Interdiction mechanics

[ParadoxH3]

Hi all,

I got interdicted last night - I was in a PVE Viper mk III and got interdicted by an FDL, which alpha'd me without a word (so ganked rather than pirated) It was disappointing but whatever, it cost me 60k rebuy as I'm not notorious in any way and I had no bounties. Plus I refuse to play on anything other than Open so I have it coming!

I am a little unclear on mechanics of the interdiction though as I had the 'evade' target centered all the time during the interdiction but still got nabbed. If I couldn't evade, what was I doing wrong - was it because I was flying slower than my ganker? (I was slowing en route to my destination)

Thanks peeps

PH3

 

[Smaste]

I go full speed to avoid submitting to the interdiction.

Also the bigger the ship, the more power it has during an interdiction I believe.

Your best bet is usually to submit then escape via a high-wake if you can't win the interdiction.

edit: love him or hate him he gives good advice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh9AWV_BWo0

 

[True Phoenix]

Well done for sticking with Open, rep. It is by far the better experience in the game, nothing like a bit of adrenaline to enhance your immersion.

You can fight the interdiction, if you want to. However, there is a better way. You will need reasonable shields and some speed, the ability to manoeuvre and a bit of practice.

When you submit you get a quicker cooldown on the FSD, this allows you to boost, boost, evade (not in a straight line) select (if not already preselected) a system for a hi wake jump and romp off into the distance. Please see the link in my sig for further information courtesy of Rinzler.

o7

 

[Majic-12]

The wiki has descriptions of the overall process and some details on the interdictor module page:

http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/Interdiction
http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/Frame_Shift_Drive_Interdictor

In the mini-game, the winner will be the ship best able to stay aligned with the target/escape vector, so maneuverability is the key.

As far as I know, ship speed isn't a factor, except with regard to maneuverability, so I try to keep my throttle in the blue zone if I choose to fight an interdiction.

Since the interdicting ship needs to be within range and traveling in the same general direction, you can usually spot a player attempting to get behind you to make the attempt.

In such cases, pointing your ship toward the interdictor can briefly foil the attempt and potentially allow waking out if you're not looking for a fight.

 

[Jukelo]

Here's what Support has to say on the matter:

What will increase my chances of interdicting another player?
Once tethered into interdiction, nothing can be changed to give either player involved an advantage. Different ships will fly slightly differently during the interdiction process, but only based on the size and mass of the ship. For example, a Type 9 will be less manoeuvrable during interdiction than a Viper.

How does ship size change interdiction difficulty? (for both parties)
The manoeuvrability of the ship will have an effect on how easy it is to follow the interdiction vector/enemy ship. Smaller, more manoeuvrable ships will have an advantage in all interdictions, slower, larger ships will be at a disadvantage just due to their flight model.

And before somebody mentuions the interdictor modules and "throttle in the blue zone": neither of those have an impact on the interdiction game. Once the interdiction tether is established, your throttle no longer controls your speed (I think the attacker's speed is automatically matched to that of the target), which will only change based on the local gravity.

Generally speaking though, my experience on both ends of the interdiction minigame is that in a PVP scenario the attacker has a significant advantage and will win if both players manage to "stick to the middle".

 

[Majic-12]

And before somebody mentuions the interdictor modules and "throttle in the blue zone": neither of those have any impact on the interdiction game. Once the interdiction game has started, your throttle no longer controls your speed (I think the attacker's speed is automatically matched to that of the target), which will only change based on the local gravity.

Too late, but thanks for the correction.

 

[Ian Doncaster]

I am a little unclear on mechanics of the interdiction though as I had the 'evade' target centered all the time during the interdiction but still got nabbed. If I couldn't evade, what was I doing wrong - was it because I was flying slower than my ganker? (I was slowing en route to my destination)

Interdiction tends to quickly match speeds between the two ships to that of the defender, so initial differences are mostly irrelevant.

It's easier (with equal skill) for the interdictor to keep definitely on target, because they can see which way your ship is pointing and turning and you can only change this slowly relative to them - whereas for you the escape vector could go in any direction, so as it changes course you're going to be off it for a while even if you're fast enough not to leave the inner circle. Also, the attackers tend to get more practice with tough interdiction fights than most defenders have.

I suspect the game also breaks exact ties in favour of the interdictor, just because in *most* cases failing to beat the interdiction is the start of the encounter - and the defender has a range of further options - rather than the end of it.

...

There is also a rare case which can - or could? - occur if the interdictor actually overtakes the defender. Usually only possible if in the early stages of the interdiction before speeds are matched they both hit different bits of a gravity well and the defender gets sharply slowed while the attacker zooms past - in this case the attacker near-instantly wins. (I've had this done to me once by a player, and done it once myself to an NPC - like I said, rare)

 

[Morbad]

I can't remember the last time I tried to fight a CMDR interdiction...in the past I lost far more than I won and I'd have to be winning more than 95% of the time for the downsides of failing to be worse than those of submitting. I can usually escape even after an extended cool down, but I can essentially always escape after the short submission cool down.

Never liked the tunnel game nor do I consider it a very good mechanism...feels almost as much like a placeholder as the automatic interdictions that it replaced.

 

[SManZ350]

On the same topic, what is going on when you are interdicted while interdicting someone else? I play in solo right now and this happens somewhat regularly in systems with several bounty mission targets. If I submit I come out of SC by myself and my interdictor does not appear.

 

[Jukelo]

On the same topic, what is going on when you are interdicted while interdicting someone else? I play in solo right now and this happens somewhat regularly in systems with several bounty mission targets. If I submit I come out of SC by myself and my interdictor does not appear.

Simply you can't interdict somebody who is already in the interdiction minigame ("failed to establish interdiction tether" message)

Never liked the tunnel game nor do I consider it a very good mechanism...feels almost as much like a placeholder as the automatic interdictions that it replaced.

And considering the countless times Frontier has tried to "balance" it whereby interdictions would be either impossible to beat or impossible to lose (against NPCs that is - we are currently in one of the "impossible to lose' phases), I think it needs to be scrapped and rethought entirely. When the hammer swings so heavily either ways without ever finding a good middle ground, the mechanic can't be all that good.

 

[SManZ350]

Simply you can't interdict somebody who is already in the interdiction minigame ("failed to establish interdiction tether" message)

Yes, but NPCs don't seem to have this limitation. I have been interdicted by an NPC while interdicting another NPC. In this instance, if I submit I come out of SC alone and no one else appears. Why is this?

 

[Jukelo]

Yes, but NPCs don't seem to have this limitation. I have been interdicted by an NPC while interdicting another NPC. In this instance, if I submit I come out of SC alone and no one else appears. Why is this?

I've never had that happen nor heard of it happening, so as to your question I would venture a guess and say you came out alone because the game didn't know how to handle this scenario.

If you see it again and can get it on video, I would advise you report it to support as I'm fairly sure it's not supposed to happen.