Blasting NPCs is the action-packed way to progress in Battlestar Galactica Online on BSGO Nova — explosions, risk, and good loot. Here’s how to fight well.

Targeting and firing

Click an enemy or press Tab to target it. Your weapons fire automatically while the target is in range. Abilities are special attacks on cooldown, triggered with the number keys 1–0.

The golden rule: keep your speed up

In a fight — strikes especially — keep your speed at full whenever you’re being shot at. Dropping speed tanks your avoidance and gets you killed.

• Keep enemies in your gun angles. When you pass each other and nobody else is shooting, you can briefly drop to zero speed to swing your guns around faster — but throttle back up before you take fire again.
• Against bigger ships, sit in their blind spot — the arc where none of their guns can track you.

Loot rules

• Solo: loot is split by damage dealt — so as a fresh account, you may get little.
• In a group: loot is split equally. Group up when you’re not strong enough to solo NPCs.

This is why grouping matters early on.

Recommended PvE builds

Strike (starter): 3 guns (short or medium range — get the regular guns, not the -P crit variants), a damage buff, an avoidance buff, 2 Damage Controls, and a full set of RCS Ducting for survivability.

Escort (level 10): the command escort is the strongest — superior energy regen and extra slots. A solid FiD build is 2 long-range + 4 short-range guns, 2 damage buffs, 2 DCs, rest your choice (armor or turbo are popular). Great for PvE, weak in PvP.

Line (level 20): the best class in the game.

• Interceptor line — flexible and powerful.
• Assault line — a tanky brick, slow, best for platforms.
• Command line — support/mining role.
• Multi line — very flexible, but needs heavy merit investment to shine.

General rule: if a hull slot isn’t a DC, put an armor plate there. Long-range guns unless you know what you’re doing; missiles are weak in PvP but great in PvE.

Where to fight

• Solo, stick to sectors matched to your gear level.
• In a group, push higher-threat sectors or farm Freighter in Distress (FiD) events together — excellent rewards plus merits.
• Enemy-faction NPCs and drones have fixed spawn areas, usually near debris fields.

Pro tips

• Energy regen skills are king. Asteroid Mining also boosts the PvE damage multiplier most weapons carry.
• Always run FiD groups when available — among the best earning in the game.

See the Fleet roster for every ship, then download the launcher and get in the fight.