Zoltan A

In early fights, typically use the Halberd and start the beam in shields for maximum damage against unbuffered shields.

Occasionally it may be better to open fights with a Leto to weapons, before switching to the Halberd; consider which weapon might be switched off. This is good against Zoltan ships, as it allows your Halberd to pierce into weapons. Generally though, even in dangerous fights, I think it’s safer to try the Halberd and only swap to the Leto if your weapons are hit.

This ship seems very safe. Zoltan shield is good protection in most fights, the Halberd never misses, and the Leto is a backup if the Halberd goes down. In most fights you’ll take no damage. Therefore it’s tempting to hoard scrap and maximise the chance to buy offence. Hacking is especially good.

However, fights against drones and in asteroid fields can be dangerous, or even just regular enemies with shield buffers. The Halberd suddenly becomes a liability when it’s taken offline before firing. Your crew are frail, and fires or breaches in the weapons and shields can be serious trouble.

Given this threat, I now favour buying weapons-4 with my first 35 scrap, and then saving for offence. This is more expensive than shields-3, but it protects the Halberd and gets the Leto online. The price I pay for this is delaying shields. I still want the second shield up in time for sector 3, as that’s when you can face multiple offensive drones.

You start with only engines-1. Engines-2 and engines-3 are cheap and work well with the Zoltan Shield, but shields-4 is still better. Fit in engine upgrades later, when you can.

Don’t sell the Leto unless you really need to, or if you just run out of weapon slots.

Your first extra crew member is worth one free power, replacing the pilot. Don’t forget that two Zoltans can completely ion-proof one shield layer, and can also de-ionise shields even when you have multiple layers.

You have three empty system slots to fill, so try to buy your first system a little earlier than usual.

In sector 1, prefer unmarked beacons over distress. Your only blue option is from the Halberd (weak).