Bounty Hunting Locations & Primer

Bounty Hunter Bunch
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Bounty Hunting Locations & Primer

Postby ZATZAi » Sun Oct 26, 2014 11:05 am

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I’ve been Bounty Hunting in Elite Dangerous with others for a little while now and it has proven quite lucrative and fun. You can do it solo but it is more rewarding with a wingman, especially if you want to take on big fish like Anacondas. One thing to keep in mind though is that with Bounty Hunting whoever gets the killing blow gets all the spoils, and Frontier has stated it will stay this way. This can be fun if you’re competing with another play or NPC for a bounty as you can snipe the kill, but with a teammate you might want to take turns. Bounty Hunting can be a lot of fun though, and a great way to make money in the game. I’m sure as Frontier continues to add features to Elite it will only get more engaging.

Great as Elite Dangerous is, it is lacking in documentation, and thus there is a lot of confusion amongst new players on how to Bounty hunt properly. It’s easy when first starting out to not make much money at it or get a bounty on oneself and be chased be the local security. This is a guide to help alleviate those teething issues and give a new or even an somewhat seasoned player a guide on how to Bounty Hunt and where the good hunting grounds are.

Where can I Bounty Hunt?

In truth, you can Bounty Hunt anywhere in the game so long as it is not within the no-fire zone of a station (Though be careful not to get a bounty on yourself outside of Anarchy systems). So yes you can hunt outside a station so long as you are far enough out, but good luck getting the kill before ships warp away! Most people Bounty hunt at one of two locations, Extraction Points and Nav Beacons, because both of these locations have a wealth of wanted ships passing through them.

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Extraction Points are where you and NPCs go to mine rocks, and of course there will be pirates there to hunt the miners. Those pirates are your prey as by and large they will have bounties on them. Extraction Points tend to be filled with Sidewinders and Cobras which are usually not worth very much in Bounties (You’ll be lucky to see a Cobra with $10k). Still it can be fun to dart in and out of the rocks, just be mindful not to fly into anything accidentally while you’re chasing down your prey!

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Nav Beacons are where the real money is at in Bounty Hunting, these locations which are always close to a star but do not exist in every system are always full of ships coming and going. You will find merchant vessels, security forces, pirates and other Bounty Hunters at these locations. Some of them will even hunt you, perhaps even while you’re chasing someone else! At Nav Beacons you’ll find the larger prey, Anacondas worth $45k, Asps worth $20k and Lakon Type 9s worth $6k, as well as all the other ships in the game.

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Anarchy Systems are the best place to bounty hunt as you can safely shoot anyone there, whether they are wanted in the system or not. This is important because if you know someone is wanted in another system thanks to the Kill Warrant Scanner but they’re not wanted in the system your currently in, then shooting them would be a crime. You can still do it of course, and get the bounty for them if you succeed, but you’ll now have a bounty on your head and the authorities will be chasing after you! This is why many prefer to Bounty Hunt in Anarchy Systems so that you can go after any ship with a Bounty on it with impunity, regardless of if they are wanted within the solar system or outside it or both.

But if you do intend to Bounty Hunt in civilized space, either only hunt people that are wanted in that system or be ready to fight and/or run from the authorities and other Bounty Hunters when they come gunning for you. You’re wanted status won’t carry over to other systems, but anyone with a Kill Warrant Scanner (Like other Bounty Hunters) will be able to see if there is a price on your head in other systems and then try to claim it.
Last edited by ZATZAi on Mon Oct 27, 2014 6:30 am, edited 8 times in total.
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Bounty Hunting Locations

Postby ZATZAi » Sun Oct 26, 2014 11:05 am

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There are a lot of systems in Elite Dangerous, but not as many Anarchy systems where the prime Bounty Hunting can be had. Even so space is pretty vast and one has to wonder are all Anarchy systems the same? Or are some better than others as far as the Bounty Hunter is concerned…

To answer that I went on a journey across the skies going from one Anarchy system to another. Checking if they had Nav Beacons and how much traffic transited through their space over a 24 hour period (Stations provide a daily traffic report on Galnet). As one might expect the traffic got lighter as you got further from the core worlds, and at a certain point Nav Beacons stopped appearing entirely. This may change as the game evolved and more systems are added so I have included a list below of systems I visited to compile this data…

Systems Cataloged

    26 Draconis
    Chara
    CM Draco *
    Eta Corontea Borealis
    Hepa
    Keries
    LFT 992 *
    LFT 1072
    LHS 283
    LHS 2819
    LHS 2936
    LHS 2948
    LHS 3057
    LP 7-226
    LP 98-132
    Morgor

Italics = No Nav Beacon Detected In System
Asterisk = Nav Beacon Not At Primary Star
Bold = Nav Beacon Present

One thing to keep in mind is that the Nav Beacon is not always present at the star you drop out of hyperspace from. Sometimes it’s at a sister star, in which case you’ll have to do a bit of travelling…

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Now for those systems that were Anarchy Systems and did have a Nav Beacon either at the star you dropped out of hyperspace onto or the sister star, I have included there relevant details below. Naming the station closest to the Nav Beacon, the distance to said station from where you drop out of hyperspace, the local Galnet traffic report and how far the system is from Eranin in light years. So if you feel like changing it up a bit for the night, or your regular bounty hunting location is a bit over crowded you now have some options.

CM Draco

    Distance from Eranin: 14.4Ly
    Economy: Extraction
    Government: Anarchy
    Population: 250
    Nav Beacon: Yes
    Location: Sister Star
    Station Name: Anderson Escape
    Distance From Beacon: 33.7Ls
    Distance From Drop: 198,359Ls
    Type: Station
    October 26th 2014 Traffic Report
    Anaconda: 0
    Asp Explorer: 11
    Cobra Mk III: 68
    Eagle Mk II: 8
    Lakon Type 6: 24
    Lakon Type 9: 0
    Sidewinder Mk I: 9
    Viper Mk III: 5
    Zorgon Peterson Hauler: 19
    Total Transiting System: 144

Keries

    Distance from Eranin: 17.092Ly
    Economy: Extraction
    Government: Anarchy
    Population: 500
    Nav Beacon: Yes
    Location: Drop Star
    Station Name: Derrickson's Escape
    Distance From Beacon: 263Ls
    Distance From Drop: 263Ls
    Type: Station
    October 26th 2014 Traffic Report
    Anaconda: 1
    Asp Explorer: 15
    Cobra Mk III: 251
    Eagle Mk II: 61
    Lakon Type 6: 51
    Lakon Type 9: 3
    Sidewinder Mk I: 54
    Viper Mk III: 38
    Zorgon Peterson Hauler: 111
    Total Transiting System: 585

LFT 992

    Distance from Eranin: 16.546Ly
    Economy: Extraction
    Government: Anarchy
    Population: 5,000
    Nav Beacon: Yes
    Location: Sister Star
    Station Name: Szulkin Mines
    Distance From Beacon: 518Ls
    Distance From Drop: 132,635Ls
    Type: Station
    October 26th 2014 Traffic Report
    Anaconda: 0
    Asp Explorer: 2
    Cobra Mk III: 36
    Eagle Mk II: 10
    Lakon Type 6: 13
    Lakon Type 9: 0
    Sidewinder Mk I: 1
    Viper Mk III: 3
    Zorgon Peterson Hauler: 22
    Total Transiting System: 87

LHS 2819

    Distance from Eranin: 14.6Ly
    Economy: Extraction
    Government: Anarchy
    Population: 500
    Nav Beacon: Yes
    Location: Drop Star
    Station Name: Tasaki Freeport
    Distance From Beacon: 801Ls
    Distance From Drop: 801Ls
    Type: Station
    October 26th 2014 Traffic Report
    Anaconda: 0
    Asp Explorer: 8
    Cobra Mk III: 41
    Eagle Mk II: 5
    Lakon Type 6: 16
    Lakon Type 9: 1
    Sidewinder Mk I: 2
    Viper Mk III: 4
    Zorgon Peterson Hauler: 11
    Total Transiting System: 88

LP 98-132

    Distance from Eranin: 5.23Ly
    Economy: Extraction
    Government: Anarchy
    Population: 1,500
    Nav Beacon: Yes
    Location: Drop Star
    Station Name: Freeport
    Distance From Beacon: 182Ls
    Distance From Drop: 182Ls
    Type: Station
    October 26th 2014 Traffic Report
    Anaconda: 4
    Asp Explorer: 33
    Cobra Mk III: 507
    Eagle Mk II: 273
    Lakon Type 6: 48
    Lakon Type 9: 3
    Sidewinder Mk I: 953
    Viper Mk III: 409
    Zorgon Peterson Hauler: 239
    Total Transiting System: 2,469

Morgor

    Distance from Eranin: 8.23Ly
    Economy: Extraction
    Government: Anarchy
    Population: 1,500
    Nav Beacon: Yes
    Location: Drop Star
    Station Name: Romanek's Folly
    Distance From Beacon: 913Ls
    Distance From Drop: 913Ls
    Type: Station
    October 26th 2014 Traffic Report
    Anaconda: 0
    Asp Explorer: 13
    Cobra Mk III: 294
    Eagle Mk II: 169
    Lakon Type 6: 41
    Lakon Type 9: 0
    Sidewinder Mk I: 543
    Viper Mk III: 162
    Zorgon Peterson Hauler: 192
    Total Transiting System: 1,414

It probably goes without saying, but if your objective is to find and kill targets with bounties on them then your best bet is to go to the higher trafficked systems. So that means LP 98-132 and Morgor, at least for now. This is also where you’ll find the most competition for bounties though, so don’t be afraid to venture further out or try Extractions Sites. There is plenty of money to be made…
Last edited by ZATZAi on Mon Oct 27, 2014 6:30 am, edited 6 times in total.
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Bounty Hunting Primer

Postby ZATZAi » Sun Oct 26, 2014 11:06 am

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The Kill Warrant Scanner is a Bounty Hunters best friend, while it’s not required to go Bounty Hunting, you’ll make a lot more money when using it. It’s a device that you have to purchase and it equips to one of the utility mounts on your ship.

It allows you to scan a ship, without firing on it, and see if they are wanted in other systems. Sometimes a ship marked Clean in the system your in is wanted in another system, in which case if you kill it you’ll get the bounty (But be careful about doing this is non-Anarchy Systems or you risk getting a bounty yourself). Or if the ship is Wanted you can potentially increase the bounty by seeing if they are wanted in other systems in addition to the current one.

They come in various price ranges from $40k to over a million, the difference is basically how close you have to be to the target to scan it. The lower end models tend to require you to be within 2Km of your target (Which is doable but can be hard if you target is taking evasive actions) and it only gets better from there.

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Fire Groups are how you use your Kill Warrant Scanner, while it is not a weapon, it is operated like one. In order to use it you have to assign it to either your primary or secondary fire button in one of your Fire Groups. You can access your Fire Groups on the right hand panel…

Each column represents a Fire Group that your can switch between using whatever hot key you have assigned in your controls. You can navigate up, down, left and right on these items using the WASD keys and Q/E to switch between tabs then press SPACE to make a selection or change. If you assign a item a number (1) that means it’s keyed to the primary fire button for that fire group. If you assign it a number (2) then it’s keyed to the secondary fire button under that fire group.

So in the image above for example, Beam Lasers are assigned to the secondary fire button of the first fire group, and Multi-Cannons are assigned to the primary fire button of the same control group. In order to use the Kill Warrant Scanner with the above configuration one would have to switch to the secondary fire group and then pull the primary fire button as the Kill Warrant Scanner is assigned (1) under column [2] which indicated button 1, fire group 2.

Refer to your game controls to see which buttons you have assigned to fire button 1 and 2.

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In order to find out if a ship is wanted you’ll first have to get within range of it and then target it. After a few seconds your ship scanners will tell you if the vessel has a local warrant on it. If it does it will show WANTED to the left of your scanner as in the picture above. If they are not wanted locally then it will instead say CLEAN. However this is not your Kill Warrant Scanner only the built in sensors of the ship and only local status will be shown here.

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Now to find out if a ship is wanted in other systems you need to use your Kill Warrant Scanner. You’ll have to deploy your hardpoints to do this, and ships will be alerted when you attempt to scan them. Don’t be surprised if some ships immediately start running!

To scan a ship with your Kill Warrant Scanner you will need to target it and press and hold the corresponding fire button for your Kill Warrant Scanner. Be careful not to press the wrong button or be using the wrong fire group, you wouldn’t want to shoot an innocent ship accidentally now would you? You should see K-WARRANT SCAN on your HUD if you are in the Fire Group you have your Kill Warrant Scanner assigned to. Some people like to have it on the same fire group as their regular guns, others like to have guns and scanners separated, it really comes down to personal preference and if you’re a shoot first ask questions later type person.

You scan the ship the same way you would shoot it. PRESS and HOLD the fire button for your Kill Warrant Scanner until the blue bar on your HUD completely fills (A marker on the reticule will also close as the scan completes). You don’t have to wait for the ship scanners to complete a local warrant check either, you can use you Kill Warrant Scanner at the same time. More than likely the ship will be trying to escape you at this point, so give chase! If the ship should move out of your view just keep holding the fire button for the Kill Warrant Scanner and once the ship is back in view it will start scanning again. You’ll have lost a little progress but you won’t have to start over (If you let go of the button or it is out of view for too long you will be forced to start over).

Once the scan is complete you can let go of the button and switch to your regular fire group.

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Now that the scan is complete you still won’t know if they are wanted in other systems or what their bounty is until you check your left panel.

Once you’re looking at your left panel, under contacts you will see information about the ship you currently have targeted, included any information the Kill Warrant Scanner acquired. If the ship is wanted it will show a Bounty of something greater than $0, this includes local bounties. Bounties inside and outside the solar system are not segregated, so if you want to know the difference you have to check this screen both before and after using the Kill Warrant Scanner.

If they have a bounty on them then that means they are wanted either in this system or another (The left panel does not distinguish between local and non-local bounties) and if you manage to kill them you will collect a voucher which you can turn in at a station for money. Now if you’re in an Anarchy system then by all means fire away if you think you can take them, but if you’re in more civilized space you might want to think twice if they are not wanted locally (Remember if they are wanted locally it will say WANTED to the left of your scanner). If you shoot someone who isn’t wanted locally in safe space then you can expect to have a bounty put on your head and have both local authorities and other Bounty Hunters chasing after you.

Bounties will not carry over to other systems but other Bounty Hunters with Kill Warrant Scanners will be able to scan you and see that you’re wanted in other systems and try to claim your bounty.
Last edited by ZATZAi on Mon Oct 27, 2014 6:29 am, edited 5 times in total.
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Bounty Hunting Primer Continued

Postby ZATZAi » Sun Oct 26, 2014 11:10 am

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Once you have scanned your target with the Kill Warrant Scanner to get maximum bounty payout (Or if you don’t have a Kill Warrant Scanner once you know they are wanted locally from your regular ship scanner), it’s time to warm up your guns. If you’re in an Anarchy System you could have started shooting straight away while the scan is ongoing (So long as you don’t quibble about firing on innocents), but if you’re in safe space you should wait until the local scan is complete. Opening fire on ship before your local scan completes (Not your Kill Warrant Scan mind you but your ship scanner which runs automatically on anything you have targeted) is the same as opening fire on a Clean ship, and if you’re not in an Anarchy System you can expect to get a Bounty on your head for doing so.

Now I won’t bother going into any combat tactics here but one thing to keep in mind is this. Whoever gets the kill shot gets the bounty. So that means if you and someone else, even an NPC, are competing for the same target the last shot is all that matters. You could also use this to snipe kills from others by swooping in at the last moment. If you’re working with a wingman you might want to take turns with the kill shot as bounties are not split. So hold off when the ship is almost dead.

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Once the target ship goes boom you should get an indication in the top right if you got the bounty. That is assuming you finished your scan on the ship, you did scan the ship right? If you don’t get the Bounty then either someone else got the kill, or the system is bugged (Assuming you completed the scan). If this happens repeatedly you can try logging out of the game and back in, or go to another system and hunt there (This second one almost always works).

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Your Bounty vouchers will show up on your left panel under the Missions tab. Sometimes they don’t show up right away, so go back and forth between other tabs (Q/E Keys) to get it to refresh. If they still don’t show then you may be bugged and you’ll need to relog or go hunt in a different system.

Notice how each bounty specifies a location. Local bounties can be paid off at the Security office at any local station or Outpost, it will actually say the name of the solar system where the bounty can be collected (So don’t forget to turn in your vouchers before you leave the system). Some bounties can be collected at any station under a certain authority, usually Federation systems. These are the bounties that your Kill Warrant Scanner will collect for you, bounties from outside the local solar system. So once you have turned in your local bounties, fly to a nearby Federation system and collect you Kill Warrant bounties as well (No doubt in future versions of the game there will be Imperial & Federal bounties)…

These vouchers are good as long as you stay alive. So if you can’t pick them up right away you can collect them in a few days’ time. However, if your ship blows up while you have vouchers you will lose them all, just like you lose missions if you lose your ship. So don’t get greedy!

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When you get to a station and dock you can collect local and Kill Warrant Scanner bounties by going to Contacts in the station menu and then choosing Local Security Forces. From there choose Redeem Bounty Voucher and be sure to brag to your friends about how much bounty you just made… If you’re not at a Federation system station you can then travel to one and follow the same process to redeem any bounties outside the local system you’ve collected.

If you are at a station in a Federation controlled system they will be able to pay out both local bounties and Kill Warrant Scanner bounties at the same time. The Local Security Office does not distinguish between types of bounties other than where you have to go to collect them.

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A few final and optional tips…

For those who like to do there Bounty Hunting in non-Anarchy Systems.

You may find that after a good couple rounds of kills, or during a particularly long fight with a tough bounty, that the police show up. This is because your ship, and Clean NPCs are programmed to automatically report crimes they witness or crimes against them to the local authorities. Now their response time is admittedly not great, but they will show up and usually in force.

So if a couple of Federation Anacondas show up to ruin your fun by sniping your Bounties from your, you can prevent that from happening in the future by turning off the Report Crimes function of your ship. Which you’ll find on the right panel under the Functions tab.

Again this is optional, and definitely falls under personal preference. You might just want to turn off, report crimes you witness and leave crimes against you on. Just to offer yourself a little bit of protection from getting ganked. These functions serve no purpose in Anarchy Systems…

Further, it’s not uncommon for Bounties you are chasing to drop cargo. You’re welcome to collect the cargo and then sell it, but it will be considered stolen (At least until salvage is implemented). So you’ll want to either sneak past security or go to an Anarchy System to sell said cargo.

And finally, be wary of others scanning you, especially if you have cargo aboard! They might just be a pirate looking for some ill-gotten-goods to acquire. Most pirates will ignore you if you have no cargo. But if they’re scanning you with a Cargo or Kill Warrant Scanner (You can’t tell the difference) they’re probably a more seasoned fighter than others, so be on your toes!
Last edited by ZATZAi on Mon Oct 27, 2014 6:29 am, edited 6 times in total.
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Re: Bounty Hunting Locations & Primer

Postby Flip » Sun Oct 26, 2014 1:32 pm

Thanks for that info, Zatzai!

Personally I prefer bounty hunting around extraction sites. All those asteroids you might crash into if you're not careful enough really keep you on your toes. :)
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Re: Bounty Hunting Locations & Primer

Postby Nemetos » Sun Oct 26, 2014 3:34 pm

Nice work Zatzai ...
Thankyou, that will come in handy ! :)
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Re: Bounty Hunting Locations & Primer

Postby ZATZAi » Mon Oct 27, 2014 4:43 am

All right, all done with the Bounty Hunting guide. It ended up being about 11 pages in Word.

The fact that the forum limits us to 5 images per post max did mean I had to cut out some of the images I made. Actually I had to rewrite a good chunk of it to move the photos to other posts and still have it make sense.

Hopefully it's useful, I tried to target it at beginners with the Primer itself and more experienced players with the list of locations to go bounty hunting. If you guys like this I may make more guides in the future...
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Re: Bounty Hunting Locations & Primer

Postby GlobusDiablo » Mon Oct 27, 2014 6:13 am

Got some flesh on them there bones ZATZAi.:) Good work. :)
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Re: Bounty Hunting Locations & Primer

Postby Avago-Earo » Mon Oct 27, 2014 8:45 am

Really comprehensive. A thousand thanks.

You mention that if you are killed that your bounty vouchers expire too. I assume though that if you purchase another ship (not after you've been killed, just to be clear) you get to keep them. Just wondering because the jump range in the ship you won the vouchers in may not have the jump range to collect them.
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Re: Bounty Hunting Locations & Primer

Postby Flip » Mon Oct 27, 2014 9:13 am

Wow, great job! I haven't got time to read it all now, but I definitely will.

About the voucher, I found yesterday that if you get rammed by an NPC and lose your ship, your voucher aren't lost anymore. Not sure if this a bug or a temporary way to work around the ramming NPC bug.
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