Crystal Cruiser

Unlock and master the Crystal Cruiser (Bravais & Carnelian) in FTL: Faster Than Light. Learn loadouts, crew, weapons, and boarding tactics for FTL's unique Crystal ships.

Alright, let's talk about the Crystal Cruiser in FTL: Faster Than Light. This ship is pretty unique, focusing on its Crystal crew and their special abilities. We've got two versions to cover: Type A (Bravais) and Type B (Carnelian). Each has its own strengths and challenges, and understanding them is key to getting the most out of these ships.

Crystal Cruiser Type A (Bravais)

The Bravais is a solid all-around ship, but its real strength lies in its crew. You start with two Human crew and two Crystal crew. Those Crystal crewmembers are fantastic for both defense and offense. Their 'Lockdown' ability is amazing for trapping enemy boarders in a single room, making them easy pickings. It's also great for when you decide to board enemy ships yourself!

For armament, you've got the Crystal Burst Mark I and the Heavy Crystal Mark I. The Heavy Crystal is particularly nice because it can actually penetrate one shield layer. This means if you're fighting ships with three or fewer shields, you can actually get hits in by firing them in the right order. It's a decent ship, not quite top-tier, but very capable.

Bravais Starting Loadout:

• Shields: 2
• Engines: 2
• Oxygen: 1
• Weapons: 3
• Medbay: 1
• Pilot: 1
• Sensors: 1
• Doors: 1
• Resources: 16 Fuel, 0 Missiles, 0 Drone Parts
• Crew: 2 Humans, 2 Crystal
• Armament: Crystal Burst Mark I, Heavy Crystal Mark I
• Augment: Crystal Vengeance

Unlocking the Bravais:

To get your hands on this ship, you'll need to go through a bit of a quest. First, obtain the 'Damaged Stasis Pod'. Then, visit a Zoltan or Engi sector so the Zoltan research facility can examine it. After that, you'll need to reactivate an Ancient Device in the Rock Homeworld sector using a Crystal crewmember and then visit a Crystal Sector quest marker. Alternatively, you can unlock it by defeating the Flagship with all other Type A and Type B ships (excluding the Lanius ships).

Crystal Cruiser Type B (Carnelian)

Now, the Carnelian is where things get really interesting if you love boarding! This ship is built entirely around the boarding playstyle. You start with three Crystal crewmembers and a 4-person Teleport room. The catch? You have absolutely no starting weapons. Your main offensive strategy will be using your Crystal crew's Lockdown ability to trap enemy crew in a room, and then systematically destroying them and the systems in that room.

Enemy Super Shields are going to be your biggest headache early on, as they completely block boarding. You'll want to find some kind of weapon that bypasses them, or perhaps the Zoltan Shield Bypass augment. This ship is a boarding enthusiast's dream, but remember to pick up some extra crew so you have people to pilot and make repairs while your Crystal team is off ship.

Carnelian Starting Loadout:

• Shields: 2
• Engines: 2
• Oxygen: 1
• Weapons: 1
• Medbay: 1
• Teleport: 1
• Cloaking: 1
• Pilot: 1
• Sensors: 1
• Doors: 1
• Resources: 16 Fuel, 0 Missiles, 0 Drone Parts
• Crew: 3 Crystal
• Armament: None
• Augment: Crystal Vengeance

Unlocking the Carnelian:

Unlocking the Carnelian is a bit simpler than the Bravais. You just need to obtain any two of the three Crystal Cruiser ship Achievements.

Crystal Cruiser Achievements

Speaking of achievements, here are the ones related to the Crystal Cruiser:

• Sweet Revenge: Destroy an enemy ship with the Crystal Vengeance augmentation equipped. This is pretty straightforward – just make sure you have the augment and finish off an enemy ship with it.
• No Escape: Trap 4 enemy crew in one room with a Crystal Lockdown. This requires either using the crew's power or a Crystal Bomb to seal off a room with four enemies inside. Coordinate your Crystal crew or use a bomb effectively.
• Clash of the Titans: Kill 15 Rock ships. Remember, just damaging them or accepting their surrender doesn't count; you need to actually destroy the ship, either by killing their crew or blowing up the ship itself.