Basics
First thing to note, one of the achievements will pop on starting level 1, leaving you “trapped”. The longest achievement for hitting level 250, the counter is off by 1 requiring you to hit level 251. I found the optimal configuration to be playing through all 25 levels on easy, with both boxes unchecked so you can unlock level 24. One thing I found poorly explained was how to unlock new ships, this is accomplished by collecting the little green balls that drop when you kill enemy bounty hunters.
Stat Allocation
There are two kinds of points you earn. The first is Upgrade points that are given to you on new level completion, and the second is ship points that you earn per player level up.
You will only get 100 of these and can’t respec so spend them wisely. I found a good priority for maxing was: Q/W at a 1:1 ratio/ E / shields/ ignore R except for a few points when you feel tanky enough.
Ship Points
This game is all about dps, as you will most likely not be getting hit, or if you are, it is impossible to survive with the limited investment. I put most points into damage, and also invested into cooldown reduction until it stopped giving 0.5% per level. So the priority would look like: CDR (until diminishing returns) > DMG > Shields (only good if you feel like you need more tank)
Level 250 grind