Then do something else. Exploration is pretty sedate, by all accounts.
Leave piracy to those who like a bit of challenge in their after-work video games.
NPC piracy is gone away, what to do now?
- Thread starter Barlog M.
- Start date
Then do something else. Exploration is pretty sedate, by all accounts.
Leave piracy to those who like a bit of challenge in their after-work video games.
Could you please share on youtube how you doing NPC piracy after April downgrade. I want to see very much.
I'm flattered that you would seek my mentorship, but my Squadron is currently involved in a conflict which will be occupying what little game-time I have - so that's a no.
Instead, I'd recommend re-reading the advices offered in this thread.
PvE piracy needs some love!
I like ideas of tractor beams or harpooning. That bit of advice how to stop drifting NPC ships by FA-off aligning and blocking seems a bit too skill heavy and I doubt that there are even a hand full of pilots around that could pull such a thing off in any non-anarchy system where systems security will be desturbing your fiddeling and maneuvering with your milk cow... refering to this:
Like i said early in this thread: people that support the changes don't even do npc piracy OR not play the game anymore.
Highlight of the TOP advices of the "pro-pirates" HAHA
- Destroy the drives, then "BUMP" the ship until it stops. (Nobel prize for the creativity for this one)
- Collect the cargo while moving (HAHAH The guy that say this one really don't login in the game for like 2 years?)
- Scan the high wake and jump with the NPC to all the systems he goes. (Funnyyyyyy)
I won't argue some of the advice is bogus. That's why I suggest people do it themselves.
Here's my validation. Taken from Elite Private courier. I suggest others attempt same and report back.
Booty
Killing the drives works if you target low rank NPCs as they don't reboot and repair, preferably with shields so you can bump them to a stop without blowing up the target in the process. And of course if you can't be bothered to do that, you always have the option of never shooting the target and only relying on hatch breakers to get an 8-km long line of canisters to collect. Not as profitable as immobilizing the target of course, but then again you aren't putting as much effort in.
And yes, following the NPC's wake works fine if you pick your area carefully. An NPC will escape to a random system, so you can change the odds of it jumping to an anarchy or low security system with some planning since not all areas in the bubble are populated the same. I don't engineer my ships and therefore can't easily handle the police response with an unkillable tank (and I fly a Cobra mk4 for piracy...) so this has always been a part of my routine. It works.
But what do I know, I've only been at it for 4 years now.
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rootsrat
Volunteer Moderator
I'm guessing you're not going to like what I'm about to type, but this is exactly what I've been asking for!!! Now I'm not ready to believe you 100% until I see it for myself (which won't be until after the next update), but if this is truly true then:
Sarah Jane, you are BRILLIANT!!!
I'm taking off 50 sins from this latest update! (like that guy on YouTube)
Sorry OP, but this is how these cargo and passenger hauling NPCs should behave (just like your average players would). Ask the griefers, they know how to stop players from escaping, surely the same tactics will work here.
FREAKIN AWESOME
Agreed! Working as intended, finally.
Or equip Wake Scanner and follow them. That's what's it for.
Since most of that advice is from me, I'll answer this. I'm actually actively playing and earned roughly 100mil in three half hour sessions of piracy, while still figuring out how to do it.
I'm currently nowhere near my pc, so you'll have to wait a bit, for any kind of proof. I'll admit that disabling the drives and getting them to stop has slightly higher skill requirements.
That's why I would just use it for T-7 and T-9 victims, these are also the victims were I proposed following their wake. Because these usually have easily 100+ tons of LTDs.
There is still a relatively easy way of stealing the LTDs by simply using only two hatchbreakers. This will produce two places of lost cargo, which can be easily collected and should net around 10 tons, for maybe 5mins of work.
I would generally advise to try things out, before attacking the competences of those trying to help you. On a final note: send me a pm or a friend request in-game and I might be able to help you, as I'm currently in the bubble near to Sol.
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Argumentum ad hominem, and a failed attempt at that. My second CMDR account is named after a real-life pirate, and I've done my share of PvE piracy using this account (and some using Duck's account as well). As for playing, I admit that I'm not playing the current update because of all the bugs, and that my excitement is based on the description of the new AI. After all, I was one of the many who asked for this change in the first place because PvE piracy before the update was unrealistic and unchallenging. Once we get an update to the update (that fixes all the bugs), I'll jump into my pirate ship and test the system for myself. I have faith it will be great, as the "better angels" of this thread have already confirmed that it's exactly what many of us have been hoping for.
That's not to say there isn't room for some minor tweaking.
Join the Dark Marauders and rob CMDRs.
I think this is a reasonable request. I wouldn't mind seeing such a video for myself, not because I need proof, but because there are people in this thread more experienced than I am that I would love to learn from. The fact that pirating is now challenging enough that a two year veteran like myself can still learn more in this regards, that thrills me
Will these CMDRs just sit there and let me milk them like a cow? Because I like my piracy to be relaxing after a hard day of real life
/sarcasm
We have already figured it out. You seem to think this issue is about skill. It has little to do with skill and everything to do with efficiency. You also seem to be missing the big picture so let me clue you in...
1. Stolen goods provide positive influence for Anarchy factions and negative influence for everyone else.
2. Piracy is but one tool in a box of many tools that has an effect on the legal status in any given system.
3. Ships under certain conditions carry predictable cargo which can be used very effectively in the BGS.
Anyone can build a ship and steal commodities. It's what you do with your stolen commodities that defines the criminal.
Anyhow, gone are the days of stacking influence in massacre missions. Slaughtering system authorities has a reduced effect. UA bombing has been removed, and now the nerf hammer has been used on diamonds. FDev has removed the horse and plow from the diamond farmer and replaced it with a garden hoe. Please forgive me if I get a little depressed as more rainbows and unicorns appear.
Will these CMDRs just sit there and let me milk them like a cow? Because I like my piracy to be relaxing after a hard day of real life
/sarcasm
YEAH!!! Once you've shot down the drives... of course!
Viajero
Volunteer Moderator
With regards to the issue of getting the pirated ship to a stop I presume it would not be extremely difficult(*) for FDEV to add a limpet controller dedicated to "salvage" ships, i.e. to stop pirated ships whose thrusters have been previously disabled and are just drifting away (or use multiple collector limpets). Much like the drones in this scene of The Expanse when the OPA salvages the drifting megaship "The Nauvoo":
min 1.07 in case the time stamp does not work
Source: https://youtu.be/1oFwPdtaUSs?t=67
This same mechanic could work for different ship sizes, possibly requiring more or less drones (i.e. from 3 to 8 or so) depending on the mass of the salvaged ship. Salvage drones would only work if the thrusters are disabled. In terms of skill it could be a race between the pirate to deploy the salvage drones and the pirated pilot to repair the thrusters via restart etc...
* Disclaimer: I am not a dev
min 1.07 in case the time stamp does not work
This same mechanic could work for different ship sizes, possibly requiring more or less drones (i.e. from 3 to 8 or so) depending on the mass of the salvaged ship. Salvage drones would only work if the thrusters are disabled. In terms of skill it could be a race between the pirate to deploy the salvage drones and the pirated pilot to repair the thrusters via restart etc...
* Disclaimer: I am not a dev
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I think this is a reasonable request. I wouldn't mind seeing such a video for myself, not because I need proof, but because there are people in this thread more experienced than I am that I would love to learn from. The fact that pirating is now challenging enough that a two year veteran like myself can still learn more in this regards, that thrills me
We have been streaming how to do it on twitch since the update last Tuesday. No worries, the content providers will copy our methods and share them with the rest of you you as they always do. BTW Old Duck you are absolutely correct. There are people in this thread with far more piracy experience than you.
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Could you please share a link?
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/oceanic-wing.443636/
There should be a few links there. Look for ED streamers with OW, or BACON in the title.
There's no issue with an NPC trying to run when you're after its cargo. You have no business stealing the cargo and just like a human you'd rather not handover the cargo. However NPC AI's should have somewhat realistic behavior when it comes to being the victim of pirating.
1) NPC should decide to run or comply. Could be based on pirate's ship strength and speed.
2) If not complying you should be able to take out its shields and knockout its drive or disrupt the FSD and further knockout key systems. This requires a well prepared ship loadout.
3) The NPC should comply at this point and drop cargo since its only other alternative is death.
This imo give a much more realistic approach to pirating NPC's. And it's not even hard to implement properly. When I read this and the changes made to the AI I can only start crying. Is Frontier really so disconnected with their whole game? I mean c'mon do they even want to work on this game anymore? I'm more and more getting the impression that they do only because we want more content and that there would be outrage if they would stop putting some effort into it.
1) NPC should decide to run or comply. Could be based on pirate's ship strength and speed.
2) If not complying you should be able to take out its shields and knockout its drive or disrupt the FSD and further knockout key systems. This requires a well prepared ship loadout.
3) The NPC should comply at this point and drop cargo since its only other alternative is death.
This imo give a much more realistic approach to pirating NPC's. And it's not even hard to implement properly. When I read this and the changes made to the AI I can only start crying. Is Frontier really so disconnected with their whole game? I mean c'mon do they even want to work on this game anymore? I'm more and more getting the impression that they do only because we want more content and that there would be outrage if they would stop putting some effort into it.