Can you claim an Ecliptic ship you catch on the ground?

[Apex Artist]

I came onto an Ecliptic Stiletto parked outside an oil refinery, boarded it and cleared out the crew. From what I've read, this is a rather lousy A class ship, but I'm wondering why I can't sit in the captain's seat/fly it/claim it. It's an A ship, same class you start with.

[Hanok]

Not sure why but some ships well have a 'your not authorized to pilot this ship' message. No explanation and people have maxed their ship traits by cheats and it still wont let them.

It's like Bethesda giving the player a big fu^k you.

[BaneBlackGuard]

normally yes you can board and take them over, some you just can't, for whatever reason. might belong to a quest or something?

[wolfxrayet]

It seems some mission related ships cannot be claimed. But, maybe you encountered a bug. Outside of said mission ships, I have never not been able to steal a ship.

[Djozar]

Some of them can't be taken over, but those are few and far between. I found one that ended up being a meeting place for an illegal sale.

[Apex Artist]

Well, after I found out it was an A class ship, but I still couldn't take it, I started dropping all of my unwanted weapons in its back bay, just inside the door. A whole stack of Grindels, etc.

I already finished the Freestar run so have the best A class in the game, but was hoping to practice doing ship mods on this one I found.

So based on what I'm hearing, I'll just pull my outpost beacon marking the location and forget about the ship. Thanks

[TrilleX]

i had one stilleto land in front of me cleared it and couldnt take it, luckily another ecliptic bayonet land like 200 meters away and cleared that and i could steal it. maybe its random or i missed a contraband package or something but the bayonet i could take no problem

[cbiocca]

Originally posted by Apex Artist:

I came onto an Ecliptic Stiletto parked outside an oil refinery, boarded it and cleared out the crew. From what I've read, this is a rather lousy A class ship, but I'm wondering why I can't sit in the captain's seat/fly it/claim it. It's an A ship, same class you start with.

You have to get your Pilot skill up. Most ships can't be taken unless you maxed out your pilot skill. I found a ship on Mars, with a Nova Galactic Cabot bridge on it and I couldn't take it. I came back later after I had maxed out my pilot skill, it was still right where I found it and I was able to take it.

[Vlad 254]

I grab my fair share of them when I can. Most can be jacked provided you have the skills ranked up.

[Mountain Man]

Originally posted by cbiocca:

Originally posted by Apex Artist:

I came onto an Ecliptic Stiletto parked outside an oil refinery, boarded it and cleared out the crew. From what I've read, this is a rather lousy A class ship, but I'm wondering why I can't sit in the captain's seat/fly it/claim it. It's an A ship, same class you start with.

You have to get your Pilot skill up. Most ships can't be taken unless you maxed out your pilot skill. I found a ship on Mars, with a Nova Galactic Cabot bridge on it and I couldn't take it. I came back later after I had maxed out my pilot skill, it was still right where I found it and I was able to take it.

Even with a maxed piloting skill, there are some ships that simply can't be stolen, which can be frustrating when you find a really awesome ship only to be told you're not authorized to pilot it.

[cbiocca]

Originally posted by Mountain Man:

Originally posted by cbiocca:

You have to get your Pilot skill up. Most ships can't be taken unless you maxed out your pilot skill. I found a ship on Mars, with a Nova Galactic Cabot bridge on it and I couldn't take it. I came back later after I had maxed out my pilot skill, it was still right where I found it and I was able to take it.

Even with a maxed piloting skill, there are some ships that simply can't be stolen, which can be frustrating when you find a really awesome ship only to be told you're not authorized to pilot it.

Then the only conclusion that I can come up with is that there's a requirement that hasn't been met yet.

[HeyYou]

Some ships on the ground, you simply cannot take. The same ship, taken in space however, is fair game..... I haven't seen an explanation for that behavior yet.... I have a mod that allows me to take any ship though, and so far, I have not encountered any problems with it. Been runnin it for quite some time too.... I don't know what beth's reasoning was there..... The random ships landing, ALL should be fair game once you clear them out. But, they are not....

[Liquid Inc]

Originally posted by cbiocca:

Originally posted by Mountain Man:

Even with a maxed piloting skill, there are some ships that simply can't be stolen, which can be frustrating when you find a really awesome ship only to be told you're not authorized to pilot it.

Then the only conclusion that I can come up with is that there's a requirement that hasn't been met yet.

For some, there is no requirement that you can meet, such as those for the "Wanted!" trait. The Claymores that land due to that trait can't be taken.

There are others too, like the Vanguard ships. Only time i can take them is when they're in space.
Planetside they're always locked, usually with 1 crew member "fixing" the cockpit. Normally the ship is a Raptor, but sometimes it can be other types, but all are unable to be piloted.


One way i know if a ship can be taken, is if it's marked on the mini map with an actual icon (Like ship landing site). If it is, then you can take it, if it's not marked and all you see is the orange silhouette, then you can't.

[captainpatch]

Originally posted by Hanok:

Not sure why but some ships well have a 'your not authorized to pilot this ship' message. No explanation and people have maxed their ship traits by cheats and it still wont let them.

Ships that you are not authorized to pilot may be because 1) it is of a class higher rating than your current Piloting Skill rating. 2) The vessel belongs to an ally, someone that you simply wouldn't/shouldn't be stealing from, a ship where you haven't dispatched ALL of the crew yet, or it belongs to someone waaayyy out of your league. (Such as the UC Vigilance, both too big and the UC is too fowerful to allow you to steal one of its ships.)

The other common denial is, "This ship has been rendered inoperable" either by mishap, damage in an accident, or deliberate sabotage. Meaning that it has been "totaled" and can no longer be operated. (Usually, after I've looted such a ship, after I Undock I destroy the ship so it is no long a "traffic hazard".)

Originally posted by BaneBlackGuard:

normally yes you can board and take them over, some you just can't, for whatever reason. might belong to a quest or something?

CAUTION: To claim such a vessel in vanilla, you MUST make it your Home ship. Which means that if your current Home ship is a MUCH better ship with a large crew, you will suddenly have to get by with a wimpier vessel and most of your crew will get Unassigned. (And you have no control over which crew members become Unassigned.)

Originally posted by Apex Artist:

Well, after I found out it was an A class ship, but I still couldn't take it, I started dropping all of my unwanted weapons in its back bay, just inside the door. A whole stack of Grindels, etc.

Because a character CAN be overburdened to the tune of multiple kilo-TONS of gear, there should be no need to unload anything; just keep the excess on your person. If you make the new ship your Home ship, and the new ship has notably less cargo capacity -- say Old had a 2,000 capacity and the new only 220, the entire ship Inventory WILL nonetheless transfer to the new ship. You won't be able to add anything to ship Inventory, and anything you pull out won't be able to be put back again. But you will be able to sell excess wait and/or mod the ship to have A LOT more cargo capacity, or you might switch Home status to a ship with A LOT more cargo capacity.