Overview
Update: With the Advanced Edition update, I’ve started playing FTL again after a half year hiatus. I may attempt to add the new ships to the tier list (after some derusting and playing the new ships), however I am currently in college nearing finals and am also invested competitively in other games, so no promises.Note this guide was created before the Advanced Edition update, so obviously, assume that this tier list is based on gameplay with the “Advanced Edition Content” option disabled.A wholesome list of the available ships in FTL, ranking them from best to worst.Personal attempt at giving players the ability to see which ships are the best to aim for, as well as the unique benefits of each.NOTE: Every ship has the capacity to get through all 8 sectors and beat the final boss. This list is merely meant to show which ships offer distinct benefits and increased likelihood of success in the longrun.This is also meant to be a player-influenced tier list, so it’s very encouraged you leave your feedback on the placement of each ship. Some of these ships probably don’t deserve their placement at all, and I hope to get these issues fixed in v3.0 of the tier list.Also note that future tierlists will be updated here, and older versions will be placed on a separate guide page. (So if v3.0 comes out, this page will be updated, and a new page will be made to hold v2.1’s information for reference.)Thanks for taking a look at this guide, and please leave a comment and share if you liked it!
Introduction
Created by Shadow the Past.
v2.1 changes: Moved Stealth A to the top of C tier due to continuous user feedback on the placement of the ship.
Welcome to v2.1 of the FTL Ship Tier List! I’m glad I was able to push out a second tier list thanks to plenty of reader feedback! Thanks to everyone who replied.
If this is your first time seeing these tier lists, I would recommend visiting the original tier list first here:
[link]
It goes into detail explaining how ships are broken up as well as why every ship was placed where it was. At least reading the introduction will make explaining this tier list a lot clearer.
This version is going to have a lot less text (about 1/4 as much actually) and will only be covering ships that have made a significant enough movement in the tier list for it to be worth elaborating on. I may elaborate on more ships over time(as it does feel a bit too short), but I’ve tried to keep this one short in order to make it easy to tell why each ship moved where it did. Each ship will have a number next to it to indicated how many places it has moved up or down on the tier list in relation to v1.1.
Now then, tier list, away!
Tier List v2.1
Tier List:
—-S Tier—-
1. Carnelian (Crystal B) (±0)
2. Basilisk (Mantis B) (±0)
—-A Tier—-
3. Osprey (Fed A) (+1)
4. Torus (Engi A) (+1)
5. Adjudicator (Zoltan A) (+2)
6. Shivan (Rock B) (+8)
—-B Tier—-
7. The Gila Monster (Mantis A) (-4)
8. Red Tail (Kestrel B) (+1)
9. Noether (Zoltan B) (+2)
10. Kestrel (Kestrel A) (-2)
11. Bravais (Crystal A) (-5)
12. Nisos (Fed B) (-2)
—-C Tier—-
13. Nesasio (Stealth A) (+3)
14. StormWalker (Slug B) (-2)
15. Man of War (Slug A) (+2)
16. Bulwark (Rock A) (-1)
—-D Tier—-
17. DA-SR 12 (Stealth B) (-4)
18. Vortex (Engi B) (±0)
3. Osprey (Fed A)
3. Osprey (Fed A) (+1)
With the Gila Monster dropping out of S tier, it’s tempting to move the Osprey into its place. However, due to the fact that this ship is incapable of installing a cloaking system is a very significant drawback, which I feel is enough to keep it out of S tier. The placement of the Osprey is otherwise unchanged.
6. Shivan (Rock B)
6. Shivan (Rock B) (+8)
With the most dramatic shift in the tierlist, we have the Shivan. I initially placed this ship into D tier due to a bit of underestimating of the potential of the ship. The Fire Bomb + Crew teleporter will be one of the most useful weapon combinations you ever come across.
This is one of the few ships that can reliably and consistently take out enemy crew that have a med bay. A firebomb to the med bay will set it on fire, then sending in your Rockmen will prevent them from repairing it. It’s even reasonably safe to send them into a 4 person med bay, as the fire will even up the battle (unless all the enemy crew are Rockmen). It’s a very good idea to get your crew teleporter to level 3 so you can heal them quickly, then send them back in to keep harassing them and not let them put out any fires. You just have to make sure the fire won’t destroy a system when the enemy ship only has 1 hull left.
7. Gila Monster (Mantis A)
7. The Gila Monster (Mantis A) (-4)
Another two tier shift, but in the opposite direction, is the Gila Monster. While it is true that this ship can deal with ship types that the Carnelian and Basilisk can’t early on, I didn’t consider the long term use of the available weapons. The small bomb and Basic Laser are pretty much two of the most worthless weapons in the game and can basically be replaced by anything you find. They might be slightly helpful early on, but they quickly lose any usefulness whatsoever. It’s also important to note that this ship only has 3 weapon slots, which heavily decreases the potential of your weapon arsenal.
Another problem is the fact that this ship takes damage early on that the Carnelian and Basilisk can avoid, which is why this ship doesn’t deserve to be in the same tier.
You might ask why the Shivan was placed above the Gila Monster in A tier. While they both can have very similar playstyles and excellent boarding parties, the fact that the Shivan has weapons with much better long term use and the ability to deal with enemy crew and systems at the same time with fire control gives the Shivan a significant edge over the Gila Monster.
9. Noether (Zoltan B)
9. Noether (Zoltan B) (+2)
The Noether had a slight increase in the tier list. While this ship still struggles with environmental beacons and ships that can get through the Zoltan shields quickly (such as ion weapons or anti ship drones), it’s worth noting that the two ion weapons can keep 2 systems disabled. If you focus one on the shield and one on another system, you can deal with anti-ship drones or other weapons, but every shot has to hit. However, this only enough to move it up the list 2 positions, as all the other problems of the ship still persist.
11. Bravais (Crystal A)
11. Bravais (Crystal A) (-5)
With a somewhat dramatic drop, the Bravais has dropped a tier due to a number of reasons. One thing that wasn’t taken into consideration is enemy Defense Drones. Crystal Weapons are the only non-missile using weapon that a defense drone can shoot down, which is a significant disadvantage for this ship. The only other ship with this sort of problem is the Bulwark in C tier. While you can time your shots so that at least one shot has the potential to get through, this is less than reliable. An Engi Controlled sector will be an absolute nightmare unless you can get a weapon that can get past double defense drones. The long term use of these weapons is also debatable. While shield piercing is nice, it loses its effectiveness once the enemy starts having 2 or 3 shields and higher evasion.
13. Nesasio (Stealth A)
13. Nesasio (Stealth A) (+3)
Basically the same as the Type B, except that the starting weapons have much less long term use than the Glaive Beam, although you won’t have to take the 25 second wait for your weapons to recharge if your weapons room takes a hit. You also start with much higher engine upgrades than other ships, resulting in higher evasion and less Jump charge times to escape bad situations.
14. Stormwalker (Slug B)
14. Stormwalker (Slug B) (-2)
This ship has dropped to C due to the fact that it has a similar issue to the Bulwark, in the fact that both weapons rely on missiles and you’re likely to run out of missiles before too long.
15. Man of War (Slug A)
15. Man of War (Slug A) (+2)
Initially ranked as the worst ship in the game, this ship has moved up in the world. First, the Anti-bio beam, while still a bad weapon, will allow your ship to obtain much better rewards starting off. It’s also less likely to run into a fight early on that will be unwinnable, unlike ships ranked below. (Bulwark: Defense drone/no missiles. Stealth A/B: Anti ship drones, environmental hazard beacons.) The Man of War is ranked below the StormWalker due to the fact that this ship relies on getting through shields in order to use the Anti-Bio Beam, while the StormWalker basically ignores shields initially.
17. DA-SR 12 (Stealth B)
16. DA-SR 12 (Stealth B) (-4)
I’ve moved this ship down due to how hard it is for this ship to get its feet off the ground. If you take a hit to the weapons room before you have any shields, you might as well just restart, because you’re going to take a lot of stupid damage. I mentioned this in the previous tier list, but this is a much more significant problem than I originally judged. The Glaive Beam itself is pretty much the only thing keeping this ship out of last place.
