2 questions about POBs

[Keioff Xanjer]

Just saying....if you don't have the ships, skills, or manpower to defend what's yours....money is your next option.

If we don't have the ships, skills or manpower, money is our ONLY option.
That's what I fear.
I cannot see where Zoner have any leverage in negotiations, so basically we're totally open for extortion.

For a diplomacy-based faction, we have very few bargaining-chips.
Please correct me if I've missed something.

I did what you want to, built a POB in a contested area. The trick is to avoid confrontation, and be prepared for it if (when) the confrontation comes.

In my case, I paid off the Outcasts to leave us alone (not as expensive as I feared), but then was foolish enough to allow IMG to dock on the POB. The Outcasts declared war and besieged the base several times. Good supply and a shield ensured the base survived until diplomacy ended the war.

My advice: play it neutral, at least until you can afford to choose a side. If you have plenty of bombers, their Caps won't live long enough to destroy your base, and then you can make a Freeport. Until then, carefully maneuver through the faction politics. Or pick a side that has the power to defend your base

Thanks for sharing actual experience with this!
You underline my worries really good.
1) You cannot make a deal with one part, without upsetting the other.
2) You HAVE to rely on other for defense of your base. If they are in a bad mood or just don't have the time, you are totally helpless.

I understand that negotiation and diplomacy has to be the absolute main tool of Zoners, but: "Some men.. You just can't reach."

Anyway. We'll probably survive no matter what. Thanks for the input.

And as allways.. Thanks to devs and mods. Big thumbs up.