ship protect mission......AAaaarrrrgh !

[brattbags01]

Picked up a protect convoy mission in unknown sector (south of heavens Assertion) flying to a factory in Heavens Assertion so not too far then, managed to beat of four waves of fighters etc in my Tiger using missiles and flack then the two ships flew round and round the station they were supposed to dock at until they were destroyed, WTF, they could have docked there several times but no way, must've had a death wish

[VincentTH]

Picked up a protect convoy mission in unknown sector (south of heavens Assertion) flying to a factory in Heavens Assertion so not too far then, managed to beat of four waves of fighters etc in my Tiger using missiles and flack then the two ships flew round and round the station they were supposed to dock at until they were destroyed, WTF, they could have docked there several times but no way, must've had a death wish

You have to use SETA to force them to dock! Also stay out of their way, cuz they would never dock, being prevented by collision detection codes.

The only protect convoy missions I do are the OTAS opening mission , and the OFF escort missions (no docking envolved), and I won't do them unless I have an M7M with Flail. Otherwise, I pass on all of them, including the TerraCorp opening mission: they are a waste of my time.

[SIMON POPPLEWELL]

I can't see why anyone would want to willing do those missions.

[GalenEvil]

A few fighters docked in TMs fitted with codea along with Mars and litcubes bounce script make these quite easy for me. The docked fighters will undock and auto attack when enemies start getting close and Mars will help them hit their targets better. But those scripts will all set the game to modified so if you are looking for a vanilla solution this wont really help. I have never used a capital ship doing them but that would probably make it even easier.

--GalenEvil

[Greyhawk1]

Rule #1 of any game "NEVER do escort missions"

They are wholly reliant on usually abysmal AI. Its even worse in this game where your own guns invariably kill whatever you are protecting.

AVOID at ALL COSTS!

[Nanook]

I disagree. Convoy escort missions taken from someone at a station, when the convoy isn't in that sector, are super easy. Just note the general route they're to take, and NEVER go in those sectors until the mission is complete. If you never are in the same sector, or one of the sectors they'll pass through, the enemies never spawn, and the convoy will eventually reach its destination and you'll get paid. For doing absolutely nothing! It's how I do all the corp convoy escorts, as well as generic ones if possible. The only exceptions are the Final Fury escort missions. You can't get out of those, unfortunately.

Happy Convoying!

[Nagittchi]

That doesn't work anymore. I saw two convoy missions together and tried that out a week ago and the result was "Protect 3 ships... 2 ships... 1 ship... MISSION FAILED".

Never do Stolen Ship missions, Covert Op missions or Convoy Protect missions.

They're ridiculous and rage inducing. I just completed a mission for the Aldrin plot... glad the unit was essential because he kept spinning around the warpgate as more Xenon spawned in.

[Nanook]

That doesn't work anymore. I saw two convoy missions together and tried that out a week ago and the result was "Protect 3 ships... 2 ships... 1 ship... MISSION FAILED"....

Sorry, but yes it does, unless the escort mission is one of those 'in the wild', i.e., given by the convoy itself. Like I said, you can't ever be in the same sector with the convoy, and if you start out in the same sector, you've gotta do it the hard way. I know it still works because I just did one for NMMC.

And by the way, Stolen Ship missions are fun once they reach M6 level and above. Then all you've gotta do is board them. Easy. As for Covert Ops missions, I've never failed one yet, and I've done quite a few. While individual missions may occasionally be impossible to complete, every mission type is doable, given good starting conditions. So never say never.

[Nagittchi]

Oh my bad. I missed a critical part in your statement where they have to be taken from the station and spawn out of sector.

Still doesn't work for those floating around in space though

[Romantic Heretic]

Odd. I've succeeded at a couple of convoy missions. Wasn't easy but I did it. I'm pretty new to the game too.

Of course they only had to go a single sector which may have helped.

[Gothsheep]

Odd. I've succeeded at a couple of convoy missions. Wasn't easy but I did it. I'm pretty new to the game too.

Of course they only had to go a single sector which may have helped.

They aren't impossible, they're just not worth it.

[T.S.Zatoichi]

Odd. I've succeeded at a couple of convoy missions. Wasn't easy but I did it. I'm pretty new to the game too.

Of course they only had to go a single sector which may have helped.

Their also easier if your new with a low fight rank.

[Starlight_Corporation]

I did a few at the start and then they're fun. Some fighetrs show up, and you get m to blast into pieces! Nice & easy if you got some combatskills.
In the endgame you better be a masochist if you want to be in sector and protect them as the enemy will sent entire armada's upon it. Just imagine, 3 TS ships being attacked by a fleet composing of fighters, corvettes, frigates and sometimes even carriers & destroyers. Good luck fending that off!

[glenmcd]

One convoy mission that most of us have done is the first one in the Terran plot. Here's how I do it now:

Spoiler

Show

1. Start the mission. Wait until the Terran Scabbard is flying towards the North gate. SETA until then but stay within 5KM.
2. Get the hell out of there and don't come back until you hear "Thanks for the Escort. You guys weren't THAT bad..".

As Nanook explained, if you're not in the sector, the enemies don't spawn.
Also if you're doing speed runs, if you're OOS then it all happens at maximum speed.
Doing convoy missions for me feels identical to ripping my toenails out. Really, really slowly.

[Threesixtyci]

Next time, jump out of the sector. They'll dock then.
Works the same for getting them through jump gates. As in, go through first. Otherwise they either crash into the gate ring or get taken out, by the next spawn of bad guys.

But really the only thing convoy mission are good at is improving race rep. In the spawning of all those red ships and improving the sector race rep for each one you kill. You do have to get lucky in that the convoy goes through the bad rep sectors.

And then there is that other trick of buy and selling constantly to a trading station in border sectors.... but what's the fun in that?

[glenmcd]

But really the only thing convoy mission are good at is improving race rep.

Agreed. Here's a novel way of getting rep up through fighting: Keep an eye on Black Hole Sun patrol missions. Every so often there will be one that starts in BHS, and ends in one of the Split sectors a bit North. So one of the sectors that you're supposed to patrol is a Xenon sector. As long as you're packing some big guns (and shields) some hefty rep increases will surely follow