FTL Tips

12:59] <kurtis_> is there a good "here are some tips beyond basic game play that should help you out." somewhere?
13:40] <Twinge> kurtis_: Pause often.  Never buy Reverse Ion Field, Repair Arm, FTL Booster, FTL Jammer, Heavy Ion, Defense Drone II, or Anti-Ship Drone II.  You only train in Engines or Nav from successfully dodging - often a good reason to upgrade engines early.  Don't bother upgrading Sensors to L3.  Blast doors can be a great value for 20 scrap - slowing fire and boarders is important.
13:44] <kurtis_> Twinge: what about shields? I usually upgrade those first thing
13:46] <Twinge> Eliminating the enemy crew (Lack of oxygen, Bio Beam, or boarding) results in higher payouts than destroying the enemy ship.  L2 shields are definitely strong; often worth getting quite early, but also not essential (depends a lot on ship type).  L3 shields are nice but not nearly as important - I'll usually want them for the boss if possible but you can manage without them.  L4 shields are almost never worth it.
13:49] <Twinge> Cloaking is generally best used right before an incoming missile volley is about to hit - dodging the missile(s) and giving you a window where your weapons are charging and theirs are not.  Focus most purchases on what will be best for taking on the boss.
13:54] <Twinge> There are a variety of super-strong weapons - and none of them will do the job alone.  Basically all bombs are great.  Burst Lasers (II/III; I in a pinch) are great for taking down shields - or just powering through them if you have a lot of lasers.  Glaive and Halberd Beams can wreak havoc as long as you can take down shields (Anti-Ship Is are useful here too).  Missiles are mostly worthless against the hardest part of the boss, though Pegasus Missiles can work in a pinch.
13:54] <kurtis_> where do you usually put your crew to begin with? I usually put one at the helm, one at the weapons, and one at the shields (starting with a basic kestrel that is)
13:57] <Twinge> Put your least useful crewman (if varied) at the helm - human or slug is generally ideal.  I then generally prioritize Engines because 5% dodge is actually pretty significant and often more useful than 10% faster shield/weapon recharge (though not always)
13:59] <Twinge> If you also have an Automated Re-loader, combined that with the 10% for having a crewman there can often be enough to get your shots to land before the enemy weapons fire, which can be a good chunk of damage prevented if you target their weapons
14:03] <Twinge> Lesse, a few other general tips... Cloaking is strong, but rushing to buy it can leave you without the funds necessary to buy weapons, repair, etc.  Never upgrade Piloting to L3.  Upgrading some systems, such as Piloting to L2 or MedBay to L2, has the less obvious benefit of opening up some Blue event options - still usually not great to upgrade, but makes it a less bad idea.  Also, spare cash (mostly right at the end) can be used to upgrade some systems purely as a buffer - being able to take 1 extra hit on Piloting before you lose all your evade can be very handy.