14 DAY TRIAL // FTL can be a very hard game and I encourage everyone who feels that they have hit a difficulty spike they are not ready for to restart the game and play the odds once more.
That being said, here are a few pieces of advice I have seen to be helpful during my playtime.
For a weapon-based run:
1. Decide early on whether to focus on normal weapons or on drones, I suggest shelving the second option for later, when other ships are available;
2. Explore as many systems early on stockpiling missiles and fuel and hoping that you get access to at least one new weapon without buying it;
3. Aim to have at two burst lasers, one teleporting bomb and either an ion cannon or a fire lance before the seventh sector is upon you;
4. Upgrade shields and engines in order to get better protection and avoid enemy projectile weapons.
Alternatively, one can focus on an entirely teleporter-heavy approach:
1. Avoid buying anything in the first sector, but get as much scrap as possible and visit as many star systems as you can;
2. Then visit all the stores and get a teleporter, alongside, if possible, a Rockman crew member or a Mantis for boarding action;
3. Board every ship you can, focusing on a small room and making sure that your assault force returns for heals as needed, while taking out their weapons with your other weapons;
4. Capture enemy ships (which tends to bring in more scrap, fuel and new weapons) and prepare for the final few sectors by getting more crew members that can be used for assaults.
In FTL, much of the player’s success depends on how the random universe is generated, but the above advice has served me well and led, along with some luck, to my first win over the final boss.