How to win an FTL run! Kestral A, no pause, hard mode edition!

[@kell2818]

Me and my brother's hadn't won an FTL run in 2 years of trying and the first time I tried normal mode on Kestrel A I got double burst laser halberd beam, and crushed the Rebel flagship.

[@rand118]

Nice! Often that first win comes from some super good luck on getting free OP weapons. The more you play, the better you are at making the best out of bad luck, but sometimes, you just NEED some good RNG, hah! Grats!

[@fisherisrael5106]

instablaster...

[@bsgnine]

How the hell you AND your brothers can’t beat a single run in 2 years? I just bought the game yesterday, and got a win on the 7th run.

[@crimsonsakura2184]

@@rand118 The rebel flagship is a really tough enemy and he can be an impassable wall even if you had zero problems with the enemies in sector 7, and the funniest thing that RNG can play a horribly rough joke with you - the flagship hacks your weapons. You can't attack while he hacks, you can't attack while he's in stealth, the hacking recharges while he's in stealth, the stealth recharges while he's hacking. (It happened to me at least two times for all the playtime and it was such a frustrating experience)

[@katuli3677]

@@crimsonsakura2184 defensive/anti-drone drones to beat that RNG

[@igors2383]

who knew that a streamer would be bombarded with so many existential questions

[@kanivakil198]

What a lucky first run; free Halberd and Mantis on the get-go.

[@castortoutnu]

I once got 4x Burst Laser 2 with weapon pre-igniter...It ended up being an easy run.

[@Phenom98]

Holy smokes

[@Shdnfncidjen]

Awesome stream! Really appreciate all the little tips here

[@RadishAcceptable]

Oh, I see. That's how to win on hard with the first ship... just have to get a bunch of free stuff from RNJesus... XD Nice run!

[@donk8961]

It’s hardly a guide if the guide is “get good RNG.” But it is comforting. Just had my first great run get smoked by a 3 shield slaver ship rocking not 1, not 2, but 3 huge ass missile launchers and a pulse laser 3. Yep, no cloaking my ass was glassed

[@grzegorzkapica7930]

This RNG you have got at the beginning. I get a fire or beam drone with lasers in a pulsar. But not as weapon, but as enemy.

[@grzegorzkapica7930]

Now I got in the first fight a beam drone, laser and beam weapon. They hit my shields on the first hit. Restarted.

[@grzegorzkapica7930]

Or now a drone with mind controll, missile, heavy laser and a shield hack as event. I do not know, how to play against something like that.

[@rand118]

Yeah, Grzegorz, one of the most punishing things about FTL hard mode is the enemy offensive systems. They are SO much more powerful than easy and normal. My least favorite is sector one enemy with missiles and Zoltan shield. Sector 1 Zoltan shield is SO OP, and if you have a ship with your own missiles, you have to waste so many missiles just to get through that shield. That's why I say "I hate this game" so much, even though I love this game, lol

[@grzegorzkapica7930]

Yesterday I managed to score my first Kestrel Hard victory.

[@rand118]

Nice, grats Grzegorz! Hard mode win in FTL is definitely an achievement!

[@quentinwilliams5786]

I want to see a run with only ion weapons targeting the enemies oxygen idk if this is even possible because I’m new but I’m loving this game.

[@rand118]

Certainly a viable strategy, but if you don't disable weapons on enemy ships, FTL is likely to kill you with the offense enemies can spawn with!

[@CrazyCrayfish]

@@rand118 also auto ships lol

[@Пашинамузыка]

I've found some ion weapons on engi ship and suffocated everyone except for lanius until the flagship suffocated me.

[@Jagonath]

Entirely possible. Can't remember the name of the ship, but it starts with 2 ion blasters. As long as you have drone defence 1 and enough shields, ions can drown any crewed ship.

[@Indoor_Carrot]

Legend has it, they are still putting out the fires on that rock ship

[@AUS_Palladium]

Rand: your not my friend, you’re shooting me. Friends don’t shoot each other! Me: *nervous laughter*

[@jasonconstant455]

How does he have those bands for where the pursuers will be shown on the map?

[@rand118]

Google "Extended Pursuit Indicator" and you can download the mod to get those lines in your game, too.

[@SevenRedSuns1296]

Imagine he replies after 4 yrs

[@rand118]

A wild Rand appears....and replies after 4 years!

[@SevenRedSuns1296]

@@rand118 holy bejesus

[@ricebag22]

How do you see the jump distances for the rebel fleet on the map like that? I can't find a setting for that overlay anywhere

[@rand118]

Those lines are a mod called "Extended Pursuit Indicator." If you google that and "FTL" you should be able to find it and use it yourself, if you like.

[@ricebag22]

@@rand118 I'll check it out. Thanks!

[@lukhw1n657]

1:35 start

[@DarthHellion2]

Loopers are single acapella acts :^) I got to see one in high school and it was great!

[@DefrostTaicho]

Hello from the future! Is the map screen rebel-fleet-jump-rings a mod? Trying to beat this game on hard mode and it looks useful. Thanks!

[@rand118]

Yup, "Extended Pursuit Indicator" is the mod, and I highly recommend it! Just google that name and you should be able to find it.

[@epicsandvich014]

What mod do you use to show where the rebel fleet will be past the next jump, the grey lines on the map?

[@epicsandvich014]

Also what’s the general strategy you use for maximizing scrap gains during a run? Any specific beacon paths you like to take

[@rand118]

If you google "Extended Pursuit Indicator" that should bring up the mod I use that allows you to count the jumps you have left. In general, the strategy I use for maximizing scrap gains is to fight as many ships as possible. This means that the BEST augment in the game is Long Range Scanners since it tells you if there is a ship at the next jump. That's probably the best I can do as a general tip, hah!

[@functional.vampire]

Awesome video 🔥🙌

[@chrisb5005]

You really do live and die on the RNG. In my normal difficulty run I kept having to fight missile ships and then got destroyed by an engi ship in sector 2 with triple shields, combat drone and a halberd beam...

[@eledorusso]

this made me subscribe

[@rand118]

Thanks, el Edo Russo!

[@Sablemike38]

Nice run man! Now that I think about it, are room layouts always the same on enemy ships like they are on player ships? I mean, rng decides if a ship has medbay or not, but you'd never get the same type of ship with another system in the heal room, right?

[@rand118]

Yeah, I believe each enemy ship type has a particular layout. There's definitely some randomness, but if you play enough you'll see certain ships will usually have the same rooms in the same places.

[@devinstreater1763]

Nice video!

[@rand118]

Thanks, Devin!

[@HouseHoldAdventures]

Why the hell don't you attack the engines if they are going to flee?????????

[@flibbernodgets7018]

What adjective describes a basic space ship piloted by a formally trained musical group from Mordor? OrcKestral :)

[@rand118]

Oh God...the puns have even come to KZbin, I can't escape! Although, well played with the LOTR pun, hah.

[@kitten4819]

I gasped at you not being a honey fan

[@itskaydenxd6526]

Step 1: get absurdly lucky 😭

[@postapocalypse0763]

30:20 Yeah Stadium Country music is awful XD (kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZW8kqeheqitr9E) Bo Burnham - Todays Country Songs is the video and the skit sums it up well enough

[@rand118]

Lol, he describes the exact reason modern country is so bad in my opinion, nice link, hah!

[@cuajans5075]

cool run bro enjoyed it. ps not all turks are hairy lol

[@rand118]

Lol, good to know (did I say something about hairy turks? maybe somebody in chat said that and I read it out loud like I do, heh)

[@ianallen738]

it's true, some of the women shave.

[@yanchichi1232]

Its mafia on StarCraft 2 before town if Salem any day

[@dukeofminecraft]

This game is so bad, had good rng in the first star system, jump to the next and the first ship I encounter my shields are down, they have 3 weapons and a fire drone. Couldnt do anything, I even had cloaking and I lose I was also on easy

[@rand118]

Yeah, this game can be SUPER punishing, and I still rage when playing even at the highest difficulty. It IS rewarding when you get wins, but you often have to fight through ridiculously challenging or unlucky situations if you keep playing. You are not alone in the love-hate relationship that is FTL!

[@mangojuic3e]

i discovered this game last week it was insanely enjoyable watching you own these guys ^^ after what they have do to me :-

[@LinJer.]

wow is that Walter white? jkjk nice playthrough

[@NemesiFPV]

all my ex's live in texas is sick tho

[@okerbel]

damn you do look like an acapela singer

[@rand118]

Lol...thanks, I guess! I'm not sure how one "looks" like an a cappella singer, but I'll take that!

[@samljer]

never have i beat this lol RNG always seems to just screw me

[@tomkelly00]

Same, it pisses me off

[@edwardmorrissette5817]

Who in the world eats a peanut butter and honey sandwich?

[@goodood9028]

Dude it’s pretty good I usually put some banana on it as well.

[@jebes909090]

its amazing man. try it

[@ianallen738]

its butter, peanut butter, and honey. and its fucking amazing. dont hold back on the honey, either.

[@bumblesquatt]

Wow... probably the easiest RNG run ever,

[@LEMONMANIZATION]

Great, now try beating the game with Kestrel type B, with advanced content Disabled. That's what I'm trying to do.

[@rand118]

To me, playing FTL without advanced edition is like playing Starcraft without Broodwar...it's like playing with missing content. I'm glad some people enjoy it, but I'd rather just play the full game with all the content. Also, with thousands of hours in FTL, I get more variety playing mods and ships created by my viewers than I would ever get by playing FTL with less content.

[@LEMONMANIZATION]

@@rand118 Yes, but, the game is harder (in my opinion) without the Advanced Content.

[@rand118]

@@LEMONMANIZATION If you want a harder version of FTL, I recommend Captain's Edition or Multiverse, although I dunno if you are interested in modded FTL at all.

[@LEMONMANIZATION]

@@rand118 I did it, I beat FTL on Hard Mode with Kestrel Type B with advanced content turned off.

[@rand118]

@@LEMONMANIZATION Congrats!

[@kuchumovn]

Blurry

[@astronime]

Kinda cheap to use the hacking exploit

[@rand118]

Thankfully, this is a single player game where you can use whatever strategies you think are best. The FTL enemies do SO MANY unfair things, that there is very little I consider "cheating" or "exploiting" in FTL anymore. For example, have you ever fought a 5 shield ship in slug sector 7 before? They exist....5 shield ships when the player is maxed out on 4, how's that for an "exploit?"

[@dudewheresmycar6318]

I don't see why you would ever want to use the Kestrel. The bursting laser is so god damn innacurate I'm never using that ship again. Especially when you get a shit run and you end up with two of them but 4 out of the 6 shots only ever seem to hit. Fucking pathetic.

[@zerologic7912]

You mean it misses? That has nothing to do with the weapon, it depends on how much evasion the enemy has. If you completely destroy piloting or engines, evasion drops to zero (destroying piloting is usually quicker because it has less points).

[@asdgasdf9580]

Lost me when you started to run your mouth about country, liberal kommiefornian confirmed.

[@flibbernodgets7018]

What adjective describes a basic space ship piloted by a formally trained musical group from Mordor? OrcKestral :)