Beginner's Guide to FTL by Rand118! Tips and Strategies to get your first win!

Here it is, my first video guide for improving your FTL gameplay! I do my best to guide you through some of the most consistent strategies for making it from early game, through the mid-game, to the end game and final boss fight! OBS still has issues keeping audio and video in sync, but hopefully the info and gameplay will be useful for people trying to get their first win, or more consistent wins!
Helpful Links:
Danatron's Reddit post for the FTL weapon tier list: / mass_number_crunching_...
Extended pursuit indicator mod (Lines showing the rebel pursuit): subsetgames.co...
Better Planets and Backgrounds mod (The prettier pictures in the background): subsetgames.co...
Slipstream Mod Manager (used to install ALL my FTL mods): subsetgames.co...
Check out Rand live on twitch: twitch.tv/rand118

[@kathrynmckenzie9291]

I like this FTL strategy video game guide video

[@rand118]

Thanks, Kes, it's my first game guide and I appreciate the feedback!

[@jeremybridges6015]

rand118 what version are you using to get the “rebel jump schedule” and more colorful backgrounds?

[@iforgotmydamnname6325]

I like your funny words, magic man

[@Walpurgisnackt]

I decided to reinstall the game after watching your videos on a whim and I beat the game for the very first time. I think the most important skill I picked up from watching you is juggling power between multiple systems.

[@rand118]

Nice, Paul, grats on the first win! Now, you got the skills to try and beat the other ships!

[@obnxsdonky9394]

you couldn't beat the game on easy?

[@wowailyich615]

Never too late for a beginner guide for a game from 2012 - much love. Much love indeed :)))

[@rand118]

Lol, yup! My next game guides are for Pong from the 70's and the X-men arcade game I played back in the mid 90's! Gotta keep up with the times, you know!

[@wowailyich615]

@@rand118 while I have your attention, can you point me to one of your videos that highlights FIRE and/or heavy ION usage?

[@rand118]

@@wowailyich615 Hmm, here's one of my craziest runs, killing boss with only fire and anti bio beam, hopefully this will scratch your itch! kzbin.info/www/bejne/bHTPn4OqiMiffrM

[@MrBojengles824]

Doubt you'll see this but wanted to thank you for the video and streams. Started watching you play out of boredom and ended up playing myself. Managed to get a normal mode win in my first 4 hours with the game. I'd like to think that is in large part thanks to watching you. Thanks for the videos!

[@rand118]

I totally see your comment and I really appreciate it! I love hearing that people enjoy my videos, and especially when they help improve their gameplay. Grats on your first normal mode win, I think getting a first win in any difficulty of FTL should be a banner achievement because of how punishing the game is!

[@cain1605]

I literally won my first game ever after watching this video, AND it was my first attempt. Holy shit dude, thanks.

[@rand118]

Nice Billy Bob, grats! Some games just require certain strategies or knowledge to make right choices. That's awesome that the guide was so useful for you!

[@gabrielponce1964]

Very good FTL guide video!! Got this awesome game years ago but it's kinda forgotten in my library. Well, I'm really considering getting into this again! Thanks man!!

[@rand118]

Great, Gabriel, I'm glad you found it useful! FTL is such a good game, I'd hate for people to pass on it because they think it's too hard or not worth the learning curve!

[@jasonconstant455]

Thank you so much! I thought I was good enough at FTL to play on hard mode, but realized I can't even beat the boss on easy. Your tips will hopefully lead to my first win

[@DaGrumpyTaco]

What a great vid! Thanks to your help I completed my first two back-to-back victories on the Kestrel and engi cruiser

[@rand118]

Nice, grats Peter! Getting those first wins can give you so much confidence to continue to challenge yourself in FTL!

[@valkyrie2536]

Goals for Early game (2:21) Mid game (9:32) Late game (17:47)

[@DrownedLamp]

Maybe this is why I got recommended your first hard no-shield run I was about to look up a general FTL guide, so it all works out

[@caliperstorm8343]

I looked at my statistics for the first time yesterday. 89.7 hours playtime. 244 runs. 2 wins

[@limcw6092]

i refunded FTL after rage quitting, but this guide is different and more "down to earth". I'll buy it again and give it another shot!

[@rand118]

Rage quitting is part of the FTL lifestyle...I've done it at least 3 times!

[@karlklein2263]

Started FTL back up after taking over half a decade off. Consequently found this video looking for tips and tricks. Really dig the straightforward vibe.

[@rand118]

Thanks, Wash! Most of my videos are just uploads from my live stream, so this is one of the few edited strategy-type videos I've done. Hope it's useful!

[@TheIncid3nt]

Thank you for this! I got the game yesterday and I’m loving it!

[@rand118]

FTL is an amazing (punishing) game, I hope you enjoy the ride! Welcome to RNG'sus hell, hah!

[@S4LtyTrIcKs]

You didn’t mention anything in this vid about sacrificing humans to appease FTL gods

[@wowailyich615]

That is an advanced strategy for ultimate pwnage. Too complex for a basic beginner tutorial, I guess...

[@rand118]

I can't give away ALL my secrets! I also didn't mention that the saltier you get, the more flaks you get. I'm trying to keep that on the down-low...

[@nathanpusceddu7828]

This is somewhat untrue. At 38:17 and 41:32, there is a picture of a human in an oxygenless room with the word ‘Vented!’ written underneath. This is a reference to spacing (or ‘venting’) the common (and uninteresting) Human being, which is a cultural tradition within some or all of the FTL: Faster Than Light community. However, the video does not mention the FTL gods, which will potentially screw over new players who won’t know the signs of Wrath and will get frustrated when they lose 17 runs in a row. In conclusion, the video’s subtle secrets do allow new players who read between the lines to pick up on powerful strategies quickly, and yet still be worth at least a laugh to those who don’t.

[@ThePetaaaaa]

Getting multiple crew kill wins in sector 8 without boarding. You are such a show-off! ;-)

[@brianfox340]

Open doors and power O2 is something I never thought of for Lanius borders

[@rand118]

Depending on your level of O2 and the number of Lanius boarders, it can definitely help give you time to deal with them. Some people even upgrade O2 to level 3 to deal with Lanius boarders...I may do so if the situation calls for it, heh.

[@tebhernandez]

You for sure need to make more of these, love it. Back track and make one for Into the Breach?

[@rand118]

Thanks, Tebon! I'm not sure what other games I'd do a guide like this for. FTL is a game I have WAY more experience in than other games, and making a guide for a game I'm not an expert in seems...pretentious, heh. Into the Breach also doesn't have the same replayability as FTL, IMO, but we'll see what I get inspired to do!

[@Phonixfire]

This is an excellent video, I was hoping you would do one of these walkthrough videos as I have not been able to catch you streaming to ask some questions answered here.

[@rand118]

Nice, I'm glad it was helpful, Phonixfire! I've been thinking about doing a video like this for a while since a lot of new players will ask many of these questions. Thanks for the feedback!

[@Sir_Budginton]

I think it might be worth making a video about what to target in a fight, and when to run away. Personally I feel that I stay in a fights even when I should leave. Obviously if I come across an enemy with 2 missile weapons and I'm on low health I'll put full power to engines and GTFO. But if I have high health I tend to stick around even though, now that I think about it more, I shouldn't. There's also the sunk cost fallacy. I've lost so much health already from this enemy, I have to stay to finish him off so I can get something out of this fight. I try to keep an eye out for these things, but I'm still kind of noobish and make these mistakes.

[@asaltedpudding4041]

Nah nah, as long as you get enough scrap to pay for hull damage it's worth the fight. Even if you lose out slightly on the scrap gain you still get a bunch of training.

[@sleepydog9968]

if you're in it for the score, anything's fair game, i guess

[@grubby9486]

Fire video bro! I loved it, this game always interested me but I found it to be a bit diffulcut without reading the entire wiki. Thanks again!

[@rand118]

Yeah, FTL is definitely a challenging game to get into. I watched many hours of other streamers play it before I got into it. Hope this video was helpful and you enjoy getting back into the game!

[@craigstebbing504]

Hey there, I know I'm a lurker but I had an idea for a challenge, the get what you get run. Basically for weapons you cannot buy any of them, and you can only get one shop per sector. Just a thought.

[@rand118]

I had another viewer suggest a "live off the land" run for each ship, which is basically you can only sell at stores, no buying. That way you're limited to only the stuff you find. I might have to give that a go!

[@fisternation8121]

The video was awesome and informative rand thanks man. I have an idea for another video maybe going over some of the encounters and options for them thanks man.

[@rand118]

That's not a bad idea, although it would be hard do a video covering EVERY event just because there's so many of them. It might be worth doing a video covering the events you encounter most often, like giant alien spiders, abandoned fuel station, etc. I may look into doing that at some point when I have time. Thanks for the feedback and suggestion!

[@fisternation8121]

@@rand118 yeah I ment the more common ones not all of them god that would suck lol. Maybe you could add thoughs encounters with the advanced tips video you were talking about last night.

[@rand118]

@@fisternation8121 That is definitely a good suggestion, I'll have to start planning that. It takes me a good chunk of time to make a video like this one, so it might be a while, but I'll most likely try to do a video like that in the future!

[@fisternation8121]

rand118 I totally understand man take your time with it and keep up the great work!

[@andrewtran4237]

I've never seen only targeting one room with your beam, to manipulate the enemy crew and kill them in the med bay, so interesting.

[@rand118]

Yeah, lotsa cool strategies you can do to manipulate enemy crew AI. There are probably other streamers out there who have even more knowledge on how to get the enemy crew to go where you want. My main strat is damaging shields to get them to prioritize repairing that, then focus fire the crew in shields room. Works really well on the boss when you can lock them in there with hacking!

[@RealCanadain83]

Big fan, watch your videos all the time, excellent guide

[@rand118]

Thanks, RealCanadain!

[@reasonableattempt1918]

I just started a Let's Play of this game (complete beginner) so I think I might try to implement some of these ideas from now on. Normal Mode is sooo hard

[@rand118]

Yup, this game is super fun, but super punishing. Figuring out the strategies that work best for you can definitely take some time. Good luck on your Let's Play!

[@Rectanglesful]

Thank you for this video it was really helpful!

[@rand118]

My pleasure, Andrew, glad it was useful to you!

[@Arguswastaken]

"I feel the urge to call myself rand119" haha, that's genius

[@julienhirt6346]

Nice video! Sound is clicking very much

[@bensosnowski1128]

Great job! (:

[@chrisperry2913]

This program was exactly what I was looking for! well done. Chris Perry (U.K)

[@rand118]

Thanks Chris, glad the video was helpful! I know FTL can be punishing, but it's super rewarding once you start learning ways to overcome the challenges it presents!

[@vulkarma741]

On easy they actually do bring in an gun thing, rarely.

[@sqnelie]

Great vid, though i've watched a lot of your videos finding most of these clues and now i'm a bit salty since i had to do that and not just watch this vid instead :c And i think you forgot about mentioning stripping your own shields to try making ion projectiles land on non-vital systems/empty rooms.

[@rand118]

True, Klesfot, there are a number of things I do on occasion that are not mentioned in this video. This video is already longer than I initially planned it, so I might have to do other videos for more advanced things like micro-managing crew for boarding, dropping shields for ions to not deactivate them, and other smaller things like that. Thanks for the feedback!

[@zandbergx9747]

Some random ship captin: "I know! We'll ion an empty room. They'll NEVER expect us to do that! We'll win for sure!!!"

[@xxbighotshotxx]

I finally beat this game thanks to this guide! Thank you

[@rand118]

Nice, congrats Cameron! Nothing beats that first win feeling (except maybe a SUPER hard fought, close victory), so now you just gotta unlock all the ships, hah!

[@slavko5666]

I found out about FTL because of Redcon.

[@lexisnep525]

Just so y'all know, this video does have some popping and crackling in the audio, it's not on your end. OBS is a little finicky at times :)

[@rand118]

Yeah, audio in OBS can definitely be a pain at times, thanks for letting me know!

[@Patrick-ob9qx]

Nice new outro! Going to put it in all your new videos now?

[@rand118]

Possibly. That outro and the little video playing in the background during my chat scene were created by a viewer a while ago and I never had a great way to use them. Since I upload most of my FTL videos from twitch, I need to see if there's a way to have it tack those on for each upload. Glad you like it!

[@bernielovell2197]

FTL is fine for a few days until you realise that whatever you decide to do the game will always simply improve upon it making enjoyment slowly diminish in to utter boredom. You can be doing better than before & always it will simply do something that bit more than it did

[@shadowlesswalls]

You seem to buy extra things for the ship as if you can use more than 3? augmentations. I must admit i didn't try and get while having 3 already or get a warning i can only have 3 and have to get rid of one.. hm..

[@nicob1272]

great Video!

[@rand118]

Thanks, nico, glad you liked it!

[@tomgreen2836]

Thanks for this Rand. How about a ship unlocking guide? Too soon?....

[@rand118]

Hah, I really don't think I need to do a guide on unlocking ships. That's thoroughly explained on many wiki pages out there! Although you may be making a joke about unlocking Crystal ship? In that case, umm...get lucky?

[@thedarkgenious7967]

Well this is nice. actually got the game about a week ago; already unlocked all type As, all but the lanius and slug B, and around half the Cs. lots of fun, though fuck the crystal unlock quest >_

[@durnel2001]

Just discovered you, awesome video!

[@rand118]

Thanks, Durnel, appreciate the kind words! I love to hear when my videos are helpful or enjoyable to people!

[@durnel2001]

@@rand118 That's why I comment, I know it means a lot to content creators, keep up the good work!

[@rand118]

@@durnel2001 It certainly does give encouragement, thanks for that!

[@anran374]

Hey, does anyone have that Reddit weapon spreadsheet? It was deleted by the author:/

[@proxithermoblast643]

Warcans!

[@KCzz15]

Man, I love FTL but HOLY HELL the RNG is brutal to me. I just fired up the game with Mantis B on hard to have a hopefully not too difficult run since I consider it one of the strongest 3 ships in the game. You want to know how many times I got past the 3rd jump in five tries? Zero. Some I even died on the first jump to some asshat with a Leto getting perfect hits on critical systems at just the wrong times with fires and breaches everywhere. Please have mercy game. *edit* Next run, first jump, I have 17 rooms, they hit the only one I care about on the first shot through two shields. Three times in a row. Then they escape. WHY.

[@KCzz15]

9th attempt: Fairly gentle ships, very little pounding to my ass, get a free burst laser MKII and then a free Vulcan right before the exit beacon. First jump of sector 2, get a second free Vulcan. Why can't I hold all of these Vulcans? Why am I suddenly having 9 runs worth of luck stacked into this one run? This makes no god damned sense. *edit* And then it ends with a whimper at the start of sector 3, when all the bad luck caught up to me in an asteroid field. Yay. Nearly saved it, but the defense drone went after an asteroid instead of the missile.

[@rand118]

@@KCzz15 FTL just has those strings of HORRIBLE RNG sometimes. That's why I never try to streak anymore, just too dang RAGE inducing!

[@samljer]

I suck so bad at this game... no idea why i keep tryin lol. I think ive only ever seen the last guy twice. Ridiculous OP... theres just never enough scrap to get the ship i need.

[@sectionsixty4020]

Ive played 16 hours or so and have only ever recieved substantials rewards for fighting the giant spiders

[@rand118]

Then you have been VERY lucky. I'm pretty sure it's 50/50 to lose a crew without a blue option (excluding clone bay, since that clones your crew if you lose the 50/50).

[@sectionsixty4020]

@@rand118 Yup, shortly after my comment I chose the tango and lost my helmsman. RIP Cpl. Baars

[@rand118]

@@sectionsixty4020 Baars will be remembered!

[@BenjoCovers]

how does rarity effect the weapons in the tier list? 0.o

[@rand118]

I believe the weapon tier list I linked in this video takes rarity into account.

[@BenjoCovers]

@@rand118 sure but how does rarity change how good the weapon is?

[@rand118]

@@BenjoCovers More common weapons are easier to find but not necessarily any better or worse. Not really sure how to answer your question. Rarity and "goodness" are 2 different qualities. I guess weapons that are more common would make them "better" because you're more likely to find them, and that's one reason Heavy Laser and Flak I are so good, they're generally pretty common to find in stores.

[@collectiusindefinitus6935]

I’ve got the basics down and I’m quite good, thing is I struggle a lot in advanced mode , can barely beat easy mode advanced but can beat hard mode classic. Guess I’ll need some more experience.

[@rand118]

Huh, is it the added systems in Advanced mode that gets you? I honestly haven't played "classic" in so long that I don't remember the difference in enemy ship difficulty.

[@collectiusindefinitus6935]

@@rand118 It’s always the flagship that does it, while advanced grants us our lord and saviour flak and hacking I would always get screwed over by the drone phase. But the tactic to get your hacking drone past defense drones helps a lot. Then there’s the mind control that makes the boarding phase much harder. But yeah I find it a lot less hard to simply micro my weapons crew and cloaking instead of the entire advanced arsenal.

[@rand118]

@@collectiusindefinitus6935 Cloaking is the best tool for surviving the Flagship's overcharge phase, especially the drones in phase 2. If I don't have cloaking, then I'm basically committed to NEEDING 4 shields to survive the drone phase. Sometimes you can get lucky and get enough dodges, but my rule is "get cloaking or get 4th shield", otherwise, phase 2 is gonna HURT!

[@mentarioallen572]

it´s all said in the comments, so take this comment for the yt algorhythm :)

[@rand118]

Thanks so much, Mentario!

[@kazaaakplethkilik3229]

What's with sound?

[@bja6948]

Really professional intro. :)

[@rimanLip]

Why did you pick engie over zoltan? I usually get one or two from random encounters, zoltan is much rarer and at the end is energy bar priceles.

[@rand118]

If I don't have an Engi crew already, I will almost ALWAYS pick Engi as my next crew because of how many blue options they have. Zoltans technically have more blue options, but most of those are in Zoltan sectors that I avoid because Zoltan Boarder Police events can be so punishing. Engi crew have more blue options in most of the sectors I prefer to travel through (Engi, nebula, civilian, etc.).

[@supe4701]

How do I deal with the rng only giving me heal bombs in stores?

[@rand118]

Hmm...let me see...I think pieboy had a good tip, what was it again...? Oh yeah, just get a free flak!

[@zion5637]

Good advice-But as in your Rant= so lucky with multiple BL2/Halberd/Laser/Defense Drone/Hull Repair Drone wow.... and Flagship hacking drone AND Boarding Drone shot down -made it look too easy so there was not so much real advice on strategy of phases of that fight (no time destruction too fast lol). Not on you really because you had such great firepower/rng luck that you didn't have time to discuss before annihilating it.Good advice overall though. First win assured.

[@tiagodagostini]

9 in 10 times I die to stupid teleport spam.

[@Angels-Haven]

got some nasty crackling in this video

[@jeremybridges6015]

How come you didn’t buy stealth weapons from the same store you got cloaking?

[@rand118]

I rarely buy stealth weapons unless I have a very specific weapon loadout. There are many augments I value MUCH higher than stealth weapons. Those augments are: Long Range Scanners, Automated Reloader, Zoltan Shield, Weapon Pre-igniter, and maybe 1 or 2 more. Augment slots are very limited, so if I don't see one of my preferred augments in the store, I usually won't buy it.

[@jeremybridges6015]

@@rand118 thanks for quick reply;,..

[@rand118]

@@jeremybridges6015 My pleasure! I love chatting with folks about games, hah!

[@jeremybridges6015]

rand118 I watched your mantis A run (the day you lost your save file) last night and I learned that cloaking can be used sparingly(strategically) rather than constantly, so seeing that answered my question in a different way. On a different note, I think I noticed a way you could have completed the “[5] crew dead w/o hull damage” on your first attempt: by being willing to kill your own crew with your weapons. I am enjoying learning this game from your vods and I re-downloaded twitch today specifically to watch your content. So thanks!

[@rand118]

@@jeremybridges6015 Glad to hear it, Jeremy! There are definitely a TON of strategies and different ways to use the tools in FTL. Killing my own crew for a challenge is definitely something I didn't think about, lol. Look forward to seeing you on Twitch, as well!

[@DrZoidbergYU]

Audio is crackling, some parts are fine, most of video its crackling tho :/

[@TeaIngyer]

Oooh, 5 midroll ads. I think I'll not watch this.

[@rand118]

5 midroll ads? I had NO idea KZbin was putting modroll ads. I've meant for all ads to be pre-roll and post-roll, and purposefully not allowed "unskippable ads." I've updated the ad settings on this video, I'm going to have to make some major changes when I upload my videos. Thanks for bringing this to my attention, Mark.

[@TeaIngyer]

@@rand118 Oh, yeah I was getting 7 ads on the video, and the preroll was a double ad where can't skip the first one. I didn't realise it was unintentional, as I'm rather used to finding people who abuse midroll ads. I'll definitely be watching this now.

[@rand118]

@@TeaIngyer Let me know if it's any better. When I upload videos, it doesn't let me choose pre-roll, mid-roll, post-roll until AFTER it's done processing. That means I'm gonna have to do some extra work to avoid mid-roll ads. Personally, I HATE watching a video and having it interrupted by an ad, so I don't want people avoiding my videos because of something that (to me) feels greedy. Hopefully, this change works!

[@FlipHybrid]

Lol making a guide for FTL in 2019... Who plays this still?

[@rand118]

Apparently, thousands of people...why did you comment if you think it's not useful?

[@obnxsdonky9394]

Homie giving the ultimate ftl strategy on EASY.

[@rand118]

Is this the only video of mine you've watched? It's a Beginner's guide...I do NOT recommend beginners playing on normal or hard difficulty. Check out some of my hard, NO pause videos if you want strats for higher difficulties.