How did you first beat FTL?

[Dirty Apple]

Last night, I finally pounched through all 3 versions of the flagship on normal difficulty. I used the Red-Tail, or Kestral "B" if you prefer, and it was a glorious moment for me. I'd come close at least 3 times before, but this time the fates aligned.

I had a full and varied crew, comprised of 3 humans, 1 zoltan, 2 mantis, and 2 engis. My ship was upgraded to level 3 shields, teleporter, defensive drone, and stealth. I was also equipped with 2 burst lasers, 1 heavy ion blaster, and a small bomb. When it was all said and done I still had half my ship's hull points.

Tell me about your first time and what kind of ship and setup worked for you.

 

[TreuloseTomate]

I used Kestrel B as well with maxed shields, teleporter and defense drone mark II. I foolishly killed every crewmember of the flagship, so the AI took over. But it couldn't repair fast enough.

 

[Dirty Apple]

Even on easy difficulty I can't do it.

That second phase just rips me apart with those drones.

If you can acquire a stealth unit before the end game, it'll get you through those pesky drones. And an extra tip that I heard was not to upgrade the stealth either. You may only have 5 secs of sneakiness, but it also means that they're up for use quicker as well. Hope that helps.

 

[ShinyCharizard]

I used the Kestral A. I had 3 of the Mark II burst lasers, a teleporter with two mantis crew, a defence drone, a hull repair drone, full shields, a good missile launcher and stealth. That setup made it piss easy. I also had a drone recovery arm and a scrap recovery arm so I had a lot of scrap to spend on upgrading the ship

 

[DoPo]

Confession to make - I cheated. On Easy. I gave myself bajillion scrap. And if I'm not mistaken, I think used a Type A Engi ship. But I didn't really cheat for the purpose of beating the game, I just wanted to see more of what it had to offer. Beating the last battle was a side thing - it wasn't the first time I cheated and the boss had ripped me apart several times before, so it was more or less luck that I did it.

 

[teebeeohh]

engiA
full shields, mk2 def drone and i think mk2 attack drone, but most importantly, hull repair drone and i had like 50 drone parts

 

[hazabaza1]

Kestrel A on easy. Can't remember right now but I think I had a pretty good missile launcher and a halberd beam.

My first proper victory (i.e-normal mode) had the cockcannon with a max artillery beam and hella good engines.

 

[GamingAwesome1]

Not done so yet.

Probably not ever going to because I don't have the patience to keep pulling on the proverbial space slots until it drops a Glaive Beam into my lap.

 

[Tohuvabohu]

Engi Cruiser type A.

I had an anti-ship drone mark II and mark I, and a defense mark II drone. With a hefty supply of Breach Bombs and a Hull laser.

Maxed out shields, nearly maxed out engines.

There was no way the rebel crew could keep fixing all the holes I punched into their ship. And the drone spam made it impossible for them to keep their shields from regenerating to full. Normally I don't like using Mark II Defense drones, but it actually did come in pretty useful during the 3rd phase super weapon.

 

[AlexKasper]

I've yet to do it on easy, let alone normal. Chances are I probably never will.

 

[luke10123]

The only time I've beaten the game was using the downloaded 'Obsidian Cruiser' on easy. That was laughably easy though, didn't have to repair the hull the entire game and the last boss took a while but was simple enough if you take out the tri-missile launcher as soon as you can.

 

[barbzilla]

I can consistently win on easy difficulty, but on normal I've only won once. That win was through pure luck (I found all 3 of my sub systems that I wanted for free, and my drone bay was free as well), by the time I got to the flagship I had equipped my Slug Cruiser out with 2x pike beams, a breach bomb, 2x combat drones, an infiltrator drone, 4 mantis crew members, and a teleporter. I had my shields up to 4, my engines 2 slots from max, and all of my system engys at max skill with one human that had max weapons, engines, and piloting (as a backup crew member). I used infiltration as my primary source to drop shields, then took out their systems from the inside, using my pike beams to deal hull damage.

To me it seems like easy actually allows you to strategize and plan, while Normal mode is all about pure luck and being able to make the best out of the resources you can find. As such I prefer easy mode, but every time I play I give easy a go on my first and last run of the day (sometimes more, but at least first and last).

 

[Lawnmooer]

First? I haven't yet beaten it...

I came close once, I was using the Kestrel A ship, had a Glaive and I believe a Hull Beam and an Ion Blast that was cheap to use.

Essentially what happened is my O2 supplies got damaged and I accidentally put the extra power into my shields (I couldn't max out my shields with power due to having just got the Glaive beam) and forgot to put it back so my crew suffocated...

 

[keiji_Maeda]

Confession to make - I cheated. On Easy. I gave myself bajillion scrap. And if I'm not mistaken, I think used a Type A Engi ship. But I didn't really cheat for the purpose of beating the game, I just wanted to see more of what it had to offer. Beating the last battle was a side thing - it wasn't the first time I cheated and the boss had ripped me apart several times before, so it was more or less luck that I did it.

Confession, i save scummed.

DoPo thank you for giving me the courage to say it (write it) outloud. i save scummed through the whole boss, and had stealth.

 

[keiji_Maeda]

Even on easy difficulty I can't do it.

That second phase just rips me apart with those drones.

A telly-porta helps a tad to, in the second stage you jump in and smash ship to pieces.

 

[Kieve]

The only time I've beaten the game was using the downloaded 'Obsidian Cruiser' on easy. That was laughably easy though, didn't have to repair the hull the entire game and the last boss took a while but was simple enough if you take out the tri-missile launcher as soon as you can.

Should try it on Normal then.
I've gone back & forth on balance issues with that beast for a while. Current version is 1.2, which I hope feels more balanced for the majority of people who use it, but at this point I'm tired of fussing over the numbers.

As for my first win, I honestly don't remember. Engi A was the first one to get me to Sector 8, but I didn't have an offensive loadout capable of downing the boss.

 

[Mordekaien]

First time I beat her with Kestrel "A" with lots of Firebombs and burst lasers. I had full shields and Evasion and it was a breeze that time.
Second time was tougher- with the Osprey, and I used Artillery beam and a glaive beam paired with boarding drones.

 

[Worgen]

Kestrel A on normal. I cant really remember my load out, it was awhile ago but i know I had a maxed out stealth module and burst laser 2, burst laser 3, I think a heavy laser and the missile launcher that shoots twice.

 

[lRookiel]

My first win was with the engi ship. I only had a defense drone, 2 anti ship drones and the ion blast you start with. No teleporters and no stealth.