Bounty Hunting
The immortal elite of the EVE universe live by a unique set of laws. It is not uncommon for some to find the decisions of the law lacking in appropriate justice. The bounty hunting system has been recreated to offer means for every EVE pilot seeking redress beyond what they or CONCORD can or will administer.
Improving the Mechanics
The original Bounty Hunting system was not without its issues, and the various tactics that players adopted to game the mechanics greatly diminished its usefulness. We've recreated Bounty Hunting to eliminate these issues and build a more meaningful system, focusing our efforts on three major goals.
- To support Bounty Hunting as a career choice, preferably in a way that makes it possible for newer players as well as veteran players to get involved.
- To build upon the theme of the expansion of strengthening ties between actions and consequences, including making the company you keep a factor in that
- To give people faith that the money they put into the bounty system has a fair chance of actually leading to the retribution the funds were intended for
A Quick Primer on Bounties and Hunting
Bounties
Once a player has a bounty on them, it becomes harder for them to avoid the public eye. Their names, portraits and the bounty amount are broadcast publicly across the EVE universe. Bounties can be placed on pilots, corporations and even alliances. To find out who has made the hit list, here are the primary places to look:
Bounty Office – Many stations will have a bounty office where you can view a list of who or what has a bounty placed on them.
Captain's Quarters – Bounties will regularly display on the main screen in your station quarters. Clicking on a displayed bounty will bring up the Bounty list window.
Billboards – The floating advertisement panels near stargates will often scroll bounty information across the bottom of the display. While not interactive, it is highly visible and can be seen by anyone passing through the system.
A bounty can be placed on a pilot, corporation or alliance from anywhere in EVE universe using the new “Place Bounty” tab on their information panel or through the bounty icon on your Neocom. A minimum bounty has been put in place for each type of entity. Those minimums are:
- Pilots – 100 thousand ISK
- Corporations – 20 million ISK
- Alliances – 100 million ISK
Pilots can track bounties they have placed on others, and they will be notified if someone on their bounty list has been killed. After all, news that your adversary is paying for the errors of their ways is half the fun of retribution.
Hunting
Pilots that feel they have what it takes to bring down these often elusive marks will find there is good money to be had if they can succeed at their task. While some begin their hunt checking information of all who pass through their favorite gate, others are more selective. To aid in their research, we have added more information and features to the bounty lists:
- The 10 Most Wanted list is divided into three categories: Character, Corporation and Alliance
- Top Bounties will be ranked, with the rank adding a bonus that increases the payout percentage
The amount paid out from the bounty pool upon a kill is now based on the ISK loss inflicted on the target. The payout is based on a percentage of the Total Loss, so the bounty received will always be considerably less than the actual Total Loss value. This means that the bounty pool of a pilot will be paid out over time, so a pilot with a high bounty may be killed numerous times before the pool depletes.
If a pilot in a fleet gets a bounty, the bounty is shared among the fleet members. Band together with other bounty hunters or plan an exciting corp outing for your PVP team!
Since fortune and fame go hand in hand, several Bounty Hunter rank lists have been added, too. Pilots gain rank points on these lists for scoring big bounties and hitting characters high on the Most Wanted list.
Happy hunting!
More information on Bounty Hunting can be found in CCP SoniClover's dev blog.