Kill Count.. legally!

[byronarn]

I have been playing OOlite for a little bit on my spare time, building up money and then upgrading with weapons, shield boosters, targeting systems etc. I think I am at the point where I am ready to get a nice kill count. only thing is, I would like to do it legally (if possible) because I don't wanna have to have bounty hunters on my butt everywhere I go. Is this possible? I know you get a bounty everytime you kill a pirate, so is there any way to predict where you can find them? Or would I just have to wait by a witchpoint until one comes? And are there any other ways to increase my kill count without acquiring a criminal status?

I wanna work my kill count up to the point where I can get that first mission, Constrictor Hunt.

[Darkbee]

Best thing to do is to go to anarchic systems and fly to the main space station. Watch out on the way for distant laser fire and when you see head to it like flies to umm... well, you know.

There are some OXPs that you can install too that generate more bad guys although I haven't used them myself... yet.

[Cody]

Yeah… plenty of bandits to be found (well, they’ll find you, usually) in most anarchy and feudal systems… if you can take the heat.

If you want some live combat practice, right outside the station, try Furball. Be warned though… one misplaced shot, and you can end-up with a ‘fugitive’ tag, and GalCop Vipers shooting at you, as well as bandits.

[Smivs]

As EV said, Anarchies and Feudal systems, preferably with a really low tech level. Doesn't have to be Pirates, by the way, you can kill any Offender or Fugitive for a nice bounty and no effect on your legal status....you're doing GalCop a favour helping them 'clean up'.

[Switeck]

Add Deep Space Pirates OXP and Pirate Coves OXP ...and you'll be able to get a LOT of kills away from the space lanes between the witchpoint beacon, planet, and sun. Then go visit an Anarchy system.

[snork]

Maybe if your ship is not yet fully kitted (mainly military shield enhancement and indispensable : witchfuel injectors! ) and until you have acquired enough fighting skills, try dictatorship or multigovernment worlds - you won't have pirates in really big packs all the time.

Like everyone else, they are mainly in the spacelanes witchpoint-planet, witchpoint-sun, planet-sun.

[byronarn]

Maybe if your ship is not yet fully kitted (mainly military shield enhancement and indispensable : witchfuel injectors! ) and until you have acquired enough fighting skills, try dictatorship or multigovernment worlds - you won't have pirates in really big packs all the time.

Like everyone else, they are mainly in the spacelanes witchpoint-planet, witchpoint-sun, planet-sun.

I tried witching into a feudal system, and got attacked by 4 pirates! Killed one before dying myself! So yes, I need to get my fighting skills improved. I think I will stick to multi-government and dictatorships for now. lol. Witched into one and it only had 1 pirate. Took it out with some effort.

Any combat suggestions on how to improve my fighting skills?

[Smivs]

Any combat suggestions on how to improve my fighting skills?

Hi Byronarn, there's plenty of advice here on the Forum...try this recent thread for starters.

[snork]

I think I will stick to multi-government and dictatorships for now. lol. Witched into one and it only had 1 pirate.

Nowadays I mostly find this disappointing - only 1 target.

Any combat suggestions on how to improve my fighting skills?

Mainly - by practice.
more :
- Do not install OXPs that add too powerful ships or toughen existing ships up. Many ship-adding OXPs are the style that any (powerul) ship you can buy, the bad folks can buy them, too.
- practice long-distance-sniping - your military laser has a range that you can shoot the very most ships without them being able to shoot you.
- practice dodging enemy fire and approaching their backs with single opponents (most standard pirates do not have aft lasers )
- when you encounter a pack too tough for you, you can take one (or two) of them out of the game by firing a(n ecm-hardened) missile at them. They will then be busy trying to escape it, for a while at least.
- fleeing (witchfuel drive) from too tough groups of pirates they will follow you, but each one at their own velocity. So after a while you will only have to face the fast ones / the ones with witchfuel drive. Kill those, collect their remains, and then find and kill the slow ones.
- very useful : an aft laser. a) shoot while fleeing. b) shoot with it when the front laser is overheated, and vice versa.

There is more, but I leave that for the other members around.

[Commander McLane]

I know you get a bounty everytime you kill a pirate, so is there any way to predict where you can find them? Or would I just have to wait by a witchpoint until one comes?

There are pirates in every system (more in Anarchies then in Corporate States), and they wait for you. Nothing will happen if you just stay at the witchpoint. You have to move towards the planet, like all traders do. That's where pirates are lurking.

And are there any other ways to increase my kill count without acquiring a criminal status?

There is only one way to increase your kill count, and that is to kill somebody. It doesn't matter whom you kill. The bounties are just a little extra, but they have nothing to do with your kill count. Kill count is only for killing (any other ship).

If you want to avoid getting a bounty on your own head while doing so, simply stay out of the way of the police. They can't prosecute you for something they haven't witnessed. If they witness you doing something illegal, however, they will show no mercy.

[Switeck]

There's also the Thargoids you can fight by intentionally doing a bad jump.
Each Thargon they launch can be killed after the big motherships are for +1 kill each even though they're completely deactivated.

[Mauiby de Fug]

If you want to only kill pirates with bounties, you can download the Bounty Scanner oxp, which displays the bounty next to the name of the targeted ship.

One way I've found to get a very high kill count very quickly is to do a mission for the navy reserves, if you have the Galactic Navy oxp installed. If you're lucky to get given the mission with a lot of Thargoids invading a system, it can be rather profitable to use witchdrive injectors to zoom right into their midst and use a Q-bomb or an energy bomb to take them out. Of course, you have to be careful not to kill your fellow reserve pilots in doing this, or you immediately become a fugitive. When I can't be bothered engaging in dogfighting, I use this method and can easily gain over a hundred kills in a few seconds. However, I can't remember offhand what the kill count you need to be eligible for these missions is, so this could well be of no use to at all...

[Commander McLane]

If you want to only kill pirates with bounties, you can download the Bounty Scanner oxp, which displays the bounty next to the name of the targeted ship.

Not necessary, because Vanilla Oolite (without any OXPs) also displays the bounty next to the name of the targeted ship. For ships with a bounty it displays either "Offender" or "Fugitive". For ships without a bounty it displays "Clean".

If you want to distinguish between ships with or without bounty, that's all you need. No need to know the exact amount of the bounty.

[Mauiby de Fug]

If you want to only kill pirates with bounties, you can download the Bounty Scanner oxp, which displays the bounty next to the name of the targeted ship.

Not necessary, because Vanilla Oolite (without any OXPs) also displays the bounty next to the name of the targeted ship. For ships with a bounty it displays either "Offender" or "Fugitive". For ships without a bounty it displays "Clean".

That's not displaying the bounty; that's telling you the legal status of the targeted ship.

If you want to distinguish between ships with or without bounty, that's all you need. No need to know the exact amount of the bounty.

True enough. Fair point!

[Commander McLane]

If you want to only kill pirates with bounties, you can download the Bounty Scanner oxp, which displays the bounty next to the name of the targeted ship.

Not necessary, because Vanilla Oolite (without any OXPs) also displays the bounty next to the name of the targeted ship. For ships with a bounty it displays either "Offender" or "Fugitive". For ships without a bounty it displays "Clean".

That's not displaying the bounty; that's telling you the legal status of the targeted ship.

"Bounty" and "legal status" are the same thing. There is no difference between them. It's merely two words for saying exactly the same.

There are, however, two different ways of displaying bounty or legal status. One is as a positive integer number (including 0), and the other is as a string. In the old plist-based scripting system (sometimes referred to as "legacy scripting") the first one was called legalStatus_number (which is the same as JS's ship.bounty) and the second one was called commander_legal_status. So even the word "bounty" wasn't used in the old system, except in shipdata.plist.