NPC piracy is gone away, what to do now?

[jonesskill]

Meh, just think we all are losing time discussing this.

Frontier never listened feedback about another changes that proved to be a HUGE mistake like mission boards and so on, no point on trying to make things got decent again.

Again, another win for the fanbois that don't play the game at all;

Doing piracy since my first comabt capable ship, today i can declare ir dead - more one fun feature turned in a "IMEHSION" nightmare.

BTW: They have changed the rate that ships spawn too, now you need to sacrifice 2 deers and 1 pig to spawn a t6.

 

[Ouberos]

Dear FDev,

You took away one of my favorite pastimes, and I think you finally broke the game one too many times for me. You turned NPC piracy from something fun and relaxing into a tedious frustrating experience that is no longer worth the effort. Some may argue the change in AI behavior was needed, but I assure you these are part time pirates (if that) with only one foot in the door. Many in my squadron are playing other games tonight instead of yours... and I'm sitting in the dock wondering 'why bother?'. After 5006 hours in Elite it may be time for me to move on. I can no longer defend a massive multiplayer game that rewards solitary activities like void opal mining and exploration, over group activities such as wing missions and organized npc piracy.

o7 Commanders!

Can I haz your stuff?

Sounds to me like Piracy isn't for you now it's got some difficulty to it again. I also think it's hilarious people are saying Piracy has been ruined and is now dead because of what killed it has been removed. Good luck in your new careers.

Maybe your squad could organise some group exploration or something.

Yar!

 

[Arkadi]

I built a pirate-ship for NPC - Low Temperature Diamonds farming (won't call that really piracy) a while ago. It kind of worked. But it didn't feel very organic. It was kind of a silly mechanic that you had to shoot a non-combat mining vessel with one shot, so it would stay around and let it self get milked.

But then, this was more or less the only way to do NPC piracy that would pay....

Sooooo..

I'd appreciate if Frontier would try to find a way of satisfying PvE Piracy in the game. Until end of last year I have not found such in the game. The old LTD milking system was only placeholder for a real piracy mechanic in my eyes anywas. But it worked at least and it was a nice variety from the usual HAZ-RES / CZ / Assasination pve combat. And it was also quite fun to do in a wing. I'd still be upset if this so called "LTD Piracy" was made defunctional without replacing it with some better way of PvE Piracy.

Maybe they work on it???? I sincerly hope so.

 

[Ouberos]

I wouldn't hold your breath. Players have been asking for sensible mechanics for years and it seems at every update they just bodge something together.

If you want a challenge try Elite Private and Military Couriers. The cargo isnt as rich as LTD's but you can't get some of the items anywhere else. The military couriers in particular have some interesting stuff on board.

 

[Cmdr. Numa]

The only thing I will lament is how damn easy the limpets die or destroy the cargo you are collecting, because you kinda have to be maneuvering around. I did a piracy mission yesterday, target was a DBE. It had two topside PD that destroyed my hatchbreakers even at point blank range. I managed to bring my Krait under the DBE and fire the hatch breaker directly at the hatch, which worked., but then of course my collectors would die too quickly. An NPC FdL pirate dropping in on the party didn't help either. Bottom line, I lost half of the mission cargo and had to abandon the mission.

 

[Jukelo]

You seem very experienced, more than I, so what do you think of the changes discussed in this thread? I was never a fan of a Type-6 miner or T7 trader or a Beluga passenger liner fighting back against my BattleConda like they themselves were in combat ships. Not only was it very unrealistic, but it basically made pirating too easy. I'm very excited to see AI acting similar to what most CMDRs do when interdicted by NPC pirates. Seems only fair, and it makes pirating challenging

That said, if I'm attacking a Type-9 equipped with SLF in my pirate Adder, then I would expect the T9 to turn and fight, at least until their shields went down. I'm not sure if the AI is context aware like that, and I'm okay if it's not. Seeing that both player and NPC wings tend to drop in one first, then the rest of the wing shortly after, there is a logic in running from even an inferior foe (I've got caught with my pants down more than once due to the "buddies" showing up after engaging that first target).

Anyway, do you like the new changes?

I'm for anything that improves believability in the game. As such, I like that NPCs do run away and make you work for it. At the same time - and I wont be able to test until I'm back from my exploration trip - for the sake of believability I hope the decision to run away is not automatic. It wasn't before, and it shouldn't be now. An Elite Type-7 should be able to realize it wont escape from a Clipper, so why risk it?

And no, I don't consider running after my prey, even over multiple systems, to be tedious. It's part of the appeal of the job.

 

[Old Duck]

The only thing I will lament is how damn easy the limpets die or destroy the cargo you are collecting, because you kinda have to be maneuvering around. I did a piracy mission yesterday, target was a DBE. It had two topside PD that destroyed my hatchbreakers even at point blank range. I managed to bring my Krait under the DBE and fire the hatch breaker directly at the hatch, which worked., but then of course my collectors would die too quickly. An NPC FdL pirate dropping in on the party didn't help either. Bottom line, I lost half of the mission cargo and had to abandon the mission.

FWIW my admittedly zealous defense of the new AI is exactly and specifically that - the AI flying the ships. I'll support anyone asking for bugs to be fixed, tools not working properly (I agree with you about limpets - if they can fly parallel with the ship, then they should be able to deliver cargo, assuming you're not doing barrel rolls), and even minor tweaks to AI if it's needed. As for what I oppose, well, I suspect that's clear after reading this thread.

ps - I'm early awaiting for a Guardian replacement for limpets. Give us a tractor beam

 

[Cmdr. Numa]

ps - I'm early awaiting for a Guardian replacement for limpets. Give us a tractor beam

Or let Ram Tah figure out the Thargoid one.

 

[GreyAreaUK]

ps - I'm early awaiting for a Guardian replacement for limpets. Give us a tractor beam

Too easy.

Magnetic harpoon/tether that requires manual aiming and is vastly more resistant to Point Defense. Have it act like a fixed (or very, very slightly gimballed) weapon.

 

[Old Duck]

Too easy.

Magnetic harpoon/tether that requires manual aiming and is vastly more resistant to Point Defense. Have it act like a fixed (or very, very slightly gimballed) weapon.

Careful, there are sharks goldfish in these waters who are frothing at the gills and boycotting the game because piracy is challenging now. Add even more challenge and who knows what they will do!

Though even I (Mr. Give Me Challenge) would probably just stick with collector limpets for piracy rather than shoot a harpoon at cargo like a 20th Century whaler...

 

[XLA]

I built a pirate-ship for NPC - Low Temperature Diamonds farming (won't call that really piracy) a while ago. It kind of worked. But it didn't feel very organic. It was kind of a silly mechanic that you had to shoot a non-combat mining vessel with one shot, so it would stay around and let it self get milked.

But then, this was more or less the only way to do NPC piracy that would pay....

Sooooo..

I'd appreciate if Frontier would try to find a way of satisfying PvE Piracy in the game. Until end of last year I have not found such in the game. The old LTD milking system was only placeholder for a real piracy mechanic in my eyes anywas. But it worked at least and it was a nice variety from the usual HAZ-RES / CZ / Assasination pve combat. And it was also quite fun to do in a wing. I'd still be upset if this so called "LTD Piracy" was made defunctional without replacing it with some better way of PvE Piracy.

Maybe they work on it???? I sincerly hope so.

As above.
This has ruined one of my favorite challenging elite passtimes.
Ok. I agree that no normal NPC would keep shooting at you while they are continually being hatch broken and robbed. They would flee.
So if you are going to change this why not stop NPC ships from drifting off at stupidly high speeds when we shoot out their engines instead. At this this would be more realistic.
The payout here is not as much as void opals, so It can't be considered a money gold rush needing a nerf.

Frontier, please reverse this change or gives us another challenging or skill based method.

 

[Echo32]

And put Void Opals into npc mining ships!

 

[Old Duck]

Ok. I agree that no normal NPC would keep shooting at you while they are continually being hatch broken and robbed. They would flee.

They would also drop their cargo if they feared you were going to destroy them. It's the old, "This can all stop if you just give us XYZ!" the NPC pirates tell us, but reverse. Do NPCs no longer drop their cargo once you got their hull down a certain amount?

As for drifting ships, I understand why this happens (it has happened to me when my thrusters are hit), but what about that harpoon gun someone mentioned, except instead of using it for cargo, we could use it to grab and latch onto a ship (just like pirates of old using grappling hooks). I really don't want to see us go backwards to the old unrealistic way, but maybe Frontier can make the new system better with some tweaks and perhaps even a new tool. My Sidewinder already has a winch - I'd love to use it to grab an enemy ship and pull up to him! Arrrrrr!!!

 

[Jaggid Edje]

As for drifting ships, I understand why this happens (it has happened to me when my thrusters are hit), but what about that harpoon gun someone mentioned, except instead of using it for cargo, we could use it to grab and latch onto a ship (just like pirates of old using grappling hooks). I really don't want to see us go backwards to the old unrealistic way, but maybe Frontier can make the new system better with some tweaks and perhaps even a new tool. My Sidewinder already has a winch - I'd love to use it to grab an enemy ship and pull up to him! Arrrrrr!!!

I love it, but maybe tractor beams would make more sense than a hook and long cable. Tractor beams are considered scientifically feasible by modern science and there are research groups working on the concepts.

 

[Jukelo]

I love it, but maybe tractor beams would make more sense than a hook and long cable. Tractor beams are considered scientifically feasible by modern science and there are research groups working on the concepts.

A harpoon is lovably more old school though.

 

[Alwayslate]

If there is indeed a way to stop ships from escaping forever, it'll be exploited to hell by gankers.

Do you think FDev are daring enough to make something like that? And how many players would be happy to see that coming?

 

[Jaggid Edje]

A harpoon is lovably more old school though.

Have to agree, I gave Old Duck an instant Like at the suggestion of it....it greatly appeals to me. I don't play pirate in this game, but if we had a harpoon gun and winch, I'd probably want to more.

 

[Old Duck]

A harpoon is lovably more old school though.

And if I recall correctly, it was used by Reavers in Firefly. That adds a whole extra layer of scary to piracy!

 

[George_bowyer]

That's what the real-life crooks around here said when people started locking their doors... Go sift through shipwrecks if you have a problem with NPCs running away like any sane pilot would.

Now if there is a bug in the NPCs, like ignoring mass-lock, dropping mines while charging FSD, etc, then you have a legitimate complaint. Otherwise, "git gud" at pirating or change professions

I dont think running away is the sane thing to do tho, if your in a t7 or even a t9 a vette or annie can shread your shields and hull befor you can run. So running is guaranteed death. So the logical thing to do is turn and shoot the in a futile act of defiance as they empty your hold.

 

[George_bowyer]

When the conditions are just so, LTD piracy is just about as profitable as LTD mining.

It was more profitable than mining, you could make a steady 200mil an hour befor the patch