Good Ships for "Going the distance" achievements

[Svankensen]

Ive gotten all the "Going the distance" achievements on Normal, so i wanted to share the strategies that i used. I do not have all the ships yet, so there might be a couple of better strats, but seriously, these are relatively easy to do if you stay focused.

Coming in for my Pacifism run!

Zoltan ship A, raise only Engines for faster FTL recharge, sell your weapons at the first shop in order to get more upgrades and fuel, then head directly to the exit, as running out of fuel is a real danger. Sadly, i find the game is unwinable after a pacifism run, altrough i did make it to sector 8.

I don't need no stinkin' upgrades

For this one you obviously need a ship that can be improved without actually getting upgrades for it. That's why the Mantis B is great. Its 4 pad teleporter rocks, as you can board very aggresively without upgrading the teleporter, and you get offensive upgrades just by buying crewmembers, wich isnt against the rules. It also starts with shields lvl 4, so there is that.

On a Wing and a Prayer

I usually get both this achievement and Pacifism together.

Ballistophobia Get to sector 8 without using missiles/bombs.

Engi ship works fine, really any ship that starts without missile weapons is OK.

Technophobia Get to sector 8 without using drones.

Same as above, altrough admitedly the game is a lot harder without a defense drone to handle the missiles. I strongly recomment getting your engines to around 35% dodging ASAP (maybe to 45% or better later, but you cross that bridge when you have to).

Living off the Land Get to sector 8 without buying at a store (Repairs are ok).

This seemed like one of the hardest, but i actually pulled it off at the first try. The obvious choice is one of the federation cruisers. Why? Becuase they have an unavoidable weapon (the artillery beam) and (specially the A), they start with a good weapon that doesnt depend on suplies. So, in case you are unlucky with the weapons, you can always raise your defenses and artillery beam high enough to go trough anything. Also, once in sector 8 you can buy in stores, in case you are growing desperate. Oh, and remember that you can sell stuff, so sell all the drones you find, as you wont be able to find a drone system.

No Redshirts Here

Rock ship is good here, but seriously, no one loses crew on purpose, so just avoid the dangerous choices in encounters, get O2 lvl 2, blast doors, and avoid Rock Sectors unless you have missiles.

[xdiesp]

Very good guide. I've gotten those achievs by playing normally, as basically certain ships' default layout are specialized in no missiles \ drones \ etc.

[Madhax]

Nice guide, I like your thinking on the pacifism achievement. I'll give that a shot.

I already have the redshirt achievement simply from a good regular run, but out of curiosity, why skip rock sectors? I haven't noticed anything that Rockmen throw at me kill crew more often than other races, but perhaps I'm overlooking something?

[alextfish]

I found the Stealth ship was very good for Pacifism (and got Living off the Land thrown in). You can dodge most of the enemy encounters, because of the Long-Range Scanners! Of course you won't have a hope of beating the game because you'll have no scrap and so no upgrades, but it at least gets the achievement...

[Svankensen]

Nice guide, I like your thinking on the pacifism achievement. I'll give that a shot.

I already have the redshirt achievement simply from a good regular run, but out of curiosity, why skip rock sectors? I haven't noticed anything that Rockmen throw at me kill crew more often than other races, but perhaps I'm overlooking something?

I aint 100% sure, but i think only Rock sectors have that space mine that attaches itself to your ship, and if you dont have missile weapons or engines you can loose a crewmember without a chance to refuse.

[Svankensen]

I found the Stealth ship was very good for Pacifism (and got Living off the Land thrown in). You can dodge most of the enemy encounters, because of the Long-Range Scanners! Of course you won't have a hope of beating the game because you'll have no scrap and so no upgrades, but it at least gets the achievement...

Huh, hadnt read your comment. Sounds like a good strat all around, specially since i believe the stealth starts with good engines. Just one question: Since you got the Living off the Land Achievement, how did you get fuel?

[xdiesp]

Damn! I forgot about the drilling drone, I hate that thing.

[Madhax]

I've never encountered that drone, and I've logged about 70 hours on this game. Huh.

[TheAzryte]

I don't think the mine is too much of a problem as the three times I've encountered it recently I've either had a crew member safely defuse the mine twice in anrow, getting extra scrap, or used improved engines to avoid it. Also it should really require much effrot, just don't do anything stupid... Also I don't think o2 needs to be upgraded, when it could go to more shields or engines, which will really keep your crew alive, but that said, you're the one with the achivements, just my opinion.

[Svankensen]

Well, the mine does have a 50% chance to kill your crewmember, so you just are in the lucky 12.5% of people that gets 3 heads in a row when flipping a coin. That said, the "no redshirts" achievement is prolly one of the easiest to get after technophobia and ballistophobia, so i agree that there isnt much point in giving advice for it. I was just making the guide and thought of some general advice for not loosing crew. I agree that nowadays, when im pretty good at the game and practically dont loose crew (except maybe for a squishy zoltan or 2), O2 upgrades seem unnecesary. That said, in my first few games i did loose a lot of crew to oxygen, and upgrading O2 saved me from those mistakes. Besides, its a really cheap upgrade, so it shouldnt set you back in terms of shields and engines (dont take O2 before blast doors tho). Anyway, nothing of this is set in stone (not even close), its just that i didnt find an achievement guide and it wasnt a lot of work, so any constructive opinions (or shameless copies into more developed guides) are welcome.