Subset Games Forum

You can see where this is going. It's a simple idea.
How about a ship which starts with no weapons or Drones, if you buy those systems you'll either be wasting Scrap and no system will appear or that you get no weapon slots or drone slots. Maybe also not have a teleport but hacking & Mind Control can remain.
Those can be abused as weapons but it's rather obscure and probably not 100% effective on all encounters (Oxygen drain only works on level 1 O2 systems, mind control works on enemy ships with AP drones, etc)
The goal is to reach Federation Command and somehow acquire enough Scrap to buy a "Doombringer Artillery" which can one-shot each phase of the Flagship.

It's an idea because I can't do Pacifist Runs and I'd dread having to fly a ship like that where it's enforced.

By the way, can a person get the "Coming In For A Pacifist Run" achievement if they hack their shields and let the rocks/solar flares blow up their ship?

Escaping the rebel fleet, and saving up scrap for OP artillery? That's not how FTL is meant to be played.

I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, REFUSE TO FLY THIS SHIP!

How would you propose one defeats the Flagship at the end without weapons or drones?
Because it already smashed the Mercy button and I can't just make a new one like CE does with the Zoltan Shield

You can finish easy or normal with the mind control and a zoltan shield bypass.
But I really wouldn't make a ship around it.

That is assuming no teleporter either, of course.

Hmm, maybe only one system can be purchased and that's Hacking (so you can remove boarders, counter mind control and disable enemy engines or weapons to help make your escape) and every other system that's offensive costs a bazillion Scrap and cannot be found in stores.
This might conflict with mods like Limited Time offer though where you can buy those systems for cheap.

What about starting the ship with every system slot filled, so that you can't buy Weapons or Drones because there's no room for them? (That said, I don't think there are enough non-aggressive systems to fill all the slots; omitting Weapons, Drones and Teleporter leaves you one short.)

I've been playing a bunch of pacifist games (using other ships) myself. I believe the only way to defeat the Flagship like this is Zoltan Shield Bypass + Mind Control, and it takes ages. As such, the ship would be very hard to win with. It is probably worth giving the Zoltan Shield Bypass in the starting augments because there's no guarantee it will generate during a game.

Both Hacking and Mind Control are capable of defeating some enemy ships by themselves (Hacking can beat ships with level 1 oxygen and no Lanius on board, Mind Control 2 can get both crew and hull kills against most enemy crewed ships.)

I don't want to overload the ship with useless artillery because that would ruin the "Determination Ending" as you'll be unable to get the system.
Making Weapons and Drones insanely expensive is the easiest and best solution.

And there's no need to defeat the Flagship at the end of the Pacifist Run. It ends with your ship getting salvaged and the Federation beating the Flagship in the event text. Game over. A winner is you!