Tips for New Players

This is, hands down, the most critical piece of advice for new players. Your Operations (Ops) building level dictates nearly everything else in your base and fleet's power.

• Why wait? At Ops level 10, your ships become vulnerable to Player-vs-Player (PvP) attacks from other players' ships. At Ops level 15, your base (station) becomes attackable as well. You want to be as strong as possible before these milestones.

• Prioritize everything else: Before you upgrade your Ops, focus on maxing out your other building upgrades, research, ship tiers, and officer levels. A stronger base and fleet will significantly improve your chances of defending yourself once you enter the PvP arena.

Blog Post on Power Level 

Speed up your progress: Alliance members can help reduce the timers on your building upgrades and research, significantly speeding up your development.

Access exclusive resources: Alliances provide access to their own Alliance Store, where you can find valuable items like "ultra recruit tokens" for officers and rare ship blueprints.

Protection and support: Being in a good alliance offers a safer environment, especially if your alliance controls Territory Zones. They can also offer crucial support during battles and help with resource sharing

Participate in Armadas: Alliances participate in Armadas, which are cooperative attacks on powerful PvE targets, yielding great rewards.

How to find one: Don't just pick the first alliance the game suggests. Use the in-game chat to scout for active, helpful groups that align with your playstyle

Playstyles 

How to Select an Alliance? 

RoE are player-created guidelines that govern PvP interactions on your server. Understanding and following these unspoken rules is vital for maintaining good standing within your alliance and avoiding unnecessary conflicts.

Server 102 ROE 

Tritanium, Dilithium, and Parsteel are your primary resources for upgrades and research.

• Constant mining: Send out your survey ships (miners) frequently, especially before logging off, to continuously gather resources. Remember, surveyors mine faster and hold more protected cargo than warships.

• The Refinery: Once you unlock it (around player levels in the teens), the Refinery becomes crucial. It allows you to process raw materials into common and uncommon materials, which are essential for powerful upgrades and improving your buildings.

Officers provide critical bonuses to your ships and have unique abilities.

• Officer abilities: Each officer has three abilities: a Captain's Maneuver (only active if they are in the captain's/middle bridge seat), an Officer Ability, and a Below Deck Ability.

• Promote, don't just level: Focus on promoting officers over simply leveling them up, especially at lower Ops levels. Promotions are generally more cost-effective for significantly increasing an officer's stats.

• Key officer combinations: Certain officer combinations, like Pike, Chen, and Moreau, are highly effective for defeating hostile NPCs and remain valuable as you progress.

Scopley Crew Selection Help 

Blog Post on Selecting a Crew 

Consistency is key in STFC.

• Daily Missions: Completing your daily missions provides a steady stream of free rewards and essential resources.

• Events: Participate in as many events as possible, especially milestone events, for significant loot and resources.

• Strategic XP usage: Hold onto your Ship XP and Officer XP tokens. Use them strategically when daily events offer bonus rewards for consuming them, maximizing your gains.

When you reach level 6, the main storyline will prompt you to relocate your station.

• Limited tokens: You start with a limited number of relocation tokens, so choose your new home system carefully.

• Consider resources: Pick a system that is less populated and close to essential resource deposits like Tritanium or Dilithium, which you'll need in abundance early on. Your starbase's location doesn't affect your ship's warp range; only your ship's warp drive strength matters.

Main Missions: Prioritize completing the main quest line, as it's a significant source of resources for beginners.

Side Missions: If you hit a progression wall, focus on side missions, especially those with overlapping objectives, to maximize your efficiency

Hostile Grinding: Continuously destroying hostile (NPC) enemies helps you tier up your ships and increase your strength. Consider parking your station in a system with hostiles of your level for easy repairs and continued grinding.

Blog Post on Archiving Missions