Even though the vehicle inSwordshipis lacking in terms of offensive capabilities, it’s by no means defenseless. It’s a very mobile ship able to make quick and precise movements both above and below the water’s surface. Still, the enemies will begin to ramp things up rapidly, especially on later difficulties, so the ship could use some more help.

RELATED:The Best Video Game Spaceships, Ranked

The good news is that the containers that you’re trying to steal for the surface-dwelling Banished can also be re-purposed for the Swordship. In between levels, you’ll get the chance to select whatever upgrades the containers may hold, but it’s not the easiest decision to make.

Unlocking And Finding Ship Upgrades

Swordship follows a roguelite system in a very straightforward way.During your runs, you’ll earn points which will be tallied at the end of the game and whenever you get a Game Over.These points are added to a progression bar which will unlock something new whenever it fills up. This includes upgrades you may find during runs which are indicated by a light green icon.

All unlocked upgrades have a chance to spawn in one of the containers you collect and successfully deliver. In order to receive an upgrade, you’ll need tokeep at least one container for yourself. If you decide to take all of them,you’ll get an Extra Life for each container, and one upgrade from whichever one you choose.

Swordship Approaches A Flamethrower Enemy

Focus On Delivery Upgrades First

The whole game of Swordship consists of ten levels that can feel relatively short or long, depending on how you play.The biggest risk you need to take at each level is collecting and delivering as many containers as you may.

Both of these actions require a degree of precision and finesse to pull off successfully. Containers are indicated by a yellow lane that randomly appears with the container at the end that you need to fly the ship towards. Once you have a container,you need to wait for a delivery point to appear, move over to it, and then stay on top of it until the container is removed.

Swordship Flies From A Beam Turret-1

Luckily, there are upgrades that can help with this, and they should take priority in the early game. These upgrades affect things like how easy it is to collect the containers, such asmaking the lanes spawn wherever the ship is onscreen and making them appear earlierto give you more time to plan.

For delivery upgrades, they’re useful in greatly speeding up the delivery of containers, allowing you to dive while doing so, andcausing multiple delivery points to spawn at once.

Swordship Horizontal And Vertical Beam Cannon Enemies

The Most Important Ship Upgrades

After you’ve improved your collecting and delivery,next you can focus on the ship. Though there are plenty of upgrades to use, some of the earliest unlockables remain some of the most useful. If you’re using a ship with an ability or just want more points,the upgrade that makes Energy Cells spawn more often is a must.

In terms of the ship itself, you should alwayspick the Deep Dive and Blocker upgrades. The former allows the Swordship to remain submerged for much longer, while the latter lets youprevent enemies from emerging by moving over their spawn points. The earlier you get these upgrades, the easier time you’ll have.