Engineers Decent and reasonably risky place to hunt cargo ships for mats?

[jacozilla]

Thought I would just go to any anarchy system, drop into nav beacon and kill cargo ships, free of consequence since it is anarchy.

But three problems:

1. The couple I went to had relative scarcity of cargo ships vs other kinds - in nav beacon there'd be like 1 cargo ship and 5-6 other ships.

2. Probably due to being local faction allies, once I start firing on the cargo ship, all other ships start firing on me and can't take those kind of odds. Sometimes I can hang in and manage to kill them all, 1v6, but then I am out of SCB, some hull dmg and need to go repair.

The one cargo ship either fled during the incident or I killed it but by time combat is over, the loot it dropped is decayed and gone.

3. I make sure to dump all trade cargo before setting out on these hunts, but obviously I am carrying some - not a lot - engineer mats. Which get scanned and the anarchy types get all excited and claim it's a loot worth killing me for and if #1 or 2 wasn't an issue, now add #3 - get jumped pre-emptively for my cargo.

Where are people going, if any, to find more cargo ships?
Once there - are you having to engage 6+ ships just to attempt to kill one cargo ship? Or is there a better location than nav beacons?

**edit - I meant in title 'reasonably risky' as in - I am not expecting totally risk-free hunting of any kind of ships. So risk is ok, just meant reasonably risky, not extremely hazardous if anyone knows a location / method like that.

 

[Dbrn47]

Thought I would just go to any anarchy system, drop into nav beacon and kill cargo ships, free of consequence since it is anarchy.

But three problems:

1. The couple I went to had relative scarcity of cargo ships vs other kinds - in nav beacon there'd be like 1 cargo ship and 5-6 other ships.

2. Probably due to being local faction allies, once I start firing on the cargo ship, all other ships start firing on me and can't take those kind of odds. Sometimes I can hang in and manage to kill them all, 1v6, but then I am out of SCB, some hull dmg and need to go repair.

The one cargo ship either fled during the incident or I killed it but by time combat is over, the loot it dropped is decayed and gone.

3. I make sure to dump all trade cargo before setting out on these hunts, but obviously I am carrying some - not a lot - engineer mats. Which get scanned and the anarchy types get all excited and claim it's a loot worth killing me for and if #1 or 2 wasn't an issue, now add #3 - get jumped pre-emptively for my cargo.

Where are people going, if any, to find more cargo ships?
Once there - are you having to engage 6+ ships just to attempt to kill one cargo ship? Or is there a better location than nav beacons?

**edit - I meant in title 'reasonably risky' as in - I am not expecting totally risk-free hunting of any kind of ships. So risk is ok, just meant reasonably risky, not extremely hazardous if anyone knows a location / method like that.

Try interdicting ships traveling along shipping lanes. This will keep the odds even, at least until the police show up (if hunting in systems with governments). It's probably better to pick a system in which this stuff is illegal, a lot of Anarchy systems don't really get much trading traffic, for obvious reasons. Pick any system you are comfortable being wanted in.

 

[Bokugo]

High population Anarchy seems to be the best bet. Compromised Nav Beacons usually get a nice flow of everything. If you see a T9 though start salivating because that thing is a pinata full of goodies.

 

[h347h]

Bunda right beside Shinrarta Dezhra has the highest spawn rate of larger haulage vessels I've come across it seems.(Orcas/wedding barges and power play ships count too)

 

[jacozilla]

Thanks, I'll try all three suggestions - Bunda, high pop anarchy, and seems best bet even if slower which is fine - solo interdictions in normal systems, and just live with wanted/bounty status.

Probably some Alliance system as I'm currently allied with all 3 major factions, but Alliance is only one where rank isn't applied or needed for Fed/Imperial ships.

 

[ArachAu]

Anarchy RES Sites are pretty good too. Just blow up Miners.

Beacon or RES whatever you do don't dare any cargo. One Beacon last night I had to ditch with 6 pirates on my tail because I dared to carry a few Engineer Cargo items.

Which makes Trader drops *INCREDIBLY INFURIATING* if you already have the cargo in your hold for the upgrade your aiming for.

 

[jacozilla]

Anarchy RES Sites are pretty good too. Just blow up Miners.

Beacon or RES whatever you do don't dare any cargo. One Beacon last night I had to ditch with 6 pirates on my tail because I dared to carry a few Engineer Cargo items.

Which makes Trader drops *INCREDIBLY INFURIATING* if you already have the cargo in your hold for the upgrade your aiming for.

I ditched all trade cargo obviously, but isn't this a paradox? How do you ditch engineer mats when engineer mats is what you are hunting?

Even if I had zero eng mats to start, after I successful trader kill, I'd have -hopefully- at least 1 eng mat, at which point all the NPCs drool and announce I have loot worth killing me for?

 

[h347h]

I ditched all trade cargo obviously, but isn't this a paradox? How do you ditch engineer mats when engineer mats is what you are hunting?

Even if I had zero eng mats to start, after I successful trader kill, I'd have -hopefully- at least 1 eng mat, at which point all the NPCs drool and announce I have loot worth killing me for?

Cargo(commodities) /= materials

 

[jacozilla]

Cargo(commodities) /= materials

Right. But ArachAu replied and I was posting re: his suggestion "Beacon or RES whatever you do don't dare any cargo. One Beacon last night I had to ditch with 6 pirates on my tail because I dared to carry a few Engineer Cargo items."

Mats /= commodity cargo is true, but any weighted cargo including engineering used commodities are seen by pirates / scanning NPCs as loot to kill you for.

So if the suggestion is ditch cargo in order to lower risk from NPCs jumping you for your cargo, it's a paradox because when hunting for non-weighted mats like mechanical equipment or components dropped usually by cargo ships - I am carrying even with severely reduced 'non hoarder' list at minimum 10-15 tons of precious weighted eng cargo like microweave cooling hoses, modular terminals, etc.

Once the trade ship is dead, I can limit my exposure by only scooping up non-weighted mats and skip any cargo item dropped regardless how desirable, but I'm still jumped over my default cargo which I can't ditch, or more precise - could ditch but won't, as whole point of hunting for mats is so I can combine the mats + the cargo I have to finally make the mod so I can get rid of some of the cargo.

 

[h347h]

Right. But ArachAu replied and I was posting re: his suggestion "Beacon or RES whatever you do don't dare any cargo. One Beacon last night I had to ditch with 6 pirates on my tail because I dared to carry a few Engineer Cargo items."

Mats /= commodity cargo is true, but any weighted cargo including engineering used commodities are seen by pirates / scanning NPCs as loot to kill you for.

So if the suggestion is ditch cargo in order to lower risk from NPCs jumping you for your cargo, it's a paradox because when hunting for non-weighted mats like mechanical equipment or components dropped usually by cargo ships - I am carrying even with severely reduced 'non hoarder' list at minimum 10-15 tons of precious weighted eng cargo like microweave cooling hoses, modular terminals, etc.

Once the trade ship is dead, I can limit my exposure by only scooping up non-weighted mats and skip any cargo item dropped regardless how desirable, but I'm still jumped over my default cargo which I can't ditch, or more precise - could ditch but won't, as whole point of hunting for mats is so I can combine the mats + the cargo I have to finally make the mod so I can get rid of some of the cargo.

I guess for me it is all about time management. You lose less time over a long period of time when you don't carry cargo and pick it up when you need it vs, carrying it at all times and dealing with all the interdictions through out a week. Personally carrying cargo to spawn elites for some of the rarer mats for 'combat focused' ships right now but after I get what i need I'll just dump em.

 

[jacozilla]

I guess for me it is all about time management. You lose less time over a long period of time when you don't carry cargo and pick it up when you need it vs, carrying it at all times and dealing with all the interdictions through out a week. Personally carrying cargo to spawn elites for some of the rarer mats for 'combat focused' ships right now but after I get what i need I'll just dump em.

If RNG Yoda were with me, I would do this too.

But while I concede some/many players have good RNG in ability to re-acquire those commodities not sold at markets and only acquired via missions or other non-purchase means, there are some/many players like me who seem to have to hop through the 666 levels of hell to re-acquire certain cargo like microweave cooling hoses.

I have obviously had deaths since 2.1 started, so had ~4-5 wipes of my cargo - which in a sense was a silver lining re: the packrat chains of carrying said cargo everywhere, but each time re-acquiring the rare eng cargo was extremely low probability, high difficulty in terms of RNG chance - for me at least. I suppose I could go hunt trade ships when I next die, but I'd rather not die and lose my cargo so I can get mats which I no longer have the corresponding cargo to make the mod for.