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Starsector 0.97a is out! (02/02/24); New blog post: Simulator Enhancements (03/13/24)

Author Topic: Is there a good newbie guide?  (Read 1398 times)

LordBlade

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Is there a good newbie guide?
« on: April 22, 2022, 03:53:27 AM »

Right now, I'm mostly just cruising around slapping pirates for bounties.


What sort of ships are good to look for early game?
What are these Remnant? I came across a few looking for a pirate bounty.
How do you get quests for factions? Or do I just look at what bounties and such are on the intel screen and do that? Also do I have to talk to someone to claim bounties? So far I've just been getting money for killing stuff, and selling things.
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player-one

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Re: Is there a good newbie guide?
« Reply #1 on: April 22, 2022, 08:07:05 AM »

Hi,
Newbie here too - I got a real heads up from https://www.youtube.com/c/GrumpyThumperGaming
There are a few spoilers, but not many.

Good luck out there in the black  :)
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IroncladLion

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Re: Is there a good newbie guide?
« Reply #2 on: April 27, 2022, 01:08:23 PM »

Hey LordBlade! Welcome to the Sector!

I'm putting together a new series specifically for new players to StarSector. It focuses on the campaign and explains all the mechanics step by step, with tips dropped in to help you along.

Link to episode one! Working on additional episodes now

To answer your specific questions:

1. It's good to have at least one tanker in the fleet, as well as some ships that can hold cargo. That will allow you to take exploration missions if you desire. Besides that, salvage what combat ships you can find. I'd recommend looking for midline ships as those can mount early game weapons while still have shields to remain survivable. I'd recommend saving your money for supplies and fuel early game, so try not to buy many ships. It can get expensive.

2. [REDACTED] fleets are spooky AI ships. Avoid them in the early game. And as part of that, heed the warnings of the warning beacons. If the beacon is red, DO NOT enter the system! It's probably better to abandon whatever mission was there.

3. There are missions that will pop up in your feed, like bounties, or exploration missions. Those can pay a lot but you'll need a fleet setup for them. Otherwise there are missions you can get from the bar, those usually explain themselves pretty well. Most bounties you'll get paid for as soon as you kill the bounty ship in question. Otherwise, if you like a particular faction, you can apply for a commission, which pays you monthly and gives you access to that factions ships / weapons. However, you then represent that factions and automatically are at war with it's enemies. A Hegemony commission is great for a first timer.
Otherwise you can develop contacts which will give you lots of missions. Usually you get an opportunity for a contact after a bar mission.

Hope that all helps!

Dri

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Re: Is there a good newbie guide?
« Reply #3 on: April 27, 2022, 04:52:52 PM »

Starsector has a solid wiki https://starsector.fandom.com/wiki/Starsector_Wiki

Also, there is stickied post that straight up says "Newbie Guide Thread" right there in this forum.
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Imp0815

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Re: Is there a good newbie guide?
« Reply #4 on: May 11, 2022, 03:25:47 AM »

I play this game on and off for about 10 years now and i still struggle to grasp the game mechanisms in combat.
For me it comes down to having speed and range and everything else is just second nature.

For example if you have Speed and Range you can just drive away while pummeling the enemy without any risks.
If you have range you can pummel the enemy who don't have range without any risks.
If you have Speed, well you can run away indefinitely - i retract my previous statement and say range is the only really important thing. With Range you are King of all. Range counters Speed.

There are some fringe cases but all involve high risk - high reward and that's not efficient.
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Quantity instead of precision

Billhartnell

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Re: Is there a good newbie guide?
« Reply #5 on: May 11, 2022, 06:38:24 AM »

I play this game on and off for about 10 years now and i still struggle to grasp the game mechanisms in combat.
For me it comes down to having speed and range and everything else is just second nature.

For example if you have Speed and Range you can just drive away while pummeling the enemy without any risks.
If you have range you can pummel the enemy who don't have range without any risks.
If you have Speed, well you can run away indefinitely - i retract my previous statement and say range is the only really important thing. With Range you are King of all. Range counters Speed.

There are some fringe cases but all involve high risk - high reward and that's not efficient.
Shields do complicate this, if your long range DPS isn't high enough you won't break through the shield and all you'll do is annoy the enemy (since they tend to be smart enough to retreat behind their allies to vent), which is still useful because the AI will often overcommit to chasing you, but some ships will have to do the actual killing. I usually have a core of ~80-100 speed ships to destroy the cruisers & destroyers & scatter frigates, a couple Tempests for that harassment role, and some ~140 speed ships for flanking and pursuit. 
« Last Edit: May 11, 2022, 06:41:10 AM by Billhartnell »
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