After performing all operations on the registration process, synchronizing it with steam and experiencing the first delight of entering the game, you become a young pilot in the wonderful world of space battles against other fans of space ships and destruction, where you blow up the enemy, preferably a lot of them, in the vacuum lit up by millions of stars.

The first impression of the game is often the same: my goodness! The abundance of buttons and toggles, menus and sub-menus may very well drive an unprepared person insane. Further along the road the whole thing becomes even more complex, so this guide is meant for making you comfortable with the game at the early stages.

Separately, I want to say thank you to the pilots of the official forum[forum.gaijinent.com] for the advanced manual (also highly recommended – there's much more information not included in this manual). Even more information can be found online at the link provided, where you can also join the discussion.

This is where you start all your adventures. This is where you leave for battles and this is where you come back to rest. With your shield or on your shield. Here you assemble your ship like your favourite toy. This is the place where you carefully build your machine of destruction to terrify your enemies and inspire your allies.
The first thing you see is your ship belonging to the chosen side of conflict. Yes, it's completely bare. It can only boast a default weapon and nothing else. It's not only useless to fly off to battle with such a modest set-up, but also disrespectful to your team-mates. You have some starting funds and equipping your ship is the first thing you should do with them.

The second interface tab says “EQUIPMENT”. That's where we're going – this is our design bureau, the drawing board of our future success. Here you can buy weapons, missiles, modules – anything that can be installed on your ship. Don't forget that you can also install modules you find in loot or in PvE scenarios.

Important:
Questions in the vein of “What's better for this or that ship?” are basically rhetorical since there's no clear winning set-up. You can only try to answer this question yourself when you spend some time in the game,
I also recommend visiting the game's forums where you can read heated discussions and cold hard facts on what's more effective in any given situation.


Weapons and modules are sorted not only by their TECHNOLOGICAL LEVEL? But also by their application to certain types of ships, as written in tooltips on modules. Equipment is also identified by its effectiveness: MK1, MK2, MK3 (blue), PREMIUM (yellow), Military (green) and experimental (purple). The higher the module's effectiveness, the higher its cost. As for Military and Experimental modules, they can only be acquired from post-battle looting or from PvE scenarios.

Important:
You have to learn to understand your place on the battlefield. However, it's good to keep in mind that with all the possible variants of equipping ships, there are lots and lots of ways to be useful in battle.

VERY IMPORTANT:
You CAN NOT sell your ships. Each and every purchased ship remains in your hangar forever.

There are three classes of ships in the game:
1) Interceptors – a fast and agile ship with 2 main guns and missile pylons. Has the lowest shield and hull strength.
2) Fighters – A relatively robust and fast ship equipped with 4 main guns and missile pylons. Slower and not as agile as an interceptor, but it's more durable.
3) Frigates – the slowest, yet the biggest and the most well-protected ship. It's equipped with 6 main guns and missile pylons. High hull and shield strength compensate for its low speed and manoeuvrability.

Important:
To see detailed information on your ship, mouse over its picture and press shift. TO see detailed information on a special ability, mouse over its icon and press Alt.

It's up to you to decide which ships to use. If you like fast and intense dogfights, where your only means of survival are dodging and outpacing your opponent, then interceptors are a perfect fit. If you like to stay close to your enemy and strike it without fear of being shot down halfway across the map, then you should pick a fighter. Finally, if you prefer looking tough and dealing monstrous damage, frigates will suits you very well. But keep in mind that nobody's forcing you to use all 3 types of ships. You can use just one or maybe two of them.

Important:
All ships have special abilities that depend on their side of conflict. You find further information on this topic on the forums. For example, special abilities include mini-warp for Imperial interceptors, overdrive for Imperial fighters and disintegrator for Imperial frigates.

Your first ship is a fighter – average in all its characteristics. Open your Ships tab to plan your further development.

Note:
Keep in mind that each class of ship has two faction subclasses. Their special abilities have slight variations among factions.

To unlock better ships, you have to reach a certain rank with the desired side of conflict, i.e. earn enough experience in battles or scenarios. You also need to earn enough credits (local currency) to be able to buy the ship. Contracts are meant to help pilots earn money.

Important:
To start progressing through the ship tree of a different side of conflict, you have to change your faction in the contracts window.

Ships have SYNERGY levels. The ship's characteristics improve with each synergy level. Depending on the ship's technological level, there are varying numbers of synergy levels.

On this tab the pilots install implants giving various bonuses not to ships but to the pilots themselves. The bonuses affect all ships.

Important:
You can simultaneously use implants from any sides of conflict. You just need appropriate ranks with the given sides. However, you can still only install one implant per level.

Each side of conflict is represented by two factions. When you decide on the ships you want to use, you can sign a contract with one of the factions. Completing contracts will reward you with loyalty points. Reaching a certain loyalty rank will allow you to use the faction's Mk3 weapons and modules.

Important:
You can change your faction at any time without losing your progress with the previous faction (this will stop the loyalty gains though). But it will cost you money. The higher your loyalty level with the faction, the higher the cost of switching factions becomes.

Important:
Contracts are repeatable. They have cooldown timers, so you can accept the contract again once the timer expires.
It's up to you to decide whether you want to use contracts or not. This is a great almost effortless way to earn additional credits and reputation.

The storage tab is also shared with the shop. You can see what kind of equipment is available to you by tuning the display options to your tastes: you can set the window to only show available modules or only show the modules that can be installed on your ships.

When you switch to your storage, you will see all your equipment, modules and consumables that are installed on your ships or just lying around in storage cells.

Important:
Your storage space has a limit! Expand it in exchange for credits (highly recommended) or sell the modules you don't need anyway (also recommended).

The Corporations window lets you see all the existing corporations (also known as clans, guilds, etc.). Corporations unite players under the command of a single strong leader (or maybe not too strong, depending on your luck).

Apart from some features that are not yet implemented, corporation membership allows for easier search for squads and PvE teams.

The Profile tab shows all your stats, medals (those you haven't unlocked too) and current and future achievements.

Important:
Skill is not all about numbers and stats!

Now that your ship is fully equipped, contracts are signed and you're all ready to fight, let's head into battle! There are several types of battles:
1) Battle, Arcade – PvP battle with certain objectives. You can redeploy an unlimited amount of times (expect for Combat Recon, where you can't redeploy if your captain has been eliminated).
2) Battle, Realistic – PvP battle with certain objectives. You can only deploy each ship once. When you get killed three times (or twice, if you only have two ships), you can't participate in battle any longer.

Important:
Don't leave the battle prematurely. Wait for the battle to end so that you can collect loot in case your team wins. Deserters are stripped of all rewards and bonuses from battles they leave! Remember: even if your team loses, you still get experience and credits.

3) Scenario, random. These are PvE missions designed for 4-player teams. Completing the scenario's objectives awards you with green and purple modules, but not too often. Scenarios also give hefty amounts of money and experience, but only if you win.
4) Practice with players. Well, this is practice. With players.
5) Practice with bots. Yep, this is practice. With bots.

Important:
Practice is a great way to try out new modules and weapons to see if they are worth equipping.

No manual can teach you to become a skillful pilot. Only your own experience can give you the skills needed to survive and win even the most difficult fights and to learn to pick your equipment. However, a manual can still give helpful hints like:
-Weapons have ranges of fire. When your target is in a RED reticule – it's out of your weapon's reach. When the reticule turns pink, you can start firing.

Important:
Railguns and plasma cannons also have a set projectile speed. You need to lead your target while firing with the help of an additional tracking reticule on your target. Lasers lack such a disadvantage and you can just aim straight at your enemy.

- A stationary ship is an easy target for any enemy sip. Remember to keep moving in all directions in battle, not just forwards or backwards. It's very difficult to hit a rapidly and unpredictably moving target!

Important:
Your ship can move in any direction. Make sure to check your key bindings to see how.

- Each ship class has its own icon:
A triangle is an interceptors.
A diamond is a fighter,
A square is a frigate.

- Collisions with objects are dangerous and will damage your ship, You can even kill an enemies by ramming them.
- A lone wolf in battle is an easy target and a burden for his own team. Always interact with the team.
- Carefully watch not only your enemies, but your allies too. You can learn a lot from your team-mates.
…
But really, there are millions of small tips like that. Go play the game and maybe you can add some to this list too!

When luck is on your side and your team wins. You can search the battlefield for loot. Click and hold on the looting nodes. You can find nothing, some junk to sell, or, very rarely, green and purple items that are automatically stored in your warehouse.

Well, that's it, pilot. Now that you can boast some downed enemy ships, it's time to venture into the vast expanses of deep space. If you have any questions, feel free to ask around in your hangar's chat. I'm sure someone will help you.
Don't forget to visit the game's forums too, there are tons of useful discussions and facts about the game.

Good luck!

Useful resources:

http://star-conflict.com/ - official site

http://forum.gaijinent.com/index.php?/forum/34-star-conflict/ - official forum

http://wiki.star-conflict.com/i - official wiki

This review is a translation of the original manualoriginal review by Morbid and is published with the author's consent and permission.