Ship

See Also:

Ships •

Systems •

Weapons •

Drones •

Augmentations •

Events •

Sectors •

Resources

The universe of FTL is inhabited by friendly and enemy ships. These ships come in a variety of layouts, and can be equipped with various systems and subsystems, weapons, drones, and augmentations.

Each player ship can carry a maximum of eight crew members of various races, with an initial crew of between one and four members. Each ship starts with varying systems, weapons, power levels, missile ammunition, and drone parts.

Playable Ships

There are ten ship classes available in FTL:

The Kestrel Cruiser	The Engi Cruiser	The Federation Cruiser	The Zoltan Cruiser	The Lanius Cruiser
The Stealth Cruiser	The Rock Cruiser	The Slug Cruiser	The Mantis Cruiser	The Crystal Cruiser

Enemy ships

Main article: Enemy Ships

Some enemy ships can have up to 10 levels in weapons or shields, whereas the player limit is 8.

Pirate ships have a purple pirate emblem painted on the hull. They all have different layouts, except for Federation ships. They may have different Systems installed, notably some Rock and Slug ships. Pirate crews are randomly chosen from the races that can be encountered in that sector.

Enemy ships usually have about 10 Missiles and 4 Drones stocked, but this can vary.

• Rebel Ships
• Federation Ships
• AI-Controlled Rebel Ships
• Engi Ships
• Mantis Ships
• Zoltan Ships
• Rock Ships
• Slug Ships
• Lanius Ships
• Crystal Ships
• The Rebel Flagship
  
  

Reactor

Each ship powers its systems, weapons, and drones using energy from the ship's reactor. Enemy ships always have exactly enough reactor power to fully power their ship, except in ion storms where this power is halved.

Player ships start with varying amounts of reactor power. Scrap can be used to upgrade the reactor to a maximum of 25 power bars. Each Zoltan crew provides 1 additional power bar to the system, which room they occupy, and the Backup battery can provide additional 2 (or 4 when upgraded) bars of power for 30 seconds. This allows the player to have a maximum of 37 power available.

Layouts

Each ship unlocks with only its Layout A available. You need to complete predefined objectives to unlock additional layouts:

Ship List/Unlock Progress.

• Layout A - You start with the Kestrel Cruiser Layout A. You can unlock Layout A of other ships by completing their respective quests or by defeating the Rebel Flagship (see the screenshot for progression order). The Engi Cruiser Layout A is simply unlocked by reaching the 5th sector with any layout of the Kestrel Cruiser.
• Layout B - earn 2 out of 3 ship-related Achievements to unlock.
• Layout C - reach sector 8 with Layout B and Advanced Edition Content enabled to unlock.

The Lanius Cruiser and the Crystal Cruiser do not have Layout C.

Ship strategies

Each of these guides is written by a skilled player with a high win rate on Hard difficulty. Each has its own style and areas of focus.

Crowrevell's ships guide distills each ship to a brief summary, presenting strategy in the context of the ship's weaknesses and strengths. This guide is approachable and concise, with ship strategy center-stage.

Holoshideim's guide covers many different aspects of the game, including a section giving tips for beginners. Ship strategies are broken down into general guides for gunships and boarding ships, as well as specific guides for each ship. There's significant detail here, organized into short bullet points.

Mike Hopley's ships guide covers ship-specific strategies and early-game tactics, including an introduction that discusses overall early strategy. This guide is the most "technical", with tips ranging from basic to extremely advanced.

Ship comparisons

The player ships offer a wide range of starting conditions and challenges. Some ships are objectively much weaker than others, and some benefit from specific skills such as boarding.

A ship's difficulty depends on the player's skill with that ship. Difficulty also varies greatly between runs, due to the random elements in the game. Here are ship rankings by top-level players:

• Crowrevell's ship tier list (video with detailed discussion)
• Neozar's ship tier list (Reddit post)

It's possible to calculate the total scrap value of a ship's starting equipment, although this has little practical use.

Comparison tool

Click on the buttons below to reveal ship data. Click different ships to compare between them.

Kestrel Cruiser A - The Kestrel		Kestrel Cruiser B - Red-Tail		Kestrel Cruiser C - The Swallow
Engi Cruiser A - The Torus		Engi Cruiser B - The Vortex		Engi Cruiser C - Tetragon
Federation Cruiser A - The Osprey		Federation Cruiser B - Nisos		Federation Cruiser C - The Fregatidae
Zoltan Cruiser A - The Adjudicator		Zoltan Cruiser B - Noether		Zoltan Cruiser C - Cerenkov
Mantis Cruiser A - The Gila Monster		Mantis Cruiser B - The Basilisk		Mantis Cruiser C - The Theseus
Slug Cruiser A - Man of War		Slug Cruiser B - The Stormwalker		Slug Cruiser C - Ariolimax
Rock Cruiser A - Bulwark		Rock Cruiser B - Shivan		Rock Cruiser C - Tektite
Stealth Cruiser A - The Nesasio		Stealth Cruiser B - DA-SR 12		Stealth Cruiser C - Simo-H
Lanius Cruiser A - Kruos			Lanius Cruiser B - The Shrike
Crystal Cruiser A - Bravais			Crystal Cruiser B - Carnelian

Kestrel Cruiser - Layout A - The Kestrel	Reactor Power - 8 -			16	8	2					- - -
	2	2	1	3	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	1	-
	- 4 Max Weapons - Artemis, Burst Laser II								- 2 Max Drones - -

Kestrel Cruiser - Layout B - Red-Tail	Reactor Power - 8 -			16	5	0					- - -
	2	2	1	4	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	1	-
	- 4 Max Weapons - Basic Laser, Basic Laser Basic Laser, Basic Laser								- 2 Max Drones - -

Kestrel Cruiser - Layout C - The Swallow	Reactor Power - 7 -			16	4	3					- - -
	2	2	1	2	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	2	1	-
	- 4 Max Weapons - Dual Lasers, Ion Stunner								- 2 Max Drones - -

Engi Cruiser - Layout A - The Torus	Reactor Power - 10 -			16	0	15					Engi Med-bot Dispersal
	2	2	1	3	1	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	1	-
	- 3 Max Weapons - Ion Blast II								- 3 Max Drones - Combat I

Engi Cruiser - Layout B - The Vortex	Reactor Power - 9 -			16	0	6					Drone Reactor Booster
	2	1	1	3	1	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	-
	- 3 Max Weapons - Heavy Ion, Heavy Laser I								- 3 Max Drones - Anti-Personnel, System Repair System Repair

Engi Cruiser - Layout C - Tetragon	Reactor Power - 9 -			16	0	25					Defense Scrambler
	2	2	1	1	-	1	2	1	-	-	-	-	1	1	1	-
	- 3 Max Weapons - Dual Lasers								- 3 Max Drones - Beam I

Federation Cruiser - Layout A - The Osprey	Reactor Power - 8 -			16	5	2					- - -
	2	2	1	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	L1	1	1	1	-
	- 4 Max Weapons - Burst Laser II								- 2 Max Drones - -

Federation Cruiser - Layout B - Nisos	Reactor Power - 9 -			16	9	0					- - -
	2	2	1	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	L2	1	1	1	-
	- 4 Max Weapons - Dual Lasers, Leto								- 2 Max Drones - -

Federation Cruiser - Layout C - The Fregatidae	Reactor Power - 7 -			16	5	0					Emergency Respirators
	2	2	1	1	-	1	-	-	-	1	-	F1	1	1	1	-
	- 4 Max Weapons - -								- 2 Max Drones - -

Zoltan Cruiser - Layout A - The Adjudicator	Reactor Power - 5 -			16	12	2					Zoltan Shield
	2	1	1	3	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	2	-
	- 4 Max Weapons - Halberd Beam, Leto								- 2 Max Drones - -

Zoltan Cruiser - Layout B - Noether	Reactor Power - 5 -			16	0	2					Zoltan Shield
	1	2	1	4	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	1	-
	- 4 Max Weapons - Ion Blast, Ion Blast Pike Beam								- 2 Max Drones - -

Zoltan Cruiser - Layout C - Cerenkov	Reactor Power - 2 -			16	2	15					Zoltan Shield
	2	2	1	2	-	1	3	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	1	2
	- 4 Max Weapons - Ion Charge								- 2 Max Drones - Beam I

Mantis Cruiser - Layout A - The Gila Monster	Reactor Power - 7 -			16	16	0					Mantis Pheromones
	2	2	1	1	1	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	1	-	1	-
	- 3 Max Weapons - Small Bomb, Basic Laser								- 2 Max Drones - -

Mantis Cruiser - Layout B - The Basilisk	Reactor Power - 11 -			16	0	15					Mantis Pheromones
	4	1	1	1	1	-	3	-	-	1	-	-	1	1	1	-
	- 3 Max Weapons - -								- 2 Max Drones - Boarding, Defense I

Mantis Cruiser - Layout C - The Theseus	Reactor Power - 8 -			16	20	0					Mantis Pheromones
	2	2	1	2	-	2	-	-	-	1	-	-	1	1	1	-
	- 3 Max Weapons - Lockdown Bomb, Stun Bomb								- 2 Max Drones - -

Slug Cruiser - Layout A - Man of War	Reactor Power - 8 -			16	15	0					Slug Repair Gel
	2	2	1	3	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	2	-
	- 4 Max Weapons - Anti-Bio Beam, Breach Bomb I Dual Lasers								- 2 Max Drones - -

Slug Cruiser - Layout B - The Stormwalker	Reactor Power - 7 -			16	25	0					Slug Repair Gel
	2	2	1	2	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	1	-	2	-
	- 4 Max Weapons - Healing Burst, Artemis								- 2 Max Drones - -

Slug Cruiser - Layout C - Ariolimax	Reactor Power - 9 -			16	1	15					Slug Repair Gel
	2	2	1	2	-	1	-	1	1	-	-	-	1	-	2	-
	- 4 Max Weapons - Chain Laser								- 2 Max Drones - -

Rock Cruiser - Layout A - Bulwark	Reactor Power - 8 -			16	28	0					Rock Plating
	2	2	1	3	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	1	-
	- 4 Max Weapons - Artemis, Hull Missile								- 2 Max Drones - -

Rock Cruiser - Layout B - Shivan	Reactor Power - 8 -			16	18	0					Rock Plating
	2	2	2	3	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	-	-
	- 4 Max Weapons - Heavy Pierce I, Fire Bomb								- 2 Max Drones - -

Rock Cruiser - Layout C - Tektite	Reactor Power - 8 -			16	15	0					Rock Plating
	2	2	1	3	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	1	-
	- 4 Max Weapons - Swarm, Crystal Heavy I								- 2 Max Drones - -

Stealth Cruiser - Layout A - The Nesasio	Reactor Power - 8 -			16	0	0					Long-Ranged Scanners Titanium System Casing
	-	4	1	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	2	1	-
	- 3 Max Weapons - Mini Beam, Dual Lasers								- 2 Max Drones - -

Stealth Cruiser - Layout B - DA-SR 12	Reactor Power - 7 -			16	0	0					Long-Ranged Scanners
	-	2	1	4	1	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	1	2	1	-
	- 3 Max Weapons - Glaive Beam								- 2 Max Drones - -

Stealth Cruiser - Layout C - Simo-H	Reactor Power - 7 -			16	0	16					Long-Ranged Scanners
	-	3	1	2	-	1	2	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	-
	- 3 Max Weapons - Charge Laser+, Mini Beam								- 3 Max Drones - Shield+, Anti-Drone

Lanius Cruiser - Layout A - Kruos	Reactor Power - 8 -			16	3	9					Emergency Respirators
	2	1	1	3	-	1	-	1	-	-	-	-	1	1	1	-
	- 4 Max Weapons - Chain Laser, Ion Stunner								- 2 Max Drones - -

Lanius Cruiser - Layout B - The Shrike	Reactor Power - 8 -			16	0	0					Emergency Respirators
	2	1	1	1	-	1	-	-	1	1	-	-	1	-	1	-
	- 4 Max Weapons - Advanced Flak								- 2 Max Drones - -

Crystal Cruiser - Layout A - Bravais	Reactor Power - 8 -			16	0	0					Crystal Vengeance
	2	2	1	3	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	1	-
	- 4 Max Weapons - Crystal Burst I, Heavy Crystal I								- 2 Max Drones - -

Crystal Cruiser - Layout B - Carnelian	Reactor Power - 8 -			16	0	0					Crystal Vengeance
	2	2	1	1	1	-	-	-	-	1	1	-	1	1	1	-
	- 4 Max Weapons - -								- 2 Max Drones - -