Golden Rules

These are not exactly rules, but tips that players may want to consider. Based off of the tips in Ship Loss.

Be able to afford a loss

• Never fly a ship (especially with cargo inside) you can’t afford to lose during war unless you know how to deal with dangerous situations such as being dived by a powerful ship. Always check the minimap for signs of enemy ships and be more cautious when using limited ships.
• You should know when it is a good or a bad time to fly your ship for any reason. For example, if you are at war with a faction that is likely to pirate, do not mine or trade in expensive ships unless you feel certain you can escape if you’re dived.

Never Mine during a war

• Do not Mine during a war, many miners have lost their ships to Pirates because of this. Not even if you need a quick credit boost. It’s very easy to lose even the tankiest of Miners when at war with a powerful faction. If you are mining during war, make sure to check the map often for enemies and warp back to your base if even one ship spawns and points towards you. If you are quick enough it is easy to avoid destruction, but always be careful, and preferably don’t mine during war in the first place.

Never Trade during a war

• This is the equivalent to mining during a war. Never Trade during a war with a larger or more experienced faction, as many pirates will likely be around where you wish to loot or sell your loot. An exception is when using extremely cheap Freighters such as the Tempura or Prospector, but any loot you collected will be lost unless you manage to loot your own wreck.
• This is a common strategy for pirates to gain credits/bounty. As pirates can return to your wreck with a freighter of their own and an escort to loot whatever was in your cargo hold. In some cases they may not need to change ships since pirate ships like the Helios usually have a high cargo hold.
• Freighter pirating usually happens around Mega Base. A ship such as the Nightmare can even spawn at Mega Base immediately for a surprise attack, usually leading to ship destruction.

Avoid going to Mega Base if you're at War, as pirates normally attack there

• Pirates can camp at Mega Base to attack unsuspecting ships that come there.
• If you are aware that Pirates in your current server travel to Mega Base often, be careful.
• Some factions may also choose to blockade Mega Base, to prevent opposing ships from fleeing.
• To reduce your chances of being a victim to Pirates, remember to check the minimap often, especially when you are going to Mega Base or have a lot of loot/cargo.

Constantly check your Minimap to see where pirates or Aliens may be

• The Minimap is there to assist you, use it to your advantage. Look for enemies of any kind and learn to estimate distances based on where objects are in relation to each other. This can be extremely important for warping properly to things you can’t see or looking for danger.

Experience matters!

• You're in this game for the long run. Don't expect to do anything meaningful on the first day playing, or ever.
• Don't let Dreadnoughts or other big ships overwhelm you, as most can be destroyed easily using an experienced fleet.
• Take your time learning about the game and asking for help from other players, knowledge of the game is very important for playing.
• Always know which ships you’re dealing with. Know which ones are slow, fast, hull tanks, shield tanks, have high or low DPS, etc.
• There will always be a bigger fish, someone who is more skilled, richer, or more connected than you. You may not be the best, but you can be your best.

Bigger is not always better

• More expensive ships are not always better ships, they may also make a bigger target.
• Better ships can usually cost many times more than a slightly worse ship. Choose wisely.
• Ships of all sizes have functions to which they are well-suited. For example, small ships may be fast and agile whereas larger ships may be slower and easier to hit.
• With enough skill and experience, ship size & class really doesn't matter all that much.

Unfair circumstances?

• There are no fair or unfair fights, the outcome of any fight usually depends entirely on skill and ship choice. The only exception is fights disrupted by normally impossible circumstances or severe lag.
• Just because you can fly something doesn't mean you should.
• The only exception to "an unfair fight" would be if you are glitched or getting targeted by an exploiter, both of which scenarios you should contact Galaxy Staff about.
• Always expect every possibility, from an enemy spawning a dangerous ship to a 1v1 being completely changed by other players joining the fight.

You will lose ships, don't worry!

• If you do PvP long enough, you will lose your ship. It's only a matter of where and when and which (as in which ship).
• If you leave the game while your ship is still spawned, your ship will remain in space for 2 minutes to which it will then despawn. This timer is stopped if you rejoin within a minute of when you left.
• Somebody, somewhere has better skill than you, more experience than you, is more clever than you, and can stay online longer than you.
• At some point, everyone will lose one of their beloved ships. No matter how skilled and clever you are, it happens to everyone, and that's okay.
• If you lose a ship, don't take your frustration out on the player that killed you, as destroying others ships are a part of the game, if not the point of the game. Instead focus your attention on rebuying the ship or choosing a better ship that may be a better option to use.
• If you lose ships, usually it is your fault. You may have warped slightly too short or too far, or you may have missed your spinals too many times. Don’t worry about this, since it’s too late already. Instead accept the loss and move on as quickly as possible.
• Avoid raging or lashing out against other players if you do lose your ship. Acting out your frustration will only dig you into a deeper hole, and possibly end in you being banned. Take a deep breath, calm down, and move on.

Practice with Warping!

• Remember you have 90 seconds between when War is declared and when you can be attacked.
• Use that time to get to an allied Starbase and despawn, if you're in a non-combat ship.
• Perfect warping is important! It can save your ship in many situations. For example, docking at the nearest friendly base to despawn when being attacked. Overwarping or underwarping can give your enemy plenty of time to finish you off.