Last Updated on by Samuel Franklin
This FTL weapon tier list details the best weapons for victory against the Rebel Flagship. With high damage, flexibility, cost efficiency or other utility these are ideal weapons to use as you jump across galactic sectors.
Whether you want to use beam weapons, lasers, missiles, bombs, flak or ions the best Advanced Edition weapons are included below and I recommend the Burst Laser II, Flak I and Halberd Beam above all else.
Table of Contents:
– Tier List Summary
– Best Weapons – What Makes Them Good
– Tier List Detailed
FTL Best Weapons Tier List Summary
These purchasble weapons are split into S, A and B tiers with a description of weapon effectiveness in specific combos and playstyles. Weapons not included below should be avoided unless your FTL ship starts with them or you have no other option and need additional firepower.
| Weapon Name | Weapon Type | Weapon Tier | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 Burst Laser II |
Laser | S | Highly efficient power to shot ratio for taking out shields this is your best laser weapon |
 Flak I |
Flak | S | A common weapon that is relatively easy to obtain while being effective for shields and damage |
 Halberd Beam |
Beam | S | An uncommon weapon with high damage potential when enemy shields are down |
 Hull Laser II |
Laser | A | Average power efficiency but packs a punch for removing shields or direct damage |
 Charge Laser II |
Laser | A | Higher power requirement than other lasers but effective at full charge if you can’t find other laser options |
 Hull Beam |
Beam | A | Similar damage to Halberd but only for systemless rooms which lowers effectiveness against some enemy types |
 Pike Beam |
Beam | A | A staple beam weapon option with huge length to hit many rooms |
 Small Bomb |
Bomb | A | Your basic common and reliable bomb option that is effective against all enemy types |
 Breach Bomb II |
Bomb | A | Deadly system damage for the power required although rare to obtain |
 Heavy Crystal I |
Crystal | A | Hits hard for the power investment required with quick charge time |
 Heavy Laser II |
Laser | B | High damage although has low overall shots for power required so not great against high enemy shields |
 Chain Laser |
Laser | B | Good balance of power to shot ratio although only excels in long battles due to the chaining mechanic |
 Charge Laser I |
Laser | B | The weaker option of the charge laser weapon archetype but still provides good power requirement to shot ratio |
 Flak II |
Flak | B | Massive number of projectiles makes for a deadly weapon but long charge time makes it difficult to use effectively |
 Swarm Missiles |
Missile | B | The best of the missile weapons (excluding unique ship starting weapons) that can turn one missile into three |
 Charge Ion |
Ion | B | The best of the Ion weapons in FTL as you can fire multiple shots in quick succession to disable an enemy |
 Crystal Burst I |
Crystal | B | An effective weapon that can fill a laser type role if necessary but is lacking compared to other options |
Best Weapons – What Makes Them Good
While you may have a playstyle preference for particular weapons FTL has some stronger options that will make your attempts significantly easier with:
- Raw Damage: Damage to overcome enemy shields and reduce their hull to zero is the main goal of a weapon with damage generally increasing with reactor power requirements.
- Speed: Firing the first shot in battle is a significant advantage as you can potential disable enemy weapons before they attack.
- Power and Slot Efficiency: Power and slot efficiency is important as your weapon slots and reactor power are limited and also impacted by your FTL ship.
- Flexibility: To counter FTL randomisation flexible weapons are useful against many enemy types and situations.
- Availability and Cost: Each FTL weapon has a rarity factor that impacts how often it appears and cost with some being highly efficient for how common or how cheap they are.
FTL Weapons Tier List (S Tier)
There are 3 purchasable weapons that have high damage output and power efficiency to improve your victory odds with at least one usually encountered each FTL run.
Burst Laser II
A formidable bur rare S tier weapon that creates any best weapn combo when acquired due to the low power requirement of 2 for 3 laser shots. Particularly strong when combined with another laser or flak weapon to keep enemy shields down throughout an adventure.
Flak I
A surprisingly common weapon for how powerful it is which gives 3 shots for 2 power and a short charge time of 10. Like the Burst Laser II this combination of stats results in a flexible Advanced Edition weapon that is ideal to break enemy shield or deal direct hull damage.
Halberd Beam
Learning how to use beam weapons effectively is critical to higher difficulties of FTL and the Halberd Beam is the best archetype option. Similar to the other FTL best weapons this is an efficient weapon requiring 3 power for 2 damage although this is easily multiplied with common ship layouts where you can target at least 3 rooms for 6 damage. With planning, practice and some memorisation of the common layouts this weapon is a great asset although you need to pair it with a weapon capable of disrupting enemy shields first.
FTL Weapons Tier List (A Tier)
The A tier weapon options are your bread and butter in most Faster Than Light runs because they are common weapons. While not as effective as the best weapon S tier weapon choices their availability ensures you’ll usually find several throughout a game to combine into a solid offence.
Hull Laser II
Not quite as power efficient as the Burst Laser II this weapon has 3 power for 3 damage and a reasonable charge time to pressure the enemy ship. This weapon is ideal to disable systems or cause massive hull damage to systemless rooms although not all ships have systemless rooms to target.
Charge Laser II
Offers 4 shots at full charge for 3 power although a 20 second charge time before a full attack so players need solid ship shield system upgrades to survive during this time.
Hull Beam
Can achieve similar damage to the Halberd beam although lacks the same flexibility as it relies on systemless rooms for maximum damage. It does have reasonably quick speed though that makes it an easy follow up attack after dropping enemy shields.
Pike Beam
The 1 damage stat on this weapon is misleading as the length means you can regularly hit many rooms on larger ship layouts for high damage when enemy shields are down.
Small Bomb
An effective basic bomb that is readily available and only uses a single power for 2 system damage. It is a superior choice to missile options as it has faster charge time and can bypass the defence drones of your opponent.
Breach Bomb II
Another bomb option although slightly less power efficient with a long charge time (17 seconds) it is still devastating to systems and an ideal follow up after your initial weapon bursts.
Heavy Crystal I
Crystal weapons are similar to laser weapons and generally compete against each other for weapon slots. They are rare to encounter but are highly power efficient with 2 damage for only 1 power to fill an empty weapon slot.
FTL Weapons Tier List (B Tier)
The B tier weapons are still capable of winning a battle but should be your last choice as they fall short of S and A tier options.
Heavy Laser II
Has a higher power requirement of 3 than the better laser options but does have high damage to compensate. With only 2 shots it is unlikely to counter enemy shields alone though so needs to be supported.
Chain Laser
An effective 2 power for 2 shots laser but starts with a large charge time of 16 seconds that reduces its overall damage output and removes the potential to strike before most enemy weapons charge up. While this does eventually come down to 7 seconds over time in lengthy battles with enemies these are rarely in your best interest as it means more opportunities to take damage to your own ship.
Charge Laser I
Another 2 power for 2 shots laser that has good overall charge time at 12 seconds which make the weapon a viable option if you aren’t locating the other laser options while shopping.
Flak II
While this weapon has a devastating 7 projectiles in each shot to counter shields it is a slow weapon that is often overkill for the task. If you have strong shield defences you can limit the damage while this weapon charges but often there are better lower charge time options to take the initiative.
Swarm Missiles
The best FTL missile weapon available to rapidly fire up to 3 missiles for a single missile resource which counters one of the core issues of this weapon type. The short cooldown also allows you to fire an initial missile in 7 seconds to disable an enemy system before they can attack.
Charge Ion
The best ion weapon to disable ships that fires 3 shots when fully charged for 2 power. Despite the average charge time it can generally keep a system permenantly disabled but needs to be combined with direct damage weapons.
Crystal Burst I
Another viable crystal weapon which is more common and offers 2 power for 2 shots although has a higher charge time of 15 seconds compared to the best options in the laser archetype.
