Wanted levels and bounties

[PerfectHitman_47]

So I'm new to this game, I've been playing for a week and have a good handle on things. I understand that wanted levels are specific to certain systems, whereas bounties are galaxy wide. (Correct me anytime if im wrong)

So I have a wanted level in the Alpha Centauri system with Hutton Orbital Truckers yada yada.. When I check my status with them, I'm allied, and I have no current fines in the system.. How am I supposed to get rid of my wanted level if I've already paid my fine?

For the most part, it's just an inconvenience, but every once in a while, system security shows up and tries to pick a fight, and npc players keep trying to interdict me (unsuccessfully).

 

[CMDR IPL Victim]

Crime is broken essentially into two tiers.

1. Fines - you can immediately pay these off at a port in system and do not incur bounty hunters and murderhobo system authority responses ( even if in the hundreds of thousands of credits or more). May also be paid out of syatem at ‘interstellar factors’ in low security systems.
2. Bounties - require a cooldown time ranging from minutes to weeks depending on the severity. During this time, murderhobo system authority will drop everything to shoot you and bounty hunters will chase you for bounties ranging from the low hundreds on up. Once the cooldown has passed, the bounty goes dormant until you pay it off like a fine. You have to jump out of system to reset status from wanted to dormant following the cooldown time. Cooldown time may be viewed in the transaction tab.

Sometimes you have to change instances to update status, such as jumping to a new system, dropping into or out of supercruise, or re-logging from main menu.

 

[Crank Larson]

So I'm new to this game, I've been playing for a week and have a good handle on things. I understand that wanted levels are specific to certain systems, whereas bounties are galaxy wide. (Correct me anytime if im wrong)

So I have a wanted level in the Alpha Centauri system with Hutton Orbital Truckers yada yada.. When I check my status with them, I'm allied, and I have no current fines in the system.. How am I supposed to get rid of my wanted level if I've already paid my fine?

For the most part, it's just an inconvenience, but every once in a while, system security shows up and tries to pick a fight, and npc players keep trying to interdict me (unsuccessfully).

You are only Wanted when you have a local bounty. You can't pay it off until it expires (and it becomes "spent") - the bounty in question will appear in your Transactions tab, and will have a timer on it. The only way to avoid being wanted is to go to another system where the bounty isn't recognised (i.e. the faction that issued it isn't present). However, you may still get bounty hunters after you (often dependent upon the size of the bounty). Bounties that were issued in other systems can only be activated by using a Kill Warrant Scanner (though NPC bounty hunters usually just open fire as soon as they've interdicted you - which is actually helpful, as then they become Wanted and you are perfectly justified to return fire ).

 

[d8veh]

Lets try and make it simple. It's for beginners so you don't have to follow this, but it will make life simple:

1. As soon as you become wanted, leave the system. Do not hang about trying to finish off a kill. Do not go to the station. When you arrive in the new system, check your transaction tab to see how long the bounty will last. Before you jump, you need to think about fuel. Jump to somewhere where you can refuel or make sure you have enough fuel to jump back too.
2. Do not go back to that system as long as you see bounty or dormant bounty in your transactions unless the timer says "on H-Jump", which means that it's recently timed out.
3. When the timer times out, it will show as a fine. You do not need to pay the fine. It will not change back to a bounty, but if you get killed in the system where you got the bounty, it will be added to your rebuy cost.
4. If you have a bounty (wanted) or a dormant bounty (not wanted) in any system, the feds will try and kill you if they find out.
5. If you need to go to a station in the system where you got the bounty for whatever reason, like when you don't have enough fuel to jump, you have to use stealth tactics to avoid being scanned. I just fly in fast straight down the axis line. You also have to get out without being scanned. I boost out and keep boosting until I'm clear.
6. If you have an active (not dormant) bounty in your transactions tab, wherever you go, you'll get random bounty hunters interdicting you and trying to kill you for it. The feds in the new system won't trouble you, and they'll help defend you from bounty hunter attacks if you have "Report crimes against me" switched on in the functions tab.
7. It's rare for any feds to be at an outpost-type station, so it's normally safe to go there when you're wanted and need to refuel or hand in bounties, but check who's about when you drop out at the outpost just to make sure.

 

[Greybeard_LXI]

Not explicitly mentioned above, but a dormant bounty will become active again if scanned by security from the faction that created it.

 

[CAPT. Ho Chi Minge]

Not explicitly mentioned above, but a dormant bounty will become active again if scanned by security from the faction that created it.

also dormant bounties i found cannot be paid off , they have to expire or scanned by a bounty hunter and have them kill you to remove them.

 

[Faded Glory]

Bounties that were issued in other systems can only be activated by using a Kill Warrant Scanner (though NPC bounty hunters usually just open fire as soon as they've interdicted you - which is actually helpful, as then they become Wanted and you are perfectly justified to return fire ).

Just to say this is not quite correct. A KWS will let a player see (and claim) an active bounty in another jurisdiction, but does not activate it. In other words, scanning a player in system A who has an active bounty in system B will not make that player wanted in system A.

NPC's don't use KWS, as its only purpose is to let you claim bounties from jurisdictions other than where you destroy a ship, and NPCs have no use for credits.

 

[Crank Larson]

Just to say this is not quite correct. A KWS will let a player see (and claim) an active bounty in another jurisdiction, but does not activate it. In other words, scanning a player in system A who has an active bounty in system B will not make that player wanted in system A.

A bad choice of words on my part. By activated, I meant so that the person scanning can claim them. Of course, if you attack and the ship isn't wanted locally, you will then become wanted (unless in an anarchy).

 

[Jankules]

https://goo.gl/images/4Xbj9N

 

[PerfectHitman_47]

I did have a dormant bounty in a very far away system, but my wanted level is in Hutton Orbital. I have no active fines, I paid them off days ago, have logged in many many times over the last 4 days, but still have a wanted status when I visit the system.