I've taken to hunting pirates in resource gathering and asteroid areas. If it's just me and the pirate then things go well. If ANY other ship is in the area if I engage the pirate then somehow within 5 seconds I get an assault charge levied on me for that other ship and they open fire on me. Even if they're nowhere nearby and definitely not in the line of fire of any of my weapons. I'm using a turreted pulse laser, a fixed pulse laser, and a gimballed cannon. Yet again, absolutely never put the other ship in my line of fire and certainly never target them. What's going on? Has happened 6 times in a row now for me and is costing me thousands of credits. The last time I barely escaped alive.
Constantly getting assault charges during dogfights with pirates
- Thread starter Lethargus
- Start date
Perhaps the problem has something to do with the semi-hidden faction system.
As I understand it, say you are in a system with: The Lawful Chaps, The Evil Monkeys and The Bald Social Workers, where The Lawful Chaps control the law enforcement, The Evil Monkeys are the pirate or anarchist faction, and the BSW are the other main faction.
If a Wanted ship belongs to either the Lawful Chaps or the BSW, and you attack it, then that faction will turn hostile towards you and may attack you. If it's the Lawful Chaps, that means that the Law Enforcement ships will all attack you. Basically you can only safely attack the Evil Monkeys.
Might what's happening be that you are attacking wanted ships belonging to the Bald Social Workers or The Lawful Chaps, and that your turret is getting aggro from nearby ships of that faction when it turns hostile?
As I understand it, say you are in a system with: The Lawful Chaps, The Evil Monkeys and The Bald Social Workers, where The Lawful Chaps control the law enforcement, The Evil Monkeys are the pirate or anarchist faction, and the BSW are the other main faction.
If a Wanted ship belongs to either the Lawful Chaps or the BSW, and you attack it, then that faction will turn hostile towards you and may attack you. If it's the Lawful Chaps, that means that the Law Enforcement ships will all attack you. Basically you can only safely attack the Evil Monkeys.
Might what's happening be that you are attacking wanted ships belonging to the Bald Social Workers or The Lawful Chaps, and that your turret is getting aggro from nearby ships of that faction when it turns hostile?
I thought the same thing, and have encountered that once when I thought it was safe to go after any wanted ship. In this case I wait for the pirate to attack a mining NPC and then start attacking the pirate. The first few shots never seem to be a problem, but in a few seconds I get a fine for assaulting the people who were being attacked by the pirate and they turn hostile to me. Again, making sure they aren't anywhere in the line of fire and I'm not using missiles or torpedos of any kind. Between starting this thread and posting this reply it has happened to me 3 more times.
I had something similar happen earlier that really annoyed me. I took a pirate killing mission from a station and when I helped a Fed kill the pirate (which helped me complete my objective) I got a 6000cr fee for murder, and to make matters worse, when I went to pay it 10 minutes later the fee was 9000cr.
My guess is that your turret is set to attack hostiles instead of attack target.
You shoot the wanted ship and the others turn red. Your turret then starts shooting at them earning you the fine and aggroing them on you.
Set your turret to target only and stow your weapons until you are sure you want to fire on a target.
You shoot the wanted ship and the others turn red. Your turret then starts shooting at them earning you the fine and aggroing them on you.
Set your turret to target only and stow your weapons until you are sure you want to fire on a target.
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Setting the turret to target only seems to have helped a lot, but didn't solve it. Even turning off the turret completely I still run into these random assault charges. But I do still on occasion also get charged with assault for the people going after the same targets as me and flying right into my lines of fire. Just had a new one... the other guy actually rammed me while trying to get the same line of attack I was already on... and I get charged with assault. Not sure how that one was figured... These issues, plus the ridiculously long flight times in systems with multiple stars... I think I'm going to walk away from this game for a while. Maybe check in on it again in a few months. Perhaps if they ever add a better method of group content.
Thanks for the help trying to figure it out. Turning off the turret completely didn't solve it though, so something else is going on.
Thanks for the help trying to figure it out. Turning off the turret completely didn't solve it though, so something else is going on.
I have been nearly ready to quit over this stuff too. That said, it is possible with practise to get better at exploiting the lacklustre mechanics in order to avoid these inconveniences. Hang in there, try some different tactics, and it can start to be fun again. I get the impression you know all this already, but just in case anyone else might benefit, here's four bits of advice for hunting in Extraction Zones:
(1) Reducing the time spent in an engagement significantly reduces the danger of escalation. So I'd advise you to ditch anything that's going to slow you down. Get a fast ship: basically an Eagle or Viper. Kit it out for fast kills. Get some gimballed Beam Lasers to maximise damage during your target uptime. Most of the kinetic weapons are too spammy to use even as finishers in busy environments: only Railgun and Frag Cannon are viable, and only as long as you just save them for sure shots in the last 10%. Get close to your opponent and stay close. Cobras and Sidewinders will just melt.
(2) Maximise the time you can spend hunting before you have to go back to base. Get plenty of Shield Cells and use them liberally. Ditch everything you won't need: Scanner, Cargo. Replace with more Cells.
(3) Choose your targets carefully: inspect their faction and equipment before you start up on them, unless the cops are already engaged. Pirates will usually have Interdiction gear or Cargo Scanners. If you want to play safe, only assault ships with that kind of equipment.
(4) Lastly, choose your zone carefully. Find a system with the shortest possible distance between your hunting ground, an outpost to pay fines, and an orbital to claim bounties. A gas giant with a long day cycle is helpful, because hunting in the dark among the asteroids is, uh, sub-optimal.
Also use a system with a Hi-Tech economy so you can get your upgrades as you grind without having to travel. I'm presently using Ho Hsi.
That mix of careful selection of hunting ground and prey, with ferocity and speed in the engagement has worked out pretty well for me the last day or so. I've come around to the game again, I think.
(1) Reducing the time spent in an engagement significantly reduces the danger of escalation. So I'd advise you to ditch anything that's going to slow you down. Get a fast ship: basically an Eagle or Viper. Kit it out for fast kills. Get some gimballed Beam Lasers to maximise damage during your target uptime. Most of the kinetic weapons are too spammy to use even as finishers in busy environments: only Railgun and Frag Cannon are viable, and only as long as you just save them for sure shots in the last 10%. Get close to your opponent and stay close. Cobras and Sidewinders will just melt.
(2) Maximise the time you can spend hunting before you have to go back to base. Get plenty of Shield Cells and use them liberally. Ditch everything you won't need: Scanner, Cargo. Replace with more Cells.
(3) Choose your targets carefully: inspect their faction and equipment before you start up on them, unless the cops are already engaged. Pirates will usually have Interdiction gear or Cargo Scanners. If you want to play safe, only assault ships with that kind of equipment.
(4) Lastly, choose your zone carefully. Find a system with the shortest possible distance between your hunting ground, an outpost to pay fines, and an orbital to claim bounties. A gas giant with a long day cycle is helpful, because hunting in the dark among the asteroids is, uh, sub-optimal.
Also use a system with a Hi-Tech economy so you can get your upgrades as you grind without having to travel. I'm presently using Ho Hsi. That mix of careful selection of hunting ground and prey, with ferocity and speed in the engagement has worked out pretty well for me the last day or so. I've come around to the game again, I think.