The JG were very reliable mercs/escorts but they didn't get used enough and now, there are almost non left.
People get too greedy and don't want to share the cash they trade/mine for. They know that if they make it 4 out of 5 times, a little piracy won't hurt, despite all the complaints.
Another newer problem is as cmfalconer points out that a lot of pirates hire Freelancers or use the Freelancer IFF to sneak up on unsuspecting trade ships so they just aren't trusted anymore.
Mercs used to do it a lot, selling out to the highest bidder at the time, even during the fight which made them real unpopular.
That kind of behaviour is the death knell for indy mercs and freelancers. They only become useful when you can trust them and so, you need to earn a rep and alone, it's very difficult. For every good freelancer, there are 10 bad ones.
I wish you luck but I'm afraid, in my opinion only, the reputation of freelancers and mercs starts at very poor and struggles to raise it's head much above it.
Dear Xenosaga, you made one critical mistake, when playing a freelance merc.
You tried to play in Liberty.
On any other spot on the map, you will find work, the pay is still shi ..erm.. very bad, but you have a bit of roleplay and pewpew, the other night i even got payed for only offering to help the lawfuls.
Shoot down evil pirates agravating traders, and they sometimes toss over some cash after you saved them.
Or join Samura, i always have a well payed job for Pilots that escort my ore shippments.
' Wrote:Dear Xenosaga, you made one critical mistake, when playing a freelance merc.
You tried to play in Liberty.
On any other spot on the map, you will find work, the pay is still shi ..erm.. very bad, but you have a bit of roleplay and pewpew, the other night i even got payed for only offering to help the lawfuls.
Shoot down evil pirates agravating traders, and they sometimes toss over some cash after you saved them.
Or join Samura, i always have a well payed job for Pilots that escort my ore shippments.
My mercenary has been in Liberty since it was created. I get lots of jobs, the LN trust me, and I've made more money from them than most mercenaries have, and that's working with them personally in-game, rather than claiming money from a bounty board. Liberty is a merc's haven, you just have to know how to do it right. You can't be a fence-sitting merc, anywhere, despite the claims it work outside of Liberty. A merc has to choose a side to work for, or neither side will hire you.
' Wrote:I've been saying it for some time. Pirates are not mean enough. If they were people would value freelancers and mercenaries much more.
When i get my Pirate transport ile go all out Evil Mean.:)
BEWARE.
Being a freelancer is hard, but you can roleplay with more people.
A ndmy FL is in Liberty...and so far they kicked it out for tellimg a TF7 not to use her as a hostage. Last one to try got his dread boomed by a rescue ship...
And because the pilot was Ellie Hunter...
Trust us already people!!!!
' Wrote:The JG were very reliable mercs/escorts but they didn't get used enough and now, there are almost non left.
People get too greedy and don't want to share the cash they trade/mine for. They know that if they make it 4 out of 5 times, a little piracy won't hurt, despite all the complaints.
Another newer problem is as cmfalconer points out that a lot of pirates hire Freelancers or use the Freelancer IFF to sneak up on unsuspecting trade ships so they just aren't trusted anymore.
Mercs used to do it a lot, selling out to the highest bidder at the time, even during the fight which made them real unpopular.
That kind of behaviour is the death knell for indy mercs and freelancers. They only become useful when you can trust them and so, you need to earn a rep and alone, it's very difficult. For every good freelancer, there are 10 bad ones.
I wish you luck but I'm afraid, in my opinion only, the reputation of freelancers and mercs starts at very poor and struggles to raise it's head much above it.
I personally don't know how to find a freelancer in scouting purposes. Let's say that I mine in a system where there aren't many ships around. How can I get a scout?
I have hired freelancers to escort my trader on more than one occasion, unfortunately they tend to get fed up as they think it is boring trundling from Edinburgh to Munich and back. So I ended up being escorted there, but had to come back without an escort more often than not.
Sorry if you are a reputable, reliable freelancer but so many others are not and I have made the trip so many times without escort now that I don't even bother looking to hire someone anymore.
' Wrote:I personally don't know how to find a freelancer in scouting purposes. Let's say that I mine in a system where there aren't many ships around. How can I get a scout?
Er,hire before you get there?
Earn a reputation with a corporation. I do the same services (scouting lanes) but joined IMG (BMM, etc. works also fine). I sit in T23 (any other mining area works) and wait in the fields.
If there is trouble, I prove my loyality and roleplay. So the miners see that you mean business.
If there is no trouble, I work as a mining helper. You can get between 500k and 2 millions for a full Hegie, and you are in the field, you service your potential customers and you are told when they are full and ready to go.
Then I offer my service as lane scout and it's more often accepted than denied.
But of course you are much more trustworthy as an IMG-ID to IMG-miners than a Freelancer ID.
Andy
get your ship down to dublin. you'll have a lot of work. all you need to do is fly one trade lane ahead of your employer, and warn of blips on the radar