FTL: If You Are Not Alive, You Do No Damage pt. 4

Today we will finish discussing your defensive options in FTL

Let's Stay Alive!

Cloaking - Because Invisibility is Almost the Same as Invincibility

Installing a cloaking system is a powerful defensive option in FTL. Cloaking systems are quite expensive, costing 150 pieces of scrap from a shop, but they give you a powerful, active, tactical defensive choice. When you activate your cloaking system, all projectiles currently preparing to explode on your weapons systems and ruin your day will have an additional 60% chance to miss. In addition, enemy ships cannot charge or lock on their weapons while you are cloaked, while your weapons continue to charge, and your crew can continue to repair any damaged systems. Cloaking comes default on the Stealth Cruiser, once you unlock it, but it is a compelling defensive option for any of the ships, no matter what your particular strategy might be for that playthrough.

Drones - Why Take a Bullet That a Robot Will Take For You?

Drone control systems give you both offensive and defensive options, but for today we will focus on the defensive possibilities. You need 4 things to make use of a drone system: the drone system installation (if it is not stock for your current vessel), drone schematics, drone parts, and, of course, the always-necessary reactor power.

Defensively you have several choices for drone varieties. There are repair drones which will quickly and automatically repair damaged systems if deployed, as well as extinguishing fires and closing breaches. In addition, there are anti-boarding drones, which will automatically respond to and eliminate any enemy personnel who teleport onto your ship. Finally, and perhaps most powerfully, there are defense drones which you can deploy to orbit your vessel for the current engagement. While deployed, defense drones shoot down incoming enemy missiles, causing them to deal no damage to your ship. This is an effective and nearly guaranteed way to eliminate the otherwise highly problematic missiles from your consideration. An advanced version of the defense drone can also shoot down incoming enemy laser projectiles. Defense drones are sometimes eliminated by enemy fire as well, if they happen to be orbiting in the path of an incoming laser blast, so they will sometimes need to be replaced. A word of caution if you are relying on defense drones, however; unless you get a drone recovery arm, you will lose the drone parts after each individual engagement, so you should keep a careful eye on your stock of drone parts, and refrain from using them if you are running low unless you know the enemy is dangerous.

Tomorrow we will begin discussing the variety of offensive measures available to a captain in FTL.

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