Fission Superstar X

Fission Superstar X

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Fission Superstar X Guide
By Aleosha
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Gameplay Basics
Quick Start Guide
  • Always pick Blaster MK2 as your starting bonus. It's a very versatile weapon. You won't get opportunity to by those until much later into the game. And it also costs more than a new crew member.
  • After that your goal should be to fill all positions on your ship, so pick "Recruitment". Science is the most important, since it enables your shields. Then hire Engineer, then Medic.
  • Focus on maxing out your crew skills, unless your ship is badly damaged or one of your crew members is heavily wounded.
  • Once your crew Skill is maxed out, start to max out Armor. This will make your crew more resilient. With maxed out Skill, your Science officer should bump armor pretty quickly.
  • Save around 700 credits before you reach the mid-point.
  • Make sure that you land on that middle point between your starting location and Pluto. That will allow you to beat your first mini-boss, and grant your access to Bomb Outfits. The earlier you get Bomb Outfit - the more value it will allow you to accumulate, and the cheaper it will be.
  • If you didn't get to fight the mini-boss or didn't like any of the two outfits, restart your run.

After defeating a boss, you'll be given an option to continue your run or to end it by detonating a planet:

No matter how good your think your run is, always pick "Detonate" after you beat a new boss for the first time. That way you're able to save at least some of your progress, and do the next run with a better ship.
There are no bonuses for detonating on the same planet twice, so you should never do it.

DNA
To level up your Pilot at the start of the run you use DNA.
DNA is preserved between runs. If you don't have enough DNA to max out your pilot skill, do a couple of junk runs until you do.
DNA is awarded for killing people, not for destroying ships. During your junk runs, aim for cockpits, as 8t will maximize your chances.

Shops
If you are in the Weapon Shop, always buy all the ammo available, unless you're short on cash. As you progress your weapons will consume more and more ammo, so unless you have the Ammo Outfit, you'll be burning through it quickly.
If you're in the Shipyard, always repair your ship fully. It's cheap, and you never know what comes next.

Combat
Don't rush to kill weak enemies. There is a limit on how many enemies can be present on the screen at the same time. Sometimes it is more beneficial to stay in the enemy's dead zone than to kill it and risk a stronger enemy to appear.

Police Encounters
If you progress slowly enough, police will catch up with you.
This is not a death sentence, though. Police ship has a huge blind spot at the bottom.
If you manage to stick underneath it, not only you'll be safe, but the police ship will destroy other enemies in front.
Space Hazards
Accretion disk
Line of small particles that tears everything in its way.
Shields can block them.

Antiship Battery
A target will appear on the screen few seconds before the battery makes it shot.

Asteroid Field
Same as Accretion disk?

Comet Tail
Your ship is harder to control.

Comet Tail Core
Combination of
Comet Tail
and Accretion disk.

Deep Space
Neutral zone.

Drone Carrier
At early stages, friendly drones will fly at you and repair you ship slightly once they touch you.
They repair enemies as well.
At later stages, the drones will steal your money instead.
At final stages, drones will explode.

Fish Mix
As the name suggest, this is a mix of Space Piranhas and Pufferfish

Fleet Massing
More enemies than usual.

Freight Convoy
Containers can be destroyed. Each container contains random bonuses and cash.

Hungry Planetoid
A huge "pacman" that comes at you from different angles.
Your shield can block it.
Can get quite dangerous if you run low on shields, though.

Ion Storm
Like a minefield, but instead of damaging your ship, those balls of electricity will drain its energy and stagger it somewhat. More difficult if your ship is focused around energy weapons.

Minefield
Stick to the back of the screen, so enemies could shield you from the mines.
There are large and small mines.
Your shield should block most of the damage. Mines can be shot.

Ms. Planetoid
Like Hungry Planetoid, but worse: also adds smaller "pacmans" that chew through your ship and crew.

Space Pufferfish
Yellow puffish that will explode if you get close.

Singularities
There are two types of singularities.
Black ones will suck you towards them.
Red ones will damage your ship. Both are quite bad, since they are very hard to predict and avoid.

Space Aurora
Some lighting effects, but basically neutral.

Space Cows
Cows will fly at you front the front of the screen. They can be killed by touching them with your shield.
Great way to earn money quickly.
At later stages, farmers riding rockets will appear. Those can be blown with a shield as well.
At final stages cows will be replaced by robot-cows, which are akin to the robot enemies.

Space Darkness
Everything around your ship will fade into darkness once in a while.

Space Dust Cloud
Similar to Accretion disk, but with a different visual effect.

Space Piranhas
Small mechanical piranhas chew throw your ship.

Space Rush Hour
Cars explode if someone collides into them, or if you touch them with your shield. Can get quite chaotic.

Space Whales Pod
Space whales will slowly chase you from the back of the screen.
Whales are not aggressive and do not damage your ship.
Damaging parts of a whale brings some cash.

Solar Flare
A horizontal stream of fire telegraphing shortly before it starts.
Extremely dangerous to your ship and crew.
Cannot be blocked by shields.
Focus on avoiding the fire waves, as they will tear through your enemies.

Warships
Quite similar to Freight Convoy, but warships will shoot back at you downward and forward if you hit them.
Weapons
Weapons in this game are either energy based or ammo based.
Ammo based put you at risk of running out of ammo, while energy based weapons compete for reactor power with you shield.

Special Weapons Shop will allow you to supercharge one of your weapons.
This will give it an unique and awesome look, and increase its stats, but it's not clear by how much, since stats of supercharged weapons are not visible.


Rifle
DPS: 10.8
Shots / Sec: 4
Ammo / Sec: 3.6
"This weapon fires .50 caliber rounds. It is the least potent ammo-based space weapon"

The only reason this weapon exists is for the starting enemies to have a worse weapon than you.

Wave Gun MK1
DPS: 19
Shots / sec: 20
Energy / sec: 4.5

"A dish that sends energy waves at a short distance. Shields are mostly ineffective at blocking it"

This weapon is surprisingly effective at the first 3 planets at least, as it will penetrate enemy shields and fry the ship's crew, potentially decreasing its firepower.

Wave Gun MK2
DPS: 19
Shots / sec: 32
Energy / sec: 4.5

"A dish that sends energy waves at medium range. Shields are mostly ineffective at blocking it"

Same stats as Wave Gun MK1, but with increased range.

Short Barrel 88MM
DPS: 27
Shots / Sec: 1
Ammo / Sec: 4.5

"The Short Barrel 88mm Gun fires armor-piercing shells at a slow rate of fire"

Long Barrel 88MM
DPS: 36
Shots / sec: 1.2
Ammo / sec: 8.4
Price: 1,965

"The long Barrel 88mm Gun fires high-velocity armor-piercing shells at a slow rate of fire"

Space Chainsaw
DPS: 36
Ammo / Sec: 3.6

"The chainsaw is a melee weapon that deals fairly high damage. It uses ammo because its fuel is stored in the ammunition bay"
This weapon will become available after you beat your first boss, and it has fantastic DPS for that stage.

Electro Spike
DPS: 27
Shots / sec: 1
Energy / sec: 3.6

"This is a harpoon used to hunt space whales. It thrusts forward to stab its target when its electromagnets are activated"

Simply not worth it. The only saving grace of that weapon is its low energy consumption. But you're still much better off with an ammo-based Space Chainsaw.

Volley Blaster MK2
DPS: 51
Shots / Sec: 3
Energy / Sec: 7.8

"This blaster shoots volleys of energy bolts at a slow rate. This improved version shoots more bolts per volley"

30mm Auto Flak
DPS: 50.5
Shots / sec: 3
Ammo / sec: 8.1

This is an automatic 30mm flak cannon. It fires explosive fragmentation shells with a timed fuse"

30mm Auto Flak MK2
DPS: 55
Shots / sec: 4
Ammo / sec: 10.8

"Automatic high velocity 30mm Flak cannon. It fires explosive fragmentation shells with a timed fuse"

Raygun MK1
DPS: 32
Shots / sec: 0.8
Energy / sec: 5.3

"The Raygun fires a ray burst that can go through obstacles and even shields. It has a slow-firing rate, however"

Slow rate of fire, but this is a "hitscan" weapon, and it passes through everything: shields, multiple enemies, invulnerable boss parts.

Raygun MK2
DPS: 48
Shots / sec: 1.2
Energy / sec: 9.3

"The Raygun MK2 fires a ray burst that goes through targets, obstacles and even shields"

Auto Howitzer I
DPS: 34.5
Shots / sec: 2.5
Ammo / sec: 6.9

"The Automatic Howitzer fires low-velocity 105mm shells. It uses ammo"

Great weapon, especially if you get it early. The only downside is that those projectiles fly slowly.

Gatling Gun
DPS: 54.8
Shots / sec: 16.7
Ammo / sec: 13.7

"The Gatling Gun is a multi-barrel .50 machine gun that fires a stream of bullets at an incredible rate"

Fantastic weapon, that only needs a good Bomb Outfit that would provide it with enough ammo supply.

Machine Gun MK1
DPS: 27
Shots / sec: 10
Ammo / sec: 10

"The machine gun is a fast firing weapon that shoots .50 caliber bullets"

Surprisingly powerful for a weapon that is quite common at the start of the game. Excellent choice for the Pluto boss.

Twin Machine Guns
DPS: 40.5
Shots / sec: 16.7
Ammo / sec: 13.5

"When you couple two .50 machine guns, you get a very fast-firing weapon that eats ammo like pop corn"

Particle Gun MK1
DPS: 18
Shots / sec: 20
Energy / sec: 3.6

"This weapon fires a stream of Leopoldotron particles at its target."

The stream of particles is quite slow, so that weapon is not especially efficient, unless you get very close.

Particle Gun MK2
DPS: 36
Shots / sec: 40
Energy / sec: 8.9

"This weapon fires a stream of Leopoldotron particles at its target. It has a fairly high energy consumption rate"


Minimissile MK1
DPS: 32
Shots / sec: 7.5
Ammo / sec: 9

"Mini missile launcher that shoots RPGs at a random rate. It is used mostly for battlefield saturation"

The key problem is the random rate of fire. Random is bad in game that is all about surviving against the odds.

Minimissile MK2
DPS: 41.6
Shots / sec: 10
Ammo / sec: 15.6
Price: 2,077

"Mini missile launcher that shoots RPGs at a fast random rate. It is used mostly for battlefield saturation"

Heavy Blaster MK1
DPS: 23
Shots / sec: 2.5
Energy / sec: 4.5

"The Heavy Blaster MK1 fires high damage energy bolts"

Heavy Blaster MK2
DPS: 36
Shots / sec: 4
Energy / sec: 8.1
"The Heavy Blaster MK2 fires high damage energy bolts at a fast rate of fire"

Blaster MK1
DPS: 11.5
Shots / sec: 2.5
Energy / sec: 1.9

"The blaster MK1 is a very basic weapon that shoots energy bolts"

Your starting weapon. There are no reasons to buy it.

Blaster MK2
DPS: 22.5
Shots / sec: 5
Energy / sec: 6.3

"The blaster MK2 is an improved blaster MK1 as it shoots twice as fast"
Twice as fast is very good. Extremely efficient starting weapon. But by the time you can get it in shops, you'll have better options.

Rocket Launcher
DPS: 36
Shots / sec: 1.25
Ammo / sec: 6

"The rocket launcher shoots slow-flying hollow charge rockets that do high damage on impact"
A very solid weapon for the mid-game. But becomes obsolete in the later stages of the game.

Automatic RPG
DPS: 54
Shots / sec: 2
Ammo / sec: 9
"The automatic RPG launches hollow charge rockets that do high damage on impact at a fast rate of fire"
A better version of Rocket Launcher.

Saw
Ammo / sec: 4.5

"This melee weapon is basically a saw powered by a petrol engine at the end of a long pole"

Nuclear Mortar
DPS: 41.6
Shots / sec: 1
Ammo / sec: 6
Price: 1,760

"This mortar launces a nuclear shell that detonates on impact. The resulting explosion deals massive damage"

This is the worst weapon in the game. It will do more harm to you than to enemies. The projectiles are slow, and the explosions harms your ship and crew.

Gatling Blaster
DPS: 60
Shots / sec: 14.3
Energy / sec: 9.3

"This is the fastest firing blaster available. It should only be used on a ship with a decent energy reactor"

It's like a minigun with endless ammo. Energy consumption is actually not that bad. Most enemies will go down much quicker than you start running out of juice.

Auto Howitzer 2
DPS: 67
Shots / sec: 5
Ammo / sec: 13.5

"The Automatic Howitzer 2 fires low-velocity 105mm shells. It uses ammo. This version has a faster rate of fire"

One of the highest DPS in the game, with the only downside being projectiles flying quite slowly.
Bosses
Pluto
You can destroy its turrets if you have a Machine Gun or a Wave Gun at your front or back.
Machine Gun is probably your best option against it in general.

Neptune
It will shoot a volley of rockets as it appears from the back of the screen, so if you aren't careful, it may be a very short fight for you.
There is a blind spot at the front-right, and if you have a high-DPS weapon at the top, you should be able to disable its bottom weapons and stay relatively safe.

Uranus
Turning on your shield will make the boss visible.

Saturn

Jupiter
Like the previous boss, shooting its head off will end the fight quickly. Make sure that you have a high DPS weapon such as Space Chainsaw on your back or top.

Ceres
Probably the easiest boss. Just hide behind it, and shoot at the pilot's antennae. Or let it eventually blow itself up with the homing missiles.

Mars

Earth
This boss has three phases.
First one has shields.
Second, after you enter atmosphere, has its shields down, but shoots bolts at you.
Third one is a separate ship with a minigun in front.
Minibosses
You'll meet a miniboss if you land exactly in the middle between two planets.
Defeating a miniboss will grant you access to Special Recruitment, Special Weapon Shop, Special Shipyard and Bomb Outfits.


Pluto - King Vomit
"I banished him after he flooded my lab with vomit"
Can be dangerous for not yet upgraded ship.
If you have Blaster MK2, move your ship to the top of the screen, so the boss will move up as well, then quickly move to the bottom of the screen, putting it in the range of your blaster.

Neptune - Angel Eyes
This miniboss is akin to Antiship Battery, as it will telegraph where it is going to attack.
Keep moving, and try to aim at the head.


Uranus - Space Gorilla
Melee boss. Pretty harmless. It can run towards you, but can't turn, so just get far away or around it.

Saturn - Toupee
"He was my glorious giant toupee experiment. I'm surprised to see he fared that well"
Similar to Uranus boss, Toupee will shoot yellow beams that drain your energy quickly.
Can get pretty dangerous if you don't have high DPS weapon.



Jupiter - Red Moron
Don't get in front of it, as its double miniguns are extremely dangerous.
Top and bottom are its blind spots.

Ceres - Exceptional Mind
Melee boss that is invulnerable while it attacks you. Get away from it when it's in the "brain" form. and shoot it once it reappears.

Mars - Giant Jetpacker
"I wanted to see what one of those jetpackers would look with gigantism"
This mini-boss doesn't appear in the achievements, so I have to guess its name.
Targets you with a machine gun. No blind spots.

Earth - Donald
Shoots projectiles in a wide arc. Not very dangerous by that point.
Ships
You get a new ship after you beat a boss and choose to detonate a planet for the first time.

Ships differ by their starting starts, and by the placement of their turrets.
Some will have blind spots, which is generally bad, and some will have turret overlap, which is good.

Your starting ship. Bad in every aspect. But at least it doesn't have any blindspots.

Pluto
More agile than the previous one, but too fragile for later stages, in my opinion.

Neptune
Slow but rather steady.

Uranus
Confusingly, this ship doesn't have any blindspots.

Saturn
Blind spots from top and bottom. Awesome three-turret overlap in the front, though. Still, a very risky ship.

Jupiter
Blind spot in the front.

Ceres
The armor is great, but you'll have to work around the blind spot in front.

Mars
Fantastic ship overall.

Earth
The best ship in the game, which is quite obvious.
Blind spot at the bottom.
Shield Upgrades
Shields that can be purchased from Special Shipyard don't have names as far as I can tell. So I'll be using the shield description at its name.

"The shield will damage other ships"
The damage is rather weak, and only good to repel those small enemies like jetpackers, especially if your ship has a blind spot.

"The shield will heal crew by burning items"
Healing crew is quite useful, because loosing a crew member may mean the end of the run, and fully healed team allows you to focus on repairing your ship instead. But it won't recover the crew stats, and it will also literally burn some of you money and ammo.


"The shield will damage enemies' engines"
Causes explosions around the enemy engine.
There is a few second cooldown for that effect.
This will destroy the enemy vessel after a few explosions.

"Standard shield. Lower energy drain."

"The shield will repair all it touches"
Counterintuitively, the shield will also heal your crew, which makes it the best shield option there is.
Bomb Outfits
Bomb outfits are passive bonuses that you can pick after beating one of the minibosses.
Some of them are extremely powerful, and may make your run much easier.

You'll know that a special effect of the outfit has been triggered by bomb shaking and stars flying out of it.

Aim Training
"Celine will improve your crew's aim after each level"

Ammo Bonus
"Celine will generate ammo after multiple ship explosions"

Cash Bonus
"You will get paid a bonus after multiple ship explosions"
Celine will generate cash for a few seconds. Very solid option, that allows you to buy everything you see.

Energy Bonus
"Your energy will recharge after multiple ship explosions"
Unlike ammo, energy cannot be accumulated.
That means you will be wasting this bonus triggering quite often.

Item Stealing
"Celine will steal items when a big number of them are present"
This works more like an item magnet than "stealing".
Provides a nice balance between cash and ammo "generation". Meaning you should have enough cash to buy all upgrades, and all the ammo you need to be shooting non-stop.

Repair Bonus
"Celine will repair your ship after multiple ship explosions"
Your ship will be damaged all the time, so this is quite useful. Still, it is not accumulated. If your ship is fully repaired, that's a wasted bonus.




Time Bonus
"Level time will pass faster after multiple ship explosions"
I would argue that this outfit makes game harder, not easier. Time passing quicker means less dangers, but also less money. And you'd need money for the bosses.

Destruction
"A random explosion will occur after blood is spilled"
Blood is spilled by pilots if you hit the turret or the cockpit of an enemy ship, jetpackers and cows.
Basically, it will damage one of the other enemies on screen. Nice, but not as powerful as some other outfits.

Healing Bonus
"Celine will heal your crew after multiple ship explosions"
Taking into account that wounded members also permanently loose their stats, getting your crew wounded often is not a good thing.

Scavenging
"Celine will convert any debris that you pick into cash"

Makes debris finally useful, and not just a visual effect. Still, in terms of cash, I think this is worse that Cash Bonus or Item Stealing





Speed Bonus
"Celine will boost your speed after multiple ship explosions"
I find the improvement in speed of your ship movement barely noticeable. Not worth it.

Re-shuffling
"Celine will allow you to reshuffle shops once each stop"
Adds a "Reshuffle" button to each shop, which you activate by holding your "Shield" button.
Reshuffle does not replenish ammo in Weapon Shop, but will replenish upgrades in Ship Shop.
3 Comments
//// 26 Jul, 2022 @ 10:01am 
what about special crew line ups?
Karaman Beyi ☾ ✡ 15 Jan, 2022 @ 3:17am 
quiet detailed guide, thank you Alexey :TwoFinger:
Croc 20 Dec, 2021 @ 12:58pm 
Fantastic Guide