Combat rank should not determine interdiction rates

[peteuplink]

Interdiction rates in ED are determined by a mixture of combat rank and system security level, with combat rank being the most important of these two variables. This leads to a situation where, even in low security systems, low ranked commanders (like myself) don't get interdicted*. Surely this shouldn't be the way things should work, and interdiction rate should be determined only by system security level, with combat rank used to determine what level of enemies are sent against you, so higher ranked commanders generally attract tougher enemies than lower ranked ones.

* I can trigger a missions based interdiction by logging out and back in, and it'll sometimes trigger on an instance change when you drop from SC to normal space.

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

Combat rank shouldn't determine HP sponginess either.

 

[metatheurgist]

Good thing it doesn't then. Rank of interdictors for missions is determined by the rank of the mission. The rate is about 50% for each mission. Random pirates in a system are just that, random - I've had harmless eagles interdict me in a Corvette. Carrying cargo past a certain value also triggers a chance at interdiction, those are usually matched to your rank and ship. But go without cargo or jobs and you'll never get interdicted except by the random pirates, stick to high sec and you may never get interdicted.

 

[galahad2069]

Go to Deciat or Reverskinrarta Dezhra on Saturday evenings in Open.

Guaranteed interdictions left and right.

 

[peteuplink]

Good thing it doesn't then. Rank of interdictors for missions is determined by the rank of the mission. The rate is about 50% for each mission. Random pirates in a system are just that, random - I've had harmless eagles interdict me in a Corvette. Carrying cargo past a certain value also triggers a chance at interdiction, those are usually matched to your rank and ship. But go without cargo or jobs and you'll never get interdicted except by the random pirates, stick to high sec and you may never get interdicted.

Your combat rank determines how often you're interdicted, it says so in the spinning ship loading screen for the game. This is why low ranked players like myself don't get interdicted by NPC's. We need combat to increase rank, but we don't get interdicted in order to rank up... It's a stupid system and needs fixing.

 

[Rat Catcher]

If you pick up (my favourite) elite ranked courier missions they can spawn up to 4 elite anacondas each - excellent for ranking up and for good quality mats... bounty is usually naff as the mission giver will add their own bounty for each destroyed.

 

[peteuplink]

If you pick up (my favourite) elite ranked courier missions they can spawn up to 4 elite anacondas each - excellent for ranking up and for good quality mats... bounty is usually naff as the mission giver will add their own bounty for each destroyed.

A friend suggested courier missions. I generally don't bother with them, but I'll give them a go and see if it spices things up a touch.

 

[Rat Catcher]

A friend suggested courier missions. I generally don't bother with them, but I'll give them a go and see if it spices things up a touch.

If my memory serves me well (no guarantee) if you lose your ship the missions remain - but it has been a while since that happened with courier missions that I may be confusing them with Scan data missions that certainly do

 

[Fost]

Agreed - apart from maybe missions - it is understandable someone would send a tougher opponent to intercept a higher ranked player.

System security level should be the main fastor in my opinion.

 

[Old Duck]

I have mixed feelings about this. When it comes to random interdictions, I agree with you. However, when it comes to missions and valuable cargo, it makes sense that the more dangerous a pilot you are, the more competent the assassin a contractor will hire to take you out. You don't send in a swat team to give a harmless old lady a speeding ticket (except perhaps in certain American cities these days).

 

[Hooplah]

Being combat Elite I always get interdicted by NPC Dangerous - Elite Anacondas, Type-10s, and the occasional Fer de Lance. It would be nice to swat a few flies when flying my limited weapons Asp Explorer.

 

[peteuplink]

I have mixed feelings about this. When it comes to random interdictions, I agree with you. However, when it comes to missions and valuable cargo, it makes sense that the more dangerous a pilot you are, the more competent the assassin a contractor will hire to take you out. You don't send in a swat team to give a harmless old lady a speeding ticket (except perhaps in certain American cities these days).

Oh absolutely.The way the system should ideally work is system security level should determine the overall threat level and risk of being interdicted, but if you've taken a mission then the mission risk level should determine whether or not you get interdicted with riskier missions spawning tougher enemies. As you say, the enemy of the faction your doing the mission for might deem your cargo (or whatever) as something to destroy at all costs regardless of if you're in a high security system.

So it should work as:

interdiction risk = mission difficulty plus security level of system.

So a commander in a system without a mission should have their interdiction risk determined by the system security level.

A player with a mission should have the interdiction raisk determined by the overall difficulty of the mission plus the system security level. So an elite mission in an anarchy system should be much more difficult than a harmless mission in a high security system.

As for enemy difficulty, I'm a little torn on whether this should be determined by combat rank, so higher players get higher ranked enemies coming after them, and vice versa, or if it should be more randomised and still based on combat rank but with a random chance of a much tougher or weaker enemy spawning.

 

[Bigmaec]

Reverskinrarta Dezhra

 

[SciTrekker]

Your combat rank determines how often you're interdicted, it says so in the spinning ship loading screen for the game.

Can't confirm this at the moment. Do you have a screenie? I was thinking it says the rank of the enemies increases with your own increase in rank. I know enemies increase in rank with yours and enemy ships are somewhat matched against the ship you're in. I find I've been getting interdicted far less since becoming combat Elite (been triple Elite for months if not a whole year now (yeah me)) than before E-rank. Not discounting the load screen "tip" says higher frequency/chance for being interdicted, OP. I may've read it wrong and now pay less attention to them after a few hundred times. I'm with @Rat Catcher and look for more interdictions when mission running.

 

[peteuplink]

Can't confirm this at the moment. Do you have a screenie? I was thinking it says the rank of the enemies increases with your own increase in rank. I know enemies increase in rank with yours and enemy ships are somewhat matched against the ship you're in. I find I've been getting interdicted far less since becoming combat Elite (been triple Elite for months if not a whole year now (yeah me)) than before E-rank. Not discounting the load screen "tip" says higher frequency/chance for being interdicted, OP. I may've read it wrong and now pay less attention to them after a few hundred times. I'm with @Rat Catcher and look for more interdictions when mission running.

It's been worded slightly differently since the Fleet Carrier update dropped.I was trying to get a screen grab earlier, but it wouldn't show up after several attempts. If I see it when I log back in I'll take a screen shot.

EDIT:

Got it!

They have changed the wording. It used to just say "As your combat rank increases, so does the likelihood of encountering hostile pilots". Which I took to mean that combat rank determines interdiction rates, and this would seem to bear out based on my own experience as a commander who's never had a combat rank higher than Mostly Harmless because I usually get bored and reset my save. Also I have a friend in game who is Elite and NPC pirates simply won't leave him alone.

Now they've added the "with increased ranks to match" part, but does that mean that any enemies you encounter will be higher ranked or does it mean you'll get interdicted more and they'll be more likely to be higher rank?

It's a bit ambiguous (perhaps on purpose?) now they've reworded it.

 

[galahad2069]

Well, amongst others like packhounds, healbeams, prismo cutters and 6x10^23 skillboosters per ship, but I had no idea how to put those into the name.

 

[Jukelo]

It's been worded slightly differently since the Fleet Carrier update dropped.I was trying to get a screen grab earlier, but it wouldn't show up after several attempts. If I see it when I log back in I'll take a screen shot.

EDIT:

Got it!

They have changed the wording. It used to just say "As your combat rank increases, so does the likelihood of encountering hostile pilots". Which I took to mean that combat rank determines interdiction rates, and this would seem to bear out based on my own experience as a commander who's never had a combat rank higher than Mostly Harmless because I usually get bored and reset my save. Also I have a friend in game who is Elite and NPC pirates simply won't leave him alone.

Now they've added the "with increased ranks to match" part, but does that mean that any enemies you encounter will be higher ranked or does it mean you'll get interdicted more and they'll be more likely to be higher rank?

It's a bit ambiguous (perhaps on purpose?) now they've reworded it.

View attachment 184423

The last mention to the relation between combat rank and interdictions that I can remember from the patch note dates back to early Horizons, and explained things thus:

Your combat rank determines which NPCs are allowed to interdict you. Supposedly this applies to both ambient NPCs (who may or may not take an interest in you) and those scripted to spawn already homing in on you (the ones that trigger on an instance change).
Each security level is assigned a bracket. That bracket is centered around your combat rank (or your combat rank + 1 if your trade rank is higher than your combat rank). Any pirate NPC with a combat rank within that bracket will be allowed to interdict you. Potentially, depending on how combat ranks are distributed amongst NPCs (and I don't know that, or even if it changes based on local conditions), this could in theory affect the rate of interdictions from ambient NPCs if ranks aren't distributed evenly. I'm not aware that it does anything to increase the likelyhood of a scripted NPC coming after you at all, but it does ensure that such a scripted NPC will spawn with a combat rank matching yours or near enough. High security systems have a tighter bracket, whereas low security systems will allow more dangerous NPCs to target you. Supposedly again the tightening or loosening of the bracket happens with regards to NPCs holding a higher combat rank than you as it wouldn't make sense to let less dangerous NPCs interdict you in low sec system, but this is purely speculation on my part.

 

[peteuplink]

So the security rating determines if you'll be attacked and your combat rank determines which NPC's in the system are allowed to attack you. So a harmless commander in a low security system full of elite ranked pirates won't get attacked because the game won't let them attack?

Systems are usually empty, unless there are players present, and more NPC's will spawn in the longer you are in a system, so why not just have something that spawns appropriately ranked NPC's in systems based on secuirty level and combat rank? So a low secuirty system will spawn more NPC's at a level that's allowed to attack you, and the risk of interdiction increases the longer you're in the system, and a high secuirty system will spawn less.

 

[aRJay]

Your combat rank determines how often you're interdicted, it says so in the spinning ship loading screen for the game. This is why low ranked players like myself don't get interdicted by NPC's. We need combat to increase rank, but we don't get interdicted in order to rank up... It's a stupid system and needs fixing.

I am, barring an exploration rank, as ranked up as you can be and the last time some NPC tried to interdict me was over 6 months ago. Obviously there would have been more if I bothered with missions, but I have just hauled some cargo and done more mining.

If you want combat go hunting it at Nav Beacons or RESs, there will be many more targets for you and presumably you will have taken a better ship for the fight than an armed freighter.

 

[aRJay]

It's been worded slightly differently since the Fleet Carrier update dropped.I was trying to get a screen grab earlier, but it wouldn't show up after several attempts. If I see it when I log back in I'll take a screen shot.

EDIT:

Got it!

They have changed the wording. It used to just say "As your combat rank increases, so does the likelihood of encountering hostile pilots". Which I took to mean that combat rank determines interdiction rates, and this would seem to bear out based on my own experience as a commander who's never had a combat rank higher than Mostly Harmless because I usually get bored and reset my save. Also I have a friend in game who is Elite and NPC pirates simply won't leave him alone.

Now they've added the "with increased ranks to match" part, but does that mean that any enemies you encounter will be higher ranked or does it mean you'll get interdicted more and they'll be more likely to be higher rank?

It's a bit ambiguous (perhaps on purpose?) now they've reworded it.

View attachment 184423

That says it is more likely to encounter hostile pilots and the ones you do encounter will be higher ranked, but doesn't mention interdictions so these encounters could be anywhere.