So, is normal on the Stealth ship even possible?

[zeek]

Stealth A isn't just possible to win it's pretty dependable. It's not one of my favorite ships by far, but I expect to win when I start a game with it. Really you're only in the danger zone before you get shields. A beam drone could wreck your day, but even that is unlikely. You just need to disable drone control ASAP. Try to guesstimate if the drone is targeting your weapons. If it looks close go ahead and cloak right before it fires. There's still a chance the RNG will get you but it's low. I tend to save every bit of scrap until I get shields. Which means I can usually afford them in sector 1. Especially if I sell titanium plating. After that you've got a decent weapons setup and can play normally from there on.

[cuthawolf]

Victory! Managed to finish it on Normal with the Stealth A and get a decent score as well!

Thanks very much for the tactics and feedback guys, I very much appreciate it

[Twinge]

Stealth A is a reliable mid-tier ship that generally takes less damage than other ships in Sector 1 once you know how to use it well. Stealth B is the worst ship in the game and the only ship I consider luck to be relevant towards winning or losing - which is to say I'd only expect to win ~98% of the time with it on Normal.

Shieldless runs are challenging and do require some luck, but they are very possible. At least half a dozen have been completed. Key items include Defense II, Pre-Igniter, and Hull Repair -- it is even possible without any of these, but very unlikely to survive Phase 2. Here's my Shieldless run.

Here's my run of the Stealth A and Stealth B (Part 1 || Part 2) during my 18-win streak using all the ships for some example runs.

Finally, here's an old clip I made explaining some tips for minimizing problems against drones.

[itg]

In my shieldless run (link earlier in the thread) I only had a single defense I, which fills a totally different role than shields. For the record, a defense drone II is a pretty poor substitute for shields, although it's better than nothing.

Shieldless runs should be much easier in AE, thanks in no small part to hacking. What's more, a shieldless ship can use that slot for an extra system. Then again, most people who would even try a shieldless run would want to do it on hard mode, which balances it out.

[Nukeknockout]

It is very possible!





I know this isn't Stealth A, but if Stealth B can do it, Stealth A can certainly do it better.

[stvip]

The Stealth A should be an early ship unlock, because playing it well enforces good playing practices for people who still haven't mastered the game. It necessitates precise timing with volley control and cloaking, often involving pausing, and making important decisions such as whether to tank out unavoidable hits (drones buzzing around your ship, but not targeting weapons or cloak) or rather cloak prematurely and/or run away. It is, however, not only possible on Normal, but one of the better ships, in my experience. Its biggest drawback is actually the 3 slots weapons bay (probably there to counterbalance having two weapons with very good damage-to-power ratio, but it is a hard limiting factor).
In contrast, Engi A is powerful, but promotes poor habits (Autofire, neglect Medbay micro).

(I'm actually here just so I can drop in a mention that I finished Hard Mode with the Stealth A, having previously turned both the Osprey, with just a few seconds from victory, and the Nisos into scrap for the Flagship attempting to do so)