Welp, we just got ANOTHER big nerf to piracy... When will the least profitable profession get love?

[NewYears1978]

Looks like a bug fix to me...

Although I will concur that pirating the way it is right now is jacked up as it's impossible to be profitable..

 

[Kordred]

Fixing something stupid isn't a nerf. If it makes play as a pirate unviable, then that needs to be fixed. But don't leave stupid things in the game.

 

[Alexander the Grape]

on top of that: trading not the most profitable profession -> no traders -> pirates cry again...

Trading's not only the most profitable, it's the easiest, the least dangerous, with the most dedicated ships, most understandable linear upgrade paths, the fewest gaps between ships, can be done in open or solo, doesn't give you negative rep, has the cheapest upkeep... I could go on. If you seriously think Elite's in danger of running out of traders you're gravely mistaken

 

[Anopheles]

Ah, well. Bye bye poop and scoop. I knew it was coming, hoped it was later.

This will lower piracy as the only way to afford piracy, unless you are really good at it, is to do something else until you have cash to spare to pay for interdiction damage.

 

[EddyRockSteady]

Trading's not only the most profitable, it's the easiest, the least dangerous, with the most dedicated ships, most understandable linear upgrade paths, the fewest gaps between ships, can be done in open or solo, doesn't give you negative rep, has the cheapest upkeep... I could go on....

So why do pirates not take up trading part-time to fund their habit? I mean there's money to be made for sure: These days I treat my traders as credit-printing-presses, no more. If I need cash to fund an expedition, I print a few bills, an hour out of my time and off I go pew-pew-pewing or mining or exploring.

Funds run out. Need more credits?

Print some more.

Why can't pirates do the same?

 

[Yank31]

So why do pirates not take up trading part-time to fund their habit? I mean there's money to be made for sure: These days I treat my traders as credit-printing-presses, no more. If I need cash to fund an expedition, I print a few bills, an hour out of my time and off I go pew-pew-pewing or mining or exploring.

Funds run out. Need more credits?

Print some more.

Why can't pirates do the same?

Because piracy is a PROFESSION and space trucking is DIRTY.

 

[Dominico]

Piracy should be a rare business/career........a few Flash Hearts and their Black Pearls cruising the SkyWays creating famous havoc wherever they go........as it goes, every Yahoo that wants to mug people is a "Pirate" in this game.......and if it happened in the real world like this, like around Somalia, you would see Governments, in force.....laying waste to losers in their motor boats.........
..
Piracy seems to boil down to every system is an anarchy system..............as if the Royal Navy would tolerate it in the Thames Estuary......

This. Its too easy as it is. At the moment its the carebear profession. Run from trouble then come whine on the forums about no money. Suck it up and skill up.

There is Little to no danger in piracy and its so easy we are getting whole groups of 20+ pirates in sys. Its wewk n not how it ahould be.

If its so tough and no money how come so many are running away from enemy fire in clippers? Last time i looked they were a few milion. Bounties need fixing first so they stick amd dont get farmed by their coward friends/paid off. Then once the punishment is fixed it will move up feom carebear to something tougher.

 

[Jorlin]

Trading's not only the most profitable, it's the easiest, the least dangerous, with the most dedicated ships, most understandable linear upgrade paths, the fewest gaps between ships, can be done in open or solo, doesn't give you negative rep, has the cheapest upkeep... I could go on. If you seriously think Elite's in danger of running out of traders you're gravely mistaken

As soon as trading ist not the most profitable source of income (by a margin) noone would do it because it's not only tiresome but boring.
I know, as soon as combat is as profitable as trading i'd sell my trading Anaconda instantly.
More risk? Sure!
But the moments of meditation i get from trading i could do with exploring even better

 

[dsL]

Who cares about pirates they cant shoot me down with ASP,Clippers etc. vs. stock Cobra without shields even NPC are better. Go back to tutorials guys. And choose new way how to earn money. Instead of whining Kappa

 

[EddyRockSteady]

Because piracy is a PROFESSION and space trucking is DIRTY.

Yes how right you are......

An honourable profession indeed!

 

[ClymAngus]

The nature of "fun"

It would appear that in the race for self gratification and the complete denial of other peoples point of view we have stepped over a line here.

It is a very important line and one you don't see if your endlessly navel gazing. It is but a simple rule: everyone is entitled to have fun. If your fun is to screw with other people EXPECT your life to be difficult. For your fun revolves around messing with people who like blasting space rocks for joy.

"It's harder to be an {very moderated word!} now" Why yes, yes it is. I'd like to murder and steal from people but the "law" says I can't! They have made my life as an amoral sociopath extremely hard! Your profession adds complications to your life. Animals play games to learn life lessons (cats pounce, horses run), maybe we should too. Your life choices annoy people. Annoyed societies band together to HURT those that annoy them. As in game as in life, if you dislike reality play gta5.

Maybe your just not cut out for a life of piracy, it's nothing to be ashamed of, we can't all be bucaneers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMV34CwNMY0

And one more for the "travellers" out there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVY8LoM47xI

 

[Tryst]

First off, I had to laugh at the statement that "piracy has the worst risk/reward ratio in the game".
Err, sorry. You fly an Asp, blow up a poorly armed T6 or T7 (aka: Flying Piñata), full of a given commodity which is just too easy and no risk at all, scoop up what you can carry and sell it for full price and not just the profit margin that the trader would have got. Even at black market knocked down prices, that's still better than the trader would have gained in profits for it. To me, that would put the risk/reward ratio a hell of a lot better than even trading in a T6 or T7.

If you're not seeing this, you are either: a) Not using a cargo scanner to maximise your profits. b) Such a lousy pilot that you can't hit a barn door with a banjo much less a ship that's poorly armed and a lot slower than you.

Maybe your just not cut out for a life of piracy, it's nothing to be ashamed of, we can't all be bucaneers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMV34CwNMY0

And one more for the "travellers" out there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVY8LoM47xI

More, I love those vocal harmony songs with no instruments. Far better than the boom boom electric songs we hear today.

 

[Shizuka]

Above all, Leesti devil juice its a rare good because its unobtainable lets say at "sol", now if you find it, 2km from "sol" stops being rare to the system?

That sucks. and lacks of realism.

 

[timbow]

"- Rare goods now remember how far they've travelled from home when scooped from space"

You haven't quite grasped the concept.

Sol is a long way from Leesti sof if you pick the up outside Sol they're going to be worth a bit.

Pick them up outside Leesti, not so much.

 

[ianw]

Well, i don't have first hand experiance of the danger of piracy, so i won't comment on that.
I agree that piracy against NPC doesn't exist and that piracy against human players doesn't work as it should be.
But the OP had another point: Piracy is a very appealing profession for many players. And that's exactly why it will never work. Too many traders are needed to "feed" a single pirate. There aren't enough traders for the foodchain to work (even if solo mode wouldn't exist).
If there is too little prey, the predators have to suffer.
And if the prey gets ripped apart too often, it will leave or (in terms of ED) adapt to some other profession.
PC pirating will never work. You can't force people into enjoying the role of a victim.

As soon as trading ist not the most profitable source of income (by a margin) noone would do it because it's not only tiresome but boring.
I know, as soon as combat is as profitable as trading i'd sell my trading Anaconda instantly.
More risk? Sure!
But the moments of meditation i get from trading i could do with exploring even better

I think you've pretty much nailed it here with these 2 posts.

At the extreme ends of the scale pure player pirate gameplay is fundamentally incompatible with pure player trader gameplay - and I can't see that ever changing.

I'm somewhere in the middle like you (I think) I trade mostly as a means to an end - though sometimes it's quite enjoyable just to truck around earning tonnes of imaginary money.

If it wasn't that profitable then I agree - exploration would fill that requirement nicely. There is no way I would hang around grinding out trades if piracy or bounty hunting was as profitable.

So there would be hardly any sometime traders (like me) in open willing to play the pirate game when in the right mood - and as we know player pirates want player traders to rob..

 

[Parmo]

"- Rare goods now remember how far they've travelled from home when scooped from space"

Now the only 2 anarchy rare goods trade route systems are worthless to pirate. The Lave area will turn from a fun mishmash of pirates, traders and bounty hunters to just traders. Furthermore, pirates will be forced to camp single star systems rather than jumping between Lave, leesti, orrere, diso, etc. Worst of all, this is coming with the introduction of "marking" goods, so rather than getting you a nice fat bounty to encourage interaction and conflict, pirates now have their goods magically unsellable.

"Nah mate", the black market dealer frowns as his thugs carry stolen slaves to their sorting pens. "We can't buy this gold off you for half price. An eagle belonging to an independent system 100ly away once scanned it from 2KM".

When will frontier stop hurting the most interesting career in the game?! It's already incredibly unprofitable and dangerous, now they want to make it even more so, as well as being harder for new players to start trying it? I despair

/rant

You sound like a banker where the regulations have been tightened up, preventing you from making any more easy money.

 

[ClymAngus]

No offense but there are times I feel the pirates around here are all those who don't have the balls for Lowsec Eve.
"I want to be an ass, but I want to stack the deck too."

Wrong.

 

[dsL]

yop i met OP in game and honestly he is bad as a pirate, no offence. But he has ASP i had stock Cobra no shields and he was trying gang me 6x TIMES on my rare route and failed everytime. Imo its not about nerf but players skill.
And piracy is easy just gang slow T6-T9, grab everything and profit... And trade bounty with friends....

 

[Alexander the Grape]

yop i met OP in game and honestly he is bad as a pirate, no offence. But he has ASP i had stock Cobra no shields and he was trying gang me 6x TIMES on my rare route and failed everytime. Imo its not about nerf but players skill.
And piracy is easy just gang slow T6-T9, grab everything and profit... And trade bounty with friends....

Yo with respect a cobra is waay faster than an asp... and if I was trying to gank you, you'd know about it. If you've got no shields, I tend to try and shoot out your hatch or attach limpets. I win multiple 1v1 duels against bounty hunters (and lose the odd one granted) on a daily basis, so please don't insult my skills.

That Asp btw was earned through piracy alone. And part of earning that is not trying to kill, but to acquire cargo. If you wanna duel, feel free to add me and I'm down anytime

 

[Cruis.In]

Is the only reason you play the game to make credits? I thought you play to have fun. If you like piracy and it is fun why are you concerened about the credits? Yes you need credits for upkeep, but surely it can't be the primary reason you choose to do something. There's usually a non fun activity in these types of games which pays for the fun activities...combat would not be intense if there was no potential for loss because you had endless credits. Nor would it be fun if you could fly any ship straight off....