Powerplay rules regarding PP combat

[Underhook]

So, I joined a power for the 1st time.
I watched a youtube video that said I could go to a nav point in another powers control and kill ships allied to another power to gain merits.
So, I'm at the nav point and the only 2 ships that are allied to a power are Fed's. I note that there are also system authority vessels in the are but they are not aligned to a power.
I think to myself, Hmmm, FDev have no concept of game play whatsoever and they dont play the game sooooooo ..... I bet if I open fire on these guys that I'm at war with .. the system authority will open fire on me because that would be the worst game mechanic in this situation.
So, i tap my beam laser once.
Instant fine and both Fed's and 3 system authority vessels open fire.
So, I'm now guessing, but not sure that, if I open fire on a vessel I'm at war with (lets say its not a fed) any system authority or fed in the area will open fire on me.
Is that right? Are there any other anti fun mechanics I should know about regarding power combat?

 

[Bashy81]

Are there any other anti fun mechanics I should know about regarding power combat?

Yeh, its Powerplay, not Superpowerplay.. save yourself the agony and join the main playergroup of your respective power. Theyre all v helpful and friendly. Ofc some people come on with a dumb question phrased in a snarky way, and some people might react to that. Even then most powers would still be helpful, even in the face of abject douchery.

 

[Underhook]

Yeh, its Powerplay, not Superpowerplay.. save yourself the agony and join the main playergroup of your respective power. Theyre all v helpful and friendly. Ofc some people come on with a dumb question phrased in a snarky way, and some people might react to that. Even then most powers would still be helpful, even in the face of abject douchery.

Ahh, one of the dangerous elite. Thanks for nothing

 

[Underhook]

So, I visited and anarchy system in enemy territory. Killed a bunch of Fed's as they were the only aligned ships.
Went back to home turf but it seems there is no way to hand in bounties (that I can find).
I figure, I have done something wrong so, I watch the youtube video again. It says I should select a enemy system from the "control screen" in their power panel.
I do that and head off to the nav beacon. I manage to find an eagle aligned to the enemy power. As soon as I fire..... I'm wanted.

 

[Rubbernuke]

To undermine other powers, you need to go to 'control' systems of a rival power, and fly about killing that powers ships- if you look in your PP tab it will tell you what to look for. You can find them outside stations, navs, res sites and in SC.

To cash in your merits go to one of your own powers control systems (find them by going to the map and choosing the Powerplay > control view) and the appropriate contact in the station menu.

 

[StiTch]

Ahh, one of the dangerous elite. Thanks for nothing

Spoiler

Sit down and shut up you big bald...

Needed that laugh, OP. Cheers.

To provide you some actually useful information, the kind of method you're approaching is technically viable but realistically slow as it gets.

You're better off looking to the PP objectives for the power. Leaflet deliveries bore the hell outta me, which is why I prefer powers with a combat ethos where possible (read: ALD).

If the power has a combat ethos for, say, expansion, then when the power is trying to expand to a new system it will spawn specific CZs in that system. Then I can just drop in, and I have an entire CZ full of enemy ships to blow up for fun times and merits. And no bounties incurred.

 

[Underhook]

To undermine other powers, you need to go to 'control' systems of a rival power, and fly about killing that powers ships- if you look in your PP tab it will tell you what to look for. You can find them outside stations, navs, res sites and in SC.

To cash in your merits go to one of your own powers control systems (find them by going to the map and choosing the Powerplay > control view) and the appropriate contact in the station menu.

Thanks Rubbernuke, I thought that was what I did but I must have got something wrong. So, getting wanted and building up big bounties on our heads is just a part of the PP experience. Or do players just not do it anymore due to the C&P system?

Spoiler

Sit down and shut up you big bald...

Needed that laugh, OP. Cheers.

To provide you some actually useful information, the kind of method you're approaching is technically viable but realistically slow as it gets.

You're better off looking to the PP objectives for the power. Leaflet deliveries bore the hell outta me, which is why I prefer powers with a combat ethos where possible (read: ALD).

If the power has a combat ethos for, say, expansion, then when the power is trying to expand to a new system it will spawn specific CZs in that system. Then I can just drop in, and I have an entire CZ full of enemy ships to blow up for fun times and merits.

Interesting, thanks Stitch

 

[Rubbernuke]

PP fines are not really that important, you can pay them off but they don't affect the 'regular' C + P...there is a bug though that counts your PP bounty when transferring ships though. Think of PP as paramilitary warfare, system security does not care as its gangs fighting.

Other PP rival NPCs will attack you if you carry merits though, but to be honest these NPCs are weak so unless you fly a shoebox its not a problem.

 

[Cmdr Nemo]

I tried getting into PP and joined Mahon's team. Found it to be too confusing, quit and joined the AEDC instead. Basically doing the same thing I think. Only a lot less confusing. The AEDC has a mission board, one gets to pick and choose from a variety of avialble missions that change almost on a daily bases, some last longer than other's. One can resort to only doing available missions, combat, commiting murder, bounty hunting or any combination. If and when there isn't any missions one finds conducive to their play style, as happens to me on occasion. I spend the day running various missions for my local Alliance system stations. Until the next day where as the AEDC has something I care to partake in.

 

[Underhook]

PP fines are not really that important, you can pay them off but they don't affect the 'regular' C + P...there is a bug though that counts your PP bounty when transferring ships though. Think of PP as paramilitary warfare, system security does not care as its gangs fighting.

Other PP rival NPCs will attack you if you carry merits though, but to be honest these NPCs are weak so unless you fly a shoebox its not a problem.

Thanks, I didn't know there was such a thing as PP fines. The just seem to be normal fines to me.

 

[Underhook]

Sooooooooooo frustrated.
I'm aligned to the Power Aisling Duval
I just killed a ship aligned to Zemina Torval (they actually opened fire on me 1st)
After killing the ship, I get a message like "Killing members is not allowed you have been fined 0 merits"

I assume I was fined 0 merits because I dont currently have any.
But I dint understand why it seems to have counted an Zemina Torval vessel as one of our own. Is there an some sort of aliance system?
This is sooooo complicated
It seems I also gained notoriety of 1
Was it because that power was in the Empire ans my power is also in the Empire?

 

[Underhook]

Ok so to answer some of my own questions to potentially help others who search for help on this

1) Killing enemy powers in any system in that powers territory will not count for merits (I tried in an anarchy system). It has to be a system specifically listed in that enemy powers control list.

2) If you kill a power that is part of the same superpower (eg Empire) as you on their turf you will not get merits, if fact merits will be taken from you. However they can open fire on you (because your on their turf) without penalty. If you return fire you will be fined and have merits deducted. You will also get a bounty on your head as well as notoriety.

3) So, I have checked that the power I am targeting is aligned to a different superpower (eg Empire V's Federation). I have searched that powers list of controlled systems to find the one that is closest to me.
I am having my fighter transferred and will soon know if I'm on the right track. I will make another post once I have worked it out.

 

[Bashy81]

Ahh, one of the dangerous elite. Thanks for nothing

Ha. But no. It was a bitter response to your bitter OP, but it wasnt sarcasm, and it was adressing the issues you raised.
I'll try again.
Superpowers dont matter. Forget fed/imp/alliance/independent. (They dont affect what you do on the ground, just strategy/lore) There is something going badly wrong with the bounties you are getting. Sounds like you havent pledged sucessfully (status screen will confirm that) or are at least running around with non-PP bounties which are ruining everything thats going on.

You dont have to go through all these problems. Mechanics can be a bit different for every power, and im not pledged to yours. Just pop on the Aisling discord and they will sort all these things out in a jiffy. Let them help you.

 

[Underhook]

Ha. But no. It was a bitter response to your bitter OP, but it wasnt sarcasm, and it was adressing the issues you raised.
I'll try again.
Superpowers dont matter. Forget fed/imp/alliance/independent. (They dont affect what you do on the ground, just strategy/lore) There is something going badly wrong with the bounties you are getting. Sounds like you havent pledged sucessfully (status screen will confirm that) or are at least running around with non-PP bounties which are ruining everything thats going on.

You dont have to go through all these problems. Mechanics can be a bit different for every power, and im not pledged to yours. Just pop on the Aisling discord and they will sort all these things out in a jiffy. Let them help you.

It turns out that if you are doing combat to get merits then super powers do matter. From my experiences of the last 2 days and from what I have read/watched.
1) If you kill an opposing power (in their territory or neutral turf) that belongs to the same super power you will fined merits by your own power. Not sure how much because I had no merits at the time.
2) Apparently (have not tried this yet) you can kill the same super power in your own territory without receiving a fine but I'm not sure if you get rewarded with merits yet.

https://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh246/Odyssey299/EliteDangerous64 2018-11-26 17-12-11-483.jpg
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh246/Odyssey299/EliteDangerous64 2018-11-26 17-12-00-437.jpg

 

[Underhook]

Ok so to answer some of my own questions to potentially help others who search for help on this

1) Killing enemy powers in any system in that powers territory will not count for merits (I tried in an anarchy system). It has to be a system specifically listed in that enemy powers control list.

2) If you kill a power that is part of the same superpower (eg Empire) as you on their turf you will not get merits, if fact merits will be taken from you. However they can open fire on you (because your on their turf) without penalty. If you return fire you will be fined and have merits deducted. You will also get a bounty on your head as well as notoriety.

3) So, I have checked that the power I am targeting is aligned to a different superpower (eg Empire V's Federation). I have searched that powers list of controlled systems to find the one that is closest to me.
I am having my fighter transferred and will soon know if I'm on the right track. I will make another post once I have worked it out.

OK, so, yes. It worked and I got 30 merits per kill. The nav beacon turns out to be not very efficient (not enough targets). It is more efficient to pull them out of super cruise. Often the are in wings of 2 or 3 and generally are not very tough. I tried killing some other powers in that area but you get nothing for it. The way it seems to work is that you are being given merits for attacking that system. So, attacking that particular power in that particular system weakens that system and you are rewarded. Attacking a different enemy power in that system does nothing to weaken that system since they wont defend it anyway so you are not rewarded for that.

I hope that makes sense for anybody who is trying PP combat for the 1st time. I will make a youtube video and post it in this thread. I want to get it done whilst its still new to me so I can remember all the little things that will drive a new PP player crazy

 

[Underhook]

As promised I have made a video. If any CMDR's find errors please let me know either here in in the comments of the video and I will consider remaking it.
[video=youtube_share;j5WDFMrM2P4]https://youtu.be/j5WDFMrM2P4[/video]