The FTL Advanced Mode unlocks new equipment, systems, race and ships. In this guide we will discuss some of these new changes so that you can see what manner of new possibilities you have when it comes to your FTL Games, in Advanced Mode. Personally I found these new additions to expand the possibilities of your ship, even if sometimes obtaining the necessary bits and pieces can be expensive or time consuming. This guide will be devided into a number of sections, focusing primarily on the new Systems, the Lanius Race, the new player ship and the new weapons at your disposal. If you are looking for a guide focused on the core, vanilla game please follow this link to our general FTL Guide.
The Mantis Cruiser Type C is a bit difficult to use. It lacks any offensive weapons, and instead comes with two types of bombs that are meant to stun enemies and hinder their movement. It is a very difficult ship to use at first.
Advanced Mode introduces a number of new Systems and one sub-system, all of which have their own special uses, and are surprisingly versatile.
The new Hacking System allows you to fire a single hacking droid at an enemy ship to then hack into the enemy ship’s one system. You can choose any system or sub-system, depending on what you want to do to the enemy. The Hacking System has three tiers, each one extends the length of “Disruption” that is activated by the player.
When the Droid attaches itself all of the doors leading to and out of the hacked room will be “locked”, much like blastdoors. An enemy will have to force their way in, but your own friendly troops will be free to travel through these doors unhindered. Even Level 0 doors (standard doors) will create a barrier for enemy movement. Depending on what system the droid hacked into different things may occur when you activate its disruption.
An example of how hacking can be put to good use. The last two remaining Mantis are trapped in a hacked Weapons System, with a fire and the Oxygen System destroyed.
Weapon System – Passive: You can see the charge on all enemy weapons. Active: All weapon charges will decrease steadily. The higher the level of the hacking system the more likely it is that you will deplete enemy weapons completely.
Shield System – Active: Drain shields, a barrier at a time. If your Hacking system has too low a level you may be unable to drain more than two shield layers.
Droid System – Active: All Droids are turned “off”, and may randomly explode.
Bridge/Engine – Active: Shuts down the Bridge or Engine, thus reducing Evasion to zero and stopping any FTL Charge, much as if the Bridge or Engine were destroyed or had no power.
Oxygen System (Life Support System) – Active: Shuts down the Oxygen System
Medbay – Active: Anybody inside of Medbay, when hacking is active, will slowly lose their health.
Clone Bay – Active: Shuts down Clone Bay. This means that if somebody was cloned the operation will be halted, and anybody who was waiting to be cloned might be dead
Hacking System – Active: Stops any hacking, and the enemy Hack Drone might also be destroyed.
Mind Control – Active: Stops any mind control of your own crew and instead you take control of one enemy crew member, for a short time.
Teleporter – Active: All enemy units on your ship are sent back to the enemy ship instantly, unless they are mind controlled on your ship.
Door System – Active: All doors become friendly “blast doors”, locking the enemy in their rooms. The doors may still be forced open.
Battery – Active: Disables any benefits of the Battery sub-system and drains two additional energy blocks.
Cloaking System – Active: De-cloaks the enemy ship, and stops any cloaking attempts while hacking is active.
Take note, when the droid attaches itself to an enemy room you can see what is happening inside of it. Because of this the Hacking System allows you to create an effective and safe landing zone for your friendly troops, when teleporting them over. Furthermore this may also be used to your advantage when you want to destroy a key enemy system before the enemy can react. As an example, you could attach your hack drone to the enemy Life Support system and then send a breacher or fire bomb to destroy the system and make it impossible for the enemy to repair it (due to vacuum). Even if the enemy gets in and starts repairs they might find themselves trapped in a room without any oxygen, or filled with fire, when the doors lock themselves again.
In general the Hacking System is very versatile, and may be used on many of the ships to undertake different roles. On the Mantis ship it could be used to create a safe area for your Mantis to teleport into. On the Zoltan Cruiser you could hack the enemy shields to then effectively fire your Halberd beam. Or on the Engi cruisers, if you rely heavily on drones, you could use Hacking to disable any counter-drone defense the enemy has.
Furthermore, a lot of enemy ships now use hacking to disable some part of your ship (like the engines). This is especially the case with hostile Slug ships. A Hacking System can counter any hacking attempts, although during the next battle you won’t be able to hack the enemy.
The Cloning Bay is hard to classify as either an addition or a substitute for a Medbay. On one end it does heal your crew, after every FTL jump, but it also allows you to bring back dead crew members which is something the Medbay cannot do. However unlike the Medbay the Cloning Bay only heals a bit of health after every jump (depending on the level of the Cloning Bay) while the Medbay can heal anybody within it fully, rapidly.
The best way to compare the Cloning Bay to Medbay is to see when one becomes more useful than the other.
Cloning Bay – It heals after every jump and allows the cloning of dead crew members. Since it cannot heal constantly, and cloned crew members will lose a fraction of their experience, this system ALONE is only good for ships that do not intend to fight the enemy up close. You could send crew members to the enemy ship, and then let them die to then respawn on your ship to send them back, but that is time consuming and your “marines” will have absolutely no experience left. When you are defending yourself from enemy boarders you may find it impossible to effectively protect your ship, unless you outnumber the enemy, have better fighters, or you use vacuum to kill the enemy before they reach your crew. Here again you could lose crew members during a defense to stop the enemy, but you end up with an inexperienced crew.
Medbay – Since it can heal constantly you just have to send your crew into Medbay (or have the Engi Nanobot upgrade) and then send your crew back to their posts. A Medbay is crucial on ships where you plan to board the enemy, since you can pull your crew back, heal them and then send them back in. You might not be able to recover dead crew members, and your crew might need to reach the Medbay to heal, and on a burning and vacuum filled ship that could be impossible, but a fully upgraded Medbay can do miracles.
Having both a Medbay and a Cloning Bay would be ideal, but it is sadly not an option. When you have a ship with a Cloning Bay or a Medbay you can only swap them around. Because of this you have to adjust your ship, in some ways, to what manner of healing you have on board, as we discussed before.
Overall, the Cloning Bay offers new possibilities of its own, especially if you prefer quantity over quality, but this could cost you dearly if you have a very small crew, and play on a higher difficulty setting.
The Mind Control System allows you to take control over one enemy crew member, or to take back control over one of your “possessed” crew members. Depending on the level of your Mind Control System the enemy you take over could have additional health and damage, thus allowing him to cause even more chaos and carnage. Compared to the previous two systems the Mind Control System might seem like a bit of a waste. What’s so beneficial about taking over a single enemy crew member? Depending on how you plan on using your ship and crew you could mind control the enemy captain, thus reducing their evasion to zero for your weapons to fire accurately. You could also take over an enemy crew member in the same room where you teleport your crew, to bolster your defenses or attack. Lastly, even a level 1 Mind Control system may be used to counter the enemy’s Mind Control attempts, just target the crew member who was taken over.
Is it a worthwhile System to invest in? Some systems may be more useful. A cloaking system would allow you to have a safe way of evading the mass of enemy fire. A teleporter could be used to send over troops to the enemy. The hacking system is an effective way of sabotaging the enemy. I would say that I have used the Mind Control System with great success, especially with the Mantis Cruiser. When you send in four trained Mantis fighters and you then take over an enemy crew member, you can cause all manner of chaos.
Lastly, if the enemy boards your ship the mind control system can be used to take control over one of the boarders, thus giving you an edge in the defense. While you cannot control these “zombies” they may begin repairs, take control of systems (weapon, shield, engine, etc.) or fight fires. Of course, you cannot control them long enough to do much good but at least they are distracted long enough for you to prepare a response.
Sometimes you may need a bit of extra juice, in an instant. On the Easy difficulty setting you may end up in a situation where you have more system upgrades than power. If you do not have Zoltans and you fully upgraded your reactor the Battery System is a solution to quickly powering different parts of your ship. I did not rely on the Battery System too much myself, but I do see its potential when you want to boost your weapon systems, shields, engine or other crucial systems (oxygen, drone control, etc.). Since the boost lasts only a short while you have to practice using it when it is most useful.
During a most recent game I used the Battery System to quickly power additional shields and the engine, when I felt the enemy was about to fire a heavy barrage of lasers or missiles. Other times I would use the Battery System to pump in some additional power to the Cloaking System I had installed. The Battery System has some clear uses.
The Hacking, Cloning Bay and Mind Control systems all offer new blue options in some random events. The Hacking system may be used to counter-hack, turn off drone alarms or perform a number of other tasks. It is an incredibly useful system for random events, even if it cannot be applied to every single event. The Mind Control system can also aid you in some events, especially when dealing with Slugmen or Pirates who may try to rob you. The Cloning Bay may bring back dead crew members who died during most events. There are a few exceptions when the Cloning Bay cannot save your crew but if you lack the useful blue options during these events the Cloning Bay may very well preserve your crew.
A few new weapons were added to the game, and we will discuss the different types of weapons briefly, with their relevant uses.
Flak Cannons – All the Flak Cannons operate on similar principles. They fire a “cluster” of flak which then falls apart creating numerous projectiles which then aim at weakening the enemy shield or causing massive damage to their hull and systems. While the Flak Cannons are meant to deal with shields mainly they can cause hell on earth to ships that have numerous systems close to each other. The Flak Cannon II with its 7 “shrapnel” pieces can reduce any shield it encounters to zero, or cause some scary damage to the enemy ship. It might not be too accurate but with so much shrapnel it is bound to do some damage.
The Type C Federation Cruiser starts with no weapons, and its “Main Gun” is an advanced Flak Cannon. How advanced? Let’s say that with an accurate shot it can take out any “lower level” ships in a single salvo. You may also noticed that the ship appears to be prepared for harsh boarding action (Respirators and Cloning Bay). I am having a hard time with trying to keep my Marines alive.
(Ion) Stun Bomb – This is a surprisingly effective weapon. It acts as a small Ion Bomb and on top of that it also Stuns enemies inside of the room. There is also just the “Stun Bomb” without the Ion effect but extended stunning on enemy crew members. If you ever wanted to ensure a ship is destroyed with little resistance you can use Stun Bombs in areas where there are numerous enemy Crew Members and “Knock them out” while you continue destroying or invading the enemy ship. Stun Bombs also work on Drones.
Charging/Chain Weapons – There are a few variants of these. Charging Weapons load a number of shots, and when you order them to fire they will fire all their stored shots (might be a single or up to four shots, depending on the weapon). Chain weapons tend to either fire more rapidly (in the case of lasers) or fire more powerful shots (in the case of Ion weapons) the more times it was fired. So a Chain Laser Cannon will at first fire slowly, but as you fire more shots its cooldown will be steadily reduced. Certain Chain weapons are incredibly useful. I found the Chain Ion Cannon to be extremely dangerous once it heated up, causing four ion damage per shot (much like the Ion Bomb, only without having to use up missiles). I did not use Charging Weapons myself, but if you waited patiently to charge them up and fire them at once when the enemy shields are weakened or down you could overwhelm them with the massive barrage of lasers or ions.
There are a few more individual weapons added into the game, and some ship variants may obtain non-standard weapons but for the most part the three types of weapons described above are the new weapons added to the game through advanced mode.
A few new Augmentations have been added. Some relating to specific systems and some have more general uses.
Hacking Stun – When Hacking a room anybody inside that room will be stunned for the duration of the hack (much like a Stun Bomb). If you want to bog down the enemy even more then this is a useful Augmentation, especially when you fully upgrade your Hacking system.
Defense Scrambler – Frustrated with enemy Defense Drone shooting down your missiles and drones? Not anymore. This Augmentation makes enemy Defense Drones completely useless. Now you can harass the enemy as much with you like, with Drones and Missiles.
Emergency Respirators – The Lanius Cruiser is equipped with these. In essence your crew takes less damage from suffocation. If you rely on teleportation, or using vacuum to defend your ship, then this Augmentation certainly aids your crew.
Fire Suppression – While I never saw this Augmentation (or earned it) it is mention on the Wiki, and if the description is accurate this could be a useful Augmentation when dealing with enemies that rely on Beam Weapons.
Backup DNA Bank – If you lose crew members and the Cloning Bay was shut down they will perish forever. With this Augmentation they will be safely stored, and await cloning, even when the Cloning Bay has no power or is destroyed.
Distraction Buoys – While nice in theory these Buoys could be exchanged for far more useful Augmentations. They only delay the Rebel Fleet by one jump. In some cases it might make a difference but I would not rely on this augmentation too much.
Zoltan Shield Bypass – You can teleport Crew and Bombs onto ships where the Super Shield (Zoltan Shield) is still active. If you lack a weapon that can rapidly take down these shields then this Augmentation is a blessing.
Reconstructive Teleport – During a recent game with the Mantis this was one of the best Augmentations for my crew. When you teleport crew members to or from your ship they will be instantly and fully healed. That means that even if your crew is about to die they will be ready for action in an instant, without the need for a Medbay visit. If you have a high level Teleport system you could use this as a substitute for a Level 3 Medbay.
Lifeform Scanner – This is an Augmentation that becomes useful in Nebulas and you lack a Slugman. I would not call it an overly useful Augmentation, but it can certainly help in some situations.
The Augmentations in Advanced Mode are versatile and useful. They allow your ship to specialize in specific tasks even more. One of the best examples I can think of is a Mantis Cruiser with the above Zoltan Shield Bypass and Reconstructive Teleport Augmentations. Not only will your skilled Mantis be able to teleport onto any enemy ship, when you would pull them back, or send them back onto the enemy ship they would be always fully healed. It’s terrifying to behold, but carries with itself so much fun.
The Lanius are a new race added in Advanced Mode. What’s the deal with them? The main boon and curse is that they drain any oxygen in the room they would be currently in. Other than that they can survive in rooms with no oxygen, whatsoever. What does this make them? Your primary choice for fixing breaches, excellent boarding commandos and even defenders or fire fighters. While they would work poorly together with other races (aside from Crystal-Men) if you managed to get your hands on a few Lanius they would make an excellent addition, and they could match a number of roles. Of course, the main problem with the Lanius is that they do drain a lot of oxygen quickly. If you sent them to Medbay together with other Crew Members you might accidentally cause numerous deaths. If a Lanius needs help with defending a room it might be risky to send anybody in, due to the vacuum.
The Lanius Cruiser features two Advanced Mode weapons and the Hacking System already installed. I found it a good first ship to try in Advanced Mode.
In general though, the shortcomings of the Lanius are also their strengths. A ship that has numerous Lanius is essentialy fire-proof, and near impossible to board. Any breaches can be sealed and if they are teleported onto an enemy ship they can cause untold carnage, by suffocation.
The Lanius Cruiser is designed with one thing in mind, vacuum. There are numerous doors leading into space, meaning you can easily get rid of any oxygen, in almost any room, in an instant. Another curious thing about the Lanius Cruiser is that it can have all the new Systems (Hacking, Mind Control and Cloney Bay) at the same time (most ships can have either Hacking or Mind Control, not both). What is the Lanius Cruiser suitable for? Initially it relies on Ionizing the enemy shields with its Ion Stun Cannon, and then chipping away at the enemy’s hull with its chain laser. Later on it may be adapted for a number of things. If given numerous laser weapon, and you invested some time into improving your Hacking System you could drain the enemy shields and then fire all of your lasers at the same time to rapidly destroy the enemy ship. You could install a Teleport, to send your Lanius against the enemy, or perhaps even have a few Drones to help maintain the ship, or attack the enemy.
You will need to quickly find a weapon to take down more advanced enemy shields. Once you meet level 3 shields you won’t have enough firepower to take them down, unless you hack them. The Respirator Augmentation allows your crew to cope in vacuum a bit better, and the Cloning Bay does allow you to get back lost crew members, who might had suffocated or died during combat. In general it’s a very interesting ship to use, especially if you want to familiarize yourself with some of the new systems and weapons.
Now, when facing Lanius ships remember that they are completely filled with vacuum. As such boarding is out of the question (unless you have Lanius of your own).
A few new Drones have appeared, some of them are especially annoying, or deadly.
Shield Overcharger – This Drone floats around your ship. Every 8 seconds it will add one layer of Super Shield, up to a maximum of five. This Drone, in essence, allows a ship to have an additional layer of protection. If your ship lacks in normal shields this could be an answer to your problems. It might not look like much but the Super Shield can stop missiles and bombs, so if the enemy relies on them then the Shield Overcharger can effectively block such attack attempts. A Defense Drone could be more efficient in taking down enemy missiles but the Overcharger can protect you from ordinary lasers and beams as well.
Fire Drone – Think Beam Drone, except fire. I am still not sure whether picking the Fire Drone is the best of ideas, simply because the Beam Drone can still start a fire and uses up less power.
Ion Intruder – Just as tough as a boarding drone, but its abilities are not associated with destruction of systems or killing the crew. The Ion Intruder attacks with Ion Blasts. It enters a system, blasts it (and anybody inside of it) and then proceeds to the next room. I have mixed feelings about the intruder. A Boarding Drone will remain in the room it breached into until the system is fully destroyed before moving on. The Intruder might ionize a system and then move on, but if you wanted it to permanently take out a system it would be unable to do so. As such I find the Boarding Drones superior, even though the Ion Intruder can also stun crew members.
Anti-Combat Drone – This Drone stops any enemy drones from approaching your ship. As such it could stop hacking attempts, drone boarding or any attack drone. A Defense Drone might be more useful, since it also takes out missiles and asteroids, but the Anti-Combat Drone’s focus on countering other Drones makes it also useful in taking out annoying beam and laser attack drones.
The Advanced Mode offers new challenges, but also a lot of new things for you to play with. The new systems, augmentations and the Lanius themselves allow you to create interesting combat combinations, which might not always work but they certainly offer a new layer to the whole experience. I am especially intrigued by the new possibilities of Type C ships, such as the new Federation Cruiser that uses and advanced Flak Cannon instead of the standard Beam Cannon, or the Type C Mantis Cruiser with a Cloning Bay, Stun and Lock Bombs and well as a Lanius and Mantis on board. I am still trying to get some of the Type C ships and see in what ways I can use the different new Systems for.
If you do not enjoy these new additions to FTL you can always turn them off at the hangar, you would be missing out though!
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