Occasionally, I will have a play-through of FTL where my fuel supply runs dangerously low, and resupplies are few and far between. In these cases, I'm occasionally forced to "Wait" while exploring a sector, since I have no fuel to jump to the next way-point.
I've noted that my ship comes equipped with a distress beacon that I can enable when I am forced to wait.
- What does turning this beacon on affect? Does it increase the chance that someone (good or bad) appears quickly?
- Do I need to remember to turn it off once I've obtained some fuel?
Best Answer
The distress beacon does not advance the rebel fleet more than a normal jump/wait, although with the beacon on, the chances of running into a stray rebel cruiser are greater.
Having the beacon on simply opens new opportunities to obtain fuel that simply waiting does not.
You do not need to turn it back off once you have turned it on. While it will still display as being on while in the Jump screen, nothing is affected by this.