SpaceBourne 2 Ultimate Beginner’s Guide: Tips and Tricks for New Space Pilots

by Mike Alexander / Articles, SpaceBourne 2 / 28 Apr 2022

I’m already a cargo hold full of hours into SpaceBourne 2, and I can tell you this game is wild. There is so much to see and do that it doesn’t seem likely you could experience everything in the game in one playthrough. However, that hasn’t stopped me from trying!

In my extended gameplay sessions of this game, I’ve made notes of how certain things work that weren’t very clear to me at the beginning, and I’ve solved many of the issues I had with the game in its opening hours. If you’re also playing SpaceBourne 2 and are having some issues, stick around because I might have something for you.

With all of the knowledge I have gathered, I have put together this SpaceBourne 2 Ultimate Beginner’s Guide, which should have plenty of info on just about any subject related to the game you might need help with.

I’m really excited to help more people see all of the awesome stuff in SpaceBourne 2, so if you’re ready to blast off into space on a grand adventure, then warm up your hyperdrives and let’s get started!

Skill Trees: Understanding the Basics

SpaceBourne 2 features three main skill trees: Soldier, Pilot, and Adventurer. Each tree focuses on different aspects of the game:

Soldier: Ground combat and weaponry.

Pilot: Space combat, ship control, and maneuvering.

Adventurer: Exploration, story missions, and various activities.

Leveling up the Adventurer skill tree can be slow and difficult, but there’s a helpful perk named -More Experience- designed to help with that. Tier 1 of this perk increases the rate you gain experience points by 10%, and Tier 2 of this Perk increases it by 30% to solve that issue. Make it your top priority to obtain this perk early in the game, as it will significantly speed up your progression.

Settings and Keybinds: Customize Your Experience

Before diving into the game, take some time to explore the Settings menu and tailor the controls and display to your preferences. Be cautious with key binds, as some keys (such as Toggle Warp Drive, Aim, and Target Lock) are shared between multiple functions. Adjust these settings to create an intuitive control scheme that suits your playstyle. If you are not sure what the default key bindings are, we have a detailed key bindings guide here.

SpaceBourne 2 PC Keyboard Controls Guide

Mastering Space Combat: Strafing, Dodging, and Flares

To stay alive in challenging battles, make use of strafing and dodging techniques. When you see a red “Flare” message during combat, press X to launch flares and evade enemy missiles. Double-tapping strafe keys will perform a dodge maneuver, helping you avoid taking damage. We also have another guide on space combat to help you understand the basics of combat.

SpaceBourne 2: A Beginner’s Guide to Combat

Weapon Choices and Grouping

You don’t necessarily need both an anti-shield and an anti-hull gun assigned to different weapon groups at all times. Some weapons, like railguns, deal significant damage to both shields and hulls, allowing you to equip your entire ship with them. However, be aware that having too many turrets assigned to the same weapon group reduces their efficiency. Work around this by using a ship with the Weapon Burst perk, which fires all guns simultaneously for a short duration.

Navigating the Local Map: Mission Indicators

When examining the local map of a system, hovering over planets will display a small window with the planet’s information. Below this window, you’ll see if you have a mission on that planet. This feature is handy for keeping track of your objectives and their locations.

Setting Warp Targets: Mission Log Shortcuts

To quickly set your warp target to a mission location, go to your Mission Log, select the mission, and click the designated button. When you approach a Star Gate, your route will be set automatically. However, some story missions may lose their location under certain circumstances, requiring you to set the warp target manually.

Saving Your Game: Protect Your Progress

SpaceBourne 2, like many Sandbox RPGs, is best experienced when you save your game often. Create manual save files and utilize the Quick Save (F6) and Quick Load (F8) features. Be mindful of the game’s background saving process – interrupting this by closing the game or reloading during a save can corrupt your files. Fortunately, this issue has been reported and should be fixed in future updates. So, remember to save as often as you can. SpaceBourne 2 is being developed by a single person and is still in early access, so you might experience some weird bugs that result in losing your progress. You’re going to want a wealth of save options if that happens to you.

Ground Combat: Weapon Swapping and Perks

For ground combat, try fast-swapping your weapons by pressing 2 and 3, allowing you to skip animations and fire faster. Combine this with perks like Area Force and the slow time skill for a powerful advantage. Using two Pulse Shotguns with this method can be particularly effective, although it may be subject to balancing changes in the future.

Guild Missions: Payouts and Efficiency

When undertaking guild missions from the Freelancer, Mercenary, or other guilds, note that harder enemies don’t always guarantee better loot or higher payouts. Instead, focus on completing easy missions quickly, as this can result in better overall rewards in terms of experience. To optimize mission efficiency, try accepting multiple missions in the same system to reduce travel time.

Ranking Up in Guilds: Accessing Better Stores and Items

As you rank up in various Guilds, you’ll gain access to better stores and items. Focus on the Freelancers Guild for ship weapons, the Mercenaries Guild for ground weapons, and the Bounty Hunting Guild for ship components. To rank up in these guilds, take on their missions which are usually accessible through the Galaxy Web screen. For the Mining Guild, rank up by mining, and for the Explorers Guild, rank up by scanning and discovering Points of Interest (POIs) on planets. At the moment, there are no missions available for the Mining and Explorers Guilds.

Locating Guild Branches

If you have trouble finding a specific Guild, open the Guild screen and check the “Closest Branch” field for the desired Guild. This will show the nearest system with that particular Guild station.

Capturing Pods for Profit

Capturing Pods is a lucrative activity in SpaceBourne 2. To begin, purchase Pod Catchers at a Component Store and equip them via the Component Management tab in the Services interface. Destroy enemy ships to generate escape pods, then stabilize the spinning pods by holding the right mouse button (or your assigned Aim key). Launch your Pod Catcher to capture the stabilized pod and bring it to a Security console at a nearby Outpost to receive payment for the captured prisoner. Some ships come with a Stabilize Pods perk, making this process even more efficient.

Using Old Ships as Storage

When your storage starts filling up with items, consider using your old ships as extra storage. Transfer items back into the bank as needed.

Customizing and Upgrading Ships

To customize and upgrade your ships, find a Faction Hangar (Diode N25 usually has one) and dock there. Use the terminals inside to level up your ship, increase its tier, and add more module slots. You can also change your ship’s colors and skins at the central console. Remember to save your game before making modifications, as mistakes can be costly.

Wingmen and Formations

As you progress in the game, you can assign up to four wingmen by going to the faction screen and dragging them into the slots around your character. Use the F1 key to warp them in, and issue basic commands when they’re around. For effective combat support, set them to Attack Formation, so they stick close and engage any nearby enemies.

Sublight Drifting

Perform a maneuver called “Sublight Drifting” with a ship that has the Engine Burst perk. Activate Drift mode by pressing ALT, then activate Engine Burst (usually assigned to the 5 key). This allows your ship to travel extremely fast and can be used to escape enemies, approach distant targets, or quickly ascend from planets.

Misc. Tips

Enable VSync or limit your FPS in your graphics card settings if the game is too GPU-intensive for your PC.

Rotate the Scanner map to locate mission waypoints, especially for Bounty Hunting missions with hidden waypoints.

Please note as the game evolves and updates are released, some information may change, so always stay up to date and follow updates notes on Steam.

Mike Alexander

Mike has been playing video games since he was able to hold a controller, having been fascinated by Sonic 2 on his mom’s Sega Genesis. That fascination and passion for the art form has grown exponentially nearly 30 years later, and he doesn’t see that fading away anytime soon.
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