I have read several reviews of this game & the most common complaint is that there are players who make a point to take advantage of their elite equipment access to make a fast kill on people trying to learn how their controls work. While I noted these reviews I did not give them nearly as much weight as I should have.

It is well documented that several of these rats like to hang out at the jump point from Azek to Dau. From their perspective, this is a good choice because a lot of the beginner mining missions in Dau require delivery to Azek; thus providing the rats with a steady supply of new players as (literal) cannon fodder. This setup is just begging for people to leave the game before they even start.

I am no exception here. It is not my idea of fun to try to pilot the slowest & worst gunned ship in the game to Azek central with pirate activity confirmed in the last 10 minutes and nobody answering to an escort request.

Makes me want to level up a character to go pop newbs between dau and azek.

Edit: I tried it, it was kindof sad. I feel pretty bad now.
:(

Let me be clearer. There are two issues here:

(1) A problem for the developers
Assuming that they agree with me that this is an issue (& I sincerely hope that they do), the most obvious fix would be to either add some monitoring or to reroute the early missions to somewhere that already has policing. However, I think that the problem is appreciably larger than this. As long as beginning players are required to go places where there are minimal consequences to unfair battles, then the rats will just move there.

(2) My choice
In this environment, the game will naturally select for certain sorts of people. This selection process has already gone on for a long time. Some reviews report on this problem back several years.

Any changes that the developers DO implement clearly cannot occur in time for my introduction to the game. So, having done my civic duty to report the matter, my own decision will be -- if I want to play in a game where such injustice (as distinguished from risk) is normal and acceptable.

so you want the devs to do something about"mean people"? get used to it, theres jerks everywhere. oh, and good luck with real life.

The UIT zone is the least protected/stupidly defended of all zones. No wormhole stations between Odia/Sedina and Dau. I can understand why the UIT would not want to "hinder free trade" with their "delusional and misguided brothers" but seriously :P Encouraging asshattery makes people angrier than the original asshattery itself.

UIT space is poorly defended compared with the Serco or Itani, nonetheless there are some dedicated pirate hunting guilds that operate in that area. If you have been getting pirated or hear reports of pirates in the region the best thing to do is request escort on channel 4357 before you embark on a run. The Vipers provide free escort, and The Guild of Free Traders are also a very helpful bunch.

Check out the Viper wiki for some tips on escaping from pirates. A few simple tactics will serve you well should you choose to continue. A good combat guide can be found here.

I also have to point out that most pirates I know avoid using the most powerful equipment in game as it is time consuming to replace and we do our best to make their lives hazardous.

This has been an ongoing issue for some time now but there are 2 side to this as well. For new players it can and will be quite intense when this stuff happens. For old salts (experienced players) it provides an advantage to help new players by shooting the rats and cleaning up UIT space where they like to hang out at.

Several times recently we have had attack groups all over UIT space looking for these rats and many of the 'good guys' have lost massive faction points in the process. This can provide loads of fun for experienced players but can very much alienate new players.

From that You can be assured the alliance of guilds against piracy (TGFT, PA, ITAN, ONE, VIPER) is there to help out as much as possible.

Also keep in mind that the pirates are not really there to force you to leave the game but to provide some entertainment value. It can be a traumatic experience having to deal with all of that at once but I can assure you once you get the feel for things situations like this will become lighter and seem less problematic.

The sector of which you speak is monitored space. Either the pirate was already UIT KOS, and thus had to contend with the strike force, or the pirate became KOS after blowing you all to Hell.

Either way, it's not like they're just hanging out waiting without any NPC intervention.

Actually, much of the time they are. The SF's seem to work only intermittently, and even then, are extremely ineffective. The Devs keep talking about a buff, but either they're doing so in newborn baby steps, or it's yet to have happened.

And having the station parked at the Edras WH in Verasi is almost a joke considering how long it takes for the sf to get to the wh. And when they do finally make it, they're so spread out you have all the time in the world to pop them, one at a time.

This is also simply the result of the fact that pirating in grey space can be hopeless at times (unless you enjoy shooting NPCs). Many of the pirates who have set up camp in UIT space do so simply because they're bored. While driving them out of UIT space with stronger consequences would solve one problem, it would create another by simply removing any reason for pirates to play. There needs to be a reason for pirates to stay in Grey. No matter how strong the SF is, they'll follow the herds just like any other predator does.

Wasn't aware the bizzare UIT space SF bug was still going. Though given what I've been doing in game, there's no reason I'd have had any experience with it since December or so.

As for their being "extremely ineffective," that rather depends on what they're there to do. If they're supposed to be uber-guardians, then you're right. If they're supposed to provide some level of threat that at a minimum requires skill to defeat or avoid, I'd say they're ok.

But showing up in monitored sectors is sorta an important first step.

I thought the danger to UIT noobs was the trade off for the centralized location and ability to trade with Serco and Itani. Even the new player intro to the UIT mentions that it is a haven for pirates.

So if you're a newer player and are worried about pirate attacks then it is much safer to learn in Serco and Itani Space.

avalokitty, let me first offer condolences on your untimely demise and note that while I myself am a pirate, I do not pirate those under lvl 3 combat skill unless they are a known alt.

The suggestions presented here are indeed the best alternatives to quitting.

As to the SF, I might suggest that they have varied tactics based on the players that they fight. Maybe by adding players to a list of known 'good fighters' or simply adding SF members as they are destroyed. It makes no sense that we can communicate across the 'verse, but NPCs are unable to operate a radio as well...

The last tactic I find unnerving and frightening is when you are engaged by multiple targets and one sweeps behind you to light you up. The SF does not do this...

I think we need to make an important distinction here. Are you being pirated or are you being griefed? If you get blown up on your trade route by a pirate, that's just part of the game. Don't get too upset about it, death has little consequence. Now if you're being followed by a player who repeatedly kills you for no apparent reason, then you might have a valid complaint. Unfortunately the game does not yet protect against the latter.

Some tips on dealing with priates:

-Pay them and they (most of them) won't kill you.

-If you shoot at a pirate, he's going to shoot back. So don't turn and fire on one and then be upset that you died.

-Stay out of grey until you're ready for combat or ready to take the risk that you might be shot down.

-If you're in immediate danger, jump to a station.

The devs are working to protect new players better, but the nature of the game will always be unconsentual PvP everywhere. One of the best things about Vendetta is that there is no truly safe activity. Be prepared for it and you might enjoy it.

While I accept the possibility that Ghost is not part of THIS problem, he does raise some points that ARE relevant to the issue.

I was attacked twice in Azek before I reached combat level 2. There were some elements in common with these attacks.

1) Neither attacker asked for protection money before firing. They did not even hail me. [This is probably just as well, as I had not yet figured out the chat system.]

2) Do you seriously expect an inexperienced bus driver to last long enough to turn around against sustained fire from a vulture at optimal range ?

3) If Azek is part of grey space, then this should be clearly indicated on the map. It certainly has more pirates than Ukari or Edras. Nor have I seen any physical evidence to support Dr. Lecter's claim that there is any monitoring of the wormhole.

4) To have the option to jump to another station requires that the mission supplied charting had been cancelled on arrival in the system & a temporary destination set until after jumping to Dau. Then, to dig through the mission logs to find out where the cargo is to be delivered. While this precaution has some merit, I think it is a bit much to expect of somebody with only 5 hours experience in the game. It additionally assumes that there are no rocks near where the pirate attacks.

***
My central issue is that such attacks have nothing to do with "piracy". This activity can only be deemed to be unwaranted "griefing" upon new players. Meanwhile, these new players are required, by the developers, to present themselves (repeatedly) for this treatment as the UIT mission trees send so much business to Azek.

Some possible ways to address this:
- effective policing at the wormhole
- reroute the starting UIT missions to somewhere safer
- reclassify Azek as grey, so that un-ready players know to reject these missions.
- include a disclaimer in the "create a character" that warns people that UIT characters face additional combat risks relative to the more warlike nations.

If Ghost truly believes that there should be no safe activity, anywhere or any time, then new players will continue to be blown up before they learn the controls to operate their craft effectively. New players will continue to leave in disgust or frustration. The web will continue to accumulate reviews that grieve for a game that has a lot of potential; but where there is no room for people not already established.

I do not favour such a fate for this game. I suspect that Ghost would not support this future either. I have pointed at this problem & offered some suggestions. Perhaps there could be some more?

first off Azek is *NOT* in grey, it's UIT space and UIT monitored space. Just because it borders with latos and that is in grey does not make Azek grey. Just a simple look at the hive in azek should tell you that higher level bots = higher level players. HUGE gap from azek and dau. On that note I have camped outside a station in grey space for FOUR HOURS while AFK, not once did another player shoot me or even pirate me.

However, from this the only real viable way is to create a newbie zone, say all dau stations and turn on either immunity or deactivate weapons while in the sector. Many people will bitch about that part as they will not be able to show off their high player kills.

I will have to add here we have a 'sensor tab' that will show you the nearby ships for this very same reason. Just last week one of yoda's alt hit me as I was undocking from a station. I did not get control of my ship when I was shot and killed. Bottom line I should have looked at the tab before launching in a hot area. Look before you leap. * indicates bots, no * would be a player.

3) No they do not expect it, that's why they hit you to begin with. Best solution is to check before you launch and if it's one of those types then dont launch.

I have always said this is not piracy nor do the 'pirates' actually play pirates in the game. To date I have not met a real pirate in game.

If you want more reasonable security in UIT space then the following need to be applied.

1) Each WH leaving UIT space requires a station either on the Grey Space side or on the UIT Space side.

2) Each border station will have a fair number of turrets to suppress large bodies or groups of hostile forces. Such as capital ships but the relatively small fighter has better chances getting through but still require skill and a commendable ship known for speed.

3) An affective SF that has the ability to pursue and kill hostile targets while maintaining a tactical supremacy at each WH when a hostile enters sovereign space. However, the SF should not be so supreme that all hostile targets are extinguished within seconds, again a pilot of skill and the proper ship should be sufficient to traverse sovereign space that deems them hostile. They should not be able to rest while outside a station or in monitored space.

4) All stations within the confines of any sovereign nation are subjugated to have a present nation SF when a hostile target enters the system the station is located in. The nation SF deal with the hostile with the efficiency of the above point #3. But the targets should still have the ability to dock with faction stations within sovereign space but they will need to avoid the SF while in the station sector.

5) All nation capital stations are to be the most dangerous areas for targets deemed hostile by the sovereign nation. Station turrets, an Elite SF, and capital ships will be the defensive mechanism against any hostile.

This was a quick outline of what I think would be effective in stopping most pirates but not making it impossible to get through and making it seem more realistic.

Any constructive criticism?

In lieu of actual stations, you could just as well park a bunch of NPC cappies and permanent turrets in the appropriate wormhole sectors. That would, if nothing else, act as a deterrent to would-be invading pirates.

there is another option that doesnt take away from anyone. do missions DEEPER in UIT space. dont take the missions that take you into grey or bordering grey...ex. dont take the escort to Sedina, take the escort to Arta Celestis.

base out of a station more central to UIT. theres plenty of options if you look for them. hell, get into Sedina, get some better weapons...get your Lic's up, find some one to teach you the finer points of PvP...remember...turbo, strafe, roll left, turbo, strafe up+roll...all sorts of things...infini-boost ships, slow but well armed ships like the Rag...(3 posis and 2 swarms or gattling turrets)...or just call VPR for an escort. PA may do escorts as well and im sure taht for a price finding an escort in general would not be hard. hell, I'll escort you anywhere youre going for 1 million

Hmm, I tend to think that this issue could be addressed in time with the revamped faction system .

At present a player could have say high standing at, for instance, the two TPG stations in dau , and hate with UIT , Biocom , Axia ,Orion, UIT . They could then greif players at any of the latter stations, and if the greifed player defends themselves they stand to lose faction with those factions, with no consequences for the aggressor.

A persistent greifer can therefore cause greif continually without ever having to cross through a wormhole, and can constantly resupply from his TPG home base.

Clearly this is unrealistic; the factions in UIT are a loosely linked confederation. Action which causes faction loss at one UIT faction should have consequences with all UIT factions.

If it were the case that losing faction for killing npcs or a player at say a UIT station caused a severe UIT faction loss and a lower, but significant, faction loss for all of the factions in UIT space then I think that the present wave of greifing would be severely curtailed.

The greifer would eventually have no safe base in UIT space and would have to mount attacks from outside UIT space or rebuild faction.

I appreciate that the faction system is under review at the moment , I hope that something of this sort could be included in it .

Clearly this is unrealistic; the factions in UIT are a loosely linked confederation. Action which causes faction loss at one UIT faction should have consequences with all UIT factions.

This low-candlepower idea misses the point of having separate factions. UIT space, being a loose conglomeration of independent entities, rather than a strong, centralized state, is inherently more dangerous. I'd expect to see higher trade returns available within UIT space to make up for the added danger--but, basically, Get Used To It.