Pirate

The subject of this article is from the Prisms update.
The information from this article is up-to-date as of 31 August, 2021.

Pirates scanning the player

Pirates are hostile NPC characters.

Summary

Pirates is a type of NPC Starship that is always hostile to the player when it appears. It is mainly encountered when traveling in space. Conflict situations are more likely to appear in Star system with high Conflict Level or those that are taken control by pirates. It is based at the Outlaw Station in the Outlaw system. Note that some of the facilities here are close to those normally found on Space stations in star systems, but some of the others are not.

They also has the technical ability to create Pirate Dreadnought which attacks Freighter (which excludes played-owned freighters, which was never involved in combat), and in Space Rescue, they can be seen attacking NPC freighters.. On rare occasions, you may be attacked while on a planet. This is called the Planetary Pirate Raid. You can retreat to the building or immediately board a Starship to intercept it.

The wake is red for any starship, but the appearance of the starship is random. However, please note that it is different from the appearance variation of the starship that appears in the star system you are currently in, so even if you have a good appearance, you will not be able to obtain it.

Detection and Negotiation

Pirate Scanner

Scan from Space Pirates

When the player is in the space of a star system, a meter may light up in the cockpit of the starship and begin to decrease. This is a countdown to an attack from space pirates. When the meter reaches its limit, a warning message will appear saying "Hostile Subspace Scan Detected", and then 1 to 3 enemies will warp out and a battle will begin.

If you escape to a space station, freighter, or Space Anomaly before the meter reaches its limit, it will be displayed that the scan has failed, and you can avoid the battle. However, you cannot avoid the battle by simply entering the planet's atmosphere. You can avoid it by going as far as landing.

You can also avoid the battle by equipping your Starship with a Cargo Scan Deflector in advance and executing it from the Quick Menu when you are scanned. Through the game description say that the deflector only be able to jam authority scans, it can also jam pirate scans. However, it is only possible to avoid the battle with a certain probability, so you should think of it as lucky if you can avoid it.

When you come into contact with a pirate ship, there is a hit detection. Be careful, as not only will you receive a small amount of damage by contacting it, but your aim will also become blurred.

After the message is displayed, a warning and countdown will be displayed in the bottom right of the screen (6 seconds). If you select "Starship Communication" from the Quick Menu within this time, you will be able to talk to the pirates. There are four options.

If you want a quick solution, refuse the negotiation. The predicted warp-out point will be displayed in advance, so switch to weapons such as Positron Ejector that are advantageous for a preemptive attack, and attack when they appear. For basic information about pirate battle, click here. For detailed information about pirate battle, click here.

You can also bribe them. It only requires the payment of a small amount of units, but the pirates have a chance of accepting or rejecting it. If they refuse, you will be attacked. You can also comply, however you will have to pay a bigger amount of units, but they will always retreat.

If you want authority assistance, report to the authority. This can only be selected if you have a Defence Chit in your item case, consume one of them by pressing "Report Authorities" next to the dialogue box. A Sentinel Interceptor will aid in the battle. It is only useful as a decoy, so you will end up having to shoot it yourself to annihilate the enemies.

The Sentinel Interceptor you summoned may also be shot down by pirates. If you shoot it down, the opinion of the ruling lifeform of that star system will increase.

Battle

Basically, it performs the same actions and attacks as a Sentinel Interceptor. However, they tend to have higher health and attack power than Sentinel Interceptors, making them a formidable opponent in some cases.

Shooting them down will give you contraband items such as suspicious packages for each lifeform. If you don't use the "suspicious package" right away, it's better to send it to a Freighter. If you are scanned by the authorities, you will be treated as possessing contraband (if you don't need it, you can give it to them and they will not attack you).

Starting with v4.6 Orbital, you can also get a Pirate Transponder.

Danger

Pirates come in many facets, but most importantly they come in ranks. Normal pirates rank from zero stars to three with three-star pirates easily melting through any ship's shield that is below mid-tier for shields to sustain fire or weapons to return it in time. It doesn't matter if they fly a Hauler or an Explorer, on A-Rank or S-Rank all are equipped with advanced weapons and deadly to an unseasoned player. If you don't have the weapons and shields to beat them after refusing their bribe but the drive to ditch, run! Also, if you own a freighter, you can summon it and its defence turrets will help you deal with the pirates.

Pirate assaults can be conducted by groups of one zero-star ship up to an entire squadron of six or more with several three-star ships at once. It is important to not underestimate your enemy before you decide to engage them, as even well-equipped ships with massive shields will need several loads of Sodium Nitrate to sustain an elite pirate squadron of A-Rank three-star medium or heavy fighters. Yet, those are rare.

The strength of a pirate is completely unrelated to the conflict level and random. Level 0 squads spawning in Conflict 3 and level 3 squads spawning in Conflict 1 systems in regular intervals have been observed.

Pirates will spawn when:

• A freighter distressed signal is detected. The pirate will spawn at the distress signal, and will attack the freighter and their frigate. They are usually 8 pirates in the field.
• Occasionally in space. More common in systems with high or Pirate-Controlled conflict level.
• They sometimes attack you in buildings or on planets.
• Destroying a Pirate-Controlled Monitoring Station.
• Destroying a Non-Boardable Derelic Freighter's cargo pod (sometimes they show up, sometimes they don't).

Potential

The list is based on empirical data!

Conflict Level 1:

• Overall (1-2 pirates, max strength 4)

• Low (1-2 pirates, combined strength up to 4 stars)
• Mild (1-2 pirates, combined strength up to 0 stars)
• Unthreatening (1-2 pirates, combined strength up to 4 stars)
• Untroubled (1 pirate, combined strength up to 3 stars)

Conflict Level 2:

• Overall (1-3 pirates, max strength 7)

• Boisterous (1-3 pirates, combined strength up to 0 stars)
• Intermittent (1-3 pirates, combined strength up to 7 stars)
• Medium (1-2 pirates, combined strength up to 1 stars)
• Unruly (1-2 pirates, combined strength up to 2 stars)
• Unstable (1-3 pirates, combined strength up to 1 stars)

Conflict Level 3:

• Overall (1-5 pirates, max strength 9)

• Aggressive (1-5 pirates, combined strength up to 8 stars)
• Alarming (1-5 pirates, combined strength up to 0 stars)
• At War (1-5 pirates, combined strength up to 0 stars)
• Destructive (1-5 pirates, combined strength up to 9 stars)
• High (1-5 pirates, combined strength up to 8 stars)
• Critical (1-5 pirates)
• Dangerous (1-5 pirates)
• Formidable (1-5 pirates)
• Lawless (1-5 pirates)
• Perilous (1-5 pirates)

Avoiding Pirates

If the player wants to avoid a pirate attack after being detected, they can use their communicator to speak to the pirate ships before they attack. The player can choose to give their cargo or units to the pirates, attempt to bargain, or call for help if they have a defence chit.

If the pirate has already engaged combat, the player can activate their pulse drive to fly to a safe distance in order to enter hyperspeed and escape.

If a pirate scan is not complete and you're close to a planet atmosphere or space station, you can plan a timed evasive maneuver and cause the pirate scan to fail. This is completed by entering a planet atmosphere or space station just as the scan countdown is completed. If timed correctly you will receive an indication that the pirate scan failed.

To keep pirates uninterested in you, traveling with non-valuable items is a safer way to travel. After a scan, pirates may choose to ignore you.

It is also recommended that you install an Emergency Warp Unit on your starship beforehand. That way if you ever run into these kinds of situations, you can escape. Prior to Synthesis, it was always possible to warp during a space battle via normal means.

Rewards

Destroying pirate ships may reward the player with units or resources such as Lemmium, Herox and Magnetised Ferrite, as well as increased standing with the current system's faction. Also, the shields of the player's starship are completely recharged once combat ends.

Rewards for defending freighters from pirate attacks must be claimed by speaking to the freighter's captain.

Bounty Hunting

Players can chase pirates by taking bounty hunting missions in the Mission Board.

Playing as a Pirate

Players can choose to engage in piracy themselves by attacking a freighter or other ships in a space fleet. Doing this will alert Sentinel Drone Starships, who will engage in combat with the player. Selected ships display their cargo in the same way as resources do. Upon destruction, the ship will release any cargo it holds and the player who destroyed the ship will collect it.