Hi. I've seen some people asking for help recently. After playing the game for a while, I decided to compile some of what I've learned over my time of playing the game for new players.
1) Use ion weapons. Ion bombs and ion blast II are the most effective. The ion bomb on any shield can disable it (except the Zoltan shield), and one ion bomb can take out the final boss's shields as well. The ion blast has a short charge, and it can go down to four seconds if it's mark II. Using ion weapons, you can accomplish a technique called the "ion lockdown" in which the enemy cannot fire weapons or bring up shields, leaving them virtually defenseless.
2) Manning your engines increases evasion chance. Shields can help to some degree, but having more evasion helps even more. With fully upgraded engines and a veteran person manning it, you can evade most attacks coming your way. If your ship lacks shields, fully upgraded engines can compensate for it to some degree.
3) If you want to see what systems an enemy ship has, look below it. You should see icons representing what they have. If you don't want to get boarded and you are not sure if an enemy vessel has a teleporter, look there.
4) If your O2 levels run out, then a level two med-bay can keep your crew alive. If you cycle your crew enough that one repairs, another takes over, and the other makes it to the med-bay, you can repair your O2 generator to full health.
5) Always upgrade your doors. I cannot stress this enough. It will impede not only the movement of fire, but also that of intruders. This means that you can hold back intruders to some degree.
6) Use your airlocks. By opening the airlocks, you depressurize the room, which sucks out all oxygen. This will extinguish fires and also asphyxiate invaders. This is best utilized with upgraded doors.
7) If you're losing a fight, jump away. You will almost always be able to leave if you're taking too much damage.
8) Fire can be your ally and your enemy. You can use fire to roast invaders, and if you have a Rock crew member, they will be able to fight invaders while standing the flames unharmed. Again, upgraded doors can be used to control the spread of fire.
9) Unlocking ships can be easier than one may think. To unlock the Zoltan ship, for instance, you just have to select the right speech choices.
10) If you pilot a Zoltan ship, the upgraded shield will not stop invaders from events.
11) Never trust spiders.
12) Trust space horses.
13) If you find a ship with crystal on it, and get in safe, there will be a stasis pod. Get it. This will begin a mission that will unlock you the rarest cruiser in FTL!
14) Cloaking is your friend. If you time cloak correctly, you can avoid most attacks. This can negate damage from missiles as well, so it is useful especially in the later stages.
15) Don't sell your missile launcher until you are sure you can afford to upgrade it and have enough reactor power to install it. You will regret it.
16) Crippling the enemy helm is the same as crippling the enemy engines; they will not be able to dodge.
17) The Scrap Recovery Arm augment is one of the best augments you can get. You will get considerably more scrap from every event.
18) In terms of usefulness, this is what I rate the alien types, from worst to best: Human, Slug, Zoltan, Mantis, Crystal, Engi, Rockman.
19) Know your crew functions. Humans do nothing special. Slugs have telepathy, which can yield some interesting event choices and also see enemies without sensors. Zoltan provide one power to any room they are in. Mantis move faster and do more damage but have halved repair speed. Crystal can lock down a room, which halves suffocation damage and prevents anyone from getting in or out. They also have 25 more life. Engi have doubled repair speed but half as much combat damage. Rockmen move half as slow, have 50 more life, and are immune to fire.
20) Know your ships. You will unlock the Stealth cruiser, the Mantis cruiser, the Engi cruiser, the Federation cruiser, the Slug cruiser, the Rock cruiser, the Zoltan cruiser, and the Crystal cruiser as you progress. They all have special abilities. There is a useful guide by Ohmwrecker here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAVeUu25Pz8
. You will also see the functions of the ships with the exception of the Crystal cruiser.
21) If there is a choice in blue during an event it will usually be the best option to pick.
22) Blue options in events require certain things but are usually more beneficial than normal options.
23) Know your environmental hazards. Ion storms halve your reactor power. Nearby suns periodically ignite fires and damage your hull. Asteroid fields send asteroids at your ship, which are slow projectiles that do 1 damage each. Shields usually protect you from asteroid fields.
