Traders: Increase Your Odds of Survival

[Flying Penguin]

Now I should state up front, that on the scale between Carebear and Griefer Extrodinaire, I sit somewhere between Funshine Bear and I Love You Bear, but whilst mission running to build my Empire rank (I want a Clipper so bad....) I thought I'd conduct a little experiment. The question I wanted to answer for myself, how many traders watch their backs in SC?

I'm in Open, flying a Cobra, fully armed, FSDI fitted, all the usual bits and bobs, a pirate classic if you will. The method of testing was to take any Hauler/Adder/T-6 I saw (but preferring the unshielded ones) and manoeuvre into an interdiction position. I'd then hold position for a few seconds to see what happened. Then a message "I'm coming to get you....". Then wait. I did not interdict anyone.

Out of over a dozen traders, not one took any form of evasive action. In fact even when I followed them to the station and waited for them to leave, I could generally sit behind them quite happily, hardpoints deployed, ready to pull the trigger.

So, what does this tell me? Either people don't perceive piracy as a real threat (I was outside the rare routes, so it's possible), or (more likely) most people are completely oblivious to the world around them. Any one of those traders I could have pulled from SC and had my wicked way with them, the first they would have known of it would have been when the "Interdiction Detected" message flashed up and I started pulling them to a stop.

As a fellow trader this depresses me. Now I've flown my share of unshielded traders, but that was always with a very paranoid eye on other CMDRs. For Pete's sake, look at your scanners people, stop making piracy easy for the other guy!

--------------------------
No traders were harmed in the production of this post
--------------------------

 

[HipToss]

I watch my back, but I am also in a Python.

 

[DragonIV]

Interdictions are way, way down. Most are not looking behind themselves all that much.

Me, I see a PLAYER icon anywhere near my hindquarters, I drop out of SC immediately. Give it about 30 seconds, then go back to SC and scan the player to see what they're flying. If I don't think they are much of a threat, I continue on and will engage if they interdict me. If they look dangerous, I'll take a detour. Pretty simple.

 

[SilverBlack]

There's so few interdictions now I welcome them and submit just for a kill.
But I'm in a fully loaded Asp,if I was in an unshielded ship I would try and evade the interdict,if I couldn't then boost to safety.

 

[Britannkic]

My T6 strategy is.....

Run with shield and shield cell, PD and chaff
When dropping into a system, first avoid sun, then continue on past sun building velocity irrespective of where the station is
Check scanner for players, and flip through players to ID ship types and potential pirates
Lock on station
Swing through an ellipse route to station, never a straight line from sun to station because, as a pirate, that's were I wait to prey on traders
keeping eyes on scanner and on which ships are moving were, aim away from station to see which ships also move away from a station direct route
On station approach either dive past planet to use gravity well to super-slow me or shoot past station and double back. Doubling back puts all ships that where on your tail in front of you and hence out of interdiction
if there is a ship looking to get behind, then alter course drastically, 90 degrees drastic and check his course

If interdicted but before you drop, here are some tricks
if near a sun, planet, ring head towards it and not to escape vector, this way getting too close to the sun etc drops you from SC but not the interdictor
if interdiction commences submit immediately to ensure min FSD warm up, make sure you point at the enemy and get in close then Stop. Listen to demands but when FSD on line do three things at once - Hit FSD, full throttle and engine boost. If you were facing him then you are now behind him and have a second whilst he turns, spam some chaff, drop some bio waste or your cheapest cargo to fill up the scanner if you happen to be prepared with it. Keep hitting boost. An A-rated T6 will escape an Asp like this

Once into SC double tap FSD and drop straight out again because your pursuer is jumping to SC too and will be looking for you, but won't find you there. Wait a minute or even better Hyperspace out to another system