FTL guide to boarding: V1.0

[Aegis]

Have to agree, mantis are best boarders...unless you have fire bombs. In which case rockmen rule.
But rockmen are very usefull on your own ship, to put out fires and repair.

Hey, great guide! However, i disagree on a few things...
Mantis are the best pure boarding class. Mantis kills Rockman everytime, and... Rockmen are only superior if the enemy ship is actually on fire and you are fighting in it. Else, they loose to Mantis and move slower, and take longer to heal back again.
Crystal on the other hand are in every other circumstance better than Rockmen due to their speed, health, resistance to vacuum and lockdown ability, which allows them to control any fight - and lock people out of rooms while you destry systems. Lastly, Zoltan are better than Engi since Engi only deal half damage, that means a Zoltan kills an Engi in a fight

QFT and FTFY.

Also, environmental awarness - boarding a ship at low levels in an asteroid field is a good bet for getting your assault team killed. Boarding a ship in a plasma storm however, I have found to be outstanding. Ever time I do the AI has at least one or two Zoltan.

Overall, decent info on boarding. Also relevant info on defense http://www.ftlgame.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2739

[Empiro]

I agree that mantis are the best boarders, except in two situations: you have fire weapons, or you're boarding an AI craft. Putting a fire bomb in the weapons system and then porting over your rockmen will ensure a quick and easy victory. Rockmen also have enough HP to survive on a AI craft, where they can cripple weapons or shields. Of course, the Crystal men are also great for boarding AI craft. Just make sure they don't have a cloaking device or you disable it first!

However, one thing that was left out, that's a huge bonus in favor of the Mantis: they're fast. If for some reason, your boarding goes badly, they can run around the rooms and survive until you can teleport them back. This doesn't work on enemy ships with blast doors, so make sure you check before you go. Fortunately, blast doors are pretty rare.

I also have a few more pieces of advice for boarding ships with a medibay:

If the enemy weapons are weak, then hold your fire. When your shield piercing or best weapons are close to recharged, send your troops over. When the enemy crew is hurt, they'll try to retreat to the medical bay. At this point, fire your weapons. Not only will it take out their medibay, but it will also kill the injured crew who are trying to heal. Alternatively, disable the medibay with an ion weapon when they start running toward it -- the AI will just stand there and wait, even though the system is disabled. At that point, you can waltz in with your troops and kill the weakened enemy.

If the enemy has strong weapons, then you should use your boarders as a delaying action. Your main goal isn't to wipe out their crew, but instead to destroy their ship while taking less damage than if you left your troops at home. Target their weapons systems and try to damage it. If you succeed, then beam your guys aboard. As long as you occupy the weapon room, they can't repair it. Even though they'll keep retreating to heal and coming back, your main goal here is to delay the enemy for enough time to fire off another volley into their shields or medibay. Rockmen work best here, but Mantis work great too.

[secret759]

I disagree with several points of this article. Firstly, you have given me the impression that you haven't unlocked the crystal cruiser. Its type B Is INSANELY good at boarding. Speaking of which, you did not list any type B's in this article, only type A's (Mantis B lovers will complain.) Also the hp "run value" Is a bit high. I teleport my crew away usually at 5 or 10 health. I hardly lose any of them. The part about unmanned drone boarding isn't true. Crystal and rock crew can board a drone ship and get away alive with a level 1 teleporter. Slug Human and engi can get away on a level two teleporter.

Thats all I have to say.

(P.S. you can win the giant spider event, but still, don't risk it.)

[kilnborn]

I'm going to go against the grain here, and put rockmen above mantis simply because of the synergy between fire bombs/fire beams + rockmen boarders.

Mantis, while unquestionably better when you don't have fire weapons, lose out in potential usefulness simply because of just how awesome rockmen are when you firebomb a room and then teleport in.

If you aren't going full-hog fire + boarding, then yes... of course mantis are better. But the difference between human boarders and mantis boarders (while large) pales in comparison with the difference between mantis boarders and rockmen boarders when you can reliably set fires in the rooms you're fighting in.

If you haven't done it yet, I suggest you go do it. Fire up a Shivan (rock-B), get a teleporter ASAP, and laugh maniacally at the carnage. The Shivan is, I think, the best boarding ship. No, it doesn't start with a teleporter, and no, you don't get a 4-person teleporter, but it's just.... so fun.

[5thHorseman]

If you haven't done it yet, I suggest you go do it. Fire up a Shivan (rock-B), get a teleporter ASAP, and laugh maniacally at the carnage. The Shivan is, I think, the best boarding ship. No, it doesn't start with a teleporter, and no, you don't get a 4-person teleporter, but it's just.... so fun.

I totally agree. Setting their medbay on fire and then teleporting 2 (or 4!) rockmen in there is one of the most fun things in the entire game, possibly short only to locking a room down with a crystal dude while the enemy runs for the door. No, I take that back. Rockmen in a burning medbay is more fun.

[DragudoFire]

I personally think Crystal cruiser type b is the best one out of em all, mostly for the fact that you can cloak, witch can also make missles miss 75 or 80% of the time, while a lvl 2 shield cannot. Also i think that crystals special is wasted if you dont board, cause truthfully how many times in a run do the enemy invade? maybe 5 or so, even then all ya need is lvl 2 doors and suffocate them.

[Jerjare]

Rockmen are without a doubt the most versatile boarders. Mantis frontload more damage, but Rockmen can battle in fire (also useful on your own ship). For me an ideal build would be a Mantis B ship with fire beam, Ion II, and 4 Rocks. Set the rooms on fire, warp in boarders, and watch the fun.

[The Captain]

Crystal men might not be as good individually as Rockmen or Mantises, but because of the lockdown power, they get better in numbers. You can board a ship with a Medbay and not worry (too much) about it. Beam into a room. If it's empty, you can probably destroy the system during two lockdowns. Or if there's one occupant, kill him and damage the system. Beam back, heal up and repeat If you're using the Crystal B (3 Crystal men and a 4-person Teleporter), you can beam into a large room and take out the system in the third lockdown (depending on occupants).

Of course, when fighting enemy crew ...

"None of you understand. I'm not locked in here with you. You're locked in here with me." - Rorschach

With lockdown no one's escaping to the Medbay until you leave. If necessary, you can heal up, beam back when the first Crystal man's power is recharged, and finish the job.

[Jammrock]

I prefer a mix of one rock and one mantis. This way if my mantis has gone down in health too much I can micro him around while my rock distracts or finished off crew. Then teleport out once ready. Works especially well with a single teleport level and low fighting level.

I've noticed that Rock take longer to level up in fighting. You really have to work hard at getting them leveled. If it weren't for that I think they would be better boarders than Mantis.

If I go boarding heavy, one rock, two mantis and one more of anything but engi or zoltan. Two rock and two mantis are my ideal boarding party.

My favorite trick is to catch the medbay on fire, what for crew to go in and fire fight, and then teleport in two rock. They can clean out an entire ship this way in a single teleport if the medbay stays on fire.

[Dontmindme]

The main reason that Rockmen level slower (when boarding with a Mantis) is that because Mantis do double damage, it gives them double chance to get the final blow (in 2 v 1). And 2 on 2, the Mantis will kill his guy and then have a 2 to 1 chance to kill the one the Rockman is on (assuming another combatant doesn't join in).

There is a trick to get your Rockman the kills though. You can do a position switch when the Mantis nearly has his guy killed. To do this, pause the game. (Assuming Rockman is in position #1 and Mantis in position #2) Send both out of the room (while still paused). (Also still paused) Send the Mantis back to the room you are fighting. (Goes to Position #1). Then send the Rockman to the room (he takes position #2 vs. the nearly dead opponent). Then unpause. They will switch positions and the Rockman will steal the kill. You can take it one step further if you are down to the last opponent, send your Mantis walking when the last guy is nearly dead, so the Rockman gets the kill.