Finding better pilots, there must be an easier way

[Bad Omen]

In my experience, 'Women that hang around docks on their own are not pilots'.

So, I buy around 4-6 Mercury transports at a time, and they come with 'Pimple Faced Youths' waving their provisional driving license claiming to be 'Da Captain'. Jog on, your P45 is in the post.

I then have to spend my time wandering around the Argon Prime docks, like some kind of 'Sex Pest', brandishing a bag full of cash trying to hire anyone that can actually fly said ships.

There has to be an easier way. How did you find good pilots?

*For those not in the UK; a P45 is the tax form you have to give employees when they 'leave'.

[Fartikus]

Try teleporting to the small factory stations with a single 1M6S dock. I have been noticing that all of the NPC's are crammed into the smaller spaces, making it easier to find them. Also, I think that ship construction areas eventually siphon off the NPC's themselves to crew the new-built ships. So looking for pilots at wharfs and shipyards can be a pain in the butt.

I been having great success by teleporting to small stations, looking around, and if it's lots of people, sending an empty 6-man small ship in to collect all the 2 and 3-star pilots. Then I ferry those people to wherever I have a larger "barracks ship" parked and dump all the pilots in there.

[cheef]

It seems 2,75 pilot stars have only ARG/ANT NPC. So In 3.1 better places to find such pilots are ARG/ANT stations with 1M6S dock and high workforce. Specially I like Argon Prime Warf.

In 3.2 beta argonians could be found everywhere across universe

[Inforiel]

There's seminars to get them going these days.

And mods that unlock more seminars.
And mods that make faster leveling a thing.


If you do not want to mod, propably best method is leaving it to stations to level your traders up.

Simplistic stations with lots of sale trips, like energy cells in starved sectors, smart chips and mikrochips are very useful if you have access to those.

[Fartikus]

I used to get pilots at Argon Prime Wharf, but now it's a wasteland. I think all the people at the wharf got grabbed for NPC ship crews.

I noticed the same thing at Paranid Wharf. Nobody's home.

[cheef]

Originally posted by Fartikus:

I used to get pilots at Argon Prime Wharf, but now it's a wasteland. I think all the people at the wharf got grabbed for NPC ship crews.

I noticed the same thing at Paranid Wharf. Nobody's home.

yeah, sometimes it's happens, search for station with workforce then

[HoloByteus]

I find it a bit strange with 5 L argon habitats and 3 teladi, my newly built Split ships are staffed with Split... I have no habitats.

I'm more interested in unique models than pilot skills.. for trade Managers are what counts and for combat I can get them to two easy enough. I found a model once that had a nice outfit and didn't look like something from Dawn of the Dead. I was surprised I couldn't Com her from the station crew info.... she ended up leaving on a ship before I could track her down again. :( I couldn't find her in my 2000+ crew list, could really use a search here.

[Igigi]

https://www.nexusmods.com/x4foundations/mods/27

[Sticky]

Other than the seminars you can either buy from trader up to 2 star, or missions that you can max pilots. Your pilots will level things like Manager abilitys while being a trader, and level Pilots level piliot ability from actively fighting using combat orders from a Fleet Leader.

[pinewoodro]

Might be just my game but I always find the best range and variety of pilots/crew/managers/marines on Pirate stations. Usually loads of them hanging around and I can pick up some EMP bombs while I'm there.