Tips & Tricks To Building The Perfect Starship In Space Arena
Space Arena can be very competitive game especially as you climb higher into the ladder. There’s not much you can do in the piloting aspect since the combat system runs on pure AI-generated commands. Despite having a lack of control over the fight itself, an engineer’s duty is to ensure that their ship can survive any battle that lies ahead regardless of who controls the vessel. Given the limited stuff you have control over, you’ll need to make the most out of the things you do.
Before you continue with this guide, make sure that you’ve read both the Weapons, Defenses, and Utilities Guide as well as the Guide on Choosing The Right Starship. These guides will increase your understanding of the game’s core mechanics and make it easier for you to transition through this article as we explain some jargon that you might miss out on. When you’re ready, let’s take a look at some of the advanced tips and tricks to building the perfect starship in Space Arena.
1. Weak Ships vs Strong Ships
Once you’ve read the guide on Starships, you’ll have a clearer idea on the strengths of each starship class and which functions you need to look out for. The game has a lot of different ships to choose from which is why you’ll definitely find a ship that stands out. Believe it or not, just because a ship can be unlocked at a higher level, that ship is automatically stronger than ships from a lower level. Choose according to the quality of the ship and not because you can unlock it.
A strong ship needs to have the least weak spots. This means that the ship has to have a strategic placement of its engines, allows the structure of walls and other defenses, and has a very balanced slot distribution. Ships that have too many sides exposed are practically useless in battle. Before you buy a ship, try to make a rough plot on which modules you want to attach to that ship in your mind and determine if those modules fit. Otherwise, you might as well save your credits for a better model.
2. Layering Your Defenses
Defenses are your lifeline in the game, just having two armor blocks at the front of your starship just won’t cut it anymore once you reach the higher levels of the game. This is why you need to choose the right starships since a lot of other starships simply don’t have the right slot distribution to allow freedom on placing your armor plates. This problem is especially prevalent in Long-nosed Starships that have extremely thin bodies so they need to have a lot of turning power to compensate for their weak defense.
Building your starship means that you need to have a smart distribution of armor platers, barrier generators, and other defensive modules. Generally, you want a thick layer of armor plates at the front of your starship since it will receive the most amount of punishment. Sides will also need a decent layer of armor plates while the flank requires only one layer. Don’t overdo your armor linings as it might cause you to have very little space to add reactors or weapons.
3. Weapon Placements
Weapons dictate the flow of the battle. The starship that wins the battle isn’t the one with the most guns but the one that has the most efficient weapon modules equipped. Weapons each have their own strengths and weakness and you can’t have just a single weapon type equipped and expect to win more than 2 matches in a row. The balance and placements of equipment can define how you want your battles to go and must be kept in mind when you’re building your starship.
Generally, you place Ballistic weapons at the forefront of your ship and missiles at the rear end. You can lose your ballistic weapons early but it would be extremely devastating if your missile launchers were taken out as they offer the highest damage in the ship. Lasers can also be a great last-stand as long as your ship has an easy time getting rid of the enemy’s armor platers early otherwise lasers are absolutely horrible by themselves because of the slow firing rate that the weapon has.
4. Matching Engines
Weapons and defenses are important but are useless if your ship doesn’t move efficiently. A ship’s movement is the primary factor in how you want to build you ship. For example, a ship that likes to go for the flank might want more lasers than ballistic weapons. Some ships have low mobility and rely on other forms of movements. Randomly placing engines won’t help your ship achieve its goals since it won’t have the chance to fight against enemies that move more efficiently.
Forward thrusts aren’t necessarily important for all ships, some ships might want to remain stationary and prevent themselves from moving forward as much as possible. This is where Turning Speed comes into play as it allows the ship to face an opponent trying to flank their position. Don’t match random engines together, you can add a single engine type or match two that compliment each other. Adding all three engine types is a huge risk but is more viable as your ship gets bigger.
5. Reactors & Repair Bays
Reactors are the heart of the ship because they keep all functions alive. Without energy, the ship will be completely useless and is essentially just waiting for the enemy ship to take it down slowly. Most people like to have an equal amount of energy production and consumption which isn’t necessarily a bad thing as long as you keep the reactors at the safest area on the ship. Losing even one reactor can power down the entire ship.
Repair bays keep the ship healthy so it’s understandable why players might want to flood their ship with it. Keep in mind that the repair bay has a limited supply so once it runs out, you’ll end up with a useless module on your ship. Use the right amount of repair bays so that you won’t have to sacrifice too much on firepower.
