Newcomer / Intro Hunting Missions: Hide and Seek in Space That Never Ends?

[Solarias]

It seems so simple. Go and kill so-and-so in such-and-such system(s). The next thing you know you have searched five USS, then ten, then 20. Nothing. Sure. maybe you find someone who offers you the option of killing someone else. Maybe they tell you which system to look in, but you never seem to find your actual target.

Right now I'm hunting in Ngaliba for three separate targets (Riley, Maria Malpighi, and Tony Brown) and can't find any of them. I've read that this sometimes takes a while, but hours? Am I missing something?

Also yes, I know they usually pop in Anacaondas. I am ready for that. After a long hunt I did find one of these targets once and nearly blew her up until I accidentally ran into her.

 

[krysohmyz]

That's why these missions have two days range.

 

[CMDR Nick]

Heh. Just did a 'kill 2 bounty hunters' mission. Found 2 bounty hunters in a USS in the correct system - I even checked that they were fitted with kill scanners - I killed them, and they didn't count. I ditched the mission in the end and lost rep. What a complete waste of my afternoon.

There was no Nav Beacon - I knew then I was at the mercy of the USS nonsense - and I was right.

 

[krysohmyz]

I would never accept bounty hunters as a target. Not everyone with KWS is a bounty hunter. The only way to find them is to get wanted and wait for them to interdict you, while trying not to get interdicted by police.

Pirates, traders, they are easy to find everywhere, even RES and Nav Beacons. Bounty hunters, shoo.

 

[CMDR Nick]

I thought that if there was a Nav Beacon it would be easy - I often feel like shooting them! But anything to do with the USS mechanic seems to end in tears...

 

[Universal Evil]

Heh. Just did a 'kill 2 bounty hunters' mission. Found 2 bounty hunters in a USS in the correct system - I even checked that they were fitted with kill scanners - I killed them, and they didn't count. I ditched the mission in the end and lost rep. What a complete waste of my afternoon.

There was no Nav Beacon - I knew then I was at the mercy of the USS nonsense - and I was right.

they are a different kind of mission than the ones OP is referring to.. You just have to kill two nameless bounty hunters and the OP needed to kill a specific named target a socalled assasination mission whitch has a much longer timeframe to be completed in than your killing mission whitch is simmiler to go "kill some pirates" and they also don't pay as much as the assasination missions...

 

[cassog]

Have to agree with the OP. I have successfully completed several of these missions in the past. Lately though they just seem to end up as wild goose chases. I too ditched the last one out of sheer boredom and frustration.
I am though now beginning to wonder if the target may be found in the new Strong Signal Source locations, rather than the USS ones - just a thought.

 

[Bluebird007]

I spent just over 6 hours on one of those 'Kill Gen. Pope' missions last night!! Still didn't find him/her!
After the first 6 USS's I got a friendly NPC pointing me to one particular system. 8 USS's later in that system I had another NPC offering me an alternative mission to kill someone else on behalf of said General.
After another 15+ USS's I went to bed!!

(...... and what's with all the clean Federal Dropships trying to waste me these days?!?!?)

 

[the100thmonkey]

It seems so simple. Go and kill so-and-so in such-and-such system(s). The next thing you know you have searched five USS, then ten, then 20. Nothing. Sure. maybe you find someone who offers you the option of killing someone else. Maybe they tell you which system to look in, but you never seem to find your actual target.

Right now I'm hunting in Ngaliba for three separate targets (Riley, Maria Malpighi, and Tony Brown) and can't find any of them. I've read that this sometimes takes a while, but hours? Am I missing something?

Also yes, I know they usually pop in Anacaondas. I am ready for that. After a long hunt I did find one of these targets once and nearly blew her up until I accidentally ran into her.

Heh. Just did a 'kill 2 bounty hunters' mission. Found 2 bounty hunters in a USS in the correct system - I even checked that they were fitted with kill scanners - I killed them, and they didn't count. I ditched the mission in the end and lost rep. What a complete waste of my afternoon.

There was no Nav Beacon - I knew then I was at the mercy of the USS nonsense - and I was right.

Both of the missions above are bugged.

 

[Solarias]

Both of the missions above are bugged.

They are? I checked the known bugs list and didn't see anything. I had three separate assassination missions. All of them were bugged?

 

[the100thmonkey]

Sometimes the named target assassination missions don't spawn a target, especially if you jump into a USS where someone offers you an alternative target. It's been like that since early beta, apparently. It doesn't happen to me often, but it does happen.

Since the 1.2 patch, the bounty-hunter kill missions are also occasionally impossible to complete, especially if someone offers you an alternate target.

 

[Solarias]

Sometimes the named target assassination missions don't spawn a target, especially if you jump into a USS where someone offers you an alternative target. It's been like that since early beta, apparently. It doesn't happen to me often, but it does happen.

Since the 1.2 patch, the bounty-hunter kill missions are also occasionally impossible to complete, especially if someone offers you an alternate target.

Thanks for letting me know. I've dropped them all and will keep my eye on the patch notes.

 

[Crazy Jedi]

Have to agree with the OP. I have successfully completed several of these missions in the past. Lately though they just seem to end up as wild goose chases. I too ditched the last one out of sheer boredom and frustration.
I am though now beginning to wonder if the target may be found in the new Strong Signal Source locations, rather than the USS ones - just a thought.

I have dropped in on a couple of SSS and my advice is DONT!
both times I found an ambush was waiting for me. Last time I just about escapes from four vultures with thirty percent hull

 

[phatmhat]

Thanks for the info.

I got sick of trading and so got me a vulture and picked up some "Kill Gen so and so" missions.

I too would search Nav Beacons, USS and WSS AND SSS (strong singnal sources or whatever.) And every now and again I'd run into someone who would tell me to go to another system to find Gen so and so.

So I'd goto the system and check all the above sources and not find Gen so and so. But I did find a wedding procession AND a funeral procession!

Lame Lame Lame. So back to trading? That got soooo boring. Exploring? Seems the same as trading. Maybe I'll just do pirate missions.

 

[Universal Evil]

Thanks for the info.

I got sick of trading and so got me a vulture and picked up some "Kill Gen so and so" missions.

I too would search Nav Beacons, USS and WSS AND SSS (strong singnal sources or whatever.) And every now and again I'd run into someone who would tell me to go to another system to find Gen so and so.

So I'd goto the system and check all the above sources and not find Gen so and so. But I did find a wedding procession AND a funeral procession!

Lame Lame Lame. So back to trading? That got soooo boring. Exploring? Seems the same as trading. Maybe I'll just do pirate missions.

You should try taking you vulture out for a spin in a RES and do some BH in it or even better find a community Goal where you can join in on a confllct Zone and earn credits with a potential bonus in addition to what you already have gain by turning in the combat bonds from the conflict zone(s)....

 

[PumpkinMeatloaf]

Some of the rewards for the Hide and seek missions dont seem worth it to me usually find a person that says dont kill this person and we will pay you the same amount.