In Voidborne, many spaceships are built around a "destructible system" feature. Those ships are made up of different sections, each one being dedicated to a specific role: thruster, weapon, defense, sensors, etc.

For example, this frigate has three sections: Weapon, Shield and Thruster.

If a ship is taking damage, the section that takes the hit will also be damaged. If the section is destroyed, then the ship will lose the abilities associated with it.

This rule is also true for the player's battlecruiser.

Losing a section is not enough to destroy the whole ship, but you will lose critical systems. For example, a destroyed sensor section will force you to fight without the radar, and a destroyed thruster section leaves you with poor maneuvering ability.

Wrecks

When a ship is destroyed, the section that takes the killing blow gets annihilated. The rest of the ship will turn into a wreck and stays on the battlefield.

Wrecks are harmless but can resist a few hits, making them a temporary cover for a wise pilot.