Any tips for the Mantis B?

[UglyMug]

Just took it out for a spin and I'm having trouble getting out of sector 1. It seems like it's pretty much - Automated Scout, Zoltan, Solar Flare? GG. You lose. I'd jump, but jeeze one engine bar. It's like "Alright, I'll be jumping in about ... Oh... 20 minutes. Feel free to shoot missiles at me until that happens. But, you know, please leave the helm and engine intact because my clumsy insect appendages can't fix anything. Chik-Chika-Chic." (That's how insects talk, they say "Chik-Chika-Chic")

[Edit] Oh wait, that's right - I have the defense drone. I'm stupid. Forgot about that. But still seems like ion would wreck your day. Since that jump takes years. But lvl 3 engines are only 25 scrap. Maybe I'm whining prematurely.[/Edit]

[Svankensen]

The boarding drone works fine against some of the automated scouts (the ones with doors). Also, your lvl 4 shields should hold off some attacks. But yeah, sometimes you have to ru away or take the punishment for a while. It gets better

Also, if you get teleporter lvl 2, mantis survive a trip into an airless ship. Rock men survive with lvl 1.

[SushaBrancaleone]

The Basilisk: Putting the MAN in MANTIS by Mister Sammy
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=3488

[Createx]

Once you have just one weapon or combat drone, you're usually good. Autoscouts aren't that problematic, since you can kill them once you have teleporter 2.
If you are up against an autoscout without doors, try the boarding drone anyway - with luck you hit the shields and can then merrily rip them apart.
Once you have something against Zoltans or autos, you're basically overpowered, especially if you can use that sexy little teleporter to its best abilities, namely throwing 4 mantis at your opponents. I've killed crews before they were able to fire a shot.
You need to be decent at boarding to effectively use this one though, but all it takes is practice

[Madhax]

As others said, the boarding drone can be used to deal the last point of damage against automated scouts. It'll just take a while. Getting a single weapon is good enough to handle Zoltans. And even on normal, you have enough scrap to upgrade engines to level two right off the bat, so you should never settle for only a single engine bar.

Edit: And, just now, I took out a Zoltan cruiser in sector 1 with no weapons. Fought them next to a solar flare, managed to outlast them =D

[icepick]

I just avoid fights I know I can't win. There's no point in fighting most zoltans or drones in the first few sectors, so just DON'T.

[Createx]

There is if you can kill them without using too many ressources or taking too much damage. Every fight you flee throws you back on the scap curve, and once you are too much below it you have lost, plain and easy.
It sometimes boring and grindish fighting scouts or Zoltans, but you need the scrap.

[icepick]

Meh. Not unless every fight you get is one of these...

[MANtisB]

Mister Sammy wrote an excellent guide on this very ship (link earlier in the thread). I'll try to summarize some key points.

1. You are virtually invincible for about half of the game. Very few ships before Sectors 5+ can punch through two shields with lasers and beams, you get a Defense Drone to start that can shoot down missiles, and bombing systems should at most get one opportunity to strike before your boarding crew kills them all. This is further compounded by...
2. Scrap. You will be rolling in it. And since you already start with an incredibly strong offense (strong enough to get you through the endgame to the final boss, honestly) and enough static defense (i.e. shields) to last through Sector 4, you really have no excuse not to speed through engine upgrades. You'll have to find a pilot, of course, but getting another crew member isn't difficult to do, and once you do that your evasion will only continue to compound on itself: your pilot will gain levels in piloting from dodging things, which further increases evasion, which allows for a faster level increase in piloting for even more evasion.

Given those two points your priorities are simple: Get more crew (ideally you're looking for a full boarding party, a pilot and somebody managing the engines; a shield and weapons manager round things out nicely near the end), boost your evasion and steamroll everything with your very powerful boarding party and strong defenses. Some wise early sector management to maximize your chances of getting the right crew helps; Sammy's guide helps with that.

I also highly recommend Aegis's guide on Boarding Defense. (viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2739) It's well-written, I personally love the style of it, and you can apply the information for offense as well.

[Tiyohali]

The best way to take down sectioned of drones in sector 1 right from the start is to immediately upgrade your teleporter to rank 2 right from the start. This will be just fast enough to pull your mantis out before they succumb, and you can save sending in a border drone until it has 1 tick of hull left, giving you an excellent chance of hitting a room the drone can attack and finish it off. You could skip them all, but why miss out on all that extra scrap? It only takes a few rounds of rotating in and out. Just make sure to alternate between pilot and engine for scouts that want to warp out, otherwise go after their weapons first.