The first ship deployed, it jumps in for free. Choose a spot near an energy mine and some yellow specks, which can be converted to instant energy stores. The HQ comes with lasers and a lathe amongst other things, meaning it is capable of fending off light particulate and holding down a mine against intermittent floating particles. A siren will sound if any part of the ship gets damaged (it particularly likes to do so when it gets clipped by stray objects).

Early in the game you can use it somewhat aggressively, as the cannons can fend off a moderate amount of particulate. However in the second half of the campaign these start to get overwhelmed, it is best to keep it in safe areas with little chance of serious resistance, because if the hull is breached and the blue wavy bit is critically damaged, all energy mining and stockpile access will shut down, leaving only ship stockpiles behind. However, this doesn't end the game and in most missions you can warp back in after 20 seconds. Tip: If your HQ is being targeted from across the map, park it behind a shield ship, which is the most reliable option; or inside blue plasma at a stretch. This should stop the HQ from being instagibbed.

A small auxiliary space platform. You can build it anywhere and fly it around, but doesn't do anything unless it's landed. When it is landed, it'll produce blue mire (a sort of anticreeper) and "capture" any objective in range using its lathe -- including ones in nearby space that aren't on land. This is extremely useful for certain objectives, so if there is land nearby, don't just rely on ship lathes! (The reverse is also true; ship lathes can clear the way to land targets, allowing Omnis to land safely). You can box select and double click to select multiple of these.

Energy for the lathe is shown as the red bar. Landing on red mire (enemy territory) will damage the Omni, which will then show a green bar - in my experience, there is about 10 seconds before it gets destroyed. Using multiple Omnis landing at once can buy enough time for the mire to spread or for a group of them to snipe an emitter.

Later with Tech unlocked the Omni can be upgraded with a cannon (extremely useful) and/or a reactor, which contributes energy and also allows the omni to function outside of mine range. Omni cannons fire at free particles and mire, but tend not to fire at emergent cubes unless their priority is adjusted (targets can be selected with the checkboxes while selected). They will also gain the benefit of move and build speed just like normal ships.

Not technically a unit, but if you lathe the yellow floating "ore" particles you can place a domed structure that can collect energy to make sure you build your starting ships faster. It shows up on the counter at the top somewhere. It'll only be used if the main stockpile is depleted and once they are used up, they're gone. Also if they get hit by particulate they will die and need to be re-lathed.

These are basic worker ships, they can destroy or capture objectives that are fully within their larger orange circle (if they aren't working, drive a little closer to the target). They do have a point defence laser (their tiny red dot/square), but it is not particularly strong.

Wedge in some particulate-sponge ships first and fit the Lathes in behind. For best effect, aim the front towards the target to get maximum range and ensure they make use of their frontal armor and point defence laser, but they do have a thin coating of armor on all sides. For instance, if the particulate is particularly thick and overwhelming while the node just has to go down, they could be parked in reverse to ensure the lathe isn't damaged.

These will probably be replaced a lot, so be sure to rebuild them as fast as possible to prevent disruption (also known as that snap moment when you're moving on an emitter and forgot to bring them along to finish off the job!). They can also hold down and continually recapture energy mines that come under intermittent particulate while combat ships are elsewhere, stopping them from turning into cannons.

First combat ship. Only one laser, so not particularly useful, but has multiple squares of frontal hull to soak early-campaign shots (note that it isn't all armor, so clumps of particulate will still get through). It has two cannons, but they fire slowly and worse miss half their shots because they don't track. Therefore it's best suited for short range support when lathing early nodes, or supporting larger ships with particle beams to lock particulate in place.

Later on when its damage potential becomes relatively weak, it can be useful for hitting emergent cubes and assisting landings, as cannons can hit particulate mire and struct.

It has two engines, two lasers, and a particle beam to stun particles; Ogun is right to get excited with these capabilities! While it might seem fast, it's also especially energy hungry... and when it runs dry, it won't survive long, so the Joven doesn't do too well outside of energy zones. In fact... just don't even put it outside of the green circles -- it won't last a minute!

Anyway, turning off the missiles can help conserve energy, but if it has to go outside, it is best escorted with the Microtank. As a secondary role, the particle beam is also effective for clearing plasma, which the Joven can do independently. The speed is quite an advantage for cleaning up miscellaneous areas of the map.

Dependable, solid all round light ship. The missiles allow clearing of clumped particulate at long range, while the plasma beam aids its close quarter weapons and cannons achieve their maximum potential. You'll get a second one shortly after the first. Use these wherever required to hold down a front, or support other ships.

As with the Joven, these are also relatively energy hungry. They are also narrower and smaller than Joven and can be used to clear inland plasma on certain maps. On the other hand, this small size and modest range can be a disadvantage against special weapons that don't fire particulate, which can simply tear right through the Cruisers as they get closer.

So far all ships have stored 50 energy in their cockpit for their weapons, and would have to return to an energy mine to replenish. These ships have a Port module, allowing interconnection with other ships; allowing this ship to sit on the edge of the green circle and extend the energy mine's replenishment radius. It also has a green Guppy aircraft which allows it to replenish remotely. It can support 2-3 of these early/light ships by itself, but will struggle to keep up with larger ones.

Ports can chain together, using multiple tankers to get even further away from a mine. I personally have had difficulties using Micros to extend the larger Tanker's range again, with the Tanker tending not to receive energy from the smaller micro, so I left the tanker closer to the mine and put the micro ahead; but others have gotten this to work. This can allow a Micro to keep ahead with the fleet while the more immobile Tanker is safely further behind the combat ships (or even still in an energy zone).

Used to redirect benevolent particulate; when selected a line will appear in the target direction. Capable laser self defences for defending mining outposts if not fulfilling its primary function. Multiple Grabbers can form a curved path.

The two lasers and small size make it good for holding down energy mines from particulate, and firing upon emergent cubes when landing omnis. Remember to use rock-breaking tech to release benevolent emergent from enclosed nodes that have been captured. If there are many more benign nodes than Grabbers, or if a complex path is required, consider using the node-directing tech to supplement these ships. Also, benign particulate can also be used like a curtain to absorb Abraxian energy weapon damage, letting ships pass freely behind the benign particle stream.

The in-game intro dialogue isn't really accurate, this thing is far from a CW3 Thor because it has absolutely no weapons and is basically a lot of armor. Anyway, early on when first introduced, ramming is only cost effective against struct blocks, because it performs inferiorly to the equivalent cost in laser modules against mobile particulate and is more costly to produce; the Discharger performs far better at nudging small stuff.

In fact until later missions, I don't even recommend constructing the whole thing (select it and turn "build" button to off); early on its most important asset is the 3 particulate beams which rapidly clear out particulate plasma. Note that with a total lack of weapons, if forgotten about the particle beams' stun/slow will get overwhelmed and the ship will eventually die, so position the Hammer well, or support it by pairing with a grabber or other miscellaneous ship if you need to attend to something else.

Ramming gets a lot more useful as doppels emerge. This is because you can pilot them directly to the core and disperse the doppel, whereas other weapons may potentially have to clear the whole ship and waste a lot of time and ammo as the doppel regenerates.

Deceptively useful. While it's initially touted for shooting down static balls that the particulate use to stun player ships, it also has two lasers and a very large frontal area similar in shape to the Hammer.

The two red laser defences are critical in the midgame, and make it excel as an anti-particulate meatshield when lathing a node, making them ideal mid-campaign support for Lathe ships (until the heaviest classes are unlocked). Later in the game you'll have to actually keep them alive, particularly because losing 500 energy on a tanker is quite annoying. Placing an AMP gem on them widens their anti-stun range, which can be very useful if those stun balls are proving a nuisance. Also consider Mine Discharger tech if there are many stunner spawn nodes or if the dischargers keep getting picked off.

8 missiles allow it to break down clumped particulate at tremendous range. AMP gems give it even more ridiculous range, and it will be a mainstay of anti-turret assaults in the middle of the campaign. Missiles are less effective against emergent cubes, which serve as a frequent distraction; some micro is required to ensure the Wolf has the correct target. Point defence lasers are adequate, but I personally tend to have these ships at the back anyway.

TLDR, have this support just about everything you do in the middle of the campaign, because its missiles can shoot up just about anything. Except Abraxis energy structures...

Slaps roof. This ship can fit so much energy in it, and it's not even secondhand!

While the port doesn't have any extra range over a Microtank, the actual 500-unit tank provides much more buffer and stability, especially for other heavy ships. It also has much stronger laser capability, allowing it to fry particulate and also small emergent cubes, but regardless, it's much slower and it is overall probably not wise to put it in too much danger. You'll eventually get a second one to fill out the roster. More range is always useful so GEMs on these are great, but remember that you can get extra range out of mines from tech and once set up over time, that gives you more flexibility and positioning choice for tankers while requiring less micro.

Multiple Tankers can chain together; note that while positioning a line will be drawn between them, but if one has an AMP gem and the other doesn't, this will be a one way link to the one without a gem due to the difference in sending range.

This trident shaped ship is essentially a super Cruiser-class, with doubled weapons for more clearing potential. Well positioned layout, as the weapons fortify its cockpit from the front. Good at helping landings on hostile mire (or struct block clearing) due to its four cannons. Select the ship and flip them to the appropriate fire mode.

Artillery with two plasma beams to hold targets in place and clear out slowing plasma zones. Lategame extension of the wolf with more flexibility against emergent and doppel ships, but extremely energy intensive.

Apart from doppels and free particulate, MK7 artillery fires significantly faster and further than cannons, but cannot hit struct or land mire. Very important to keep this ship in range of energy zones to keep the gun firing.

The shield makes it much much more durable than other ships, allowing it to tank Abraxian and special weapons without getting its cockpit insta-fried. However, it is easy to lose the shield from the front, and this is energy intensive, so it might actually work better when parked in reverse (hold E to avoid turning and maintain direction when positioning this way). It has decent lasers and other weapons which make it a good node capping ship against heavy spawn rates.

It launches fighters, but it has somewhat limited range compared to artillery. Fighter explosions will disperse particulate, which may not be favourable for missile ships or MK7s, but may be useful for staggering particulate waves out. More of a supporting ship.

Triple MK7 battleship. Has multiple MK7 hardpoints, a shield and energy tank, but keep in range of energy supplies! Very effective at clearing out densely clustered particulate and doppels. As expected, an excellent choice for a GEM and on the maps this is unlocked there should be plenty to go around.

Every ship has one, and this determines the ship's survival and energy delivery point, so keep it safe and in the green circles. Also stores 50 energy for powering weapons.

If this gets damaged, the ship will move slower. Try using "E" to fix the ship's orientation and reverse it when you retreat. (I can't tell if KC decided to use torque equations compared to the center, but going backwards still seems pretty responsive, and even if the max reverse speed isn't glorious at least it'll get out alive).

Tiny red square; Point defence against floating particulate, good damage at short range. On almost every ship (except the poor Hammer); multiples are better. Cannot fire at struct blocks or capture points.

Yellow stick/gun; Longer potential range, but slower to fire and liable to miss out there, especially when not supported with a plasma beam. Can be useful against emergent cubes, and structure blocks, but overall not especially strong compared to alternatives.

Blue square; utility and movement tool. Stuns/slows loose particles, slows doppels and hostile ships. Removes red plasma areas which slow player ships. Very useful but sucks energy very quickly (something like 1-2 units per sec).

Yellow pointy thing in blue circle. Breaks up clumped floating particulate at long range; energy intensive. Pretty good through the early and mid game until enemy doppels and ships emerge.

High penetrating power against emergent cubes and doppels, good range similar to that of a missile. Extremely energy intensive, probably double that of the wolf, accounting for something like 8-10 missile launchers by itself. Cannot fire at struct.

Autonomous area denial? Look for the (+) shaped crosshairs to see where the carrier is targeting.

Lathe, Ports, Grabber, Energy Tank, Guppy, Shield

• Lathes look like a red crane. They can construct and capture objectives, as shown by the orange ring around the lathe or HQ.
  
• Ports (looks like a blue X with orange tips) allow a ship to redistribute energy. Any ship connected with a white/blue line will get charged to power weapons and can also repair; max range shown in green. Omnis without reactor need energy connections to fire or lathe like ships, and also construction of ships and Abraxis cannons can be fuelled remotely by Ports.
  
  
• Guppys are green jets/helicopters. They can retrieve 50 energy for the main ship by flying to a mine and orbiting it for a while.
  
• Shields are a yellow hexagon shape in a white box, and protect the ship from some level of damage (but not invulnerability; seems to be some sort of armour multiplier?). It seems to consume energy while either activated, taking damage, or both (need to test manual toggle).

• Tech options and evaluation (plus GEMs) and what to use them on (eg range is very useful, especially for missiles and tankers). Mine production and Omni reactors seem particularly good at the start. Land production is only 1.5x but may scale better at the end, depending on the map.
  
• Definitions (eg enemy types: particulate, plasma zones in space, emergent cubes, struct blocks, doppel ships, etc -- some of these are covered in the Main Menu Help in basic detail. But other interactions like Red particulate and player cannons become mire, and doppels having snipeable "cockpits" aren't super fleshed out.)
  
• Node types (again, mostly in Main Menu Help, and as Ogun often says they all get Lathed anyway, but quite a few are hidden in the campaign eg Abraxian energy turrets and ore cannons. Some are flippable, some not, etc.)
  
• Map approach guides and/or diagrams; what cannons to avoid, targeting stuff on the edges first so there's no surrounding crossfire, etc.
  
• Options and settings (colour/animation of particulate), angling the ship bar, etc.
  
• UI: Production actually shows energy balance, red bar on top is consumption, bottom left shows total production, green left bar shows mines and right blue bar shows mire/land. (Omni reactors don't seem to count for either of those two but still seem to offset consumption somehow). I have no idea why there's a cap to the bar.

Feb: drafted in campaign order
Mar: published, added detail
April: corrected description of ports (grabbers are the volcano)
January 2022: updated/fixed with thanks to Demimind in the comments

This guide was originally published on Steam Community Guides by Techhead7890 and is not intended to be republished elsewhere.

And that's it! Hopefully I explained something new to you. These ships will take you all the way through to the epilogue; the "bonus" challenge campaign uses some of the same designs but in different compositions than usual.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to check out the "Struc needed" and GoodMorningMode (Omni fest) Custom scenarios in the exchange, they're also great fun!