There are hundreds of different encounters in the PC game FTL: Faster Than Light. Space battles are generally rather similar, depending on the layout of your ship, but text encounters vary greatly. In a text encounter, sometimes you will have a blue option. Blue options are universally better than normal options, but can only be unlocked by possessing a specific piece of equipment, specific system upgrade, a specific race of crew member. An Engi crew member can provide you blue options in six different encounters, including one that can unlock an entirely new ship for you. The following guide to Engi crew member blue options will help you maximize your chance of finding and taking advantage of these options in FTL: Faster Than Light.
Malfunctioning Defense System – This is one of the easier events to find and take advantage of. It will only appear at a distress signal in a system controlled by one of the four main alien races, Rockmen, Engi, Zoltan, or Mantis. If you have Long-Ranged Sensors, this distress beacon will not have a ship. As soon as you arrive, you will get a message that a defense satellite has gone haywire and is attacking a repair crew. Using the Engi crew member blue option will always earn you good rewards with no risk.
Stealth Cruiser Unlock – This event can only occur in the Engi Homeworlds sector at a beacon without a distress call and without a ship. If you have an Engi crew member the blue option will automatically unlock a quest for you. This quest requires you to either let the first two enemy ships surrender or to kill the crew without destroying the ship. Assuming you are capable of completing those three battles, you will unlock the Stealth Cruiser immediately after battling the third ship.
Mining Colony Disease – The Mining Colony Disease is one of the most common events in the game because it can be found in any sector except a Rebel controlled sector or the Abandoned Space sector. It is always found at a distress beacon without a ship. The normal option for this event will always cost you a crew member if you get rewarded. The Engi crew member blue option can get you the same rewards at no risk. If you happen to be flying in a ship that has both a level 3 medbay and the Engi Med-bot Dispersal augmentation, use the Advanced Medbay blue option instead, since that is the one way to get better rewards from this event.
Cloaked Engi Distress Call – Despite the fact that this event starts with a message that you receive a distress call from an Engi ship, it doesn’t register as a distress beacon on your map. Assuming you answer the call and fight the Mantis ship, there is a small chance that you will be allowed to request a reward. If that is the case, the Engi crew member blue option will start a quest. The rewards at this quest marker are quite good, potentially granting you hull repairs, a drone schematic, a new member, or a weapon. The last reward requires that you have level 3 sensors or Long-Ranged Sensors, though, and you will get nothing if you don’t have them and that is the randomly selected reward. If you take the quest and don’t have Long-Ranged Sensors, upgrade your sensor system before traveling to the quest beacon.
The Engi Virus – This random event can only occur in Engi systems and is easily one of the more frustrating events in the game. To take advantage of it with an Engi crew member, you also have to have a clone bay. If you do, you will engage in a battle and at the end of the battle your Engi crew member will be replaced with an Engi crew member that has mastery in all skills. Be warned that for the duration of the battle you will be without your original crew member and you will lose the game if that was your last crew member. If you don’t have a clone bay, take any other blue option available or attack the ship. Never take the option to try to purge the code.
Consolidating Ships – This event can only occur in Engi systems. The event depicts two ships that have smashed together. Both white options offer no rewards, but the blue Engi crew member option always offers a small reward. It is best to simply take the reward and be happy, even if you do feel a little dirty.
