Pirating specific NPC cargo types?

[RabidRich]

So what does our aggregated playerbase wisdom have to say on this subject?(please no discussion of PvP pirating)

If you are hunting a specific high value cargo(e.g. gold) are you more likely to find it in am exporting or an importing system? Or is this not important compared to other factors like system security/population/wealth.

Are you better off just trolling around in SC looking for fat traders on their way between stations and the sun/nav beacon, or is it better to scan NPCs leaving a station and follow their high wakes?(complicated because pirating them at destination spreads your bounty into multiple jurisdictions)

The only obvious factor I have found is that contrary to some advice, pirating in low population anarchy systems is really pretty poor yield. Better to base in the anarchy and pirate surrounding independents with large populations and high security. Seems to yield more large trader ships that way. But cargo can still be very random I find...

What is your wisdom?

 

[Distance]

I started off at release trying to pirate npcs. I would take any missions to find biowaste etc from pirate factions and then go hunting. You'll find the npcs in haulers or other trade ships in nav beacons or uss. I did try the odd res but there were too many police.

If you want good cargo from npcs your best bet is strong signal sources but they're dangerous for single ships and inexperienced players.

Most of the time I was hanging around van beacons scanning ships and finding the best cargo.

Npc piracy isn't really profitable tbh but ymmv.

 

[RabidRich]

Well I have managed a few 100ton hauls of assorted medium value goods in my flipper, but haven't found any high value goods(8k cr/ton open market)....lots of marine equipment,liquor , maybe I just pirate drunken sailors?

 

[CMDR Hagglebeard]

Hopefully smuggling will be implemented soon, with a huge variety of illegal substances, items and et cetera, which would be fantastic for a pirate to steal. If the black market is actually a market with purchaseable items, I hope these items are worth a whole lot of cash, and yield higher profits than regular cargoes, so smugglers can profit, as well as pirates.

 

[Jordan Cobalt]

If you are hunting a specific high value cargo(e.g. gold) are you more likely to find it in am exporting or an importing system? Or is this not important compared to other factors like system security/population/wealth.

That's a very good question, for players it would obviously be a high demand importer. For npcs I believe it's the exporter, but I'm not more than 60% sure so don't quote me on that. I'm sure someone can give you a better answer then me.

Npcs don't make good targets for piracy. It's hard to find ones with high loot. If you do it's usually mixed in with low valued loot as well. Wading through 20 tons of biowaste to get to 5 tons of gold is tedious.

 

[RabidRich]

Yeah I understand this perception, but I can't help but think FD must have seeded cargo distribution according to some mechanic or other, and we as players just haven't figured it out properly as a whole in order to efficiently profit from it.

Because I have noticed 1 or 2 individuals claim offhand that they have done quite well out of NPC pirating once they figured out how to get the best yield...

 

[I and I Redeye]

Yeah I understand this perception, but I can't help but think FD must have seeded cargo distribution according to some mechanic or other, and we as players just haven't figured it out properly as a whole in order to efficiently profit from it.

Because I have noticed 1 or 2 individuals claim offhand that they have done quite well out of NPC pirating once they figured out how to get the best yield...

It's not always about best yield. It's more to do with being efficient with your time. Then the high yields will come and often.
I have 32t cargo cobra and can keep up with my 100t hauler no problem.

 

[Pendra]

Once I found a wanted Hauler that was filled with Imperial slaves. I can occasionally come by battle weapons, too. Oddly enough, they never carry metals, or materials.
It seems to me that the higher their rating is, the better stuff they drop.

The usual drop in Duamta consists of grain, wine, liquor, animal meat, tea and coffee. The last 3 actually worths scooping. The rest, no.

 

[RabidRich]

It's not always about best yield. It's more to do with being efficient with your time. Then the high yields will come and often.
I have 32t cargo cobra and can keep up with my 100t hauler no problem.

Care to share some tips?

I must confess I am slightly handicapping myself due to the fact that I am not pirating any of the three major factions until after powerplay lands(then I will select one). This closes off a certain way of pirating for now, that I have a hunch is the most profitable way of NPC pirating....

So for now I loiter near the sun in independant systems, looking for fat targets in SC which I them interdiction and roll the cargo scan dice. This keeps my wanted status in inconsequential independant systems only.

But I think a better way Is perhaps just to loiter outside the NFZ of a choice metal/tech exporting station, cargo scan departing ships and then wakescan and follow their high wakes into a different system. The downside is obviously that you pick up wanted status all over your area of operations doing this, probably with more than one major faction too....

Am I on the right track?

 

[Distance]

Care to share some tips?

I must confess I am slightly handicapping myself due to the fact that I am not pirating any of the three major factions until after powerplay lands(then I will select one). This closes off a certain way of pirating for now, that I have a hunch is the most profitable way of NPC pirating....

So for now I loiter near the sun in independant systems, looking for fat targets in SC which I them interdiction and roll the cargo scan dice. This keeps my wanted status in inconsequential independant systems only.

But I think a better way Is perhaps just to loiter outside the NFZ of a choice metal/tech exporting station, cargo scan departing ships and then wakescan and follow their high wakes into a different system. The downside is obviously that you pick up wanted status all over your area of operations doing this, probably with more than one major faction too....

Am I on the right track?

The wake scan way was how I originally intended to pirate but it doesn't work too well if they jump to another system after as you can't use it in sc. Try Nav beacons, they seem more lucrative than hanging in supercruise.

 

[I and I Redeye]

Care to share some tips?

I must confess I am slightly handicapping myself due to the fact that I am not pirating any of the three major factions until after powerplay lands(then I will select one). This closes off a certain way of pirating for now, that I have a hunch is the most profitable way of NPC pirating....

So for now I loiter near the sun in independant systems, looking for fat targets in SC which I them interdiction and roll the cargo scan dice. This keeps my wanted status in inconsequential independant systems only.

But I think a better way Is perhaps just to loiter outside the NFZ of a choice metal/tech exporting station, cargo scan departing ships and then wakescan and follow their high wakes into a different system. The downside is obviously that you pick up wanted status all over your area of operations doing this, probably with more than one major faction too....

Am I on the right track?

You pretty much know what to do. You just need to do more of it. Your gonna have to use signals to find more haulers and get that hatch open quick and scoop quick.
It helps if you don't have to care about rep. I am so hostile with all 3 it ain't funny. They all just want me dead. Docking is fun.
There's lots of other little things that help with location and targets but its too much text. You need some luck but when you get busy, luck happens. So does the security

Loitering in systems isn't going to make creds. I do it when I'm slacking (which is quite often ) but it will pay the bills and that's about it.

 

[Derath]

I'm pretty sure cargo contents is completely random based on NPC class type, smugglers generally carry the best stuff and traders have completely random things - usually lots of tea

 

[RabidRich]

Thanks guys!
W.r.t. derath's comment: maybe cargo is seeded according to type/rank sample distribution...
Found consecutive asps and t6s carrying silver inbound to a high tech/refinery station. Couldn't pirate them though as they were well inside the NFZ.
The type9 cargo algorithm is utterly borked though, a massive percentage of them are just empty! Given the "tramp trader" meta of trading in Elite, this shouldn't ever happen.
IRL only massive specialized bulk cargo ships travel empty in one direction(VLCCs etc)