Everspace 2: Beginner's Tips (2024)

If you've been looking for a spiritual successor to Freelancer's space-based combat and RPG, then Everspace 2 is pretty much it. Travel the stars and shoot new and interesting people, all while trading commodities and exploring space wrecks to make a little extra bank on the side. It’s everything you could ever want in a space shooter.

Related: Everspace 2: How To Make Money

There's no need to have played the first Everspace to dive into Everspace 2, but newcomers might find the game a bit challenging. We've got a few pointers to help get your feet wet in the DMZ, so read on to learn how to become a successful freelancer.

Before You Start, Figure Out Your Controls

Everspace 2

The single most important thing to do in Everspace 2 is figure out the control scheme that works for you. Fighting in space means moving in three dimensions, and it's critically important that you find out how to best scoot in your spaceship.

For mouse and keyboard players, this means spending the opening missions in the game's settings menu and tuning your mouse sensitivity and dead zones to feel comfortable. I recommend reducing your dead zone to make angling your craft feel crisp and smooth.

Things are tougher for controller players. Everspace 2 has multiple different button configurations that'll appeal to different types of players.

If you're coming from traditional RPGs, you might want to try the right-handed Gamepad Scheme A, while fans of flight combat games (such as Ace Combat 7) might feel more comfortable using the left-handed Gamepad Scheme B (with inverted joysticks of course).

Explore Every Area Thoroughly

The next most-important tip you can take into Everspace 2 is to explore. Each area holds so many hidden wrecks, secret caches, and puzzles that it's truly mind-boggling.

Ceto alone has over 30 Mainframe Expansions to find, and there's plenty of free gear just floating around in space. Even the randomly generated areas from distress calls or unknown signals will often have a crate or two just floating around, and larger asteroids will typically have resource deposits waiting to be mined.

But Be Careful While Exploring

At its heart, Everspace 2 is an RPG, which means it's possible to accidentally wander into areas that have enemies which are much higher level than you.

In the starting system of Ceto, try to stick to the Home Turf region to start, then explore the remaining regions in a clockwise direction around Ceto's sun. You should be arriving in the Shattered Planetoid region around level eight, and leaving Ceto around level nine or ten.

Combat Tips

You'll be doing a lot of fighting in Everspace 2, so here are a few winning strategies to survive your early engagements.

Circle Strafe

Circle strafing is perhaps the most important combat tactic to employ in Everspace 2. This involves wiggling your ship in a circular pattern to avoid enemy fire. Doing so can easily cut the damage you receive in half, so remember to do it in every engagement.

Boom & Zoom

Like the propeller-driven fighters from old Earth, the boom & zoom (or "jousting") involves coming at enemies with tremendous speed, picking one or two off, and then flying away before they can respond.

You'll need a good powerplant and a good booster to make this strategy work, but the boom & zoom can help you defeat even entire squadrons.

Sniping

This strategy involves long-range engagement using specialized equipment to stay beyond an enemy's reach. Rail Guns, Flak Cannons, and Coil Guns are all high-damage, long-range weapons that will let you pick off enemies before they can close to threaten you.

Use Your Secondary Weapons, Ultimates, Consumables, And Devices

In addition to circle strafing, never forget to use all the tools at your disposal. They can turn a tough fight into an easy engagement, and they can save your life when a furball turns south.

You’re starter Sentinel will come with Homing Missiles, the Static Overload ultimate, EMP Generator and Energized Boost devices, and some nanobots. Homing Missiles can destroy enemies in a single salvo, while EMP Generator and Energized Boost can end combat on their own.

Static Overload is extremely powerful and should be reserved for combat against groups of tough enemies, but never feel afraid to unleash your ultimate. You can preserve unused ultimate energy by pressing the ultimate button again.

Related: Everspace 2: Best Weapons

Don’t Worry About Getting A New Ship

When you eventually arrive at Nephtys Station, you might get sticker shock from seeing the prices of all those new ships. Don’t worry about that--you’ll eventually be able to afford it, and the starter ship is more than enough to handle anything Ceto throws at you.

Your Nemesis-B9 Sentinel is an excellent craft, providing you with a powerful ultimate, great shields, and plenty of cargo and consumables. The Sentinel's ultimate ability, Static Overload, can tear through entire clouds of enemies with ease, and its handling ain't bad either.

You'll eventually want to upgrade, but you should consider upgrading your perks first before shelling out 30,000 credits on a new ride. But if you really want to start exploring other ship classes, there are definitely ways of earning some extra credits.

Don't Go Overboard On Crafting

Just like new ships, you shouldn't be too concerned with crafting early on either. The game will throw you plenty of loot at you so long as you explore systems, and this can save you a lot of resources in the long run.

That's not to say you shouldn't ever craft anything, but it's a good idea to reserve crafting new items for weapons and equipment slots that are lower level than the rest of your currently-equipped gear.

What Perks To Unlock First

In Everspace 2, you'll come across lots of people that will help you on your journey, but to start, it'll just be you and Dax Bashar. That's great as Dax has a few important perks you should try to unlock early.

The Tractor Beam perks will be a huge time-saver, so unlock these perks first. The second tier of the Tractor Beam perk is particularly useful as it lets you scoop up multiple items at once rather than being forced to click on each one individually.

After the Tractor Beam perks, Cruise Drive will bring down the time required to enter cruise, which can save your bacon in sticky situations. So long as you're not taking too much damage, the Repair Perks don't offer much, so you can skip those for later.

Do Challenges For An Early Boost

There are a few early-game challenges that are definitely doable even with your starter ship.

The first is Outlaw Hunt 1 which you receive the first time you visit The Flying Dutchess. Doing so gives you some bonus XP, 3,000 credits, and a ten percent discount at The Flying Dutchess.

The second is Ceto Explorer. Completing three High-Risk Areas can be a little difficult until you get to around level eight or so, but it's possible after you've gained some experience at combat. Mastering this challenge will let you fast-forward time while traveling in supralight--an invaluable time-saver.

Next: Everspace 2: Every Ship Type, Ranked