Why is it so incredibly difficult to get a Zoner ID? I've been to every Freeport and every suggested bartender, but I can't get friendly enough to obtain one. I've purchased a Zoner ship (Osprey II) and tried every suggested trick (e.g. redocking at Zoner bases) but nothing works. If this is by design, please let me know, and I'll go back to that clumsy Spatial.
The Zoner role seems ideal for me. I just want to poke around and see what's out there, do a little trading, etc. I'm not interested in incessant combat. If I wanted that, I'd play the Crossfire mod.
In modern day discovery faction rep is gained by doing a /restart on a new character. There are several Zoner restarts in different regions of Sirius.
If you want to make an older char a zoner, the easiest way is to ask another to buy a zoner ID for you and give it to you.
There used to be Zoner bribes on Bethlehem station in Pennsylvania (not sure if still are).
Generally, bar characters will not offer you bribes for a faction if you're already friendly (even if not friendly enough to buy the ID) with the faction.
It would've been easier to do a Zoner /restart but nwo that you already bought the ship that's not a good plan.
The highest bribe chance is at Corinth Research Station in Omicron Kappa, 50%. For something more coreward, your best bet may be Freeport 14 in Alberta, 31%. Note that you need two bribes in the same visit, and your rep with Zoners must be +0.3 or lower for that to work. First bribe brings you to 0.6, second brings you to full. New bribes won't show up at +0.6 or above, which is why you have to do two in one go.
So, the way that bribes work in Freelancer is that, no matter what bribe you are offered, it will place you just barely in the green portion of the reputation bar with the bribed faction. Once you bribe that faction, bribes will no longer be obtainable for that faction. It is because of this that players have adapted what is known as the "double bribe bug," which is one of few bugs not considered cheating.
In order to obtain an IFF through bribes, the faction must be at least full neutral (no bars towards friendly - even a sliver might screw things up). Then, you must ensure that two NPCs simultaneously offer a bribe with the same faction in the bar area. An easier way to achieve this is to (re)log until the bartender has the desired bribe (Zoner in this case). Then, switch back and forth between the bar and launch bay (or any other non-bar section of a base). Re-entering the bar will switch out all NPCs within except for the bartender (Only undocking or reclogging changes the bartender's rumor/bribe/etc). Once a non-bar NPC offers the bribe you want, you then take both theirs and the bartender's bribe. Viola - Shiny new IFF!
If you haven't deleted the character yet and would rather save the money, you can either shoot Zoner NPCs near Freeports, or head to FP1 in Omega-3 or FP6 in Tau-29 and shoot Zoner Depots for faster reputation loss, if they are available to shoot. Once Zoners are flat neutral again, flee the area, re-log, go back to a Freeport and hunt for the double bribe.
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LOL, it takes less time to restart as a Zoner and build up the character's money again. It's also less boring.
I've got another character that I will play as a Corsair. Their freighter is probably the best non-capital ship in the game.
