How do you find pirates as a random encounter?

[KiloZulu]

I can easily attract pirates by attacking a pirate base, but how do I go about bumping into a group of them just flying around?

I built my space station in a sector on the edge of void space, thinking I would see random attacks, but none have ever come. I've made several excursions into void space, going several sectors away from any star systems, and still haven't seen any pirates. I thought that pirates were supposed to be more prevalent in the void areas?

 

[Glutton]

I've been attacked by pirates a number of times and I'm only 2 systems out of spawn. I think it depends on pirate stations nearby. I've noticed the attacks slowing down as we kill off the ones in the area. I do remember hearing something about the void space being more dangerous, but I have yet to travel out that way

 

[Lidren]

The random spawn rate during travel is way down or off currently as far as I know. Before it was possible to spawn as you traveled through sectors. If you're in a sector up to two away from a pirate base they will send waves after you after a period of time with you stationary in that sector. Like if you build a base or claim a planet and build there, hanging out doing buildy crafty things. That has screwed me a couple times.

 

[Glutton]

I also use to run into big groups of ships just chilling in random sectors. I haven't seen that in a while

 

[CaptainTaz]

I also use to run into big groups of ships just chilling in random sectors. I haven't seen that in a while

I believe they do it now only in void sectors.

 

[Deleted member 433088]

The random spawn rate during travel is way down or off currently as far as I know. Before it was possible to spawn as you traveled through sectors. If you're in a sector up to two away from a pirate base they will send waves after you after a period of time with you stationary in that sector. Like if you build a base or claim a planet and build there, hanging out doing buildy crafty things. That has screwed me a couple times.

In my experience that'd be "up to three", at the very least. I started to build my first station and kept that advice in mind, scouting first and making sure there were two empty sectors between me and the local pirates, but in the middle of it I picked up a transmission that went "Base (-8, -12, 13): Hostile signs in (-11, -10, 11)... Sending raiding party..."

The "base" in that message is a pirate base I had recently found, and the second set of coordinates is my very much WIP base, which got visited by four Isanths. Note that there are 3 sectors of distance in the X axis.

They didn't shoot though, just flew in a loop around my base and left in the same direction they came from. I'm guessing they didn't shoot because the station is my faction HQ (invulnerable, if I wiki'd right), but it really felt as if they were on a scouting run, which was unexpected, awesome, and a bit frightening.

 

[ltmauve]

If you want to farm pirates, try just sitting in a base with a station and occasionally hitting enough to down the shields. Then pirates will spawn about a sector away for you to kill.

 

[KiloZulu]

If you want to farm pirates, try just sitting in a base with a station and occasionally hitting enough to down the shields. Then pirates will spawn about a sector away for you to kill.

We attempted to add some new pirate ships in order to create some diversity beyond Isanths. Some of the ships were built at the same price range as the Isanth, while others are more expensive. Only the ones that are near the same price show up to defend the base (along with Isanths.) The next question is whether this would be true of the random groups that (used to) spawn on their own.

Back before the introduction of the spiral galaxies, it wasn't uncommon to find large groups of pirates, and some of them in the cruisers we had added. These large ships were never part of the raiding parties that spawned to attack stations from time to time.