Dreadnought Guide: Tips and Tricks to Getting Started

Greybox’s free-to-play game of tactical space combat has finally come to the PlayStation 4, opening the doors for countless new console players who want to command their own capital ship to victory!

But where do you even begin? GameSkinny has been getting a feel for the galactic conquest that Dreadnought provides, and we’ve put together some tips and tricks for all you new captains out there.

Spend Your Money Wisely

This goes for both your in-game credits and for your actual, folding cash. 

In-game, most players hit a wall fastest when it comes to their credits, as opposed to their experience points. The best way to counteract this (and make that grind as painless as possible) is to buy only the modules you need for your ship. If you’re planning on putting some real-life money into the game, put it toward your credits! Experience points are rarely as big an issue as other games might have led you to believe at this point.

Recycle, Recycle, Recycle

When you upgrade to a ship at a higher Tier, it’s easy to go straight into the next battle, grinding away again to get new modules for your Tier 4 (or even Tier 5) ship. 

But don’t forget: modules from your old and busted ships can be used on your new ones, even if they’re a lower Tier! Sure, sure: no one likes the idea of tricking out their new Ferrari with rims from their Chevy Malibu, but those Ferraris in question are rarely being pelted from all sides with heavy torpedoes and blast pulses!

A little extra ammunition never hurt anyone, even if it is just the the hand-me-downs you’ve got until the next best thing comes along.

Don’t Like a Ship? Don’t Play It!

This seems like obvious advice, but what we’re really going for here is the fact that all ships, even the ones passively in your fleet, will receive experience points after every battle. It won’t be a huge amount, but it’ll certainly get your least favorite ships leveled up to a point where they’re not entirely useless.

This is particularly good advice if you try out a new ship at Tier 3 and it feels awful. After some grinding and passive leveling, you might be really surprised at how much that ship improves when it finally gets to Tier 4. So in the beginning, the best thing to do is experiment with your ships, find one that suits you, and level up the others in the background.

Take Advantage of the Officers

Officer Briefings can add some excellent passive abilities, and any one of them can be put toward any ship. There are plenty of them to unlock, so as you play, get to know your style, and keep an eye on what you’ll need to do to bring aboard the Briefing that will enhance your strategies the best.

Mix It Up!

Try different combinations of ship styles until you find one that works for you, and don’t go too heavily in one direction (e.g., all Artillery). Those kinds of strategies work occasionally but will leave you vulnerable more often than not.

One fundamental rule, however, is the same as just about any class-based multiplayer game: keep a healer on hand. A single Tactical Cruiser can mean the difference between a slim victory and your entire fleet being reduced to floating scraps of metal.

Stick Together!

Everyone wants to be the hero, and everyone has had that moment when they thought they knew the best target for their party. But more often than not, the key to taking control of a map and executing your targets has a lot to do with unit cohesion. Just watch what happens to stragglers in your opponent’s group, and you’ll see what I mean.

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Those are some of GameSkinny’s top tips for beginners in Dreadnought! Are you the captain of a proud spacefaring vessel with some advice for newbies? Leave it in the comments below!