This guide was significantly more relevant during Early Access. With the 1.0 release, there has been significant changes to the game, but even moreso to solo play. The developers are currently working hard on balancing solo play with the new changes and seem very receptive to feedback and have recently released a patch to address some of the new solo play issues. I'm going to wait a bit more to see when the game enters a more stable state for solo play to update this guide. Thank you guys for checking out my guide, it's been awesome to see how many people have been enjoying it and I can't wait to make it even better and more relevant!

Metem Preserve You
-Icesmasher11

The build I recommend is a mix of three of the main classes as opposed to fully going into any one class.

Scavenger: Taking the Grappling Hook active ability allows you to complete missions that require you to EVA with minimal risk. Leaving the ship alone for too long is dangerous as the ship can take heavy damage since there is no one piloting the ship to dodge attacks. The grappling hook allows you to quickly leave the ship, complete the mission as quickly as possible, and return back to the ship usually before any new enemies can spawn (except for really long EVA missions such as the Raid mission, then it's down to RNG and if you're able to get the data shards quick enough). This is the only Gene Point we will use in the Scavenger Gene Tree as the other Gene Points are better used elsewhere.

Gunner: Almost all of these Gene Points are unfortunately wasted. You will have to use seventeen total Gene Points in order to unlock the ability called "Fabricate Advanced Weapon Mods". Being able to reliably upgrade your auto-turrets is necessary in order to be able to do enough damage against enemies, especially the first boss or two. The RNG for mission rewards rarely gives you enough proper upgrades to have decent auto-turrets, so being able to do so yourself is really important.

Pilot: I used all of my remaining Gene Points on "Strafe Thruster Boost", "Rotation Acceleration Boost", and "Engine Efficiency". Those three abilities increase the maneuverability of your ship which will allow you to reliably dodge enemy attacks and take as minimal damage as possible. The only other trait that may be worthwhile going into is "Shield Absorption", although I have not tested that as much yet.

Here is what the build looks like on the Gene Tree screen.

In this section I will go over what modules I recommend running on your ship (assuming you're running the Lone Sentry).

Port Modules:

I recommend putting all of the auto turrets to the Port Side of the ship. You start with two using the Lone Sentry ship type, and if RNG allows it, try to get three, taking up the entire Port Side. It doesn't matter if you want to flip-flop this and put the guns on the Starboard Side and everything from Starboard to the Port Side. The reason I recommend putting all of the guns on one side is so that it's easier to position all of the guns to fire on any target.

Starboard Modules:

On the Starboard Side, the first slot should be either Shields, Thruster Booster Module, or a fourth auto-turret depending on if you get lucky enough to get a fourth one get during a run. I typically prefer Shields, but the Thruster Booster Module is usually better during the Frost Mother and Flame Matriarch boss fights, so I recommend keeping whichever one you're not using in storage and switching them out as needed. The reason that the Thruster Booster Module would go first is so that if you ever need to recharge it, you only have to leave the helm for as minimal time as possible since it is closest to the pilot's seat. The second slot should go to the Grav Scoop. The Grav Scoop needs to be in the middle because it often glitches out if it isn't in the middle due to loot getting caught on the wings of the ship. The reason I do not have the Grav Scoop in the Aft section is because it often needs to be emptied in the middle of missions, and leaving the helm to go all the way to the back of the ship can be really risky. Then have an energy module in the third slot.

Aft Modules:

On the Starboard side of the Aft I have an energy module. On the Port side I have a shield module set to protect the Aft and Port sides. When you're taking fire, you're often returning it or running away from it, so I find protecting the side with the guns and your Aft usually gets you the most use of your shields. I only protect those two sides in order to maximize the amount of shields going to them as opposed to also protecting Starboard.

What Weapon Mods To Go With:

You should go with Damage Mark 3, then Fire Rate Mark 3, and then another Damage Mark 3 (occasionally Power Optimizer Mark 2 in one of them if you haven't gotten lucky with finding upgrade modules for your energy grid). I have not had much testing with the Heat Sink mods on the auto turrets though, so if anyone is reading this and finds them to be really useful, please let me know! I also have not tested Damage Mark 3, then two Fire Rate Mark 3's yet, but I aim to do so soon and update this guide if that seems better.

Which Modules to Upgrade First:

I recommend upgrading one of your energy modules up to level three first. This is because otherwise you often would be going over capacity if you upgrade your auto turrets first. I then recommend upgrading your weapons, I typically end up upgrading all of them to level two before upgrading one to level three, but it has minimal difference what order you do that in. You'll likely need to begin upgrading your second energy module in the process of upgrading your auto turrets as well. After your energy modules and weapons, you should upgrade your shields, especially because upgraded shields do not consume more energy. If you somehow reach a point in a run where you upgrade all of those, then last you upgrade your Grav Scoop.

Start of the Game:

Reorganize all of your ships modules to either the recommended set up in the previous section or however you prefer them. Deconstruct the gun the Benediction Cannon MK1 and the Hull Repair Plate. This gives you ten alloys, enough to make one damage mark 2 mod. I tend to put this on the energy-based carronade auto turret, but it makes no difference if you put it on the kinetic benediction one instead.

What Missions to Take?:

Try to avoid EVA-required missions (such as the Raid and Download missions) until you feel confident with the grappling hook and your ship has decent upgrades in case things go wrong. Your ship getting attacked while you are EVA'd is the easiest and most frustrating way to take damage in these solo runs. Don't be afraid to Force Respawn yourself to get back to your ship ASAP if you think that's faster than using your grappling hook to get back. Biomass is replenishable, your ship's health rarely is.

At the Start of Missions:

After confirming there's no enemies directly outside your ship, EVA and repair any damage to the ship. Locate any secondary objectives (such as Wrecks and Collectors) and do them without engaging with any enemies. The Reclaimer Timer only starts once you engage with enemies, although if you kill them very quickly the timer does not always start (roughly within 3-5 seconds, I don't have an exact time). This will let you get as much loot as possible. Always kill Collectors when you can, they have a decent chance to drop legendary weapon upgrades and module upgraders. Since you have to craft your own weapon mods and all other ship modules, you will need a lot of nano alloys, so prioritizing these side objectives is crucial. Once you have done all side objectives, try to find the best approach for the objective that will prevent you from getting swarmed from all sides and engaging the least amount of enemies as possible.

Secret Ally:

Some missions will have a laser turret on the facility. This laser turret is a neutral party, it will attack both you and the enemies. Position your ship in such a way that you are not able to be attacked by it (they only have ~270 degree vision cone, if you park directly behind them sometimes they don't notice you). You should just try to park in a way that the buildings or the asteroid the facility is on is physically blocking the turrets line of sight to you. This makes EVAing to the objective tougher since it takes more time due to your ship being parked weirdly, but having an ally to both take fire and kill enemies while you're out there is priceless.

Power Cell Strategy:

If you are doing a mission that requires you to power up a facility, use the Grav Scoop to collect the Power Cells. This saves you a lot of time running around. Make sure you turn the Grav Scoop off before you EVA though, otherwise it may take the power cells back in.

Bomber Evasion Strategy:

Once the Bomber fires it's bombs, activate a thruster boost charge and charge directly towards the bomber, going upwards as much as possible, and spinning to either side. Watch the bombs and make minor adjustments if necessary, but this consistently allows you to dodge the bombs. The auto turrets will not shoot the bombs out of the air and they do a large amount of damage.

For All Boss Fights:

For all three of the bosses, but primarily the Frost Mother and the Flame Matriarch, never leave the pilot's seat if you can help it. It's often how you will take a large amount of damage that could have been avoided. If you absolutely need to leave the pilot's seat, activate your thruster booster, turn on cruise helm control, and use your grappling hook in the ship to do whatever you need to do as fast as possible. This just might let your ship dodge an attack on auto pilot if you're lucky.

Turn off your Grav Scoop. If you take damage, sometimes your overall power capacity will decrease. By turning off your Grav Scoop, you will have an extra two power slots to safely lose without going over capacity in case your capacity does get diminished.

Prism Matriarch:

Before you launch into the fight, turn off all your guns in order to have time to summon escorts. The boss fight only begins once the first shot, from either you or your escorts (who attack immediately upon being summoned), is fired. Once you launch into the fight, position your ship in a way that your guns will not have an angle on any of the nodes, then turn them back on. Summon three or more escorts. These escorts will deal an insane amount of damage and will have most of the turrets target them. The proximity mines also usually target them as well which is really helpful. I typically only have enough time to summon three before the first one spawns and the boss fight begins. Fly in a circle and target the invulnerability nodes that are attached by a purple beam to the boss. Do damage to the boss once all of those are destroyed, then kill the new invulnerability nodes that are powering up the boss's shield, then damage the boss, and repeat that until the boss is dead. If the Prism Matriarch ever summons a sniper, I tend to take it out as they can be annoying. Otherwise, ignore all else on the map, it's rarely necessary to target anything else since your escorts are already handling that for you. Just make sure to look out for the cluster of proximity mines, that can end your run rather quickly.

Frost Mother:

Before you launch into the fight, turn on your basic life support module found near the engine room. Then turn off all your guns in order to have time to summon escorts. The boss fight only begins once the first shot, from either you or your escorts (who attack immediately upon being summoned), is fired. Once you launch into the fight, position your ship in a way that your guns will not have an angle on the boss, then turn them back on. Summon one or two escorts. They do not help deal damage to a considerable degree, but the boss will summon turret nodes. These nodes have ~33-40% chance to all target an escort instead of you once they spawn which can keep you safe.

Try to keep as much of a distance as you can manage from the boss to give you enough time to dodge the ice crystals the boss periodically shoots out at you. When the boss gains a purple shield, you will become considerably slowed down and then the boss will summon ice crystals very close to you. Go the opposite direction of where they are spawning and start spinning in either direction, watch the ice crystals and make adjustments to the movement as necessary. Try to not use a thruster boost charge until the third time this happens (which will be the last) as you will likely need all your charges for how many ice crystals the boss begins to spawn regularly after the third time. Each time the boss summons the invulnerable purple shield, they will from then on summon more and more ice shards to throw at you, so be careful and keep your distance. I recommend switching between going forward and backwards as the ice crystals are usually aimed at where you will likely be if you keep your current trajectory. Try to destroy the turret nodes in order to keep your escort(s) alive for as long as possible. The boss will spawn one wave of turret nodes the first time it goes purple, three frost morphs the second time, then a wave of both the third time. Always target the frost morphs as soon as you can and keep your distance from them. If they catch your ship, very often the auto turrets will refuse to shoot them for whatever reason, and you can rarely get an angle on them once they get close enough because they slow you down, and can end your run in an extremely anticlimactic way.

Flame Matriarch:

Before you launch into the fight, turn on your basic life support module found near the engine room. Then turn off all your guns in order to have time to summon escorts. The boss fight only begins once the first shot, from either you or your escorts (who attack immediately upon being summoned), is fired. Once you launch into the fight, position your ship in a way that your guns will not have an angle on the boss, then turn them back on. Summon one or two escorts. They do not help deal damage to a considerable degree, but the boss will summon turret nodes. These nodes have ~33-40% chance to all target an escort instead of you once they spawn which can keep you safe.

Try to travel in a perpendicular way to the boss, always keep your ship moving in a circle around the boss, but as perpendicular as possible. It will summon a giant flame laser at you from it's center (with a few seconds of warning before it fires) and moving perpendicular to that will let you escape the area before it fires as quick as possible. Just like the Frost Mother, it will summon turret nodes each time it goes invulnerable which will hopefully target your escort ships. Kill them as quick as you can, but always do damage to the boss whenever you are able to (when the purple spots are showing on the sun itself). Occasionally you will need to either ascend or descend because the boss shoots bombs at you that summon permanent sun spheres onto the map that do damage if you enter them, which will eventually mean you have to go above or below the giant line of sun spheres that have come up as you circle the boss. The giant flame laser attack gets faster each time the boss goes invulnerable, but save all your thruster boost charges for once the boss is at roughly 1/3rd health, that's when you need a thruster boost charge to reliably not get hit. Once your front half is out of the way of the laser, you can turn towards the boss in order to swing your back half out of the laser even faster as well before resuming to travelling perpendicularly.

I hope you all enjoy this guide! Please feel free to comment and let me know if you have anything you'd like me to add, a recommendation for something to change or reword, or whatever else. I really love Void Crew and I hope this inspired you to have some fun solo adventures!

Metem Preserve You!
-Icesmasher11