BALANCING the game for TRADERS

[CHristina]

FOR ED , non aggressive play, needs some help . ESP with protection, everything is geared to fighting and pirates

And with the 'wings' intro ,Can I get inducted several times now, by each member of a wing until I submit and then the 'rest of the wing' jumps in?

Trade ships ,I think should have some balancing 'trick up their sleeves.
Heavier armour. as stock standard.
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Be able to hire protection players,or npc....( A new career has opened up?)=missions could have 'wanted -protection for trader going to XYZ
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ANd WHy cant bounty hunters .-players- offer protection -and "services"on the bulletin board?
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Some trade missions should/could come with protection. -just meet cmdr " i'll protect you..come with me if you want to lieev.) sorry best arnie I can do ...out side
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BE able to radio security forces.. AND THEY respond --in time--to calls for help.
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traders join NPC conveys with fighter wings for protection. ( would be like bombing mission over Europe ...in space ships .
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BE able to buy..( might be in the game,i don't know,)
ANTI induction equipment,
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mines,
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smart mines ( when pirate is in close prox, it homes in and attaches it self to ship, then informs cmdr it is under arrest ,has 2 choices.1 blow up, 2 wait for radioed security forces and pay 'spot fine/bounty or be blown up.ha ha ..... narr.. ..just sticks to ship and pirate sweats it out as a 5 minute count down commences ...( the same as when windscreen shatters.. then has to race to dock inside station for the mine to disengaged-and shut down.
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and be able to booby trap their cargo pods before dropping them.

Pirates can just clear their names to easy , and there is very little risk to them when attacking a hauler.
There has got to be an element of risk, ( fines and bounties is not working-Pirates can just clear their names to easy.)

 

[DosFerret]

As a trader (and a new player) I honestly think that traders are the top loved players atm. Bounty hunters make squat and can take a long time to upgrade their ships. Miners are even slower to earn than the BH and they have the whole cost of starting up being a little more than the BHs. Pirates, well I haven't tried but they have the whole risk/reward issue.

as to your anti-induction idea, we have one and it is piloting skill.
they just put in a Wing system so you can have protection
we have mines, but the ones you suggest are very passive aggressive (please dear god interdict me so I can blow your canopy types) and worse than pirates imho
booby trapping cargo is kind of a 50/50 in my mind either you haul around X# of tons of booby traps in cargo or if it's a module when your scanned it shows up and pirates would just blow you up for having it
trade missions giving support is overkill imo players won't bother you for scrap or other regular loot most often looking for the rares

Traders are the first to get into anacondas ect have the best equipment (per hour spent in profession), so having us as a more vulnerable target is our downside to how many credits we make.

I'm not trying to dash your ideas just trying to give you the devil's advocate stance

PS Player based mission offerings would be sweet

 

[CHristina]

I was thinking along the line.( as I a bit peeved at the moment.) when dropping cargo, have option to attach booby trap to a pod..( I like the 5minute run best.) some pirates scoop and leave, most want more and more.or demand the exact cargo ..( if carrying different items) I don't mind 'playing the game'.and dropping one or two BUt when a PY-RAT is being greedy,demanding the lot.. and I have not much choice in my hauler against a tooled up cobra.So I run or blow up.

 

[Oddball_E8]

You can now have bounty hunters (or just combat pilots in general) join you in your wing and they'll get a share of the profits when you sell your cargo.
That should work as a nice fee for having a body guard.

As for heavier armour, well you'll just have to buy it like the rest of us.

In general though, most of your suggestions come off as pretty childish revenge type suggestions.

If you play as a trader, just sacrifice some cargo space to put in heavier shields, some shield cells, better thrusters, reinforced hull/shields, better armour and maby a few mine launchers and you should be able to handle most pirates.

Of course, if an anaconda or something else that large stops you, you're pretty screwed, but then so would I in my fully kitted out viper.

Point is, if you want to be 100% certain you'll be safe from pirates, either team up with some combat ship players (plenty of them out there) or get yourself a kitted out trader, or preferably, a multi-role ship with combat upgrades (Asp, Python, Anaconda).
Sure, you'll have a smaller cargo space, but you'll be plenty safer from pirates (most pirates will think twice before interdicting an Anaconda for example, you might not even have to equip it with any guns since they'll most likely not go through the sub-systems to look).

But if you really want to just trade and not be stopped by players, go play solo.

(and you really should be able to handle NPC's, no matter what)

 

[clivewil]

a multi-role ship with combat upgrades (Asp, Python, Anaconda).
Sure, you'll have a smaller cargo space, but you'll be plenty safer from pirates

that seems to be the best route to take, armoured vans get picked on all the time, but nobody wants to attack a tank carrying a shopping basket. sometimes less is more