The overload on Pirates, is the reason I withdrawed ALL my pirate characters except my Outcast smuggler. I one time had to engage 3 Tridentes 3milordai'ing a Spatial, with the help from some nice Navy capitals... So, all my criminals are now Bounty Hunters...
Reptile,
I've never seen anybody quote 10 million for an escort job. Most I ever see are quotes for a couple million. That's fair enough, I think, spending two million to prevent the loss of five to thirty million. And, for many, there is fun in haggling for the price. Traders may not like it, but bottom line, if they want escorts they have to pay. The escorts aren't going to do it for a loss, and like I said before, many escort to make thier money. Also, escorts aren't supposed to be gunboats or capital ships, thats an armada. An escort should ideally be a couple of lfs or hfs. Thier job is to make it to dangerous to target the freighters only, allowing the freighters time to escape. A smart freighter captain would run to the nearest base and wait for the escort to catch up, assuming the escort doesn't get slaughtered. If the escort is slaughtered, pay it, it's done it's job, and either hire another or try to sneak past any pirate remnants.
"Two things I know; Gravity sucks and Ion Storms blow. And that proves the universe is trying to kill us all" - Barren Waste, Captain of the Wasteland Wanderer
An approximation of my reaction when I see my next victim...er, these forums.
' Wrote:I try and get on my Navy as often as possible, but I usually get ganked every single time, which is a tad depressing for me.
-Seth
San Fran vs. Ravensburg! Lets set off a "Hello, the lawfulls are still around!" Fireworks....oh wait, one of us will blow up and then its -1 lawfull again :unsure:
The solution is simple: go somewhere else. They're more systems than just the core Liberty systems. Go explore and find new trade routes or mining fields. You spread yourselves out, pirates spread themselves out.
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' Wrote:I wouldn pay escort a 10 million, only to a gunboat. Really VHF or bomber cannot protect me from pirate pack, gunboat can at least somehow delay them.
1) Gunboats aren't worth squat in a proper escorting situation. They make terrible scouts when compared to fighter (or even freighter) sized ships. They're also easier to ignore for enemy bombers, than say, a VHF. I know this from experience as a Buccaneer pirate bomber.
2) You shouldn't have to need to delay pirates. If you do, you've done a bad job. You should be riding one lane ahead, scouting. If you come across a pirate, your trader is a safe distance away. From there you can either redirect them in another direction, hold up the pirate until the lane comes up, or tell the trader to fly 20K above/below the plane. At no time should the trader be outside of a lane anywhere near the pirate.
3) 10 million is slightly steep, but that kind of price range would only be leveled at 5k ore haulers. Think about it. A Shetland full of gold ore is worth 70-80 million. That's a lot of cash to spread around, right?
@Reacher. I try to stay out of New York and co. as much as possible, but there's a conspiracy against me. I start my shift in New Tokyo, asking if anyone wants an escort - I make it clear I'll travel to Liberty or Rhienland. Almost immediately I get a job. To Liberty. Never Rhienland. Once I get to New York, my client will depart, leaving me to get another client to return to Kusari.
You would not believe the trouble I have catching a return. Liberty must be like, the least escort friendly house in the game...
If you're liberty navy its better to escort someone 24/7, at least you can freely engage anything on your way and then cruise away to catch up with your escort"ment"?