X3:TC Race Patrols

[solus88]

hi, so ive been getting into X3:TC lately and ive gotten 2-3 complexes going with 10-12 UTs. At one point a Paranid M1 & M2 jumped into " The Wall " and decimated the entire sector. Which i was all for, that told me that there will be race invasions or infighting. However, several days into my play through ive noticed a large build up of race patrols. Random M1s & M2s with full escorts of 30 ships just flying around randomly. Im in a core sector of paranid space with an argon detachent flying around doing nothing....is my race's broken? or.......what

Also, race patrols have more or less wiped out every single pirate base and ship out of existence.

[RAVEN.myst]

Also, race patrols have more or less wiped out every single pirate base and ship out of existence.

Whenever a pirate base is destroyed, it respawns somewhere else. The locations is random, as far as I know, and often pretty out of the way, so if you need those stations for trade or such, you will need to find them through exploration. Pirate ships also get replenished - if you are seeing fewer/none of them, either the pirate bases have spawned in areas you don't visit often, or you have gotten friendly enough with them to show up as blue on your contacts lists, which makes them hard to pick out in a hurry.

I can't answer your other question, sorry

[jorganos]

hi, so ive been getting into X3:TC lately and ive gotten 2-3 complexes going with 10-12 UTs. At one point a Paranid M1 & M2 jumped into " The Wall " and decimated the entire sector. Which i was all for, that told me that there will be race invasions or infighting. However, several days into my play through ive noticed a large build up of race patrols. Random M1s & M2s with full escorts of 30 ships just flying around randomly. Im in a core sector of paranid space with an argon detachent flying around doing nothing....is my race's broken? or.......what

This is called Gunboat Diplomacy, which was practiced e.g. by the German Reich around 1900 in northern Africa. Show up in strength, and take any little provocation to escalate things, then provide a lame apology.

hi,Also, race patrols have more or less wiped out every single pirate base and ship out of existence.

There appears to be a constant number of pirate bases and ships in the universe - they all respawn. Those that aren't found by race patrols are hard to find for the player, too, as your satellite network usually doesn't survive long in Xenon sectors or where drug-addled pirates ignore your friendly status. Sooner or later, the region south of Grand Exchange will host most pirate ships in the game outside of mission fodder.

I always try to make a priority of accepting station placing missions in the independent sectors (also labeled as "pirate" sectors). This increases cargo traffic there (making those "scan for cargo" missions really profitable), keeps some of the patrols busy closing down stations, and might provide sufficient cover for pirate stations spawning in the region.

[solus88]

thanks for replying, and yea i more or less knew about the pirate stations re spawning i just felt a bit disappointed that all pirate capital ships from M7-M1 have been destroyed and i cant practice boarding with them. I dont mind race patrols, just when there is entire fleets in every other sector makes me wonder if my game is just bugged. If the fleets were destroyed after some time that would make sense, but at this rate im wondering if my game universe wil just be like jam packed to the brim full of random patrols.

[RAVEN.myst]

Those pirate capital ships are there somewhere - you simply need to track them down. As mentioned by jorganos, you will likely find plenty in the Mercenaries' Rift, Maelstrom, Gaian Star, Lost Order region. Other places to look include

Spoiler

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certain sectors along the southernmost edge of the universe map

[delray]

Connect Terrans and Argons in the hub and you'll have plenty opportunity for boarding ops, with many capital ships low on shields outside of RRF reach.

Pirate ships ain't that good, tbh.

[AL'42]

Also, race patrols have more or less wiped out every single pirate base and ship out of existence.

The pirate bases re-spawn in random sectors and get killed off again if near any passing patrols so eventually most will end up by default in relatively safe sectors on the edge of the map, like the unknown sectors or far away from any gates.

Go looking in the unknown sectors. I’m +10 game days in and nearly every unknown sector with one gate has a pirate base in it !!

And pirate alley has loads of M1 & M2 commonwealth patrols with up to 30 fighters in my game, makes playing a pirate loads of fun. Don’t like the patrols, choose a side and go cause some havoc. I wouldn’t want it any other way