Enemy types were first introduced in Captain Successor. Every enemy in the series, except for Captain Blix, belongs to one of seven different enemy types.
In Captain Successor, every tier of ship is assigned one type of enemy that all ships of that tier will belong to, while all Kilo-tier ships will always be Clone Ships.
Fighter[]
"I will bring peace through your destruction."
Technically the first enemy type, as all enemies in Captain Forever belonged to this type.
Fighter designs are symmetrical around their central up/down axis, usually built out either width- or lengthwise, with weapons and propulsion systems fitted to the front and back of the ship. The majority of parts on Fighters will be the same as their Command Module's tier, but lower tier parts can show up on them commonly as early as Charlie-tier.
When not hostile, Fighters act like military units, broadcasting various mottos or their coordinates. When hostile, they will report their engagement, or broadcast threatening messages directed at the player. When fleeing, they will broadcast a variety of desperate or determined chatter.
While not making them a pushover, due to their naturally built nature, the movements and firing patters of Fighters can be predicted relatively well.
Balancer[]
"Part and counterpart. We fight in balance."
Balancers are built with point symmetry around the ship's Command Module. Due to the static nature of the most common propulsion parts, Balancers tend to spin uncontrollably, making them not much of a threat at lower tiers, but making for considerably risky engagements at high tiers, due to their sporadic and sometimes unpredictable firing patterns.
Balancers treat the concept of balance as a holy property. When broadcasting, non-hostile Balancers will send messages attempting to convert other ships to Balance, while hostile ones will attempt to unmask the imbalance of the player's ship, in an attempt to aggressively purge those they see as impure.
Usually when fighting Balancers, players will take out one half of the enemy, to destroy the Command Module and reap the rewards of the remaining half.
Merchant[]
Merchants (sometimes also referred to as "Scrappers") are uneven amalgamations of weapons, propulsion systems, and structural parts of varying tiers. While most parts a Merchant carries will be the same as their Command Module's, they can always have parts of any tier below, all the way to Alpha. Merchants specialize in one type of weapon part, while being uniquely able to sport multiple types of propulsion, both usually completely covering the ship's front and back respectively.
Friendly Merchants will usually meander about, broadcasting advertisements for their wares, while hostile Merchants come much more after the "Scrapper" moniker, being greedy for the player's parts.
Merchants are wild card enemies. Depending on the weaponry and propulsion systems they spawn with, as well as their more or less uneven structure, they can either be pushovers or a major threat to the player's ship. Of course the most dangerous Merchants can however also net the player with a large reward of valuable weapons or propulsion.
Needler[]
Needlers are the most basic enemy type in the game, always consisting of only a Command Module, a propulsion part at the rear, and one type of weapon attached to the other three sides. Due to their small part count, Needlers only very rarely have lower tier parts.
Needlers are always hostile, until the Law Meter has progressed past their tier, at which point they will flee from the player in panic. Their broadcasts usually consist of short chants, or incoherent babble when not hostile or fleeing.
Due to their small size, Needlers can be hard to hit without Rockets or a relatively large wall of lasers. While an alright way for an experienced player to farm specific weapons or propulsion systems, it's usually not worth the effort, due to the high risk of destroying all the parts surrounding the Command Module.
Space Station[]
For the static Stations in Captain Forever Universe, see Stations.
Space Stations are Command Modules with a Station part attached on both of their sides, and a Girder structure following either the Fighters' mirrored symmetry, or the Balancers' point symmetry. The higher the Space Station's tier, the more heavily they are usually decked out with weapons, and the more extensive their Girder structures become. Due to their lack of any propulsion parts, Space Stations at Charlie-tier or above are virtually immobile.
Space Stations are friendly to start with, and only turn hostile when fired upon or touched by any ship.
If their Girder structure doesn't block the small corridor between its Station parts, Space Stations can be very easily dispatched by a couple of well placed shots directly at its Command Module. At high tiers this is usually a high risk if the player is under-armed, but can lead to great reward, given the large weapon payload Space Stations tend to have.
Clone Ships[]
Clone Ships are exclusive to Captain Successor. Similar to the Peacekeepers in Captain Forever, Clone Ships appear once a Juliet-tier ship is killed. They are an exact duplicate of the player's ship, with the distinction that their parts are entirely at Kilo-tier.
They are extremely aggressive, always going after the player, and broadcasting their confusion over being clones.
If the player isn't prepared, Clone Ships can be very hard to deal with, however a common trick is to point an Alpha laser at the player's own Command Module before defeating their first Juliet-tier ship. As long as the player keeps it there, this will result in most Clone Ships automatically self-destructing, by firing their now Kilo laser right at their Command Module.
Guardians[]
Guardians are huge ships exclusive to Captain Forever Universe, where they occupy inactive Station Groups. Guardians have very large, bulky 3x3 Command Modules equipped with signal jammers that will interfere with the player's interface if they are nearby. They usually focus on one type of weaponry, but can sport multiple different systems, especially at higher tiers. Guardians are always the same tier as the Stations they occupy.
Always hostile once the player comes within their broadcasting range, Guardians will send the player messages, aggressively trying to shoo them away from their station.
Due to their size, bulk and firepower, Guardians act as mini-bosses for each sector. The oxygen mechanic in Captain Forever Universe also means the player almost always has to fight Guardians while making sure they're left with enough oxygen to return to a previous, or activate a new atmosphere.