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If you’ve been looking for a spiritual successor to Freelancer’s space-based combat and RPG, thenEverspace 2is pretty much it. Travel the stars and shoot new and interesting people, all while trading commodities and exploring space wrecks to make a little extra bank on the side. It’s everything you could ever want in a space shooter.
Related:Everspace 2: How To Make Money
There’s no need to have played the first Everspace to dive into Everspace 2, but newcomers might find the game a bit challenging. We’ve got a few pointers to help get your feet wet in the DMZ, so read on to learn how to become a successful freelancer.
Before You Start, Figure Out Your Controls
The single most important thing to do in Everspace 2 isfigure out the control scheme that works for you. Fighting in space means moving in three dimensions, and it’s critically important that you find out how to best scoot in your spaceship.
For mouse and keyboard players, this means spending the opening missions in the game’s settings menu andtuning your mouse sensitivity and dead zones to feel comfortable. I recommend reducing your dead zone to make angling your craft feel crisp and smooth.
Things are tougher forcontroller players. Everspace 2 hasmultiple different button configurationsthat’ll appeal to different types of players.
If you’re coming fromtraditional RPGs, you might want totry the right-handed Gamepad Scheme A, while fans offlight combatgames (such as Ace Combat 7) might feel more comfortable using theleft-handed Gamepad Scheme B(with inverted joysticks of course).
Everspace 2 alsosupports a number of different joystickstoo!
You can alsomake a completely custom control schemeby assigning buttons to certain in-game actions.
Explore Every Area Thoroughly
The next most-important tipyou can take into Everspace 2 is toexplore. Each area holds so many hidden wrecks, secret caches, and puzzles that it’s truly mind-boggling.
Ceto alone has over 30 Mainframe Expansions to find, and there’splenty of free gear just floating around in space. Even the randomly generated areas from distress calls or unknown signals will often have a crate or two just floating around, and larger asteroids will typically have resource deposits waiting to be mined.
Alwaysmake sure to have the best sensors possibleso that you may more easily spot loot while exploring new areas.
But Be Careful While Exploring
At its heart,Everspace 2 is an RPG, which means it’s possible to accidentally wander into areas that have enemies which are much higher level than you.
In the starting system of Ceto,attempt to stick to the Home Turf region to start, thenexplore the remaining regions in a clockwise direction around Ceto’s sun. You should be arriving in the Shattered Planetoid region around level eight, and leaving Ceto around level nine or ten.
It’sextremely dangerous to pick fightswith enemies that aremuch higher level than you. If you insist on exploring areas with higher-level enemies, try to remain undetected andnever be afraid to run.
Combat Tips
You’ll be doinga lot of fighting in Everspace 2, so here are a few winning strategies to survive your early engagements.
Circle Strafe
Circle strafing is perhaps the most important combat tactic to employ in Everspace 2. This involveswiggling your ship in a circular pattern to avoid enemy fire. Doing so can easily cut the damage you receive in half, so remember to do it in every engagement.
Circle strafing is easier to do if you’vebound the up-down and left-right strafing to one of your thumbsticks.
Boom & Zoom
Like the propeller-driven fighters from old Earth, the boom & zoom (or “jousting”) involvescoming at enemies with tremendous speed, picking one or two off, and thenflying away before they can respond.
You’ll need a good powerplant and a good boosterto make this strategy work, but the boom & zoom can help you defeat even entire squadrons.
TheVanguard-class shipclass excels at boom & zoom-style combat.
Sniping
This strategy involveslong-range engagementusing specialized equipment to stay beyond an enemy’s reach.Rail Guns,Flak Cannons, andCoil Gunsare all high-damage, long-range weapons that will let you pick off enemies before they can close to threaten you.
TheScout-class shipclass is the consummate sniper, offering increased damage for using long-range weapons while extending their range too.
Use Your Secondary Weapons, Ultimates, Consumables, And Devices
In addition to circle strafing,never forget to use all the tools at your disposal. They can turn a tough fight into an easy engagement, and they can save your life when a furball turns south.
You’re starter Sentinel will come withHoming Missiles, theStatic Overloadultimate,EMP GeneratorandEnergized Boostdevices, and some nanobots. Homing Missiles can destroy enemies in a single salvo, while EMP Generator and Energized Boost can end combat on their own.
Static Overload is extremely powerfuland should be reserved for combat against groups of tough enemies, butnever feel afraid to unleash your ultimate. You can preserve unused ultimate energy by pressing the ultimate button again.
Related:Everspace 2: Best Weapons
Don’t Worry About Getting A New Ship
When you eventually arrive at Nephtys Station, you might get sticker shock from seeing the prices of all those new ships. Don’t worry about that–you’ll eventually be able to afford it, andthe starter ship is more than enough to handle anything Ceto throws at you.
YourNemesis-B9 Sentinelis an excellent craft, providing you witha powerful ultimate, great shields, and plenty of cargo and consumables. The Sentinel’s ultimate ability, Static Overload, can tear through entire clouds of enemies with ease, and its handling ain’t bad either.
You’ll eventually want to upgrade, but you shouldconsider upgrading your perks firstbefore shelling out 30,000 credits on a new ride. But if you really want to start exploring other ship classes, there aredefinitely ways of earning some extra credits.
Don’t Go Overboard On Crafting
Just like new ships, you shouldn’t be too concerned with crafting early on either. The gamewill throw you plenty of loot at youso long as you explore systems, and thiscan save you a lot of resources in the long run.
That’s not to say you shouldn’tevercraft anything, but it’s a good idea to reserve crafting new items for weapons and equipment slots that are lower levelthan the rest of your currently-equipped gear.
Upgrading an item costs fewer resourcesthan making an entirely new item, so always upgrade before you craft. Just remember, you can only upgrade something once, soreserve this for preferred weapons and special equipment.
What Perks To Unlock First
In Everspace 2, you’ll come across lots of people that will help you on your journey, but to start, it’ll just be you and Dax Bashar. That’s great asDax has a few important perksyou should attempt to unlock early.
The Tractor Beamperks will be a huge time-saver, sounlock these perks first. The second tier of the Tractor Beam perk is particularly useful as it lets you scoop up multiple items at once rather than being forced to click on each one individually.
Hold the tractor beam buttonto automatically bring in everything around you.
After the Tractor Beam perks,Cruise Drivewill bring down the time required to enter cruise, whichcan save your bacon in sticky situations. So long as you’re not taking too much damage, the Repair Perks don’t offer much, so you can skip those for later.
Do Challenges For An Early Boost
There area few early-game challengesthat are definitelydoable even with your starter ship.
The first isOutlaw Hunt 1which you receive the first time you visit The Flying Dutchess. Doing so gives you some bonus XP, 3,000 credits, and a ten percent discount at The Flying Dutchess.
The second isCeto Explorer. Completing three High-Risk Areas can be a little difficult until you get to around level eight or so, but it’s possible after you’ve gained some experience at combat. Mastering this challengewill let you fast-forward time while traveling in supralight–an invaluable time-saver.
