The Reds are a weakest faction in the campaign. They are ‘HARD MODE’.
They only attack when attacked and are generally easy to pick-on. Their unique feature is the squishyness of their hull. They have no shields, and are not particularly fast. Their one notable attribute is how easy they are to kill.
Once a player has killed 1000P worth of Red ships, the faction will be unlocked and they can start a new game as a Red.
Blocks
The Reds don’t have many options compared to some of the other factions. Their limited number of options is further diminished by their lack of survivability. They also use the penrose block set, so the shapes offer additional challenges to build with.
Armor
Red armor regenerates faster than any other block in the game. Unfortunately, it also evaporates quicker than any other factions armor. Red ships die easily as pretty much anything cuts right through their hull and destroys their interior modules.
Thrusters
Red thrusters are not particularly great. They are a little on the heavy side and thus the ships are always a bit sluggish.
Weapons
The challenge with the Reds is, how to do damage without being shot back? Or, how do you kill the enemy fast enough that he dies before you do? — these challenges dictate weapon selection.
Blaster: The Blaster might not be a terrible weapon for some of the other factions, but it is a terrible weapon for the Reds because it has such short range. Use the Phasers instead.
Phasers: They have a much longer range than the Blaster and do splash damage.
Tempest: This is the saving grace of the faction. Not only does the Tempest do fast, cutting damage, it also has 1,000 health. You can use Tempests to construct your ship and make them slightly survivable. They also have the dps to cut enemies down to their core.
Anti-Missile Laser: This is a cheap laser best for killing incoming missiles, which helps your survivability. They are a requirement on any Red ship.
Laser: Not a bad weapon, but like the Blaster, it has a very short range. Tempests and Phasers are a better option.
Drones: Drones are good for killing weak enemies at range, but they don’t do much damage, are expensive, and use a lot of energy.
Nano Beams / Nano Drones
A nice idea, but healing generally doesn’t offset the cost. Especially since the Red’s armor is so weak. Your ships will generally be dead before they can heal.
Red Tricks
Use Healing Lasers to grow plants. Raid some Farmers, take control of their seeds, and use the lasers to make them grow faster. Reds need a lot of R to replace the ships that keep dying, so try to set-up a nice little farm to replenish your fleet.
Bases: the Reds don’t have a base design. The game will use the default Resource Center ship instead. Make a blueprint for an 8000P ship with a factory, even if you can’t build it, the game will use it when you unlock a base point.
Swarm: make your player-controlled ship fast so you can escape danger. Use a giant fleet of allied ships to engage enemies. You never want to engage Agents with your player ship if you can help it because you die so easily. It’s annoying to have to build your fleet back up if you get killed.
Spinning to Survive
If you want even a meager amount of survivability, make your ships circular spinners. Spinning evens enemy damage across the whole hull rather than letting it drill right to the core.