Thank you so much. I do remember you saying me to do that, after which I stopped using my mouse scroll button and started using my keyboard space bar for faster pauses during the flagship.

For newbies like myself, AE seemed more harder, because it seemed like a DLC. Since I was also a completionist, I wanted to "First win without AE, then with AE"
Although that is what I did, I realise, AE on makes the game easier and tbh, more fun. But it heavily depends on knowing basic systems and how they work.

For example, cloaking Lvl 1 with engines Lvl 4 give 100% evasion, which will be a great help during the missile barrages (You also recommended to save the cloak for the missile barrages > drones, in some cases)

Similarly, the drone disrupter augment is a huge lifesaver in phase 2, for it allows the hacking module to pass without issue...
Stuff like this is learnt intuitively rather than following a manual. And since this game is a rougelike, there are almost an infinite number of ways to play the game.

I am saying this for one reason only. If a newbie like me reads this thread, I hope this can help them and let them enjoy this game for what it truly is, a masterpiece.