67 hours without a single win, am I doing something wrong?

All your guides, strategy discussions, request for help on how to play go here. Please use [SPOILER] if relevant.
DudeNamedEvan
Posts: 13
Joined: Fri Feb 21, 2014 2:54 am

67 hours without a single win, am I doing something wrong?

Postby DudeNamedEvan » Sun Apr 20, 2014 3:00 pm

I usually use the kestrel and get 2-3 burst mk.2 and decimate everything, but I still lose
and the adjucator, with my usual halberd/hull/whatever other random beam I find floating in space/burst mk2
for shields. but IVE DONE 131 GAMES YET NOT ONE VICTORY :oops:
4/16/2014 Hit 60 hours in FTL, 5/11/2014 Hit 104 hours in FTL
ranirahn
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2014 5:47 pm

Re: 67 hours without a single win, am I doing something wron

Postby ranirahn » Sun Apr 20, 2014 5:56 pm

I know what to you feel. Thing is, you have change but i have worst luck in the world so i never beat it not even easy mode. I have only 3 times seen last ship and played bretty much same amount that you have. Watched alot youtube videos but have never seen anyone had same "luck" that i have every time :D Is my game broken or is that really possible? :D
DudeNamedEvan
Posts: 13
Joined: Fri Feb 21, 2014 2:54 am

Re: 67 hours without a single win, am I doing something wron

Postby DudeNamedEvan » Sun Apr 20, 2014 6:53 pm

ranirahn wrote:I know what to you feel. Thing is, you have change but i have worst luck in the world so i never beat it not even easy mode. I have only 3 times seen last ship and played bretty much same amount that you have. Watched alot youtube videos but have never seen anyone had same "luck" that i have every time :D Is my game broken or is that really possible? :D



I can't win on easy either :roll: , but I do usually get to the flagship drone wave and am murdered
(my steam account is covered in screenshots of my kestrels and toruses blowing up to the flagship

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/f ... =221207344
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/f ... =219025711
68 hours now :oops:
4/16/2014 Hit 60 hours in FTL, 5/11/2014 Hit 104 hours in FTL
Merudo
Posts: 40
Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2014 5:01 am

Re: 67 hours without a single win, am I doing something wron

Postby Merudo » Sun Apr 20, 2014 8:50 pm

You are probably doing many, many things wrong.

The best way for us to help you would be to post a youtube video of your play through, or at least give us a picture of your setup before facing the flagship.
User avatar
5thHorseman
Posts: 1668
Joined: Sat Mar 02, 2013 2:29 am

Re: 67 hours without a single win, am I doing something wron

Postby 5thHorseman » Sun Apr 20, 2014 10:02 pm

Based on that first screen shot where you have 3 BL2s, a teleporter and a cloak, my only assumption can possibly be that you don't know that you can pause the game.

There is only one setup better than 3 BL2s, and that setup is 4 BL2s.
My Videos - MY MOD HUB
Simo-V - The Potential - Automated Scout - "Low O2" Icons
The Black Opal - The Asteroid - The Enforcer - The Pyro

"Every silver lining has a cloud..."
DudeNamedEvan
Posts: 13
Joined: Fri Feb 21, 2014 2:54 am

Re: 67 hours without a single win, am I doing something wron

Postby DudeNamedEvan » Mon Apr 21, 2014 12:46 am

my only assumption can possibly be that you don't know that you can pause the game. ps the game is paused in the screenshot.


I found a little list of things that might be throwing me off

1. first THE RIDICULOUS EVASION, I have been so op at times (12_13 shot salvos) and (5 missile salvos(hull missile.artemis, and swarm) but I fired a full 12 shot salvo, and none got through... :evil: this game is awesome

2.ADD (attention deficit disorder) you need an attention span more than a goldfish... :roll:

3.cockyness. :cry:

the proof that I suck so much

http://cloud-3.steampowered.com/ugc/329 ... 1665708FB/
4/16/2014 Hit 60 hours in FTL, 5/11/2014 Hit 104 hours in FTL
The Captain
Posts: 390
Joined: Thu Mar 28, 2013 1:44 am

Re: 67 hours without a single win, am I doing something wron

Postby The Captain » Mon Apr 21, 2014 12:51 am

In the first pic you have 126 scrap. Why didn't you spend it before fighting the boss?

Second pic only L2 engines. I would have gotten more engines before the fourth shield layer.
DudeNamedEvan
Posts: 13
Joined: Fri Feb 21, 2014 2:54 am

Re: 67 hours without a single win, am I doing something wron

Postby DudeNamedEvan » Mon Apr 21, 2014 1:26 am

The Captain wrote:In the first pic you have 126 scrap. Why didn't you spend it before fighting the boss?

Second pic only L2 engines. I would have gotten more engines before the fourth shield layer.



look at number 2 on my list of things that is throwing me off
4/16/2014 Hit 60 hours in FTL, 5/11/2014 Hit 104 hours in FTL
User avatar
5thHorseman
Posts: 1668
Joined: Sat Mar 02, 2013 2:29 am

Re: 67 hours without a single win, am I doing something wron

Postby 5thHorseman » Mon Apr 21, 2014 4:20 am

I missed 2 things from those screen shots. First I missed that the game was indeed paused :) Second, I missed that YOU ONLY HAD 2 ENGINES.

So here's something I've posted a lot recently but hey, if it works it works:

Before the end of sector 1, 2 shields (4 bars)
Before the end of sector 2, 4 engines.
Before the end of sector 3, 5 engines.
Before the end of sector 4, 3 shields (6 bars)

Note: This is for NORMAL mode. For HARD mode, I try to shift everything up one sector though it's pretty much impossible.

Also, you need to have a way to get through:
Before the end of Sector 2: 2 shields (Most ships can do this)
Before the end of Sector 4: 3 shields (This usually means you need to buy weapons or a teleporter in sector 3)
Before the end of Sector 7: 4 shields (or the Boss is gonna suck)

Note: to get through 2 shields, you need to do 3 laser shots. Or have 2 ions and a laser/beam/whatever. Or have a teleporter. Or a bomb. Doesn't matter what.

After I have the above, I start thinking about upgrading other things, like doors and O2 and medbay and stuff.

Most of the time I don't reach these milestones, and I end up not getting my 4th engine until midway through sector 3 or something. No biggie, as long as you keep trying.

Never, ever, ever, EVER buy missiles. Unless you simply must because you've not found a way to get rid of your missile weapon. They are the single biggest resource drain in the game if you buy a lot. The next big resource drain is repairs. Any time you show up at a store needing a ton of repairs, that's a weapon you can't buy, or drone control or a cloak or long range scanners or who knows what else. I never repair over 20 hull points (2/3 full) and sometimes I forego repairs to buy or upgrade something.

Ions are great in groups, but not so great by themselves. 2 Ions will eventually take down ANY shield so long as your opponent doesn't dodge too many of them. An Ion and an Ion 2 will reliably take down ANY shield eventually. Once those are down, you can use your other weapons to actually damage the ship.

If I may humbly suggest, I've beaten the game on camera with every ship in the game (and a few mods) on Normal and while I get into (and out of) some sticky situations, for the most part I walk over the bad guys because I stick to what I've said above. Granted, most of my videos are in the previous version but most of the strategies still work. Check out my thread here.
My Videos - MY MOD HUB
Simo-V - The Potential - Automated Scout - "Low O2" Icons
The Black Opal - The Asteroid - The Enforcer - The Pyro

"Every silver lining has a cloud..."
LostAlone
Posts: 22
Joined: Fri Apr 11, 2014 3:01 am

Re: 67 hours without a single win, am I doing something wron

Postby LostAlone » Mon Apr 21, 2014 10:30 am

The best advice I can give you is to go and watch someone elses successful run through the boss. The flagship isn't just a big normal enemy, it's a long and complicated battle. Just understanding what it is and how it works should get you over the hump. Solid (if a little predictable) strategies like killing all but one of the crew so the weapons can't be repaired changes everything, both about the ship you build and your chances of success.

Once you understand that and approach the flagship fight as a long battle of attrition, rather than a race to do enough damage then you'll do a lot better. You need to conserve your hull points and keep your defenses up. Very often you lose on the flagship because it gets one or two hits into a critical system which them means it can start doing hellish damage to everything else.

Also - Dodge change. It's a big deal. Four levels of shields is mostly a waste of scrap. If you have a huge haul left over then I guess you may as well get the last one, but always upgrade your engines first. An extra bubble of shields will only block one extra shot, but with 45%+ chance to dodge you'll simply take fewer hits. Up until the flagship dodge doesn't make a huge difference, because very few ships can reliably hammer through your shields anyway, and other defenses like cloakdodging, hacking and just shooting their weapons are much more powerful against those normal ships. But against the flagship dodge matters a lot. Power surges send a lot of shots at you at the same time and dodging really makes a difference.

Everyone's first runs as miserable, just because there is so much you don't know. Don't get disheartened. Use the resources out there - The most powerful weapon in FTL is knowledge.