For FAF and SCA what rep levels affect how they treat the player?

[Raptor34]

I just took a FAF Rattlesnake over in Pluto preying on my traders and now I'm at -11 rep from -5. Is there any changes in how they treat me? If not to what level I must drop before they turn from pirating to outright attacking my forces?
Besides that I remember something about how FRF doesn't look too kindly on me blowing up the FAF in their space, but now I'm seeing people putting fleets camping the FRF shipyards, is that a way to deal with the FAF without worrying about FRF rep loss?

As for the SCA, I heard terraforming gets them to +20, is that the threshold where they bother you no more? Theoretically is that the same for the FAF?

[Tempest]

at -20 they'll start shooting at combat ships, -25 everything else.

the preying on traders is caused by the default "plunder" behavior (the scimitar icon, YARR), i dont think that changes, ever, pirates will be pirates.

i'm at -29 FAF, i have an alert active so i can track their movements somewhat. Been trying the "treasure ship/bait approach" and parking near FRF shipyards but haven't had any "bites" yet. (as long as you are activly trading with FRF any rep-loss should be easily compensated)

(not finished SCA terraforming, maybe someone could clarify behavioral changes after that +20)

[Raptor34]

Interesting, guess I still have some leeway with that. Though I mainly wanted that Rattle for its paintjob.
Actually going off to cap one of each of the 4 SCA destroyer variants now.

[Raevyan]

at -20 they'll start shooting at combat ships, -25 everything else.

the preying on traders is caused by the default "plunder" behavior (the scimitar icon, YARR), i dont think that changes, ever, pirates will be pirates.

i'm at -29 FAF, i have an alert active so i can track their movements somewhat. Been trying the "treasure ship/bait approach" and parking near FRF shipyards but haven't had any "bites" yet. (as long as you are activly trading with FRF any rep-loss should be easily compensated)

(not finished SCA terraforming, maybe someone could clarify behavioral changes after that +20)

Reputation with Scale Plate Pact is unlocked and can be increased. All Scale Plate Pact plunder ships except for a single large one join the player. Only that one ship can get replenished, so their piracy is greatly dimished.

[gorman2040]

I also put fleets in "protect position" over FRF shipyard to destroy FAF ships when they are built.
Not a great success so far, some succeed in leaving the area to wander and cause havoc.
I get my fleets destroyed from time to time when I leave the game running overnight (1 Colossus + 3 Behemoth), all destroyed in minutes, besides all ships having decent mods and 3~4 star captains.

I noticed the FAF Rattlesnake have missile turrets that seems to disable most weapons on ships, that might explain why the whole fleet was destroyed.

At that point, I'd rather have FAF back at -5 and just comply with their plundering. That is how helpless I feel about their attacks.

As for SCA, I believe completing at least one step of their terraforming will unlock their rep and gives a boost when completing certain milestones.
They will still try to plunder you in the beginning but you can do missions for them to rep up and they should leave you alone at +20.

I haven't had any attacks from SCA since I finished their terraforming. Occasionally FAF will try to impersonate them (easily seen because it is still a Split ship).

I guess there is no 0 risk in running a universe wide trade empire, even with a big military fleet.

[Raptor34]

I also put fleets in "protect position" over FRF shipyard to destroy FAF ships when they are built.
Not a great success so far, some succeed in leaving the area to wander and cause havoc.
I get my fleets destroyed from time to time when I leave the game running overnight (1 Colossus + 3 Behemoth), all destroyed in minutes, besides all ships having decent mods and 3~4 star captains.

I noticed the FAF Rattlesnake have missile turrets that seems to disable most weapons on ships, that might explain why the whole fleet was destroyed.

At that point, I'd rather have FAF back at -5 and just comply with their plundering. That is how helpless I feel about their attacks.

As for SCA, I believe completing at least one step of their terraforming will unlock their rep and gives a boost when completing certain milestones.
They will still try to plunder you in the beginning but you can do missions for them to rep up and they should leave you alone at +20.

I haven't had any attacks from SCA since I finished their terraforming. Occasionally FAF will try to impersonate them (easily seen because it is still a Split ship).

I guess there is no 0 risk in running a universe wide trade empire, even with a big military fleet.

Either hack the shipyard which is annoying because you need to remember to refresh it.
Or park a ship in their L fab bays.
Bye bye Rattlesnakes. Not like the FRF makes use of those bays anyway.

[gorman2040]

Either hack the shipyard which is annoying because you need to remember to refresh it.
Or park a ship in their L fab bays.
Bye bye Rattlesnakes. Not like the FRF makes use of those bays anyway.

Smart ! I'll try that right away. It feels like an exploit but I am tired of those random fleet destroyed because they can't get their stuff together.
That or those FAF captains are the best pilots in the universe.
Thanks for the suggestion.

[al_dude]

I value FAF as customers, so I do not cap their rattlesnakes and don't attack other smaller ships.

For some odd reasons, they visit my wharf and shipyard and pay good money to repair.

[Raptor34]

Either hack the shipyard which is annoying because you need to remember to refresh it.
Or park a ship in their L fab bays.
Bye bye Rattlesnakes. Not like the FRF makes use of those bays anyway.

Smart ! I'll try that right away. It feels like an exploit but I am tired of those random fleet destroyed because they can't get their stuff together.
That or those FAF captains are the best pilots in the universe.
Thanks for the suggestion.

It can't be helped. Those ships took a beating from FAF ships earlier so I need to get them repaired. I'm sure the FRF hates those pirates too and wouldn't mind helping a fellow trader get their ships repaired.

[grapedog]

I have two fleets, one each, camping the FRF wharf and shipyard.

I wish there was some other alternative, but apparently the ONLY way to exert any control over the FAF is to side with ZYA against the Curbs, to diminish FRF power. But even that won't actually fix FAF rep, it just makes it harder for them to get ships because FRF is diminished.

It's a shit setup, because i either am forced into siding with ZYA(which only reduces how often they appear), having fleets guard their spawn points(which is also flawed), ot letting them freely ransack my fleet as much as they want(which is shit). All three options are shit sandwiches...

Bonus tip.... if you are in combat with an FAF rattlesnake, like 40 fighters, a carrier, and 5 destroyers... they have the rattlesnake down to say 20% hull, and it turns on its disguise mid-battle.... it turns blue, and all your ships go home, and it goes on its merry way.

[gorman2040]

It worked like a charm, no FAF spotted for many hours now. It will be interesting to see how it will influence the factions in the long run.
I saw that you can actually blockade a shipyard by docking 5 L ships on it
Cheers !

[Raptor34]

Bonus tip.... if you are in combat with an FAF rattlesnake, like 40 fighters, a carrier, and 5 destroyers... they have the rattlesnake down to say 20% hull, and it turns on its disguise mid-battle.... it turns blue, and all your ships go home, and it goes on its merry way.

Sounds like a bug, it shouldn't change if you're actively firing on it. I hope.

It worked like a charm, no FAF spotted for many hours now. It will be interesting to see how it will influence the factions in the long run.
I saw that you can actually blockade a shipyard by docking 5 L ships on it
Cheers !

You actually only need 2 blocking the L fabrication bays, which generally there are 2 of in faction shipyards.
Here's what I do. Have an L ship with less than max crew.
Order them to dock for upgrades to pick up more crew, thereby guaranteeing that they will dock in the L fabs rather than a pier. You can also do something else like change shields or something.
Queue the next order to dock and wait.
And that's it, though you should check back to make sure they've actually docked, while they won't undock on their own as long as the dock and wait order is active, I've noticed that if the L fab bay was otherwise occupied, that after awhile your ship would cancel their upgrade order and just dock at a pier instead.

Now Dragon Raiders would be the other problem, though I don't actually seem to have any trouble with those, its always Minotaur Raiders for some reason.
But anyway, I'm still at -12-14, but I've prep Katanas because I note that Katanas are actually faster than Dragon Raiders while being tankier. And perhaps MD for any losses later, but its Plasma Cannons or something now. Might be Proton Barrages.

Forgot to mention, but afaict FRF doesn't build any combat L ships anyway, and I think you can always set your own shipyards to sell L ships to FRF. Just check your log occasionally, I don't think FRF buys Rattlesnakes so if any start appearing in your log, then something might be wrong.
Also blocking L fabs is what I do when some other faction starts pumping out destroyers and snowballing. Easier than doing a grand teleporting trip just to sabotage them.

[gorman2040]

You actually only need 2 blocking the L fabrication bays, which generally there are 2 of in faction shipyards.
Here's what I do. Have an L ship with less than max crew.
Order them to dock for upgrades to pick up more crew, thereby guaranteeing that they will dock in the L fabs rather than a pier. You can also do something else like change shields or something.
Queue the next order to dock and wait.
And that's it, though you should check back to make sure they've actually docked, while they won't undock on their own as long as the dock and wait order is active, I've noticed that if the L fab bay was otherwise occupied, that after awhile your ship would cancel their upgrade order and just dock at a pier instead.

Now Dragon Raiders would be the other problem, though I don't actually seem to have any trouble with those, its always Minotaur Raiders for some reason.
But anyway, I'm still at -12-14, but I've prep Katanas because I note that Katanas are actually faster than Dragon Raiders while being tankier. And perhaps MD for any losses later, but its Plasma Cannons or something now. Might be Proton Barrages.

Forgot to mention, but afaict FRF doesn't build any combat L ships anyway, and I think you can always set your own shipyards to sell L ships to FRF. Just check your log occasionally, I don't think FRF buys Rattlesnakes so if any start appearing in your log, then something might be wrong.
Also blocking L fabs is what I do when some other faction starts pumping out destroyers and snowballing. Easier than doing a grand teleporting trip just to sabotage them.

Yes, only 2 L ships to block the fabrication bays, I just thought it was funny to be able to also block the L docks to slow down their business

The Dragon Raiders are not causing me any trouble for a while. This is actually strange as they used to several game hours ago but not anymore

I checked my universe and you are right, I don't see any FRF destroyers around, I guess their military/police is CUB now.

[Nort The Fragrent]

I treat the SCA as poor beggars who need some help now and then. This I do by letting my ships drop scraps for them to feed off. It keeps them happy, and seldom ever becoming violent. An exceptable cost so as not to aggravate them. The odd ship go’s down, but that is inherent in the game, no matter what you do to prevent it. Ships are lost.
I recon there is a percentage lose, regardless! This trying to lure you into combat !
Let them do what they do, then keep the thought, you are being a charitable citizen.

This prevents much anguish, to think you are helping them.

[gorman2040]

Update on the blockade of L bays of split shipyards:
I got some of my ships destroyed, I assume either by RHA (for CUB shipyard) or XEN (for FRF shipyard).
The CUB shipyard doesn't seem to produce FAF destroyer (both shipyard's bays are free now).

For the FRF shipyard, I only occupy one L bay and so far (7+ hours in-game) I haven't received any alert of a FAF destroyer spotted (I created alerts and have satellites in the area).
The universe seems at peace now, except for XEN attacks.