Difference between revisions of "Ninja Salvaging and Stealing"

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Ninja salvaging refers, precisely, to entering a mission-runner's mission and salvaging their wrecks for your own profit. It is also used more generally to refer to salvaging a mission-runner's wrecks and looting from them, either for profit or to provoke them into allowing you to blow them up (for fun and profit).
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{{important note box|Regardless if salvaging other people's wrecks are allowed or not by game mechanics, EVE University members are not allowed to salvage or loot other people's wrecks without their permission. See the [[EVE University Rules#Looting_and_Salvaging|rules for looting and salvaging]] for more information.}}
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The term ''"ninja salvaging"'' is used to describe the act of following unsuspecting people around, salvaging (and sometimes looting) their wrecks without knowledge or consent for your own profit. This is commonly done against mission runners in high security space. While game mechanics allow anybody to salvage a wreck without being flagged as a suspect, doing so is still considered theft by a significant portion of the EVE community.
  
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Defending yourself against ninja salvaging and effectively ninja salvaging both require a solid knowledge of the game mechanics which control flagging and aggression timers.
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Stealing, or ''"ninja looting"'', is taking items from a wreck without permission. This act requires you to have {{co|yellow|yellow safeties}} (partial) or {{co|crimson|red safeties}} (turned off) and will flag you as a [[suspect]]. With {{co|lime|green safeties}} (full) you will simply not be able to take loot from someone else's can or wreck. While some people do steal things for the sole purpose of selling their spoils, this is more often done mainly for the purpose of becoming a suspect in an attempt to lure you into shooting them so they can shoot back without CONCORD interfering.
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== Related game mechanics ==
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This article assumes you know the basics of the following game mechanics.
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* Basic knowledge of [[timers]] and what they do (especially the [[suspect]] and [[Timers#Limited Engagement Timer|limited engagement timer]]).
 +
* The basics of [[Salvaging#Mechanics|salvaging and looting]].
  
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Note that '''University pilots are [[Ivy_League_Policies#Looting_and_Salvaging|not allowed]] to salvage or loot others' wrecks without their permission'''. You can ninja salvage using an alt, but it must be impossible to trace that alt to your main character or to the University.
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== How ninja salvaging/looting works ==
 +
A rough outline of the process of ninja salvaging/looting:
 +
# The capsuleer looks for suitable targets running level 4 missions and gets a warp-in on one using combat scanner probes, often pre-scouted with the [[Directional Scanner Guide|directional scanner]] to limit the time they have probes out in space (to minimize the risk of the mission runner spotting the probes).
 +
# The capsuleer warps into the mission pocket in a fast and expendable ship (the [[Vigil]], for example).
 +
# If the capsuleer just wants to profit from salvage with no risk, he will simply salvage the wrecks while keeping an eye on you.
 +
# Otherwise the capsuleer will loot the wrecks (and thus gain the [[suspect|suspect timer]]) to flag themself as a valid target to the mission-runner, often accompanied by taunts in local or through a private conversation in order to try to goad the mission-runner into engaging them. Stealing critical mission loot to this end, or to simply extort the mission-runner is also an option.
 +
# If the mission-runner engages he or she will flag themself (through the [[Timers#Limited Engagement Timer|limited engagement timer]]) allowing the capsuleer to hit them right back, which they often do right away or after having swapped to a more suitable combat ship. This is usually easy for the capsuleer, since they can take note of the rat type in the mission, the ship you're flying etc and make sure that they have all the right counters to easily defeat you.
 +
# The capsuleer then scoops any valuable loot and possibly screencaps any mission-runner tears in local for posterity, possibly making a note of their name if they were exceptionally profitable, so they can revisit them in the future.
  
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Also note that ninja salvaging is ''not'' an exploit. Pilots can decide for themselves whether or not it's wrong, and whether or not right or wrong apply to actions in a computer game, but CCP do not regard it as cheating.
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=== Combat anomalies ===
 +
There is a separate variant for combat anomalies:
 +
# The capsuleer will access a combat anomaly before someone warps in to attempt to clear it.
 +
# The capsuleer bookmarks the site then warps away nearby, or cloaks themselves in the site. Using the bookmark method, they can keep track of the site's progress using the directional scanner.
 +
# The target warps into the site and starts to clear it.
 +
# Once most threats are neutralized, the capsuleer warps in or uncloaks and starts to rush to the wrecks to salvage and/or loot. In the event of looting, this will get the capsuleer the "suspect" status, enabling the target to shoot them. If their target chooses to do so, they forsake Concord's protection and this allows the capsuleer to freely retaliate.
  
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==Wreck and Aggression Mechanics==
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Note: While in most instances, the salvage and loot aren't really that valuable in high-security systems, the capsuleer can sometimes nab expensive faction modules or warp disruption field modules, provided the target doesn't get to them first.
  
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Running combat missions creates wrecks. These wrecks belong to the mission-runner's corporation or, if the mission-runner is in an NPC corporation, only to the mission-runner individually.
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=== Ninja swarms ===
 +
Some corporations or groups of players have taken ninja salvage and stealing to the next level. They form fleets of ships that move into a system, scan for missioners and then jump into the mission deadspace pocket for each missioner and ninja salvage or loot. The effect is similar to locust moving through the plains, in that it causes mass-grief for all missioners in the system. These fleets usually move on or get bored, so this activity is very rare.
  
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Both the loot in wrecks and the salvage that can be extracted from them using a Salvager module can be quite valuable. Mission-runners tend to regard both the loot and the salvage as theirs, and to factor in loot and salvage income into their profit calculations.
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== How to avoid being griefed ==
 +
There are several ways to both avoid and limit the threat or efficiency of ninja salvagers/looters. They are all based on either denying them wrecks or making it more trouble than it's worth to grief you. Here are, in no particular order, some ways to achieve this:
  
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===Salvage===
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==== Spotting them ====
 +
Most missions are ''"gated"'' behind acceleration gates, meaning the ninja salvager/looter must come through the gate before actually being on grid with you. By setting your directional scanner to at least 100 - 200 000 km range and continuously hitting scan, you can get advanced warning before anyone actually comes ongrid with you. This will give you enough time to either warp out, kill the wrecks or take any other appropriate action.
  
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As far as CONCORD is concerned, salvage is 'finders-keepers': if you own a wreck, and I salvage from it, I do not flag myself to you as a valid target or start an aggression timer. You will still be destroyed by CONCORD if you attack me in highsec space.
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The range of your directional scanner can be increased for more advanced warning (you can often increase it to 1 AU without problems), but the further out you scan, the more likely you'll start getting hits of things that aren't necessarily coming towards your pocket. You can easily adjust the range on the fly to suit your needs.
  
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This means that -- even though mission-runners feel a sense of ownership attaches to the salvage generated from their wrecks -- it's perfectly possible for another player to take all of that salvage with impunity.
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==== Simply ignore them ====
 +
This is the most frustrating option, but it's also the safest. If you refuse to respond to a ninja salvager or looter, they can't attack you without being destroyed by CONCORD. The worst that will happen is that you will lose the loot and salvage for that mission, but you'll still get the mission reward, the Loyalty Points and bounties.
  
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===Loot===
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Since many ninja salvagers and looters are motivated by the potential of easy, consequence-free PvP in highsec, valuable loot from your ship and amusing tears from you in local, refusing to respond will probably bore them into finding someone else to pick on. If you're unlucky you'll have met a capsuleer who's doing it solely for profit, and in that case not responding may encourage them to repeatedly salvage your missions. If that is the case, see [[#shoot your wrecks]] below.
  
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If someone who does not own a wreck takes loot from it, they flag themselves as a valid target for the wreck's owner (but ''not'' for all and sundry) for fifteen minutes. They will go flashy on the owner's overview, if it's set up competently. Flagging allows the destruction of the flashy's ship but not their pod.
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==== Bring a friend ====
 +
Besides providing excellent social content, bringing along a fellow corporation member or out of corp friend to help salvage and loot will not only dissuade the ninja salvagers and looters, but it (strength in numbers) might also make them think twice before trying to play suspect games.
  
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If the wrecks' owner then attacks the flashy looter, he will flag himself back to them for fifteen minutes too. This means that they can escape, switch or replace their ship, find the owner again and re-engage if they want to.
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==== Shoot your wrecks ====
 +
Blowing up your own wrecks can sometimes be a valid strategy to stop a ninja salvager, since it effectively denies them any spoils. With no wrecks to salvage, they might decide to simply leave you alone (if their goal is to profit from ninja salvaging).
  
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If the mission-runner who owns the wrecks has responded violently, flagging himself to the looter and starting a fifteen-minute timer, it is possible for the looter to reset the timer back to fifteen minutes by shooting one of the mission-runner's wrecks.
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While this, especially combined with ignoring them, can be a strong statement that you're not worth bothering, it is possible that the ninja salvager might take this as an opportunity to turn ninja looter, or simply decide to put more effort into griefing you.
  
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This means that the timer can be effectively extended much longer than fifteen minutes. Extended timers '''are invisible''' to the mission-runner -- mission-runners who don't know about this aggro-extending mechanic frequently attack a ninja looter, dock up, wait out their ''visible'' aggression timer, and then undock only to be blown up because the ninja had invisibly extended the timer.
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==== Leave the site ====
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Warp out of the site and leave them to it. By warping out, any remaining NPC rats will switch to attacking the ninja salvager. Normally this isn't much use as any half-awake player will notice that you've gone and realise what's going to happen, but just like shooting wrecks, it will require more effort for the ninja salvager and they might leave you alone in favour of easier prey.
  
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==How Ninja Salvaging Works==
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In some missions with well-defined orders of waves that are triggered when you destroy particular ships in previous waves (like '''The Blockade''' and '''Gone Berserk'''), you have a slightly better chance to get them killed because you can stimulate the arrival of more rats. Especially if you can spawn a wave of warp scrambling frigates on them.
  
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Here's a rough outline of the process of ninja salvaging:
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In order to avoid getting caught by the new wave, you'll need to plan accordingly:
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#The ninja looks for suitable targets running L4 missions and gets a warp-in on one using combat scanner probes, possibly augmented with the [[Directional Scanner Guide|directional scanner]]. This is usually in a popular mission-running hub system.
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# Identify a trigger ship.
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#[[Battleship#Marauders|Marauders]], [[Strategic Cruiser|T3 cruisers]] and faction battleships are popular targets since they're often fitted with valuable faction modules.
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# Check that no rats are tackling you.
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#The ninja warps in in a fast and expendable ship (the [http://wiki.eveonline.com/en/wiki/Vigil Vigil], for example).
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# Align to a celestial so that you're ready to warp near-instantly.
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#The ninja salvages. If the ninja just wants to profit from salvage with no risk, he will simply salvage wrecks and not flag himself.
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# Blow up the trigger ship.
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#The ninja loots from a wreck to flag himself as a valid target to the mission-runner. He might try to goad the mission-runner into engaging by taunting him in local or in a conversation.
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# Immediately warp out.
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#If the mission-runner engages he will flag himself back to the ninja who will escape (with or without his ship) and switch to a powerful combat ship.
 
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#The ninja returns and destroys the mission-runner. This is usually easy, since PvE-fitted ships are not much use in PvP, and the ninja can take note of the rat type in the mission, and make sure that he is dealing damage that the mission-runner is ''not'' tanked for. A strong PvE tank is '''not''' usually a strong PvP tank!
 
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#The ninja scoops any valuable faction loot and possibly screencaps any mission-runner tears in local for posterity.
 
  
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If the mission-runner engages and destroys the ninja, or forces them to run, and then docks up to wait out their visible aggression timer, the ninja can hang around in the mission pocket, shooting one of the mission-runner's wrecks every fourteen minutes to extend an invisible aggression timer. Then the ninja can engage and destroy the mission-runner when they return.
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Provided you are pre-aligned you should warp out instantly, meaning the next wave won't have a chance to lock you, so if it has warp scramblers they won't be able to pin you down but go for any remaining ships in the pocket, which would be the ninja salvager. This obviously works best against inexperienced ninjas without a firm grasp of game mechanics.
  
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For this reason, if you do decide to shoot a ninja it may be necessary to set all the wrecks in your mission pocket to 'abandoned' before docking up to wait out your aggression timer.
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Some missions have a complex combination of warp-in, trigger and proximity aggro (some rooms in '''Worlds Collide''', for example) and it's possible for them to be attacked by rats in these. These missions are harder to control than ones which consist of sequentially triggered waves.
  
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==How to Defend Yourself==
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==== Move to a different area ====
 +
Perhaps not the best or most efficient way if you're already in an isolated area, far from normal mission and trade hubs. But if you're missioning close to trade hubs, close to common mission hubs where a lot of other people run missions, moving can easily lessen the risk of being visited by ninja salvagers/looters.
  
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If you find a ninja in your mission, you have a number of options.
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The reason for this is that a lot of them gravitate towards heavily populated areas, as more people missioning means more people to grief and more profit to be made.
  
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===Ignore Them===
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==== Fly less obvious missioning ships ====
 +
Certain ships will draw more attention than others. Flying [[Battleship#Marauders|Marauders]], [[Strategic Cruisers]] or any of the pirate faction battleships will paint more of a target on you than flying something else. Since these ships are also the most effective ones, this will obviously limit or lessen the effectiveness of your missioning fit, so perhaps not always a good choice, but a choice nonetheless.
  
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This is the most frustrating option, but it's also the safest. If you refuse to respond to a ninja, they can't attack you. The worst that will happen is that you will lose the loot and salvage for that mission -- you will still get the mission reward, Loyalty Points and some of the bounties.
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===== Use less expensive faction/deadspace modules =====
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It's not uncommon for griefers to ship scan mission runners, especially if they are more interested in trying to goad you into taking a fight. If you've fit expensive faction or deadspace modules, you can easily become a highly valuable target both for suspect-baiting ... or worse, if you're putting way too much bling on your ships, [[suicide ganking|suicide gankers]].
  
−
Since many ninjas are motivated by the potential of easy, consequence-free PvP in highsec, valuable loot from your ship and amusing tears from you in local, refusing to respond will probably bore them into finding someone else to pick on. If you're unlucky you'll have met a ninja who's doing it solely for profit, and in that case not responding may encourage them to repeatedly salvage your missions.
+
To lessen this, simply consider just how much ISK you're throwing at your ship in order to make it run faster. Find a good balance between efficiency and overblinging, so as not to be too much of a loot piñata, as that will inevitably make you far more likely to be griefed.
  
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===Sic Rats on Them===
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==== Fight back ====
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EVE University doesn't have any official procedures for responding to ninja looters, but in general you can assume the ninja looter is both prepared and willing to fight you back. In most cases, you will be at a severe disadvantage, no matter how things may seem at first glance.
  
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It's possible to get rats to attack the ninja by warping out. Normally this isn't much use as any half-awake player will notice what you're doing. But in some missions with well-defined orders of waves which are triggered when you destroy particular ships in previous waves -- such as The Blockade and Gone Berserk -- you have a slightly better chance because you can stimulate the arrival of more rats. To do this, you should
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That said, sometimes you will face an inexperienced ninja looter, or you're simply feeling adventurous that day wanting to see if you can outplay them.
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#Identify a trigger ship.
 
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#Check that no rats are tackling you.
 
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#Align to a celestial so that you're ready to warp near-instantly.
 
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#Blow up the trigger ship.
 
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#Warp out. The quicker you do this the lower the chance that the next wave will notice you and aggro you instead of the ninja; the more slowly you do it the less warning you give to the ninja that something's about to happen.
 
  
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This seems to work best on inexperienced ninjas (but remember that some ninjas who are new characters are experienced players' alts) who don't have a firm grasp of aggro mechanics or the speed-tanking abilities of their small ships.
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If you do decide to engage them, remember this:
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* Be prepared to lose whatever ship(s) you put at risk and be prepared for unpleasant surprises.
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* Seriously consider changing to a properly PvP-fit ship before engaging, as they are most likely more than prepared to deal with your mission-running ship, plus you might want to jump into a cheaper ship if you're flying expensive fits or hulls.
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* Just because the character is new doesn't mean it's a new player behind the controls. Especially after the introduction of skill injectors, a brand new character can easily surprise you with both player and ingame skills far beyond what you might expect.
 +
* They can easily have friends on standby, ready to back them up in case you engage.
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** Out of corp friends or alts in remote repairing ships (they'll go suspect too, but that won't stop them from repping).
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** Out of corp Orca pilots nearby for quick reshipping or refitting.
  
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Some missions have a complex combination of warp-in, trigger and proximity aggro (some rooms in Worlds Collide, for example) and it's possible for ninjas to be attacked by rats in these. These missions are harder to control than ones which consist of sequentially triggered waves.
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So even if you decide to engage them on your own, it is recommended that you at the very least warp out and get a PvP ship. This means a ship, which you can afford to lose, with a purposeful PvP-fit.
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At the end of the day this tactic is not that likely to succeed, but it's still quite safe and considerably more satisfying than doing nothing. If the rats do kill your ninja, remember that they own their own wreck and looting it will flag you to them (just as they would want!).
 
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===Fight Back===
 
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Unlike the [[Can Flipping#What to do when flipped|policy]] for dealing with can flippers, the University does not currently have an official procedure for responding to ninja salvagers. However, we advise that you only engage them if you have fleet backup, much as outlined in the canflipping policy.
 
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Be prepared to lose whatever ship(s) you put at risk, and be prepared for unpleasant surprises. Ninjas' resources and experience vary, but besides their own combat ships they sometimes have
 
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*Friends backing them up in combat ships
 
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*Friends remote-repairing them
 
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*Out-of-corp scouts, potentially in covops ships
 
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*Out-of-corp Orca characters letting them rapidly switch ships in space
 
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Whatever you do, '''don't''' engage using your PvE ship. This is precisely what the ninja wants. Your PvE ship is almost certainly expensive, expensively-fitted and badly fitted for PvP.
 
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Even if you decide to engage on your own, at the very least warp out and get a PvP ship. This means a ship which you can afford to lose, with a thought-out PvP fit already in it. It does ''not'' mean something you grabbed from your hangar or from the market because it's large or expensive, and then fitted on the fly using modules you had lying around.
 
  
 
[[Category:PvP]]
 
[[Category:PvP]]
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[[Category:PvE]]
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[[Category:Missions]]
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[[Category:Missioning]]
 

Latest revision as of 03:42, 11 October 2023

Regardless if salvaging other people's wrecks are allowed or not by game mechanics, EVE University members are not allowed to salvage or loot other people's wrecks without their permission. See the rules for looting and salvaging for more information.

The term "ninja salvaging" is used to describe the act of following unsuspecting people around, salvaging (and sometimes looting) their wrecks without knowledge or consent for your own profit. This is commonly done against mission runners in high security space. While game mechanics allow anybody to salvage a wreck without being flagged as a suspect, doing so is still considered theft by a significant portion of the EVE community.

Stealing, or "ninja looting", is taking items from a wreck without permission. This act requires you to have yellow safeties (partial) or red safeties (turned off) and will flag you as a suspect. With green safeties (full) you will simply not be able to take loot from someone else's can or wreck. While some people do steal things for the sole purpose of selling their spoils, this is more often done mainly for the purpose of becoming a suspect in an attempt to lure you into shooting them so they can shoot back without CONCORD interfering.

Related game mechanics

This article assumes you know the basics of the following game mechanics.

How ninja salvaging/looting works

A rough outline of the process of ninja salvaging/looting:

  1. The capsuleer looks for suitable targets running level 4 missions and gets a warp-in on one using combat scanner probes, often pre-scouted with the directional scanner to limit the time they have probes out in space (to minimize the risk of the mission runner spotting the probes).
  2. The capsuleer warps into the mission pocket in a fast and expendable ship (the Vigil, for example).
  3. If the capsuleer just wants to profit from salvage with no risk, he will simply salvage the wrecks while keeping an eye on you.
  4. Otherwise the capsuleer will loot the wrecks (and thus gain the suspect timer) to flag themself as a valid target to the mission-runner, often accompanied by taunts in local or through a private conversation in order to try to goad the mission-runner into engaging them. Stealing critical mission loot to this end, or to simply extort the mission-runner is also an option.
  5. If the mission-runner engages he or she will flag themself (through the limited engagement timer) allowing the capsuleer to hit them right back, which they often do right away or after having swapped to a more suitable combat ship. This is usually easy for the capsuleer, since they can take note of the rat type in the mission, the ship you're flying etc and make sure that they have all the right counters to easily defeat you.
  6. The capsuleer then scoops any valuable loot and possibly screencaps any mission-runner tears in local for posterity, possibly making a note of their name if they were exceptionally profitable, so they can revisit them in the future.

Combat anomalies

There is a separate variant for combat anomalies:

  1. The capsuleer will access a combat anomaly before someone warps in to attempt to clear it.
  2. The capsuleer bookmarks the site then warps away nearby, or cloaks themselves in the site. Using the bookmark method, they can keep track of the site's progress using the directional scanner.
  3. The target warps into the site and starts to clear it.
  4. Once most threats are neutralized, the capsuleer warps in or uncloaks and starts to rush to the wrecks to salvage and/or loot. In the event of looting, this will get the capsuleer the "suspect" status, enabling the target to shoot them. If their target chooses to do so, they forsake Concord's protection and this allows the capsuleer to freely retaliate.

Note: While in most instances, the salvage and loot aren't really that valuable in high-security systems, the capsuleer can sometimes nab expensive faction modules or warp disruption field modules, provided the target doesn't get to them first.

Ninja swarms

Some corporations or groups of players have taken ninja salvage and stealing to the next level. They form fleets of ships that move into a system, scan for missioners and then jump into the mission deadspace pocket for each missioner and ninja salvage or loot. The effect is similar to locust moving through the plains, in that it causes mass-grief for all missioners in the system. These fleets usually move on or get bored, so this activity is very rare.

How to avoid being griefed

There are several ways to both avoid and limit the threat or efficiency of ninja salvagers/looters. They are all based on either denying them wrecks or making it more trouble than it's worth to grief you. Here are, in no particular order, some ways to achieve this:

Spotting them

Most missions are "gated" behind acceleration gates, meaning the ninja salvager/looter must come through the gate before actually being on grid with you. By setting your directional scanner to at least 100 - 200 000 km range and continuously hitting scan, you can get advanced warning before anyone actually comes ongrid with you. This will give you enough time to either warp out, kill the wrecks or take any other appropriate action.

The range of your directional scanner can be increased for more advanced warning (you can often increase it to 1 AU without problems), but the further out you scan, the more likely you'll start getting hits of things that aren't necessarily coming towards your pocket. You can easily adjust the range on the fly to suit your needs.

Simply ignore them

This is the most frustrating option, but it's also the safest. If you refuse to respond to a ninja salvager or looter, they can't attack you without being destroyed by CONCORD. The worst that will happen is that you will lose the loot and salvage for that mission, but you'll still get the mission reward, the Loyalty Points and bounties.

Since many ninja salvagers and looters are motivated by the potential of easy, consequence-free PvP in highsec, valuable loot from your ship and amusing tears from you in local, refusing to respond will probably bore them into finding someone else to pick on. If you're unlucky you'll have met a capsuleer who's doing it solely for profit, and in that case not responding may encourage them to repeatedly salvage your missions. If that is the case, see #shoot your wrecks below.

Bring a friend

Besides providing excellent social content, bringing along a fellow corporation member or out of corp friend to help salvage and loot will not only dissuade the ninja salvagers and looters, but it (strength in numbers) might also make them think twice before trying to play suspect games.

Shoot your wrecks

Blowing up your own wrecks can sometimes be a valid strategy to stop a ninja salvager, since it effectively denies them any spoils. With no wrecks to salvage, they might decide to simply leave you alone (if their goal is to profit from ninja salvaging).

While this, especially combined with ignoring them, can be a strong statement that you're not worth bothering, it is possible that the ninja salvager might take this as an opportunity to turn ninja looter, or simply decide to put more effort into griefing you.

Leave the site

Warp out of the site and leave them to it. By warping out, any remaining NPC rats will switch to attacking the ninja salvager. Normally this isn't much use as any half-awake player will notice that you've gone and realise what's going to happen, but just like shooting wrecks, it will require more effort for the ninja salvager and they might leave you alone in favour of easier prey.

In some missions with well-defined orders of waves that are triggered when you destroy particular ships in previous waves (like The Blockade and Gone Berserk), you have a slightly better chance to get them killed because you can stimulate the arrival of more rats. Especially if you can spawn a wave of warp scrambling frigates on them.

In order to avoid getting caught by the new wave, you'll need to plan accordingly:

  1. Identify a trigger ship.
  2. Check that no rats are tackling you.
  3. Align to a celestial so that you're ready to warp near-instantly.
  4. Blow up the trigger ship.
  5. Immediately warp out.

Provided you are pre-aligned you should warp out instantly, meaning the next wave won't have a chance to lock you, so if it has warp scramblers they won't be able to pin you down but go for any remaining ships in the pocket, which would be the ninja salvager. This obviously works best against inexperienced ninjas without a firm grasp of game mechanics.

Some missions have a complex combination of warp-in, trigger and proximity aggro (some rooms in Worlds Collide, for example) and it's possible for them to be attacked by rats in these. These missions are harder to control than ones which consist of sequentially triggered waves.

Move to a different area

Perhaps not the best or most efficient way if you're already in an isolated area, far from normal mission and trade hubs. But if you're missioning close to trade hubs, close to common mission hubs where a lot of other people run missions, moving can easily lessen the risk of being visited by ninja salvagers/looters.

The reason for this is that a lot of them gravitate towards heavily populated areas, as more people missioning means more people to grief and more profit to be made.

Fly less obvious missioning ships

Certain ships will draw more attention than others. Flying Marauders, Strategic Cruisers or any of the pirate faction battleships will paint more of a target on you than flying something else. Since these ships are also the most effective ones, this will obviously limit or lessen the effectiveness of your missioning fit, so perhaps not always a good choice, but a choice nonetheless.

Use less expensive faction/deadspace modules

It's not uncommon for griefers to ship scan mission runners, especially if they are more interested in trying to goad you into taking a fight. If you've fit expensive faction or deadspace modules, you can easily become a highly valuable target both for suspect-baiting ... or worse, if you're putting way too much bling on your ships, suicide gankers.

To lessen this, simply consider just how much ISK you're throwing at your ship in order to make it run faster. Find a good balance between efficiency and overblinging, so as not to be too much of a loot piñata, as that will inevitably make you far more likely to be griefed.

Fight back

EVE University doesn't have any official procedures for responding to ninja looters, but in general you can assume the ninja looter is both prepared and willing to fight you back. In most cases, you will be at a severe disadvantage, no matter how things may seem at first glance.

That said, sometimes you will face an inexperienced ninja looter, or you're simply feeling adventurous that day wanting to see if you can outplay them.

If you do decide to engage them, remember this:

  • Be prepared to lose whatever ship(s) you put at risk and be prepared for unpleasant surprises.
  • Seriously consider changing to a properly PvP-fit ship before engaging, as they are most likely more than prepared to deal with your mission-running ship, plus you might want to jump into a cheaper ship if you're flying expensive fits or hulls.
  • Just because the character is new doesn't mean it's a new player behind the controls. Especially after the introduction of skill injectors, a brand new character can easily surprise you with both player and ingame skills far beyond what you might expect.
  • They can easily have friends on standby, ready to back them up in case you engage.
    • Out of corp friends or alts in remote repairing ships (they'll go suspect too, but that won't stop them from repping).
    • Out of corp Orca pilots nearby for quick reshipping or refitting.

So even if you decide to engage them on your own, it is recommended that you at the very least warp out and get a PvP ship. This means a ship, which you can afford to lose, with a purposeful PvP-fit.

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