It’s been a busy month for us at Armature Studio with the PS4 launch of Dead Star via PlayStation Plus, and while we have plenty to talk about, we want to kick this off with some extremely exciting news: the stars of Ratchet & Clank are coming to kick some asteroid in Dead Star across a series of community events!

Yes, that’s right! Soon – as soon as tomorrow, actually – you’ll be able to use everyone’s favourite Lombax in Dead Star, with Clank coming shortly thereafter. All you have to do is play Dead Star during the below times, and you’ll instantly unlock the respective pilot portrait.

Ratchet Event Weekend

Friday, 29th April at 16:00 PM BST (What time is that for me?) through Monday, 2nd May.

Clank Event Weekend

Friday, 6th May at 16:00 PM BST (What time is that for me?) through Monday, 9th May.

These pilot portraits will be accompanied by additional in-game events that will occur throughout the above weekends, so keep an eye on the official Twitter page for more details!

When last we posted here on PlayStation.Blog, Dead Star had just launched and we had revealed a handful of tips and tricks as you were just starting out. Now that everyone’s had some time to get familiar with the game, we wanted to offer a few more advanced pointers – especially since we just added three new playable ships to the game as part of the Kurg Ship Expansion.

Without further ado, let’s take a look…

Kurg Pilot Tips

(1.) The Kurg Stinger’s Welding Beam may not deal high damage on impact, but it adds burn damage even at the lowest rank, preventing enemy shields from regenerating. A favourite tactic is to burn an enemy ship with a quick blast of the Welding Beam, then launch the Stinger’s Service Drones to finish them, while you’re flying off to your next target.

(2.) The Kurg Engineer can drop a Construction Probe that acts as a spawn and repair location for your team. While the Construction Probe requires multiple upgrades to spawn raiders and frigates, even a Rank 1 version is a threat to the enemy crew. Try placing your Construction Probe deep in enemy territory just outside an outpost’s scanner range, allowing your team to make surprise attacks near your foes’ home base.

(3.) The Kurg Juggernaut’s powerful Graviton Field slows enemy ships caught in its area of effect. When used in conjunction with the Juggernaut’s high-damage Energy Cannon, you can pin passing ships and bombard them from a distance.

General Tips

(1.) Commandeer AI – Every outpost has a group of Guardian AI ships that patrol its perimeter. If your team owns the outpost, you can commandeer the ships by pressing the right button / right. Commandeered ships will follow you and fight alongside your ship. You can also direct commandeered ships to attack a specific target by holding right and aiming at the target with the right stick.

(2.) Communication – Communication is key to winning battles. You can communicate with your team even without using a mic by accessing the Quick Comms menu. Hold the down button / down to bring up the menu, then select the order you want to give using the right stick. Release the down button and your ship will send out the order to anyone nearby. Certain orders, such as Attack Here, will also drop a waypoint that your teammates can see on their scanner and as a directional icon on the edge of their screen.

(3.) Cargo Containers – At the start of every match, as you head out to capture outposts, be on the lookout for Cargo Containers, which appear as grey boxes on your scanner. In addition to holding ore, Cargo Containers may generate Artefacts, which grant you and any nearby teammates valuable XP when picked up.

If you’re enjoying Dead Star, please take a moment to tell your friends, family, neighbours, pets, stuffed animals, pretty much anyone who’ll listen; each and every mention helps our community grow. Conversely, if there’s something you don’t like about Dead Star, please let us know.

That’s it for now, pilots – we’ll see you out in the battlefields of space!