Subset Games Forum

Depends of the opponent's ship and crew.

But in sector 1, if the opponent doesn't have a medbay or a clonebay, I wouldn't bother about the engines - go for the crew instead. If there are only 2-3 of them and they are no Mantises or Rocks or anti-personnel drones, 2 Mantises should be able to handle them. If there are more, an additional boarding drone may help.

Also, as soon as there are only 2 crew left, they will usually come to wherever you are to attack you - IOW, the pilot room will be emptied, unless you have boarded in this room. So it's better to board somewhere else.

I can't give you a general rule for all instances. It's a matter of experience really.

With two boarders? No, you'll spend way too much time beating their defending crewmembers. If you can't support the ground crew with the ship's weapons, you don't really stand a chance. But at least if you have a fast teleporter, you should be safe putting them onto the enemy ship and giving it a shot. Just pull them back when it says jump imminent. Don't be afraid to let it go. Any ship which makes heavy use of the crew teleporter gets a lot more scrap per battle; but you have to know when to fold and let someone go. Losing your crew often means game over.

With a strong 4-crew boarding party, you can usually tear down any ship before it flees. But you have to be even more careful: losing all four boarding party members can really deal a crippling blow.

If there are only two crew members left, they will normally attack you wherever you are - I.e., the pilot room will be emptied unless you boarded in this room. As a result, it is preferable to board somewhere else.