Traders and fighting/ running

[JGOrcus]

My own view is that some wannabe Pirates want Pirating to be easy whch should never be the case. A Pirate should have a tough task to stop a ship and take a cargo. They don't warrant the name and respect a good Pirate commands.

As a Trader I have greatly enjoyed being Pirated by a skillfull Pirate who demonstrates their ability and strategy to stop me. I have paid after being fired on; quite happily and enjoyed the RP from my smoking truck. One pair left me in awe with how well they trapped me including RP to it.

Many Traders play as Traders as they enjoy being Rabbits. Can the big carnivors with their massive guns and missiles take out a wiley rabbit? Like all Rabbits they run and change course and do strange things to avoid being hit. Traders have the firepower disadvantage and running is really their main defense apart from hiring an escort. No escort and they are fair game. Its a risk many take.

My view is that reasonable Pirates ask for fees which equate to business expenses (eg Escort fees). If its less than the run's profit, its reasonable. Taxing on a Traders estimated net worth ignores alot of things. 2-4Mil pushes the reasonableness boundary as it wipes out most profit on many runs and endangers the Traders viability. Get hit several times as a beginning player without the magic mountain of cash squirelled away over many hours of play and don't have the resources - its demoralising and not fun while some "fat jerk" adds another Billion to his pile. (No offense to "fat jerks" intended - its merely the feeling experienced by starving Rabbits which is how most without powerfull friends begin)

If its above the profit on the run then the Pirate is in another league. Pirates who ask too much should expect bounties and trouble. Its their choice but a Trader pushed too far will engage help to even things up. And some Disco inhabitants are just waiting for the request for assistance.

No Rabbit will be stripped to the bone willingly. I never stop if I think I stand a chance running. A CD is the minimum before I will even consider it.

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[\JG/]Orcus | Jupiter Guild Elite Trade Wing - 2nd in Command

[Primus Avatar]

again, you are not rabbits.


you are Sheep. (it makes a big difference)

Sheep are expensive, and you need to hire watch dogs to help you against the wolves!

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wassup

[Nevearo]

You know what I find interesting? How Trigger-happy pirates are. You RP the desire to avoid being infected by the Wild, and you get blown up. You are slow in paying due to any RP, blown up. There is no real reason for how trigger happy they are, except that they "Have been stiffed by other traders doing that before"

When I pirate, my traders can't get away because "I am in a Trade Window"
Time doesn't save them, since I can kill them before a ship can travel 5k, and am capable of killing them, engaging my cruise and getting away before a rescue group shows up.
A trader that fights does cause a little trouble, but I can usually handle it.

So what the heck is with the pirates that suck so badly in controlling their ships that they have to accuse the trader they gave 10 seconds to /givecash to someone whose name composed of a complex list of symbols and "cute" alterations of common spellings that they immediately have to start griping about OORP. I have encountered a few OORP traders, but for the most part, accounting for the difficulty in controlling a ship while running away, the vast majority are nothing like what the common pirate on these forums accuse them of.

Is a trader shooting pirates that out of RP?
Not really. it has historical examples. If a trader can reasonably expect to win, fighting back is fully within RP. It is when the trader is paper thin that it shouldn't pay. A pirate being upset with a fighting trader and complaining is yet another example of a pirate accusing something out of roleplay just because it can't handle that. Some people really shouldn't be pirates. It could be said the same of merchants, if the server didn't require people to power trade for some things. (Faction Recognition being a good example of that)

[Baltar]

So...just why is it bad for a trader to equip missiles and fight? It seems to me everyone wants the traders to just lie there and take it. MY trader "Dark_Helmet" will usually try to run, if he gets CD he'll fight, that's why the ships have guns and shields no? "Dark" is a little crazy, usually has all his funds tied up in a cargo and can't afford to pay every pirate that asks for a ridiculous (3 mil or more) amount to pass by. He'd rather take his chances on floating home in a pod or dying before he'll just let himself be raped by pirate scum. I'm a little sick of the way pirates seems to want the rules to just force us to stop and pay everytime. A trader should ABSOLUTELY flee in cruise while spamming countermeasures like confetti. Serioously what alternative do we have? A bomber can blow a transport away really easily so our only fair chance is running. That being said Darks Firefly with level 4 class 7 turrets and mark 5 armor has made a few pirates break off chasing me as I thrust away while firing constantly , then they accuse me of not rping. I don't get it.

Trial by forum again?


On that note ... I'm a bit sick of traders that get killed returning multiple times to get killed again and again and again. Bit unrealistic if you ask me. But if you wanna float home in your escape pod then role play that.

Here's a hint at your alternative ... avoid routes that bring you near pirates and you won't get jacked by every pirate in town. That means avoid the NB/Sig 13 jump hole and the Sig 13/Chugoku jump hole. Its not that difficult to avoid pirates when you know where they hang out. Common sense on your part will prevent you from being jacked like you say by multiple pirates demanding high fees.

As for a trader fighting ... the only time it's really inappropriate is when the trader is NOT under attack but chooses to engage a pirate in combat. This happens from time to time and happened to me on at least 3 occasions. If you wanna be a trader and not get pirated ... avoid the pirate infested routes. If you wanna fight in your transport or freighter ... I don't wanna hear you whine.

EDIT: Corrected grammar and spelling.

[Derkylos]

My own view is that some wannabe Pirates want Pirating to be easy whch should never be the case. A Pirate should have a tough task to stop a ship and take a cargo. They don't warrant the name and respect a good Pirate commands.

Actually, it's quite easy to stop a trader and take their cargo, but the mechanics behind it is against server rules...

I never pirate in Sigma-13 (when I pirate, it's all about the piracy, I don't wanna become embroiled in huge turf wars or BHBC competitions), and I still meet my share of traders that will silently open fire on me.

If a trader wants to RP, they can quite easily stay still and say something quick ("hold fire", "wait", or any other panic-stricken response). If the pirate is there just for the explosion, sure, they may blow you up, but report it to the athorities and go on a different route (different route?!? You mean I don't have to do diamond-niobium?!?)

Also, judicious use of the chat board can help you to chose a route where you will enjoy the pirating experience (eg: avoid those people with long and tortuous ]*~#-$?%^" suffixes/prefixes)

On a final note, while I usually ask for 1-2 mill, I never expect to get that much. If someone RPs well, it will go down. If someone fails to RP, runs silently, or simply shoots at me, it is liable to go up. Destruction of anything short of a liner is very easy with 4 shieldbusters and a SN. Both pirates and traders would do well to remember that.

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[Markus_Janus]

For me it all depends on what the pirate asks for and where he is.
If it is 1 or 2 million he is after then I just pay up and thank him for his time, unless he is the 3rd or 4th pirate I come up against that run(has happened a few times) in which case I will fight as hard as I can until I can escape.
If he asks for more than that then I will fight and hopefully escape unless I am near the end of my run then I might pay up if it is not too much.
If it is my cargo he is after, well I do not play this game to waste my time as I have a limited amount anyway so I will fight and either escape or lose my ship.
If he is sitting outside a capital planet I have no where to run and will certainly not be rewarding that kind of behavior so I will fight till one of us does not have a ship.

Bottom line is if it is worth stopping for the pirate or not.
If he is after my cargo or too much money then he is probably a deranged psycho that will kill my crew so I will work as hard as I can to spare them that fate.

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Samura Omotai Zaibatsu.

[Camtheman Of Freelancer4Ever]

What you do, is you engage your cruise when they're typing... haha!!!!

[Derkylos]

What you do, is you engage your cruise when they're typing... haha!!!!

And that's when you realise all my combat keys are bound to mouse buttons...

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[jammi]

What you do, is you engage your cruise when they're typing... haha!!!!

That is one of the more pathetic tactics I've seen used. By all means, talk, delay, stall until back-up appears (worked with me against General_Specific a few days ago) then escape, but just wordlessly slamming cruise on really ticks me off, and is a sure fire way to ensure you travel home in a coffin.

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[Baltar]

What you do, is you engage your cruise when they're typing... haha!!!!

Well ... this quickly gets you the reputation of a runner. You'll likely get very little patience from pirates in the future. Do this to me ... you'll find you'll use up all your bats/bots and end up sitting there with a thread of hull before making my demands. Yes ... we can do that ... read the rules and you'll find we can "do as much damage but cannot destroy you without making a demand." So even if I did let you go ... you'd end up hobbling along and paying for repairs and a new batch of bats/bots. Considering I only ask for 500k ... you'll end up paying more in repairs.