Newcomer / Intro A question of mining....

[Mohenjo]

So, I JUST purchased a shiny new T7 cargo ship to do some mining with. I spent some time in a particular ring, and accumulated 1 unit of Bauxite. Pretty worthless, so I selected a different ring and went there.

As usual, there is ALWAYS pirates waiting when you enter a ring. There's NEVER any exception. OF course, they demand my cargo (that aforementioned ONE Bauxite), and give me 15 seconds to comply. I went to the cargo list to jettison it... but they were already firing on me. A deluge of magic limpet attacks that instantly disabled the shields, the hull, the cargo hold and every other thing... and I was immediately killed.

Now, the T7 isn't a combat ship... so I didn't expect to be able to fight... but I didn't even have time to switch to my combat mode and activate shock mines before half the ship was disabled.... and WHY were they attacking me in the first place? I gave them my cargo.

I can't imagine this is how it's supposed to work, there was no chance, none at all for me to react, let alone escape... and no reason for them to start shooting at me.

 

[Mohenjo]

Oh, and I just noticed it also deleted all the materials in my hoppers, PLUS all my unclaimed bounties (I couldn't claim them anywhere anyway), PLUS all my exploration data (just a couple of systems, nothing serious).

So, for the value of ONE BAUXITE, I pay out 1.5 million for the ship, plus another 79k in various vouchers.

Again, why are enemies attacking me for this and ignoring the fact I did what they asked?

 

[metatheurgist]

You lose all those things on death, that's normal. You'll learn to account for those things before you try to do anything risky.

Pirates are a bit trigger happy. There are things that set them off, like deploying hardpoints, trying to leave. Could also be a bug.

 

[Mohenjo]

Ya, I expected to lose the vouchers and such... That wasn't really my issue, just a bit of adding insult to injury.

The real issue was that they started shooting at me almost immediately, even though I dumped the cargo they wanted. They REALLY need to give us the time to comply... especially if they're all now going to be kitted with magic instant kill equipment and weapons.

(I was mining, so my hardpoints had to be deployed... and I was moving toward an asteroid... so if that's the stuff setting them off, they really need to adjust the AI).

 

[Northpin]

Ya, I expected to lose the vouchers and such... That wasn't really my issue, just a bit of adding insult to injury.

The real issue was that they started shooting at me almost immediately, even though I dumped the cargo they wanted. They REALLY need to give us the time to comply... especially if they're all now going to be kitted with magic instant kill equipment and weapons.

(I was mining, so my hardpoints had to be deployed... and I was moving toward an asteroid... so if that's the stuff setting them off, they really need to adjust the AI).

When you get into a ring you dont start mining ASAP.
Wait for the local pirates do their thing.
If you have cargo, be prepared to drop some - you also need to be quick at math, they sometimes demand 90000 cr worth of cargo.

But the best approach would be not to have any cargo when you drop in the ring (limpets dont count as cargo). Plan your sessions accordingly and if you crash, when you log back in just leave the ring and go and sell the stuff

 

[aRJay]

Every time you enter a ring* either by dropping in from supercruise or logging into the game there a ship or ships will show up and check you out. Occasionally that is a miner or security ship usually it is pirates, if you have any cargo in your holds other than limpets when a pirate scans you they will try to get it off you.

So the first rule of mining club is never drop into a ring with cargo on board. If you have been mining successfully and get a disconnect then when you log back in run away as fast as possible and sell your cargo.
The second rule of mining club is when you drop into a ring wait for your visitors to leave and jump out before actually cutting rock.
The third rule of mining club is don’t mine at an RES as pirates drop in there all the time.
If you are mining in an armed combat build then you can ignore the first two rules.

Pirates can’t count very well they may give you 10 seconds but they ignore fractions so 9.9 seconds left is 9 and 0.9 seconds left is 0 and time to start shooting.

*If you are far enough away from Star systems that are inhabited this is supposed not to happen.

 

[Tyres O'Flaherty]

I'm an advocate of mining outside the bubble to avoid piracy. However, I'm very aware this probably isn't practical, doable or cost/time effective for newer CMDRs.

 

[Factabulous]

The big question here is how you only managed to mine one ton of bauxite after mining an entire ring ....

 

[Tyres O'Flaherty]

The big question here is how you only managed to mine one ton of bauxite after mining an entire ring ....

Does sound odd.

I wonder how the OP is mining... Even lasering for a couple of minutes would yield quite a few units of various stuffs.

Were they trying and failing core or ssd?

OP, could you let us in on your mining technique so we can provide further tips?

 

[Gwyther]

One way to avoid pirates (or any other ships) is to mine outside the bubble. You don't need to go far, about 100 ly's will do.
I often take my Python out to a particular system that I like to go mining in. I can log out in the ring when i want a break. When I log back in there are still no ships.

 

[aRJay]

Does sound odd.

I wonder how the OP is mining... Even lasering for a couple of minutes would yield quite a few units of various stuffs.

Were they trying and failing core or ssd?

OP, could you let us in on your mining technique so we can provide further tips?

Remember the T7 is small hardpoints only so no Seismic Charge Launcher for core work.

 

[Para Handy]

....
The real issue was that ......

You had something in your cargo hold besides limpets. No need for any caveats or what ifs or anything - if you have ANY cargo the pirate scum these days seem to just shoot anyway, never contemplating leaving you alone even if you drop them 100t of VO.

 

[d8veh]

Simple rules:

1. Never drop into rings when you have cargo on your ship.
2. Never start mining until the pirates have been and gone.
3. If you get interdicted with cargo on board, never stop to see what's going on. Just keep boosting until you can get your FSD going.Always travel with 4 pips to engines and 2 to systems to get the maximum boosting. Make sure your ship is as fast as possible.

If you want to mine, go to Hyades Sector DB-X d1-112 planet 1 inner ring and mine in the platinum hotspot to get loads of platinum and osmium. Use a detail surface scanner to find the hotspots.

 

[Mohenjo]

I didn't spend much time in the first ring, just lasered off a few chunks before I realized the asteroids around me were pretty worthless. So, all I got were enough chunks to make the one unit of Bauxite... maybe 4 or 5 chunks lasered off.

Ya, I know knot to enter a ring with anything aboard. Honestly, I didn't realize I had that unit of Bauxite, because I didn't know I'd mined enough to make that one unit. I figure there must have been some in the hopper.

The issue I had was that the enemies demanded I drop my cargo for them, which I did, but they killed me anyway.
A side issue is the means by which they did it... Last time I did any mining, when enemies attacked, they did so with lasers or cannons. This attack was all limpet attacks, and shield cracking and other such magic powers. There was literally no defense, my shields were gone instantly, the hull was cracked or something, then all my systems were immediately offline... I had no idea what was even going on.

In essence, what I'm concerned by is that there was NOTHING I could do. The pirates appeared, there was no way to fight back, no way to run, no way to do ANYTHING, I was just guaranteed to be dead. If there's nothing for me to do, there's no GAME... and that strikes me as an issue.



(Also, I'm rather disappointed the Siesmic Charge Launcher can't be used on the T7... It's a cargo ship, a WORK ship... it should be able to use the tools to do the job.)

 

[Para Handy]

....
(Also, I'm rather disappointed the Siesmic Charge Launcher can't be used on the T7... It's a cargo ship, a WORK ship... it should be able to use the tools to do the job.)

Buy a Cobra MkIV ....

 

[Gwyther]

I use a Python for mining, trading, missions, etc...
The ship has enough hardpoints to carry one of each of the mining 'weapons', plus a large point on top, which I use a turret beam laser for defence.

 

[Mohenjo]

I have access to the Cobra IV... but unfortunately, with a class 4 power plant, it can't produce enough power to run all the mining gear. Plus, it's got a fraction of the cargo space.

I have a Krait II that could do the job... but it's not a commercial ship, it's more of a combat ship, as is the Python. The only commercial-type ship that has the hardpoints is the Type 9, which is so huge and unmaneuverable that it really isn't suited to be dancing around an asteroid planting charges. They really needed to make the seismic charge thing a class 1 'weapon.'

 

[Northpin]

I have a Krait II that could do the job... but it's not a commercial ship, it's more of a combat ship, as is the Python.

Eh?
Both the Krait mk2 and the Python are multiroles.
They can be outfitted to do combat or mining or trading or passenger runs... basically anything.
Python being the best overall medium ship, while the Krait is the best medium when the balance tips to combat.

 

[Codger]

You're expecting pirates to play by the rules? Even their own rules?

Sure, they say 15 seconds, but...it rarely is. Sure, they say they'll leave you alone, but they usually don't.

That's just how pirates operate in this game. They are scum! It's part of what you must deal with, and there's been plenty of good advice in this thread. Learn and go

Meanwhile, pick a different ship for mining. The T7 is a terrible miner because it can't carry the needed stuff. You can only do class 1 lasers on that thing -- slower than slow -- and you can't do core mining.

I'd rather mine in a Keelback, at least it has bigger hardpoints and can actually be fitted out as an ok miner.

Anyway, good luck out there! Don't let those pirates getcha down!

 

[Mohenjo]

Ya, I know they can do the mining. Any ship can do pretty well anything. However, mining is a very commercial kind of occupation, and so I would prefer to use a ship that's designed for commercial purposes... It's a matter of concept, I suppose.