Hisec Suspect Hunting: Difference between revisions

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=== Lower Security Hisec Chokepoints ===

If you fly your ship to a trade hub and pick another trade hub and set a route with autopilot set to 'Prefer Safer' then you will notice that somewhere en route there will be one or more low security systems with a Sec Status of 0.5. These systems have the lowest CONCORD response time and are likely spots for Suicide Gankers to ply their trade.

For a particularly good example, set Hek as your start destination and Jita as your end destination. You will see a whole set of 0.5 systems - Colelie, Deltolle, Aufay & Balle and then a set of higher security systems with Uedama as another 0.5 system. If you head over to these systems and hang around for a while you're going to see people in local going criminal and suspect. Better still if you sit on the gates and apply some of the techniques in this article you can get on their Killmails as well!

When you enter these systems, the first thing to do is to check the gate you're on. Do you see anything suspicious? We're looking for the common ganking ships such as Catalysts, Thrashers, Vexors etc. just sitting on the gate. Often they're piloted by people with low security status as well. One dead give-away is a Vexor sitting on the gate with Sentry drones already out (usually Garde I or II), this is almost always a suicide ganker waiting for some action. Another tell tale sign is an industrial sitting at a tactical off the gate, this is generally a hauler alt for the gankers who is ready to warp in and grab the loot.

If everything looks clear on the gate, check local and see if anybody is already criminally or suspect flagged. If you see one or two then the chances are that a gank has either happened in the last 15 minutes or is in progress right now. If you see nothing then flip through local and see if you see anybody you recognise. Whenever I come across suicide gankers, criminal types etc., I add a contact with Neutral Standing so they show up straight away in local.

Next thing you can do is hit D-Scan on 360 degrees at max range and see if you see anything suspicious. It takes practice to spot the signs but if you see a Catalyst, Vexor or Thrasher sitting off-grid from the gate then you could be in luck. Better still if you see 4 or more sitting off-grid then things are looking very promising. Often these ships also have the default ship name so will be named '<PLAYER NAME>'s Catalyst' or such like. If they are then you can check the player out in local by double clicking them. If they have a reasonable bounty on them and a low sec status they're probably a possible target for you.

Some of the gankers have sufficiently low sec status that they are perma flashy, this means they will only exit the station on the way to a target. They will have an alt who acts as eyes for them and identifies targets, if you can learn who the alts are then you stand a better chance of spotting the incoming gank. After you have seen a few ganks, its surprisingly easy to work out who is working for who.

Another thing to look out for is a Catalyst or Thrasher in an Asteroid Belt with a miner. this might just be someone ratting or it might be somebody about to gank someone. You can note the name, check them out and then either warp in to have a look or keep an eye on local. If they go criminal or suspect, hit warp and hopefully you will arrive in time to get on the KM.

When in these systems you should bear in mind that as the locals get to know you then you start to become a viable target for them too, so be careful. What you do depends on the ship you use, if you have a decent tank you're safe but if you are in something small and agile like an interceptor you need to take care. If you intend to hang around in some systems a lot then make some tacticals around the gates so you can sit off-gate, aligned to the gate itself ready to warp in if something happens. In an interceptor that is pre-aligned it only takes a second or two to warp in from 300km which is plenty of time to lock them up and start shooting.

=== En Route to trade hubs ===

=== ~~In any general system~~ ===

=== Anywhere in Hi sec ===

== Ship Fits and fitting principles ==

@@ Line 69: / Line 69: @@
 === Lower Security Hisec Chokepoints ===
+If you fly your ship to a trade hub and pick another trade hub and set a route with autopilot set to 'Prefer Safer' then you will notice that somewhere en route there will be one or more low security systems with a Sec Status of 0.5. These systems have the lowest CONCORD response time and are likely spots for Suicide Gankers to ply their trade.
+For a particularly good example, set Hek as your start destination and Jita as your end destination. You will see a whole set of 0.5 systems - Colelie, Deltolle, Aufay & Balle and then a set of higher security systems with Uedama as another 0.5 system. If you head over to these systems and hang around for a while you're going to see people in local going criminal and suspect. Better still if you sit on the gates and apply some of the techniques in this article you can get on their Killmails as well!
+When you enter these systems, the first thing to do is to check the gate you're on. Do you see anything suspicious? We're looking for the common ganking ships such as Catalysts, Thrashers, Vexors etc. just sitting on the gate. Often they're piloted by people with low security status as well. One dead give-away is a Vexor sitting on the gate with Sentry drones already out (usually Garde I or II), this is almost always a suicide ganker waiting for some action. Another tell tale sign is an industrial sitting at a tactical off the gate, this is generally a hauler alt for the gankers who is ready to warp in and grab the loot.
+If everything looks clear on the gate, check local and see if anybody is already criminally or suspect flagged. If you see one or two then the chances are that a gank has either happened in the last 15 minutes or is in progress right now. If you see nothing then flip through local and see if you see anybody you recognise. Whenever I come across suicide gankers, criminal types etc., I add a contact with Neutral Standing so they show up straight away in local.
+Next thing you can do is hit D-Scan on 360 degrees at max range and see if you see anything suspicious. It takes practice to spot the signs but if you see a Catalyst, Vexor or Thrasher sitting off-grid from the gate then you could be in luck. Better still if you see 4 or more sitting off-grid then things are looking very promising. Often these ships also have the default ship name so will be named '<PLAYER NAME>'s Catalyst' or such like. If they are then you can check the player out in local by double clicking them. If they have a reasonable bounty on them and a low sec status they're probably a possible target for you.
+Some of the gankers have sufficiently low sec status that they are perma flashy, this means they will only exit the station on the way to a target. They will have an alt who acts as eyes for them and identifies targets, if you can learn who the alts are then you stand a better chance of spotting the incoming gank. After you have seen a few ganks, its surprisingly easy to work out who is working for who.
+Another thing to look out for is a Catalyst or Thrasher in an Asteroid Belt with a miner. this might just be someone ratting or it might be somebody about to gank someone. You can note the name, check them out and then either warp in to have a look or keep an eye on local. If they go criminal or suspect, hit warp and hopefully you will arrive in time to get on the KM.
+When in these systems you should bear in mind that as the locals get to know you then you start to become a viable target for them too, so be careful. What you do depends on the ship you use, if you have a decent tank you're safe but if you are in something small and agile like an interceptor you need to take care. If you intend to hang around in some systems a lot then make some tacticals around the gates so you can sit off-gate, aligned to the gate itself ready to warp in if something happens. In an interceptor that is pre-aligned it only takes a second or two to warp in from 300km which is plenty of time to lock them up and start shooting.
 === En Route to trade hubs ===
-=== In any general system ===
+=== Anywhere in Hi sec ===
 == Ship Fits and fitting principles ==