Going pirate is a bust

[Voodoojedizin]

I had one save slot left so I decided to start a new character and go pirate.
So far I see absolutely no reason, or benefits to being a pirate.
There is no ranking system, you still get attacked by pirates, both in space and on the ground. And you're still called on to fight other pirates when they attack other ships. The jobs you do for the pirates don't offer anything really unique, and mostly just gets you in trouble with the other factions.
Maybe I am missing something but I'm calling being a pirate a bust!

[OriginalGrubby]

Originally posted by Voodoojedizin:

you still get attacked by pirates, both in space and on the ground.

I mean pirates aren't exactly the most trustworthy of folk. If I was a pirate I would still attack another pirate, lol.

[Mr. Bufferlow]

It is pretty much a cosplay thing. The only perk is hanging out in slummy stations a lot more often. It likely does up the combat potential for the game. You have the sentinels scanning for illegal goods and the missions are generally more sketchy. (Not that it is stellar combat...but more contacts)

You can pretty much avoid combat playing regular.

[Johnny in the Clouds]

Originally posted by Voodoojedizin:

...The jobs you do for the pirates don't offer anything really unique, and mostly just gets you in trouble with the other factions.
Maybe I am missing something ...

Trading the goods, rewards and loot that you get from the Outlaw Systems in non-pirate systems you get an enormous price increased for the goods sold. Far larger than trading legal goods. Seriously large price hikes. It's an exciting way to make millions in a short space of time.

You also get rare items like Walker Brains, expensive Even Emergency Broadcast Receivers and Cargo Bulkheads given as mission rewards among other things. Things that otherwise can be difficult to obtain in harder modes.

I've also seen Sentinel Boundary maps dropping in Pirate systems doing those missions although that can be obtained from Sentinel Salvageable Glass. The pirate star ships also drop a lot of loot from their jettisoned barrels. Relics (that offset Ranking penalties), salvageable glass and so on and are also a fun source for nanites by trading unneeded tech upgrades or refining loot.

Freighter Cargo Pods also are a good source of illegal goods too if farmed in Pirate Systems and then traded in legal systems.

You get some really useful suspicious tech, goods and so on from the Traders too, that you don't often get from normal space stations. S- Class ships like solars and exotics make appearances too.

The pirate Cargo Scan Deflector becomes a useful piece of tech to install when returning to normal systems.

And they say 'crime never pays'.

[Jaggid Edje]

Originally posted by Mr. Bufferlow:

It is pretty much a cosplay thing.

LOL, I think you mean "roleplay" thing. Unless you're dressing up in a fancy space-pirate outfit before you sit down to play the game...if so, you do you.

[Voodoojedizin]

Originally posted by Johnny in the Clouds:

Originally posted by Voodoojedizin:

...The jobs you do for the pirates don't offer anything really unique, and mostly just gets you in trouble with the other factions.
Maybe I am missing something ...

Trading the goods, rewards and loot that you get from the Outlaw Systems in non-pirate systems you get an enormous price increased for the goods sold. Far larger than trading legal goods. Seriously large price hikes.

You also get rare items like Walker Brains, Even Emergency Broadcast Receivers and Cargo Bulkheads given as mission rewards among other things. Also I've seen Sentinel Boundary maps dropping in Pirate systems doing those missions although that can be obtained from Sentinel Salvageable Glass. The pirate star ships also drop a lot of loot from their jettisoned barrels. Relics (that offset Ranking penalties), salvageable glass and so on and are also fun source for nanites by trading unneeded tech upgrades or refining loot.

Freighter Cargo Pods also are a good source of illegal goods too if farmed in Pirate Systems.

You get some really useful suspicious tech, goods and so on from the Traders too, that you don't often get from normal space stations. S- Class ships like solars and exotics make appearances too.

The pirate Cargo Scan Deflector becomes a useful piece of tech to install when returning to normal systems.

And they say 'crime never pays'.

But you can get all of which you mentioned and don't have to be a pirate.
And there is so much money in this game that trading is a joke. Just owning a freighter with trade and mining ships can earn you millions on every run and you don't have to do anything.

[Voodoojedizin]

The regular factions in the game have a rating, system that depends on how many jobs you do for them, or how many times you save them from attacks, or help repair their ships when they stop you. Pirates don't have this so there's nothing to gain from being a pirate. You don't even get a bounty placed on your head, which would be a fun idea forcing you to sneak around through the galaxy.

I think the game needs some kind of ranking system, both for pirates and the regular game. I mean after it's known you killed 100/or however many, attackers, you think they would start wising up and you wouldn't be a target so often.
I know there's no honor with thieves, but pirates attacking other pirates doesn't make any sense, they didn't do that in real history.

[Johnny in the Clouds]

Originally posted by Voodoojedizin:

But you can get all of which you mentioned and don't have to be a pirate.
And there is so much money in this game that trading is a joke. Just owning a freighter with trade and mining ships can earn you millions on every run and you don't have to do anything.

Adding tech and storage to all nine starships and six multi-tools is very expensive and time consuming. Visiting Pirate systems every once in a while helps accelerate the income for a character especially in early stages of the game when other sources of income or farming might not be as lucrative. This is especially useful in the more restricted harder game modes like Survival and Permadeath.

Originally posted by Voodoojedizin:

...You don't even get a bounty placed on your head, which would be a fun idea forcing you to sneak around through the galaxy.

I think the game needs some kind of ranking system, both for pirates and the regular game. I mean after it's known you killed 100/or however many, attackers, you think they would start wising up and you wouldn't be a target so often....

I like the bounty idea causing you to be looking over your shoulder for a short time. : D

I'd like to see some shady areas in our Settlements become a thing. Like finding a dark corner of our settlement entertainment bar to do some dodgy deals.

Carrying the Cargo Deflector Scanner helps a bit from preventing attacks. Picking up defence chits from doing delivery missions in normal systems can also be useful avoiding attacks.

But yeah you make some good points. Maybe if Hello Games haven't considered things like that drop them a memo at their Zendesk.[hellogames.zendesk.com]

[AzhureDragon]

I was wondering if I should try the Pirate route; however, after reading this thread, I think I'll bypass it. After this last Expedition (7), sticking to Normal. Have no desire for Survival or Permadeath and thus the need for extra income.

Thanks for all the info.

[Dirak2012]

You don't even need to fight "the authorities" when you warp in a system, you appear basically next to the space station... you can get there in like 5 seconds, sell your "illicit goods" and forget about it.

[Jaggid Edje]

Or just use the teleporter in the pirate station to portal to your base that's built on a planet-side trading post, where you get the best prices for your illicit goods...and never even risk a scan, much less an attack by the authorities.

[Krash Megiddo]

No honor among thieves

[Johnny in the Clouds]

Originally posted by AzhureDragon:

I was wondering if I should try the Pirate route; however, after reading this thread, I think I'll bypass it. After this last Expedition (7), sticking to Normal. Have no desire for Survival or Permadeath and thus the need for extra income.

Thanks for all the info.

Pirate systems are still fun to visit in any galaxy in any game mode, if only to see the variety of ships and occasional purchase of illegal good or potentially useful tech. The relics you get can help ranking a little quicker and can be used in any system for character progress. Not every system is aggressive and they break the sometimes repeating familiarity of regular systems and space stations. We really need a space station update and more polish to derelict freighters.

[Nightweaver20xx]

The problem with this update and with most of their other updates is that they're mostly cosmetic, a fresh coat of paint on the game, but no real added depth. I have over 730 hours in NMS and even with all the updates like pirates, I've run out of stuff to do really. It's all just so shallow and cosmetic. I just wish HG would provide some in-depth systems to the game instead of just another way to get upgrades so you can explore faster, so you can get more upgrades to explore faster.

[Kobs]

Personally, I like being a rogue sob, I shoot who ever I want, when I want and I don't really give a damn who I cross cause no one can touch me loll

[Mr. Bufferlow]

Originally posted by Nightweaver20xx:

The problem with this update and with most of their other updates is that they're mostly cosmetic, a fresh coat of paint on the game, but no real added depth. I have over 730 hours in NMS and even with all the updates like pirates, I've run out of stuff to do really. It's all just so shallow and cosmetic. I just wish HG would provide some in-depth systems to the game instead of just another way to get upgrades so you can explore faster, so you can get more upgrades to explore faster.

Per the Steam Store Page:
"No Man's Sky is a game about exploration and survival in an infinite procedurally generated universe."

That is the depth. It is just an infinite play field that you explore and survive in. Everything else was added to entice in players who don't like exploring and to give those of us who do like exploring a break from doing it 24/7.

That is where folks get confused and want "depth" when the depth is already baked in. The summary is the game. Everything else is just cosmetic and not intended to be another pool of game play. Base building sort of breaks that a bit but even that has practical limits.