As a wealthy trader, sometime bounty hunter and part-time mercenary, I find I need something more from Elite Dangerous.
I would like to try playing a criminal pirate for a change. So I have decided to set up a second account, which by all accounts should not have to cost me another copy of the game, given the amount of real money I have invested in this game so far, in order not to ruin the clean reputation of my trader character, and to have better fun.
Anyway cut a long story short, how to pirate? How do I intend to go about this messy business?
Group mode, arranged sessions, and honor between pirates?!
If playing as team groups, we would have to be friends in the first place, the pirates agree to play pirates, and the defending team, naturally have to defend their freighter, in order to secure their cut of the trade profit, (That's another problem, percentage pay for defensive wingmen should be agreed in advance, not paid out willy nilly not even as a cut, but money for nothing as is the current broken system), then roles can be reversed, and teams get the opposite experience, sad as it is, arranged games is the only viable solution.
The reason piracy play does not work in open play mode is because most people, for me now mainly due to the network lag in supercruise where heavy trading is taking place, such as trade CGs, play in solo mode for trading, and clearly, no pirate problem there.
This is why the only viable option for us is to play in group mode, and arrange these things in advance. sad as it is, this is the only way you can guarantee you get to pirate the team you wanted to pirate, not just some random defenseless T7 that doesn't want to be pirated, due to the nature of the networking limitations, which are beyond the developers control.
It will not be easy. Not only do both teams have to arrange a time and a place, but both teams will need to be properly trained in advance with tactics of defense and attack, without destroying the expensive freighter, for what pirate destroys his lifeblood? Also. if I do this, I don't want my Python blown up, and neither will the three defending Vipers, which are merely meant as a courtesy measure, and will soon be intercepting your ships within 30 seconds.
So, when playing the pirate team, clearly your main goals are to bring down the shields of the freighter, if it has them, limpet the cargo hatch whilst fighting off the defending wing, then, if successful, picking up as much of the booty as possible whilst fighting off any police ships that pick up on your signal and decide to turn up to investigate.
At least, in my mind, this is how I imagine it would/could/should happen.
At the moment, as far as I can tell, piracy is not working. Neither for the pirates, nor the pirated. And still a lot of things are yet to be fixed, or refined, as us, the players find better ways to play, and the developers make the appropriate adjustments accordingly.
I would like to try playing a criminal pirate for a change. So I have decided to set up a second account, which by all accounts should not have to cost me another copy of the game, given the amount of real money I have invested in this game so far, in order not to ruin the clean reputation of my trader character, and to have better fun.
Anyway cut a long story short, how to pirate? How do I intend to go about this messy business?
Group mode, arranged sessions, and honor between pirates?!
If playing as team groups, we would have to be friends in the first place, the pirates agree to play pirates, and the defending team, naturally have to defend their freighter, in order to secure their cut of the trade profit, (That's another problem, percentage pay for defensive wingmen should be agreed in advance, not paid out willy nilly not even as a cut, but money for nothing as is the current broken system), then roles can be reversed, and teams get the opposite experience, sad as it is, arranged games is the only viable solution.
The reason piracy play does not work in open play mode is because most people, for me now mainly due to the network lag in supercruise where heavy trading is taking place, such as trade CGs, play in solo mode for trading, and clearly, no pirate problem there.
This is why the only viable option for us is to play in group mode, and arrange these things in advance. sad as it is, this is the only way you can guarantee you get to pirate the team you wanted to pirate, not just some random defenseless T7 that doesn't want to be pirated, due to the nature of the networking limitations, which are beyond the developers control.
It will not be easy. Not only do both teams have to arrange a time and a place, but both teams will need to be properly trained in advance with tactics of defense and attack, without destroying the expensive freighter, for what pirate destroys his lifeblood? Also. if I do this, I don't want my Python blown up, and neither will the three defending Vipers, which are merely meant as a courtesy measure, and will soon be intercepting your ships within 30 seconds.
So, when playing the pirate team, clearly your main goals are to bring down the shields of the freighter, if it has them, limpet the cargo hatch whilst fighting off the defending wing, then, if successful, picking up as much of the booty as possible whilst fighting off any police ships that pick up on your signal and decide to turn up to investigate.
At least, in my mind, this is how I imagine it would/could/should happen.
At the moment, as far as I can tell, piracy is not working. Neither for the pirates, nor the pirated. And still a lot of things are yet to be fixed, or refined, as us, the players find better ways to play, and the developers make the appropriate adjustments accordingly.
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