A Pirate Pirated

There seems to be a lot of threads from Pirates supporting their chosen profession. Fair enough, I don't agree with a lot they do, but have found ways to be ignored by them (thank you Mobius). But it has always intrigued me how they would react if the shoe was on the other foot so to speak, i.e. they were the target of a Pirate. So consider this scenario:

The Scenario:
You (the Pirate) head out for your first mission for the day in your Python. You see a tasty target in SC, a quick scan reveals the target is a lowly Asp, so you manoeuvre behind him, and the interdiction mini-game commences. The Asp does the right thing, reduces throttle to zero and submits. You pop out in normal space a few seconds later and commence the time honored tradition of parlay. You know from your cargo scan he is carrying 80T of Gold so you politely ask him to drop 20T (the maximum limit you can retrieve) or he will suffer an 'unforeseen accident' in space. Surprisingly he does not immediately agree to your request and tries to escape (as is his right). So the chase begins and just as you start to get his shields down, two Security Forces craft appear and immediately come to his aid. In the ensuring battle you best the Security ships and manage to get the Asp's shields down. But you have suffered some damage, your shields are down and you have lost 20% of your hull but you still have the upper hand. The Asp knows this and finally does the right thing, drops 20T of Gold and limps away. You rejoice in your skill, collect the 20T Gold and decide a quick trip back to the station for repair is warranted. After entering SC you fail to notice a ship sliding behind you and next thing the dreaded interdiction mini-game is on again. You fight it, but fail, and you find yourself in normal space with an Anaconda. He demands your 20T of gold, you try telling him you are a fellow Pirate but he thinks it is just words and gives you a few laser bursts as encouragement. So what do you do now:


  1. Admit defeat, drop the 20T of Gold and hope he doesn't destroy you?
  2. Fight back, even if you know the odds are not in your favour, it is your gold, how dare he demand it?
  3. Make a run for it and hope like hell you can get away?
  4. Plead with him, offer him 10T gold if he will just let you live?
  5. Pray to the deity of your choice that the Security Forces will turn up to save you (forgetting you are kind of wanted for just killing two of them)?
  6. Combat Log as fast as you can pull the plug

So what is your choice of action?
 
Given the scenario, which I don't find plausible :D, i would: 3a) high wake out

And option 6 should not even be considered, pls delete it ;)
 
You just say the secret pirate word. Then swap stories, drink copious amounts of burnham bile over the loot and laugh at this hypothesis.
 
Given the scenario, which I don't find plausible :D, i would: 3a) high wake out

Without shields and 80% hull left, a Conda would kill you in a few seconds. Successful escape would be very unlikely in the given szenario, unless the Conda-Pirate is as incompetent as the Python-Pirate... losing shields against a trading Asp and a few cops? Not going to happen.

And option 6 should not even be considered, pls delete it ;)

Yep, combat loggers are no pirates by definition :)
 
Using your FSD to jump to another System, it is not affected by Mass locking and something that Pirates despise as being cowardly :D
Well, if i got my booty there's no need to stick around :p There are times when you just run to live and fight another day. No shame in that.

Combat logging is only shameful thing in ED, everything else is fair game.
 
Option 6) is disgusting. ;)

But the decision depends on more factors. Example, if the Anaconda has torpedos and Plasma Accelerators, I'd probably chose 1). If the Conda has only pulse lasers I'd probably take 2) or 3).

So yea. I pilot a FDL and this is why I have always the possibility to run away efficiently due to 402 m/s velocity :D

Only Clippers and Cobras can catch up and in this case I would charge my FSD and outmanouver them using FA-OFF. :)
 
Used to be affected by mass-locking. This is surely a bug, don't get too used to it.

Nope, never was affected and it's officially working as intended. Can't find the devs' post about this, but it's somewhere in this forum.
 
1 - happened in a similar way to me last night in Ngaliba. I abandoned some Animal Meat and asked if I could join their scurvy-ridden crew, after that, we had a great evening making the spaceways unsafe.
 
Huh. Now that's interesting. I'll have to remember that. Of course, it takes extra time to set a destination. Interesting to find the balance...

You should always have some system plotted in route and a key bind for quickly accessing it ;) Saves the precious seconds.
 
Huh. Now that's interesting. I'll have to remember that. Of course, it takes extra time to set a destination. Interesting to find the balance...

It also takes longer to charge the FSD up for a hyperjump. Around 15 seconds, which happens to be the same as it takes for a "legit" logout, waiting for the timer to count down.

"Legit" because perconally I don't consider any form of logging out of combat legit, but since the timer is there exactly for that reason, FD probably does, so it makes some sense.
 
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The Scenario:
You (the Pirate) head out for your first mission for the day in your Python. (...)
  1. Admit defeat, drop the 20T of Gold and hope he doesn't destroy you?
  2. Fight back, even if you know the odds are not in your favour, it is your gold, how dare he demand it?
  3. Make a run for it and hope like hell you can get away?
  4. Plead with him, offer him 10T gold if he will just let you live?
  5. Pray to the deity of your choice that the Security Forces will turn up to save you (forgetting you are kind of wanted for just killing two of them)?
  6. Combat Log as fast as you can pull the plug

So what is your choice of action?

I am not a pirate but I would to #3: Start boosting away the moment the interdiction ends (I know that it is an Anaconda during the interdiction already). The Python is faster and there is no way for the Anaconda to catch up to it in normal space. So the "hope you can get away" part doesn't really apply.

Speed is king.
 
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Invisible mode + afterburner = anaconda can't catch python. High-jump exploit optionally.

Bad situation is if engines fails.
 
It applies if the Conda has enough heavy lasers or something to put you down; remember you have no shields and only 80% hull... and you're a Python, not a Clipper.

In the scenario the Anaconda demands cargo. That means the pilot is at least busy for a second typing something. The Python has a slim (for its size) profile from behind. I seriously doubt an Anaconda could kill one even from 80% hull and no shields if the Python starts boosting immediately.

Bad situation is if engines fails.

When you are constantly boosting anyway, you'd still drift faster than an Anaconda and have time to get plenty of distance before doing a reboot. :)
 
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I guess if a normal logout or a high-wake jump take the same amount of time... Thing is, with a wake scanner, you can be followed through a high wake jump. They can't follow you on a logout.

Right, but it can be avoided by dropping into normal space right after arriving in the destination system and moving on from there. The pursuer will just find a deserted SC instance, once he arrives. Therefore following a commander's high wake is pointless, if he knows what he's doing.

It applies if the Conda has enough heavy lasers or something to put you down; remember you have no shields and only 80% hull... and you're a Python, not a Clipper.

Right, a good Combat-Conda can dish out a surprisingly insane amount of alpha-damage. A Python at 80% hull will be eradicated the second the Conda manages to get him in front of her guns.

I once had the pleasure to fight a Conda with 8 Beam lasers. My Python was equipped with the maximum amount of shields (6A gen with 4x 0A boosters) possible, running at 4 pips to SYS, but he stripped my shields in less than 5 seconds, before my shield cell could kick in. I only got away with 60% hull or so, because his capacitors were dry after this initial discharge.

Never underestimate an Anaconda :)
 
When you are constantly boosting anyway, you'd still drift faster than an Anaconda and have time to get plenty of distance before doing a reboot. :)
Heh, probably, pretty good chances. Especially if python drifts silent. (-30% to 40% dps from fixed gun due loss of micro-self aiming.)
 
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If we had third person abilities you could exit your ships and have a parley on an asteroid. As pirates I think splitting the loot would be nice then you could team up and go for more salvage/cannisters. No easy solution when pirates clash :p
 
Op here, thanks for all the comments.

It seems the most popular option is to run, which of course is entirely understandable. But I wonder how many of the respondents pursue the lure of the skull and crossbones? I ask this because going by comments from those who call themselves pirates they detest those who run away, those that do aren't 'playing the game right'.

I admit I would do everything in my power to get out of dodge myself, but then I am a bounty hunter with occasional bouts of playing trader so some might say it is my natural inclination to either fight or flee, with the flee being the option in this case.
 
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