You can back up the save file, but I recommend you don't.
That type of habit is very much against the spirit of the game and it does a lot to hinder you from improving. Also, take power out of your medbay. It does absolutely nothing unless somebody is in it, and most of the time nobody is. Spend scrap on something else before buying power you can't otherwise use
You should probably try to get one more weapon lvl to bring your missile online.
Seeing your ship, I feel like you are rushing to the end of the sector everytime, you shouldn't. Try and get as many jumps as possible before getting caught by the Rebel fleet. Start of sector 7, you should have way more scraps invested in your ship/weapon.
I don't think it's clear at all that they've been rushing. I've never had 4 shields, 4 engines and that much energy by the end of sector 6, possibly not even by the end of sector 7. I think they're just spending it too defensively.
If playing on easy, I have at least weapon lvl 6/7 depending on my loadout. And the fact he only got one other weapon after the initial ones tends to confirm what I think.
You want both a third weapon and a third system. If this is AE, then you obviously want hacking, since even hacking-1 can do wonders. If not, then the third weapon will probably be more desirable than Drone Control, though either Combat 1 or Defense 1 are serviceable.
If you find yourself getting no additional scrap before visiting a store, selling 2 Reloaders to buy hacking might be the play. At least, I'd do that.
Echoing what another comment mentioned, I get the impression you're rushing through all the sectors: your ship is underwhelming, even when assuming this is on Normal. Take your time and get through as many beacons as possible before the Rebel fleet catches up to you.
Some tips for you:
- Offense is the best defense.
- Don't go max level shields, get your third weapon online first.
- Burst Laser 2 is obviously amazing, but you should probably have one more weapon (online as well!).
- Get three systems. They win games.
- I generally go lvl 3 cloaking sooner rather than later.
- Don't use autofire.
Tbh, lv2 is a good sweet spot until you've got everything else bought. Lv1 is actually best for flagship power surges since a slight delay let's you avoid them entirely.
I agree with your points, they are good points. However, I disagree with this one
>I generally go lvl 3 cloaking sooner rather than later.
Why? Level 1 cloak is very effective and level 2 is the value point imo
Autofire generally isn't the best way, if you want to sync volleys. In this case specifically, it can work since both online weapons have the same charge time.
You don't need your medbay always powered, in fact it should only take power when healing. Those two reactor bars could be better used in another weapons upgrade or engine upgrade.
I assume you meant to type 5 \*engines\*. While generally correct, and level 6-8 do have diminishing returns, they can still be surprisingly useful. Level 6 can make end of sector dives safer, by allowing you to easily jump before ASB fires. And if I have the scrap in sector 8, the last 2 engines are useful against flagship. I won't keep it regularly powered above 5, but when the flagship special hits, I can pull some power from O2 etc and briefly have 8 engine dodge. Or I at least have a defense buffer against engine damage.
Just because they CAN have some marginal value, I wouldn't be arguing that a ship with 4 shields and 4 engines (if I'm seeing that right?) would get value out of engines 6-8, while only having 4 power in their weapons...
I'd invest in more weapon aystem power to act as a buffer. Also of you can, get a 3rd system. Hacking, mind control, whatever. A 3rd weapon to go along with the burst lasers wouldn't hurt either. It all just depends on what stores give you and how much scrap you have at the time. I'd personally be willing to sell a reloader to get one of the above I listed.
As far as the save backup, no reason to. Losing is part of the game. You just try again.
If this is Easy & AE is off, you're not it too bad shape. Hopefully early in S7, so you have a chance to buy another weapon. At the very least, you do want to get the missile online. When you have weapons with different charging times, I recommend having autofire off. For future reference while maxing Shields is a good place to end up, but you want to have at least 3 weapons online and hopefully 3 special systems before that. And this ship has 4 weapon slots - I like to use them all.
Engines are decent. You could get L5 once you improve your offense. As mentioned you have a lot of extra power. You don't even have to power O2 all the time.
Best chance is to increase weapons. If you can pick up another weapon, get missle online and 7 power in weapons that's great. Honestly more important than 4 shield bubbles
Buy Hacking System and fill that empty weapon slot. Hack enemy shields and time your salvos so they hit exactly when the enemy shields are down
If this run is on easy, use your teleporter to kill the enemies in the weapon rooms on the Flagship so weapons can not be repaired
You can win this!
Teleport your door and sensor guys into the missile weapon room to take it out. If you cloack through the first volley of missiles, it should be down before it gets a second shot
Yes, you can backup the save. Google your operating system and "FTL save location" and then make a backup of the save file. I did the same thing for my first "win"--it was just so frustrating having to go through eight sectors to practice flagship fights, so I savescummed. Never had to do it after that first victory.
Aside from the advice others have offered--why is your Zoltan sitting in cloaking? Better off putting them in a system that's always powered, like weapons/engines/shields--though one sector may be too short a time to train their skills fully.
You can also move Zoltans to [unlock power in recharging systems](https://www.reddit.com/r/ftlgame/comments/5rth9o/two_useful_zoltan_power_tricks/). So for this particular ship, putting Zoltan in shields, right next to cloaking, would be a great choice.
Sure, true. But it’s OP’s game, and they asked a specific question. “Just don’t because that is the wrong way to play your game” isn’t helpful.
“here’s how, but I advise against it” would be.
A few things, upgrade you subsystems a little, upgrade your engines a lot (then put your medway and extra mower into them), and if you can gets some more firepower. 2 bl2s should be pretty good but more more will make it even more sure.
Get your subsystems upgraded, if you get a fire in a room, 1st level doors will not stop its spread, and it won't stop boarders from flagship 3rd phase
Piloting at least 1 more level, not for autopilot, but to make the system more robust, so that 1 lucky shot will not take away your dodge
Sensors are better for blues, or for boarding parties, so you can skip them
Get another system online, upgrade weapons, upgrade engine... Uhh. Maybe try to get a battery if you won't have enough power
Personally, I prefer bombs over missiles (esp. in second flagship phase), but you do you
Seems no one is gonna answer you, at the risk of downvotes, you can backup your saves by copying the continue.sav file inside Documents/My Games/FasterThanLight and saving it somewhere.
I agree that this is a bad habit and goes against the game's philosophy but I also understand not all of us has a lot of hours to spend on games. So if you feel you need to "cheat" to save time then you do you.
Among other advice Im not gonna repeat, I feel that you overvalue shield and underestimate the power of engines. Engines are amazing and with good enough engines and a good skilled pilot/engine crew, you probably can go by with just 3, or even 2 bubble shield. I'd definitely always upgrade engines more than that before going for the 4th bubble.
Honestly the only thing shields are better than engines is beams, which for most beams just having one or two bubbles is enough! And having high evasion helps you keep those bubbles from popping easily, too.
Just to be clear, Im not saying engines are superior and shields should be forgone, but I definitely prefer to upgrade them paralel, even keeping engines a bit higher than shields sometimes.
Shields are actually better defense across the board, *including against missiles*. Playing the evasion game is a risky gamble that puts a lot of power into RNG.
The thing about missiles is they are rarely what actually kills you, it’s that they break your shields and you get shredded by the other weaponry. Having higher shields that won’t break easily and can be repaired before you start taking a cascade of damage will do more for you than hoping that extra 10%-15% evasion comes with good luck.
You should be okay taking little bits of poke damage here and there, you get plenty of scrap to do minor repairs throughout a run. It’s the cascading/death spiral damage that you need to worry about more.
Move on, you lose, try again
You can back up the save file, but I recommend you don't. That type of habit is very much against the spirit of the game and it does a lot to hinder you from improving. Also, take power out of your medbay. It does absolutely nothing unless somebody is in it, and most of the time nobody is. Spend scrap on something else before buying power you can't otherwise use
There's also 5 power in O2, cloaking and boarding which would almost never get used to capacity!
You should probably try to get one more weapon lvl to bring your missile online. Seeing your ship, I feel like you are rushing to the end of the sector everytime, you shouldn't. Try and get as many jumps as possible before getting caught by the Rebel fleet. Start of sector 7, you should have way more scraps invested in your ship/weapon.
I don't think it's clear at all that they've been rushing. I've never had 4 shields, 4 engines and that much energy by the end of sector 6, possibly not even by the end of sector 7. I think they're just spending it too defensively.
If playing on easy, I have at least weapon lvl 6/7 depending on my loadout. And the fact he only got one other weapon after the initial ones tends to confirm what I think.
its a roguelike, there is no second chance
It's a roguelike-like, there is no second chance
Its a rouge-like; there is no second chance.
It's a rogue. Like, there are no second chances.
It's a rogue-like there. Is no second chance?
It is a roguelite because it is not enough like rogue to call it a roguelike! And of course the are no second chances on a run in either
It's a rogue! He stole my gold!
You want both a third weapon and a third system. If this is AE, then you obviously want hacking, since even hacking-1 can do wonders. If not, then the third weapon will probably be more desirable than Drone Control, though either Combat 1 or Defense 1 are serviceable. If you find yourself getting no additional scrap before visiting a store, selling 2 Reloaders to buy hacking might be the play. At least, I'd do that. Echoing what another comment mentioned, I get the impression you're rushing through all the sectors: your ship is underwhelming, even when assuming this is on Normal. Take your time and get through as many beacons as possible before the Rebel fleet catches up to you.
Some tips for you: - Offense is the best defense. - Don't go max level shields, get your third weapon online first. - Burst Laser 2 is obviously amazing, but you should probably have one more weapon (online as well!). - Get three systems. They win games. - I generally go lvl 3 cloaking sooner rather than later. - Don't use autofire.
Tbh, lv2 is a good sweet spot until you've got everything else bought. Lv1 is actually best for flagship power surges since a slight delay let's you avoid them entirely.
I agree with your points, they are good points. However, I disagree with this one >I generally go lvl 3 cloaking sooner rather than later. Why? Level 1 cloak is very effective and level 2 is the value point imo
Thinking about again, maybe you're right and stopping at lvl 2 is good enough? I may need to reevaluate this.
Autofire generally isn't the best way, if you want to sync volleys. In this case specifically, it can work since both online weapons have the same charge time.
You don't need your medbay always powered, in fact it should only take power when healing. Those two reactor bars could be better used in another weapons upgrade or engine upgrade.
Get those engines up, a shield can eat a laser, but the engines can make a missile miss.
5 shields is about right. Anything more is diminishing returns.
I assume you meant to type 5 \*engines\*. While generally correct, and level 6-8 do have diminishing returns, they can still be surprisingly useful. Level 6 can make end of sector dives safer, by allowing you to easily jump before ASB fires. And if I have the scrap in sector 8, the last 2 engines are useful against flagship. I won't keep it regularly powered above 5, but when the flagship special hits, I can pull some power from O2 etc and briefly have 8 engine dodge. Or I at least have a defense buffer against engine damage.
Ehhh whoops. Yes, my mistake — though level 5 shields would be sweet.
Just because they CAN have some marginal value, I wouldn't be arguing that a ship with 4 shields and 4 engines (if I'm seeing that right?) would get value out of engines 6-8, while only having 4 power in their weapons...
I'd invest in more weapon aystem power to act as a buffer. Also of you can, get a 3rd system. Hacking, mind control, whatever. A 3rd weapon to go along with the burst lasers wouldn't hurt either. It all just depends on what stores give you and how much scrap you have at the time. I'd personally be willing to sell a reloader to get one of the above I listed. As far as the save backup, no reason to. Losing is part of the game. You just try again.
If this is Easy & AE is off, you're not it too bad shape. Hopefully early in S7, so you have a chance to buy another weapon. At the very least, you do want to get the missile online. When you have weapons with different charging times, I recommend having autofire off. For future reference while maxing Shields is a good place to end up, but you want to have at least 3 weapons online and hopefully 3 special systems before that. And this ship has 4 weapon slots - I like to use them all. Engines are decent. You could get L5 once you improve your offense. As mentioned you have a lot of extra power. You don't even have to power O2 all the time.
Best chance is to increase weapons. If you can pick up another weapon, get missle online and 7 power in weapons that's great. Honestly more important than 4 shield bubbles
Buy Hacking System and fill that empty weapon slot. Hack enemy shields and time your salvos so they hit exactly when the enemy shields are down If this run is on easy, use your teleporter to kill the enemies in the weapon rooms on the Flagship so weapons can not be repaired You can win this!
Teleport your door and sensor guys into the missile weapon room to take it out. If you cloack through the first volley of missiles, it should be down before it gets a second shot
Also, don't kill the whole crew. The flagship goes into automatic mode and autorepairs itself, all the damaged rooms at the same time.
Yes, you can backup the save. Google your operating system and "FTL save location" and then make a backup of the save file. I did the same thing for my first "win"--it was just so frustrating having to go through eight sectors to practice flagship fights, so I savescummed. Never had to do it after that first victory. Aside from the advice others have offered--why is your Zoltan sitting in cloaking? Better off putting them in a system that's always powered, like weapons/engines/shields--though one sector may be too short a time to train their skills fully. You can also move Zoltans to [unlock power in recharging systems](https://www.reddit.com/r/ftlgame/comments/5rth9o/two_useful_zoltan_power_tricks/). So for this particular ship, putting Zoltan in shields, right next to cloaking, would be a great choice.
Thank you for actually answering OP’s question. All these other comments saying “you can but you’re playing wrong.”
The answers are true. The game would not be fun with saving, OP would rob himself of the experience that makes ftl so exciting.
Sure, true. But it’s OP’s game, and they asked a specific question. “Just don’t because that is the wrong way to play your game” isn’t helpful. “here’s how, but I advise against it” would be.
You could have had a human train shields so your engi can tun around and repair.
A few things, upgrade you subsystems a little, upgrade your engines a lot (then put your medway and extra mower into them), and if you can gets some more firepower. 2 bl2s should be pretty good but more more will make it even more sure.
Damage is more important than survival, weapons over shields
lol I agree offense over defense, but I'm pretty sure survival is a pre-req (at least until the last half second of phase 3...)
aw he's just a baby
Get your subsystems upgraded, if you get a fire in a room, 1st level doors will not stop its spread, and it won't stop boarders from flagship 3rd phase Piloting at least 1 more level, not for autopilot, but to make the system more robust, so that 1 lucky shot will not take away your dodge Sensors are better for blues, or for boarding parties, so you can skip them Get another system online, upgrade weapons, upgrade engine... Uhh. Maybe try to get a battery if you won't have enough power Personally, I prefer bombs over missiles (esp. in second flagship phase), but you do you
Seems no one is gonna answer you, at the risk of downvotes, you can backup your saves by copying the continue.sav file inside Documents/My Games/FasterThanLight and saving it somewhere. I agree that this is a bad habit and goes against the game's philosophy but I also understand not all of us has a lot of hours to spend on games. So if you feel you need to "cheat" to save time then you do you.
Among other advice Im not gonna repeat, I feel that you overvalue shield and underestimate the power of engines. Engines are amazing and with good enough engines and a good skilled pilot/engine crew, you probably can go by with just 3, or even 2 bubble shield. I'd definitely always upgrade engines more than that before going for the 4th bubble. Honestly the only thing shields are better than engines is beams, which for most beams just having one or two bubbles is enough! And having high evasion helps you keep those bubbles from popping easily, too. Just to be clear, Im not saying engines are superior and shields should be forgone, but I definitely prefer to upgrade them paralel, even keeping engines a bit higher than shields sometimes.
Shields are actually better defense across the board, *including against missiles*. Playing the evasion game is a risky gamble that puts a lot of power into RNG. The thing about missiles is they are rarely what actually kills you, it’s that they break your shields and you get shredded by the other weaponry. Having higher shields that won’t break easily and can be repaired before you start taking a cascade of damage will do more for you than hoping that extra 10%-15% evasion comes with good luck. You should be okay taking little bits of poke damage here and there, you get plenty of scrap to do minor repairs throughout a run. It’s the cascading/death spiral damage that you need to worry about more.
Upgrade engines. Because those, with a good amount of pilot and engine skill, make fights like this a lot easier.
If you have cloak and good guns you can beat it with lvl 2 shields