teleported back. You will still need to pound the enemy ship, to prevent it from firing at you, and to disable the enemy infirmary.

[Aerowind]

Anyone find the EVE line odd? Because there's a hundred different ways to play that game well.

As for boarding, it's probably the easiest way to beat the game. Usually goes like this.

1)Encounter Enemy
2)Board Enemy
3)Nap
4)Profit

Granted, this is with a mantis boarding crew. Trying to board with most of the other crew might take some microing.

It should be said that FTL really isn't that kind of game though. It's more about adapting to what is given to you. I've played games with the Mantis ship where my mantis fighters died early on due to my medbay getting shot up while trying to heal and continued on to victory because I found some really nice weapons that the rest of my crew put to good use. Saying "This game, I'm only going to board" and sticking to it without adapting is usually a good way to lose.

[UltraMantis]

Saying "This game, I'm going without shields" is certainly a good way to lose.

Let me fix that quote

[Gorlom]

So before I get into this game, I wanted to know if my idea what "Ok" or not. Because like a lot of sandbox game, you can do pretty much everything you want, but only a few combinaisons are actually fun to play AND will make you win (for example, see EVE Online ^^)

I'm probably misinterpreting you here, but FTL isn't a sandbox game.

I would suggest you go look t some youtube vids of FTL. preferebly one where the player is using the Baselisk (or mantis ship type B as it is also called), since that one starts with a teleporter and the player is likely to use boarding tactics.

[EtherDragon]

This game is definately more roguelike than sandbox.

Along any given play through (which takes about 90 minutes, give or take) you may or may not be given appropriate options at appropriate times to form a boarding party centric strategy.

IF YOU DO, boarding parties is a way to get a lot more scrap than other ways. The overall game process is this:

(In any order)
Hire suitable boarding crew (Mantis and Rockmen are good, you need at least two)
Buy a Crew Teleporter

(Once you have the above you can start boarding select enemy ships...)
Board Ship, Kill Crew, Plunder

(Your boarding capabilities improve if you can do some or all of these...)
Buy a suitable weapon to disable the enemy Med Bay (System Bombs are great, but missiles will also work)
Buy a Cloaking Device
Buy a Healing Bomb

It's important to note - once you hvae played a few times, you'll get a sense of what is possible, and what kinds of things will occur in which order to give you the type of run through that is good for boarding actions. This allows you to sort of focus on going after boarding configurations, but it's never guaranteed that you'll be able to do it often.

Note, you can't win the game with boarding parties alone... By the end, your ship needs to have several options to deal with different situations.

[UltraMantis]

So before I get into this game, I wanted to know if my idea what "Ok" or not. Because like a lot of sandbox game, you can do pretty much everything you want, but only a few combinaisons are actually fun to play AND will make you win (for example, see EVE Online ^^)

I'm probably misinterpreting you here, but FTL isn't a sandbox game.

I would suggest you go look t some youtube vids of FTL. preferebly one where the player is using the Baselisk (or mantis ship type B as it is also called), since that one starts with a teleporter and the player is likely to use boarding tactics.

cough - SPOILER

Note, you can't win the game with boarding parties alone... By the end, your ship needs to have several options to deal with different situations.

Almost negated by the video link above. One offensive weapon or attack drone is required in order to beat one enemy, but only one.

[OmegaJasam]

I think, with a secret race crew and an upgraded porter, couldn't you beat every fight in the game with bording? AI ships repair so you can keep breaking their systems to damage them...