Monday, October 27, 2008

Capture ships instead of destroying them

One of the strategies that is suggested in chapter 2 of my Art of War series is:
Where possible, force the ejecting of enemy pilots in order to take their ships whole. Enemy pilots who eject should be allowed to live, to provide incentive to eject again in future.
How often does this happen? I've never heard of it happening at all, unless it's an accident, where the 'noob' accidentally ejects from their ship in a panic.

There's a lot of pilots with very expensive implants that they really don't want to lose, and would rather not get podkilled. So once you've locked them down and damaged their ship into structure, stop firing and offer to let them go in exchange for their ship (if you have the time and safety to do this, of course).

They might be hesitant because they'll lose the insurance, but if you really want the ship then offer to pay them for it. Make it worth their while, of course. Maybe just less than the cost of the ship, not including fittings. If they have implants they want to keep, they'll likely jump at the opportunity.

Of course, it would only work if you can fly their ship, or you have someone nearby that can fly it for you. You would also need to have someone there to protect the ship from anyone else wandering by...

You could warp to a safe spot or dock, eject from your ship, and go back and board the new ship you've just claimed, taking it to a station and docking.

This would be better than looting a wreck... you get the whole ship and all its fittings to add to your war or combat efforts. And the victim gets to keep their implants.

Give it a try, you might just find yourself stocking your hangars with new ships and fittings that you can use or sell. You'll still get enough kills from those that refuse to eject.