Hisec Suspect Hunting
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What is it?
Hunting Criminally flagged pilots (who may be suspect or criminal flagged, it doesn't matter) in high security space can be a fun and safe way of learning and practising a lot of the skills that you will need to use in other forms of PvP.
You have the added benefit of being realtively safe whilst searching for targets and this can allow you to proceed at your own pace. I typically play in an environment with a lot of distractions, both in and out of game, and I find the ability to dip in and out helps out immensely.
It can also be a carried out as a solo pursuit and so works well for people who can't always get on mumble and maybe only have a few minutes at a time to dedicate to playing EVE.
What we're looking for is any legal target that we can attack in high security space and get a Killmail for. There is also the strong possibility of getting a bounty payment for the kill (since most of the possible targets also have bounties on them) and you can often loot the wrecks of your kills since outlaw and criminal wrecks are automatically abandoned and can be looted by anyone without suspect flagging.
Its also something that new players can get involved in because, most of the time depending on target selection, you will have Gate guns and/or CONCORD on your side which means that you don't have to be particularly skilled.
You will also find yourself hanging around in space where a lot of suicide ganking happens and you will develop a very good feel for the mechanics of how this happens, where it happens, how to spot the signs and how to avoid it.
Types of Targets
What we're looking for is anybody in space who is one of the following;
- Criminally flagged - typically someone who has attacked another pilot in high security space i.e. a Suicide Ganker
- Suspect Flagged - Somebody who has been flagged for a suspect action like stealing from somebody else's wreck for example
- An outlaw - a Security status below -5.0, sometimes referred to as a 'PermaFlashy'
- Pilots with available Kill rights - A pilot with a Kill right that we can activate to make them become Suspect flagged.
Note that the standard UNI overview setup will make these targets flash on the overview (either yellow, orange or red depending on type).
Any of these 'flashies' can be engaged by any pilot without penalty but be aware that once you have engaged a target you will create a Limited Engagement with them which means that they will be able to shoot back without further penalty against you. The implication of this creation of the Limited Engagement and what it means for you, the attacker, depends on Target Type;
- Criminal Flagged - these pilots will be engaged by CONCORD. This will either be happening as you attack or will be happening imminently. The time it takes CONCORD to respond depends on a number of factors but is principally driven by the Security Status of the system. This is why so many suicide ganks take place in 0.5 Security space since CONCORD response time is at its lowest. What you can be sure of, though, is that the target's days are numbered and shortly after you engage, CONCORD will make sure their ship is destroyed. Having a Limited Engagement with a pilot whose ship will last maybe 20 seconds max is therefore not a high risk activity.
- Suspect Flagged - Suspects will not be engaged by CONCORD, therefore if you create a Limited Engagement with a Suspect then you will be effectively entering into a proper PVP engagement with the target. Other players can also attack the suspect so if the fight takes place on a gate or on a station then you are likely to get help from others but if the fight takes place at a belt or some other spot then the fight is effectively a 1v1 PVP engagement. You need to be prepared for this and know what you are getting into.
- Outlaws or PermaFlashies - Outlaws have a security status below -5.0. They will take Gate Gun fire <---- CHECK THIS if on a Gate or station, otherwise the fights are exactly the same as those detailed above for Suspect Flagged pilots.
Generally these targets fall into several different categories which all need to be considered differently.
- Suicide Gankers - these guys are generally sitting in space on a gate waiting for a target to pass by, this target is generally something soft like a lightly tanked hauler or other lightly tanked ship. Targets can be bigger and heavier, in which case the Suicide Gankers will bring more ships to the party. Gankers with sec status above -5.0 will often just sit in space on a gate waiting for targets, those with sec status less than -5.0 will sit at a tactical off-grid from the gate or will sit in station until just before the target arrives. 99% of Gankers have a number of alts that provide intel on what is coming through the gates and who also fly haulers to retrieve the cargo of the ship they have killed. Learning who these alts are in your area will help immensely in spotting the signs of an impending gank. Suicide gankers are generally found flying the Catalyst, Thrasher, Vexor & Tornado
- Fun Gankers - these guys are similar to suicide gankers but often fly about just looking to blow people up and ruin their day. They're usually perma flashy and can often be seen bouncing from gate to gate in some systems just waiting to spot somebody to attack, they might have an alt to pick up the loot but often just do it for fun. These guys usually fly the Thrasher.
- Ninja Looters - these guys have grabbed the loot from a yellow wreck. Often this is after a suicide gank when the target's wreck has been left in space but could also be from looting wrecks left from duels outside a station or looting rat wrecks left in asteroid belts, some people scan down mission runners in sites and loot their wrecks as well. Miners flying Ventures often loot yellow wrecks as they're mining because they feel that the War Core Strength bonus will allow them to get away if found. These guys can be found in pretty much anything but usually its a cheap frigate, a Venture or one of the ganking ships like the Catalyst or Thrasher
Because most of the targets above expect to lose their ships (being flashy in hi sec generally ends in destruction of the ship) they generally don't fit them to a very high quality. A Suicide Ganker for example, fits his ship to provide the highest alpha strike at the cheapest price. Tank is irrelevant since nobody can tank Concord for any length of time and these ships principally do all of their damage on the first strike. Fun Gankers tend to fit for a bit more of a fight, they often get a limited engagement because somebody fires first so some tank definitely helps and their fits will look a lot more like a traditional PvP fit for the ship in question. Ninja Looters will either be incredibly cheap expendable ships often with only partial fits or haulers with warp core stabs and big tanks that are used by gankers to get the cargo out after a gank. The Venture is a special case which is often flown by new players who may not understand how suspect flagging works and will likely be poorly fitted.
Where to find targets
OK, so now we know what targets we're after, where do we find them? You can find any of these targets literally anywhere in hi sec space but the following likely locations, in order of simplicity, are suggested;
Outside Trade hubs
Most trade hubs will have two types of targets.
There will usually be a community of people who bait outside the stations with Suspect flags and are trying to get pilots to engage them, thereby creating a limited engagement with them. They will either shoot back straight away or may dock up and wait until their suspect timer disappears but the limited engagement timer is still running. They wil generally undock in something bigger and more dangerous than the ship they were using to bait you with and attempt to kill you. These guys are generally to be avoided, they're very good at what they do and engaging them is likely to get your ship destroyed. If you sit outside any trade hub long enough then you will be able to see these guys at work and add them and their corps to your mental 'avoidance list'.
Trade hubs also have a steady influx of permaflashies and suspects who may be looking to drop off cargo, re-ship, trade etc. and these guys are definite targets both on the way into the station and on the way out of it. To catch these guys on the way into the trade hub you need an insta-locking high alpha ship such as the Insta-lock Thrasher detailed later in the ships and fits section.
When the target just hits the dock button in their overview then they will land on the station docking ring but often end up a short distance from the station. This small window of time is your chance to lock them and fire before they can get into the station. You will only get one shot so high alpha is a priority. As you see them arrive, fit F1 (or whatever key your guns are mapped to) and start clicking them in the overview whilst holding down the CTRL key. You will see a number of attempts that fail but you may get a lock that starts and continues. Once this happens then you just need to wait until the lock completes and your guns will fire.
A pod, noobship or a lightly tanked frigate can generally be alpha'd this way. If they are flying something bigger like a cruiser then you can also try a shot in the hope that two or three of you will be doing the same thing and you will get a kill between you. Note that it's very unlikely they will hang around and try to exploit their Limited Engagement while trying to dock because this will expose them to attack from other pilots.
For targets coming out of the station, the same techniques can be used, you just need to lock them after their undock immunity ends and before they can get into warp. Again, this is all about timing and fast locking is the priority here. If they are in a ship you can alpha then you don't need a point, otherwise you are going to need something that can lock quickly and apply a point as well. Generally every one else outside the station will be trying to lock them too so you can usually count on help once you do get point.
If they do manage to warp away to an insta-undock then make sure they're selected in your overview with your tracking camera set to on so you can see where they warp to. If you are in something fast like an interceptor you will be able to follow and potentially get ahead at the next gate and catch them on the other side. Don't try to catch them on the same side of the gate as the system you are in, its possible but extremely difficult to lock and alpha in the time you have available.
