Conflict zones, picking sides and losing reputation... confused

[Doctor Dread]

Hey guys,

Just went into my first Conflict Zone (after a loooong absence from the game). IIRC, in the old days somewhere on the right-hand panel you can see the sides in the conflict, pick one, their ships became all green and the other side red.

Now I couldn't find where to pick a side - both sides were green. OK, I aimed at the first "to be my enemy" ship, shoot at it, the enemy all became red, my side green, 'oh that's how it goes now'... but I was losing my Reputation with the enemy side. Which surprised me, unpleasantly.

IIRC, it was "what happens in the Conflict Zone stays in the Conflict Zone."

Have they changed it? Or have I engaged in combat before somewhere officially declared my side, so the events in the CZ would not affect my Reputation? What am I doing wrong?

(because if this is how it goes now, it's most inconvenient - one more battle in CZ and I will not be able to land on a station owned by my enemies)

 

[Jmanis]

Hey guys,

Just went into my first Conflict Zone (after a loooong absence from the game). IIRC, in the old days somewhere on the right-hand panel you can see the sides in the conflict, pick one, their ships became all green and the other side red.

Now I couldn't find where to pick a side - both sides were green. OK, I aimed at the first "to be my enemy" ship, shoot at it, the enemy all became red, my side green, 'oh that's how it goes now'... but I was losing my Reputation with the enemy side. Which surprised me, unpleasantly.

IIRC, it was "what happens in the Conflict Zone stays in the Conflict Zone."

Have they changed it? Or have I engaged in combat before somewhere officially declared my side, so the events in the CZ would not affect my Reputation? What am I doing wrong?

(because if this is how it goes now, it's most inconvenient - one more battle in CZ and I will not be able to land on a station owned by my enemies)

Clearing a cz results in reputation loss. Don't want that loss? Don't finish the zone.

The panel for choosing a side is located in your chat panel in the top left. You'll get a progress bar in the top right when you join a side.

Personally i think the concept of "what happens in cz stays in the cz" is pretty daft, as it ties directly in with the "Elite: Best Friends" problem.

 

[Kira Goto]

Personally i think the concept of "what happens in cz stays in the cz" is pretty daft, as it ties directly in with the "Elite: Best Friends" problem.

It certainly doesn’t make any logical sense. You’re directly opposing the faction in making them lose the war and/or control of the system/whichever assets may be at stake. To have them say “Yeah nah, it’s fine” would be odd at best.

 

[Jmanis]

It certainly doesn’t make any logical sense. You’re directly opposing the faction in making them lose the war and/or control of the system/whichever assets may be at stake. To have them say “Yeah nah, it’s fine” would be odd at best.

Main reason is purely game balance, as far as i can tell. It's bad game design to punish players for success at the game... and FD have never seen to make a decent and rewarding path for criminal / antagonistic game styles... it's why becoming hostile to a superpower has no negative effect... because there's no positive counterbalance for excommunicating you out of a third of the populated galaxy.

But it's equally bad when, in a game designed to respond to your actions, murdering hundreds of a faction's kin has no reputational impact.