Ego... you're forcing me to crush the FRF... and i don't wanna

[Len5]

Yes, only FRF build FAF ships. So you can destroy them... park a fleet that attacks the rattlesnake. You still need an alert set though because if they change identity mid fight your ships can lose their attack order and let the Rattlesnake escape. Hack them... essentially rendering the entire Shipyard for FRF a giant paperweight. I hate this option, but there are no good options for dealing with the FAF intelligently. You can also just destroy the shipyards... also a nuclear option, but again, with shit-all for actual good options, the only thing left are bad options.

Typically now, I just use the custom game start and set SCA and FAF to like 10, and then never worry about them. We'll see how the pirate DLC works and if there are actual methods to work on relationships.

Forgot about the ID switch. But I've got a Rattlesnake with Terran shields waiting next to the shipyard for the FAF Rattlesnakes coming out. Already have an alert for FAF L's since they hit -25.

I do want to keep FRF as friendlies.

edit: I don't know the standings between the FAF and the FRF, but could I provoke a war between them by lowering their rep with each other?
Maybe engaging FAF Rattlesnakes near the shipyard and try to make them hit it with their turrets, so the shipyard will retaliate and just repeat that? Is that possible?

[grapedog]

Yes, only FRF build FAF ships. So you can destroy them... park a fleet that attacks the rattlesnake. You still need an alert set though because if they change identity mid fight your ships can lose their attack order and let the Rattlesnake escape. Hack them... essentially rendering the entire Shipyard for FRF a giant paperweight. I hate this option, but there are no good options for dealing with the FAF intelligently. You can also just destroy the shipyards... also a nuclear option, but again, with shit-all for actual good options, the only thing left are bad options.

Typically now, I just use the custom game start and set SCA and FAF to like 10, and then never worry about them. We'll see how the pirate DLC works and if there are actual methods to work on relationships.

Forgot about the ID switch. But I've got a Rattlesnake with Terran shields waiting next to the shipyard for the FAF Rattlesnakes coming out. Already have an alert for FAF L's since they hit -25.

I do want to keep FRF as friendlies.

edit: I don't know the standings between the FAF and the FRF, but could I provoke a war between them by lowering their rep with each other?
Maybe engaging FAF Rattlesnakes near the shipyard and try to make them hit it with their turrets, so the shipyard will retaliate and just repeat that? Is that possible?

I've no concrete idea how NPC to NPC faction works and if it can be adjusted. I know story states can affect it, but I don't know if otherwise they'll "lose rep" with each other over incidents. Someone who knows how/what to look for in the game files would probably have to hazard an answer to that one.

One story beat does change this a little.... story spoiler

Spoiler

Show

if you side with ZYA against the Curbs, they take over some of the FRF sectors, and FRF shipbuilding ability is reduced... and if FRF shipbuilding is reduced, so is FAF.

[NightmareNight91]

sca and faf is annoying agreeing with you i found sca shipyard and have parked an asguard there to handle the situation.

It's Asgard, not assguard! Not rear guard, not bulbuous behind guard. ASGARD

Ill pronounce assgard wrong on purpose now.

[Exitialis101]

sca and faf is annoying agreeing with you i found sca shipyard and have parked an asguard there to handle the situation.

It's Asgard, not assguard! Not rear guard, not bulbuous behind guard. ASGARD

Ill pronounce assgard wrong on purpose now.

Assguard, the ship to protect your rear! It is a fitting name since it usually sits very far away from the action.

[flywlyx]

Rare? I built the defence platform around the wharf just because of all the FAF ships coming out of it that immediately attacked my property in that sector.
Since I started building that defence station a couple of hundred ships came out of that wharf and maybe 3 rattlenakes out of the shipyard, all trying to destroy the defence under construction.

So if that wharf and shipyard are the only stations producing ships for FAF, I think I'm good. I'm even better, because of all the extra tech I'll sell.

FAF task is rare, not ships.
But since you are at -30 with FAF, I don't think you have the chance to develop them as a business partner any more, it is a pitiful loss for the universe. This whole universe lives on wars.

[gorman2040]

I know it won't help much with the issue but it makes sense lore wise.
It says in the encyclopedia that they live on their military prowess so you would expect them to be good at raiding.
I've been to -30 with them as well and loosing ships but I still think this is valid according to the lore, what can you do about a group that just want to plunder your ships?
Granted the escort system might not always work well or require manual intervention.

It's probably one of those things you can't control and just have to deal with.
I don't believe they can significantly reduce your income and you can always put patrols and associated deterrence, I believe it is an interesting way to try a lot of features in the game (mines, laser towers, different ship patrols, etc...)

[Pesanur]

I know it won't help much with the issue but it makes sense lore wise.
It says in the encyclopedia that they live on their military prowess so you would expect them to be good at raiding.
I've been to -30 with them as well and loosing ships but I still think this is valid according to the lore, what can you do about a group that just want to plunder your ships?
Granted the escort system might not always work well or require manual intervention.

It's probably one of those things you can't control and just have to deal with.
I don't believe they can significantly reduce your income and you can always put patrols and associated deterrence, I believe it is an interesting way to try a lot of features in the game (mines, laser towers, different ship patrols, etc...)

But then, the rep need to be locked, what is the point that you lose rep with then but cannot re-gain it?
And yes, I read about some people claiming that you can found FAF missions in FRF stations by scanning them, but for much that I scanned FRF stations, I'm not found a single FAF offered mission, I only get civilian, criminal, HAT and SCA missions by this way.

[gorman2040]

But then, the rep need to be locked, what is the point that you lose rep with then but cannot re-gain it?
And yes, I read about some people claiming that you can found FAF missions in FRF stations by scanning them, but for much that I scanned FRF stations, I'm not found a single FAF offered mission, I only get civilian, criminal, HAT and SCA missions by this way.

It's annoying for sure, but imagine a faction of dreaded pirates, they won't mind you too much if you run away or comply with plundering.
If you start returning fire and destroying their ships though, they might want to escalate just because they have a reputation to keep. How would they look dangerous if one organization is able to attack them without too much trouble?
I think there might also be something to mitigate those attacks in the near future but we'll see, probably when Tides of Avarice is released.

As for the missions, I have the same observation as you, never saw any mission from them and what others claimed was never backed by save or screenshot so difficult to believe.
I think the reputation should slowly go back to -5 (they are still pirates after all) when you comply with their plundering. It would simulate them forgetting about you

[Waltz9]

If they sneak past your patrol at the shipyard/warf you could bate them.
Add a ship with full cargo in your fleet and hope they go and attack it.
Like this they go straigth towards your guarding fleet instead of sneaking away.

Use their behavior against them.

[Imperial Good]

In the current form FAF really should have their reputation locked similar to SCA. Reasoning being that like the SCA, they are not organised into a coherent government and instead every FAF pilot pretty much acts by themselves.

If FAF were to be expanded (which is unlikely due to being part of a finished DLC), then I would suggest some sort of intimidation mechanic where if you blow up enough of them they become less hostile and leave you alone due to your reputation being respected among FAF. Possibly even "duel" missions where you pick a similar class of ship and have to 1v1 a FAF pilot to earn respect and fear among all the pilots. This would fit in with the pirate theme of the current DLC quite well, but unfortunately is part of Split Vendetta.

[Raevyan]

I mean they could add a terraforming project like the SCA one. Chances are very high that we‘ll never see new terraforming projects again.... which is a bummer.

[Feloidea]

What I find weird about FAF is their inconsistency. In a previous playthrough they were actively harrassing my traders but in this one I've yet to notice a single instance of them actually making a try at one of my traders ... and ALL of my current economy is in FRF space (because ZYA has been almost completely taken over by the Xenons) so there's no lack of potential targets for them to after, nor a lack of high profit targets considering I deal in more or less everything, ranging from refined goods, high tech, claytronics and drugs. And I do see plenty FAF pillager Dragons zipping around so they ARE around, they just keep my stuff in peace (still at -5 reputation with them since I didn't need to blast any).

I wonder though, does selling ships to factions improve reputation? I'm not sure since I sold ~87 million worth of ships to ZYA before I bottlenecked my wharf and didn't see an uptick of reputation, but I was at 24 so might just be that the requirement to gain the next level was simply really high and I'm just shy of it. Because if the FAF keeps leaving me in piece, having them roam around and killing other stuff obviously means more customers for me and if they finally get uppity, I just cut them off again and cull the herd ...

[gorman2040]

If they sneak past your patrol at the shipyard/warf you could bate them.
Add a ship with full cargo in your fleet and hope they go and attack it.
Like this they go straigth towards your guarding fleet instead of sneaking away.

Use their behavior against them.

Smart! I like that idea

[Berhg]

Right there with ya Grapedog.

I though making friends with SCA by giving them a homeworld would keep my traders from constantly telling me that someone has asked them to drop their cargo. But no, FAF steps in to take up SCA's slack as regards to my own traders. With no other solution, I'm considering wiping them out myself.

You can't let people take whatever they want from you.

[Darkwolf_187]

So, I haven't done it yet, but I've gotten fed up with FAF. I'm fighting a war on several fronts though, so they'll have to wait.

My plan to deal with them is the same plan I use to contain the Xenon. FAF raiders always originate from the Heart of Acrimony II wharves and shipyards. So instead of stopping them there, I'll build a fortress station on the gate at Tharka's Ravine XVI. That way, FAF raiders will come through the gate, land on top of my fortress, and then summarily be destroyed before they can get up to travel speed. At least that's the plan.

[Berhg]

Darkwolf, you may find that they slip through because of false flag ID.

Even the Zyarth crackdown on Split piracy mission that costs you 400 million doesn't stop the piracy message going off every minute or so in my game.

[Darkwolf_187]

Darkwolf, you may find that they slip through because of false flag ID.

Even the Zyarth crackdown on Split piracy mission that costs you 400 million doesn't stop the piracy message going off every minute or so in my game.

Yes, I thought that might be an issue, but what I was planning on doing was leaving a fairly robust transporter sitting with customized orders to stand near the station with some cargo and ignore pirates, to bait them We'll see how it goes. Even if it cuts down half of them I'll be a lot less annoyed than now, where the main thing that aggravates me about them is they kill stuff instead of just holding them up.

[Berhg]

Yes, I thought that might be an issue, but what I was planning on doing was leaving a fairly robust transporter sitting with customized orders to stand near the station with some cargo and ignore pirates, to bait them We'll see how it goes. Even if it cuts down half of them I'll be a lot less annoyed than now, where the main thing that aggravates me about them is they kill stuff instead of just holding them up.

Thats a great idea! Let us know how that works!

[grapedog]

Another MAJOR issue with FAF is that when they come out of spawn as FAF, they can be in the middle of combat with like 30 of my ships... and they turn of their fake colors, all of my ships stop attacking them.

They just all of the sudden forget that it was an enemy destroyer.... that should not happen. they shouldn't be able to fake their IFF to get out of combat.