Scavenger Ship Barbarossa issues - Explained.

[sillls]

I was trying out the Barbarossa and its not working the way I thought it would.
The first thing that I noticed was the limited amount of drones that it can have. This is a problem for a ship that need to use them.
I wanted the ship to go Scavenge but it won't. It will collect drops. If it has cargo drones but that's it.

[LameFox]

The game uses "scavenger" in two different senses. When you see for example a RIP Manticore it might have scavenger in the name, because that's it's job—it goes out and collects wrecks or scrap cubes. Like how other ships have "marauder" or "fighter squadron" in their names.

Other ships (IIRC Minotaur Raider and Barbarossa) have scavenger as their ship type, like how others have "frigate" or "scout". This reflects (loosely) the role of the ship hull. Manticores for example are actually "Tug". As far as I can tell "Scavenger" here refers to them having a larger cargo bay and lighter weapon loadout than other ships of their class. Minotaur Raiders have only two guns and two turrets but hold decent cargo for a somewhat combat-capable M ship. Barbarossas are technically destroyers, but they have no main guns and only 4 L turrets to compensate.

[vvvvvvvv]

I was trying out the Barbarossa and its not working the way I thought it would.
The first thing that I noticed was the limited amount of drones that it can have. This is a problem for a ship that need to use them.
I wanted the ship to go Scavenge but it won't. It will collect drops. If it has cargo drones but that's it.

Barbarossa is an armed freighter. A freighter will be fine with a single cargo drone, though usually you might want 4.

To break down wrecks, you need Teuta. Which is separate from Barbarossa.

[sillls]

They really should rename the ship to something more fitting.
Maybe call it the scavenger as a name but class it like a freighter.
It can be decent scavenging for scraps and loose cargo.
But it needs more space for drones and maybe the ability to carry metal as if it was cargo.

If they did those changes they could class it as a cargo scrapper or something.

[TheDeliveryMan]

Maybe call it the scavenger as a name but class it like a freighter.

No, that would change their usage, Scavangers and Freighters are treated quite differently by pirates and NPC factions.

Scavanger: military cargo ship: not harrassed by pirates, actively engaged by NPCs from -20 rep or lower
Freighter/Trader: civilian cargo ship: harrassed by pirates, actively engaged by NPCs from -25 rep or lower

I use Barbarossas specifically because they are classified as Scavanger and not bothered by pirates.

[sillls]

So Scavengers are not bothered because of what? More guns?

[TheDeliveryMan]

So Scavengers are not bothered because of what? More guns?

No, because they are considered military ships.

Edit:
The in-game encyclopedia lists the Barbarossa and the Minotaur Raider under Combat Ships, whereas the Prometheus is listed as Trading Ship.
The Scavanger icon has a pointed front, like other military ships. Civilian ship icons have a rounded or flat front.

[GCU Grey Area]

No, because they are considered military ships.

Can't be as simple as that. I frequently carry cargo when flying L military vessels specifically for the purpose of pirate bait. I do this to avoid FAF rep loss if a Rattlesnake's been harassing my freighters. I fly close, wait for it to scan my hold & demand I drop cargo, then lure it within range of the nearest station which has a decent number of turrets. Rattlesnake goes BOOM! but I don't get the blame. This would not work if a military classification was all it took to be ignored by pirates. If this is the case for Barbarossa (it's a ship I rarely use) 'scavenger' classification must be treated differently.

[TheDeliveryMan]

No, because they are considered military ships.

Can't be as simple as that. I frequently carry cargo when flying L military vessels specifically for the purpose of pirate bait. I do this to avoid FAF rep loss if a Rattlesnake's been harassing my freighters. I fly close, wait for it to scan my hold & demand I drop cargo, then lure it within range of the nearest station which has a decent number of turrets. Rattlesnake goes BOOM! but I don't get the blame. This would not work if a military classification was all it took to be ignored by pirates. If this is the case for Barbarossa (it's a ship I rarely use) 'scavenger' classification must be treated differently.

Are you flying personally? I think that's the exception.

[flywlyx]

Maybe call it the scavenger as a name but class it like a freighter.

No, that would change their usage, Scavangers and Freighters are treated quite differently by pirates and NPC factions.

I believe the OP means scavengers should focus on scavenging, and the Barbarossa's class should be named to reflect its mix of combat and freight roles, perhaps auxiliary cruiser.

So Scavengers are not bothered because of what? More guns?

When AI pirates select a target, they first check the ship’s classification. If it’s a military vessel, they’ll ignore it

[Alan Phipps]

.. but will always check and pursue the player's cargo regardless of ship unless they're already a friend.

[RainerPrem]

No, because they are considered military ships.

Can't be as simple as that. I frequently carry cargo when flying L military vessels specifically for the purpose of pirate bait. I do this to avoid FAF rep loss if a Rattlesnake's been harassing my freighters. I fly close, wait for it to scan my hold & demand I drop cargo, then lure it within range of the nearest station which has a decent number of turrets. Rattlesnake goes BOOM! but I don't get the blame. This would not work if a military classification was all it took to be ignored by pirates. If this is the case for Barbarossa (it's a ship I rarely use) 'scavenger' classification must be treated differently.

Are you flying personally? I think that's the exception.

Yes, this is exactly it. When I have one of my enter ships follow a PGI destroyer, nothing happens. The moment I take over, I get harassed if there is something in the storage. That has happened a lot of times.

[flywlyx]

Yes, this is exactly it. When I have one of my enter ships follow a PGI destroyer, nothing happens. The moment I take over, I get harassed if there is something in the storage. That has happened a lot of times.

That’s going to be hilarious, imagine a player piloting an Asgard with some randomly picked cargo, and a pirate shows up yelling, "Drop your cargo or die!"

[Feloidea]

Yes, this is exactly it. When I have one of my enter ships follow a PGI destroyer, nothing happens. The moment I take over, I get harassed if there is something in the storage. That has happened a lot of times.

That’s going to be hilarious, imagine a player piloting an Asgard with some randomly picked cargo, and a pirate shows up yelling, "Drop your cargo or die!"

Someone call a Teuta, ... but not for me.


This is actually one of my guilty pleasures when I'm bored in the late game. Just load up my personal destroyer that's all kitted out and modded to the high heavens and go pirate fishing.

[Alan Phipps]

Not quite so hilarious if it's 2 or 3 belligerent VIG doomfleets that spot the sandwiches and iced water drinks on your unescorted Asgard.

[GCU Grey Area]

A few years ago had a rather overambitious pirate demand that one of my auxiliaries drop it's cargo of missile parts, etc. That auxiliary was in the middle of a rather substantial fleet at the time. Needless to say that pirate didn't last long at all after it dropped its faction cover & 10 Behemoths suddenly decided they really didn't like the idea of a pirate messing with their repair ship...

[flywlyx]

Not quite so hilarious if it's 2 or 3 belligerent VIG doomfleets that spot the sandwiches and iced water drinks on your unescorted Asgard.

Well, plunderers only target ships of the same class, so that situation won’t happen. Or it will be a good time for a bug report.

This is actually one of my guilty pleasures when I'm bored in the late game. Just load up my personal destroyer that's all kitted out and modded to the high heavens and go pirate fishing.

I found the comment in the AI script quite funny:

<!-- ship the player is flying always has a valid purpose since we don't know what the player is doing. -->

Yeah, sure, just an innocent player with his fully exceptional modified Rattlesnake and some advanced electronics. I’m sure he’s just out there running a harmless trade route, right?

[Alan Phipps]

"Well, plunderers only target ships of the same class,.."

Aren't the Raiding Party Barbarossas that lead many VIG doomfleets the same fight class as a player-piloted Asgard?

Also pirate fight capitals are quite happy trying to plunder from my Promethius fleet, which are listed as M traders and not fight ships.

[stooper88]

Also pirate fight capitals are quite happy trying to plunder from my Promethius fleet, which are listed as M traders and not fight ships.

I confess that I'm no expert on the ship classifications and their corresponding rules of engagement. So, I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with any of the previous comments. However, I have noticed that my Prometheus ships seem to enjoy one advantage that none of my other traders possess. It may be coincidence, observation bias, or just outright hallucination on my part. But whenever pirates assail a Prometheus ship and I order it to escape, the pirates never give chase. They will turn hostile but will seemingly just continue onward without attempting to actually destroy the non-compliant ship.