Federation Cruiser

Master the Federation Cruiser in FTL: Faster Than Light. Learn about Type A (Osprey), Type B (Nisos), and Type C (Fregatide) ships, their loadouts, unlocks, and strategies.

The Federation Cruiser is a powerful ship in FTL: Faster Than Light, known for its unique Artillery Beam weapon. There are three types: Type A (The Osprey), Type B (Nisos), and Type C (The Fregatide), each with distinct starting features, crew, and armaments.

Achievements

• Master of Patience — Let the Artillery Beam deal all the damage to the enemy ship while taking no damage to your own hull.
• Diplomatic Immunity — Use the blue options that are crew specific four times before reaching Sector 5.
• Artillery Mastery — Get to Sector 5 without upgrading your weapons system.

Type A (The Osprey)

The power of this ship is the Artillery beam, which will cut through any Shield level, dealing damage to the rooms it hits. Upgrading it as the game goes along is of utmost experience, as it takes 50 seconds to fire at level, dropping by 10 seconds each upgrade, capping at every 20 seconds (so broken!). Having a Burst Laser II and a very solid crew of varied skill is just icing on the cake (repairs and fighting are covered from the start). A very good ship, easy to use, and with room to grow into any fighting type you want, just be sure to shut off that beam if you turn it into a boarding party heavy build.

Unlock — In the Rebel Stronghold sector, locate and destroy the partially created Flagship **OR** defeat The Rebel Flagship with the Engi Cruiser.

Type B (Nisos)

Inferior in initial weaponry to the Type A (Dual Lasers and Leto vs the highly energy efficient Burst Laser Mark II), it makes up for this for starting with the Artillery Beam at level 2 (firing every 40 seconds). The crew is not as robust as the Type A, but the Zoltan does add an extra energy bar to your efforts, which is a nice bonus. A very usable ship, a different side of the coin, compared to the Type A ship.

Unlock — Obtain any 2 of the 3 Federation Cruiser ship Achievements.

Type C (The Fregatide)

A strange ship, as it boasts no weapons or drones to hurt the enemy ship, you have to rely on the Artillery weapon... but it is a massive Flak gun, meaning it is unreliable for accuracy. This ship will start life as a boarding ship, but you will have to make use of your Zoltan as kamikaze exploders upon death (using the Clonebay), followed by Mantis/Human attacks, or, more likely, let the Human/Mantis team do the work while the Zoltan pilot and repair your ship. Either way, their ability to add reactor energy is going to be wasted early on. This ship needs new crew or some decent weaponry as soon as possible, or it will not be long for this universe, meaning it is not an easy one to play.

Unlock — Reach Sector 8 (The Last Stand) with the Federation Cruiser (Type B).