Originally posted by dadudemon
Just maxed one of the ships:Sentinel.
I finally got my first enhancement.
You're right: this feels too grindy. Is there a save point or should I just jump jump jump now that I earned enough credits?
Well, you unlock two other starter loadouts by reaching sectors 4 and 7, so that's a viable strategy.
I beat the game with the B loadout Interceptor, which has one of the best all rounder weapons in the game, and a nice general purpose kit.
The unlockable layouts in general tend to be far superior, so definitely try and make jumps as far as you can.
Ok, gonna go all spoilers now:
Spoiler:
Here's the trick about the grind: You unlock blueprints as you play. The perks you unlocked is only a small part of the overall grindy nature of it, the rest is unlocking weapons, mods for the weapons, gear.HOWEVER.. You don't strictly NEED them. They're just a way to make the game a bit easier for people who keep dying mid run.
Here's the things you absolutely need:
1 Damage limiters and/or shield boosters.
2. Energy injectors
3. Damage boosters
Those are the basics. You craft them on the fly as needed, by pausing the game with Tab. This way you can apply them one after another if you wish.
Don't sweat the "better" consumables. You'll get surrounded, and that 50% damage reduction is fine. 75%/100% damage reduction is better, but also far costlier, so even with the unlocks I tend to go quantity over quality (However there's occasions where the MK1 and MK2 even out material investment wise. Never, ever is the MK3 is worth the material costs imo.)
Ideally, you want something to take down Corvettes, like a Corrosive missile. But the truth is, you don't really need to kill cap ships.
Usually. Sometimes, they force you into confronting them by attaching jump inhibitors on them.
Another thing you'll want is a nuclear option. The "Missile battery" is great for those times you get surrounded by hostiles, and I believe the C layout of your ship comes with them, so get to sector 7 (Or craft if you find the blueprints)
Aside from that, things like the teleporter and hologram projector help keep you alive, but again they require unlocking (That, or you can switch to the Scout)
Really though, the only serious "grindwall" I can see is the lack of modifications on weapons. Things like energy consumption reduction, range enhancement, hull and shield damage.
They say the game is beatable out of the box, but who knows if they mean beatable in normal mode or easy. If you don't want the grind, I say just go easy route, you'd be handicapping yourself as is.
One final bit of advice: Hardcore mode may be something you want to focus on over the story.
This is because it has all the blueprints unlocked by default, skipping the grind entirely. It's stuck to "Hard" difficulty, but you can craft a Teleporter, or a better EMP, or a Static Discharget MK2. Or even snipe from a distance with a Shock Rifle Pro (It slows down time as you charge the shot)
Teleport itself is AWESOME, because it lets you make three-six quick warps in a row, and you can regroup or snipe or whatever.
The downside is, no static perks.(Or ship layout B and C.) All the perks you grinded for are gone. Instead, you get some basic unlocks at the start, then use the money you find to unlock more perks for that run, and that run only.
And that's the extent lf the grind in hardcore mode. That and learning how to survive it.
But you may enjoy it more then the main campaign, because the equip unlocks are no longer an issue, and it comes down to tactics and knowing what fits your style.