Powerplay - Contested Systems - Combat Zones - Conflict Threshold

[Cmdr ComfyPants]

I want to fight in pp combat zones to grind merits - but I can't seem to find powerplay combat zones with anyone in them. I find plenty of them, and I'm specifically going to the ones with the power I'm pledged to in contested acquisition systems - but they've been empty both nights I've tried. I know not all powers engage in combat zones, but i'm also prioritizing combat zones with powers that do. Am I missing something or is it glitched somehow?

I also don't completely understand the finer details about the acquisition system thresholds, despite reading through a few guides, nothing seems to have my answer. The basics are clear, but the finer points are missing some answers so far as I've seen.

Does the conflict threshold have to be hit before powerplay combat zones will have enemies in them to fight, or does that mean conflict ends at that point?
Do the combatants leave the combat zone once the control or conflict threshold has been met, or have my empty combat zones been broken somehow? If not broken, then that seems silly - why do the combat zones stick around if combat is over, just to be misleading?

Do multiple powers have to hit these thresholds at the same time to start or end combat?

There's a lot of good information out there, but there's also a lot of information that appears to be missing too as no one I've asked this question seems to really know. I get a lot of 'I think it means this' or 'I bet you just have to wait for that' - but no one seems to know for sure, so I'm here to ask the community as a whole. If there is a solid guide out there someone can recommend that is comprehensive and exhaustive and really explains everything, I would love a link and I'm happy to do my own homework.

I'm currently building a bar in my colony system, so free beer or wine for life there for whomever provides me with the best answers.

Loving all the changes and improvements to the game FDev, great work and keep at it!

 

[Ian Doncaster]

Does the conflict threshold have to be hit before powerplay combat zones will have enemies in them to fight, or does that mean conflict ends at that point?
Do multiple powers have to hit these thresholds at the same time to start or end combat?

At least two powers must reach the conflict threshold (30,000 control points) for CZs to start. You can find systems where this has happened by looking for the double-circle with crossed-swords icon on the Powerplay map.

Once at least one power reaches the acquistion threshold (120,000 control points) the system will be transferred to the Power with the highest score at the end of that week. CZs and other activities will continue for the remainder of the week to allow other powers a chance to catch up.

Do the combatants leave the combat zone once the control or conflict threshold has been met, or have my empty combat zones been broken somehow? If not broken, then that seems silly - why do the combat zones stick around if combat is over, just to be misleading?

Empty CZs is mostly just a bug.

(The working CZs do end eventually just in case someone has an AFKable ammo-less build for them, but a simple hop in and out will get you a fresh one)

 

[Cmdr ComfyPants]

At least two powers must reach the conflict threshold (30,000 control points) for CZs to start. You can find systems where this has happened by looking for the double-circle with crossed-swords icon on the Powerplay map.

Once at least one power reaches the acquistion threshold (120,000 control points) the system will be transferred to the Power with the highest score at the end of that week. CZs and other activities will continue for the remainder of the week to allow other powers a chance to catch up.


Empty CZs is mostly just a bug.

(The working CZs do end eventually just in case someone has an AFKable ammo-less build for them, but a simple hop in and out will get you a fresh one)

Thanks kindly for the information, this will save me a lot of wasted time and searching. Now I should be able to correctly and specifically target systems that are in the right state for me to find the activity I'm after.

You're a champion - a quick follow up question - can you tell me where you sourced this info? Did you read this somewhere(got any links if so?), or is this just something you figured out through experience?

 

[Ian Doncaster]

The threshold values I figured out by looking at a bunch of systems and lining things up.

The map stuff is mostly in the in-game help, but it's spread out between various bits of the Pilot's Handbook and the in-map help pages, so pulling it all together can take a while, and most of it will only make sense once the specific terminology used in Powerplay is understood. (Once you do understand that, the in-game map has some very powerful features. Click on every button to see what happens, then check again to make sure you didn't miss a button)

The rest either comes from conversations on this subforum or directly trying things in-game. Nowski's stickied thread - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/powerplay-2-0-activities.629227/ - is a good starting point and home for many of those conversations (though by now extremely long, so don't try to read the whole thing, but at least read the first post). I've tried to summarise a lot of the findings (and expand on the in-game documentation) at https://heatmap.sotl.org.uk/powers/refcard

 

[Cmdr ComfyPants]

The threshold values I figured out by looking at a bunch of systems and lining things up.

The map stuff is mostly in the in-game help, but it's spread out between various bits of the Pilot's Handbook and the in-map help pages, so pulling it all together can take a while, and most of it will only make sense once the specific terminology used in Powerplay is understood. (Once you do understand that, the in-game map has some very powerful features. Click on every button to see what happens, then check again to make sure you didn't miss a button)

The rest either comes from conversations on this subforum or directly trying things in-game. Nowski's stickied thread - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/powerplay-2-0-activities.629227/ - is a good starting point and home for many of those conversations (though by now extremely long, so don't try to read the whole thing, but at least read the first post). I've tried to summarise a lot of the findings (and expand on the in-game documentation) at https://heatmap.sotl.org.uk/powers/refcard

Great stuff cmdr, thanks a million for the info and helpful response. o7
Take care!