warp:

Max. Warp is the farthest you can move with a single move command. It's not much use to have a huge max warp unless you also invest in WARP ENERGY REDUCTION (WER). For example, with shields up and no investment in WER, moving 25 sectors would cost 12*25*25 or 7500 units of energy!! Moving 5 sectors 5 times would cost 5*(12*5*5) or 1500 units. It's much cheaper to move slowly.

But, a high maximum warp is handy for escaping enemies and for scouting.

A typical ship has a max warp of 10.