How to escape gankers: a simple guide
09 May 2021Seth Bradwell
Whilst a Pilot's Federation licence can open up vast opportunities for adventure and profit which are far beyond the reach of many of the galaxy's denizens, it sadly remains a matter of fact that there are some people whose only thought when out in the black is make the lives of their fellow space users a complete misery, by taking their well armed combat ships and then interdicting other pilots, who are usually hopelessly outgunned and do not have the explicit skillset needed to make it a fair fight. I am of course talking about the infamous breed of pilot known colloquially as the "ganker", who are responsibly of trillions of credits lost due to costly rebuys and destroyed goods every year. Whilst these people readily mock and ridicule pilots who wish to do something far more productive and rewarding with their space career, it's important to remember that these people are cowards at heart, only picking on pilots that can't or won't fight back, and should they by chance happen to interdict someone as well tooled-up as he is and is also well versed in taking on the worst scum the galaxy can throw at them, they will choose to high wake to safety the moment their shields are even slightly scratched. Needless to say, very few pilots have the skills to take on a ganker at their own game, even if they are otherwise excellent combat pilots when it comes to fighting in wars, policing RESes, or hunting down and eliminating any other ne'er-do-wells that have fallen afoul of the wrong people. So in many cases running away is a totally legitimate and sane option. However thousands of pilots every year face a hefty rebuy (I assuming you are intelligent enough to not fly without rebuy) due to the merciless actions of gankers. However with a few tricks you can immensely increase your odds of surviving a ganker attack. So without further ado, this is my guide to how to escape a would-be ganker, and really ruin their fun:Calm
First of all, keep calm. A recent comprehensive survey carried out by the Galactic Insurance Company found that that in 95% of all ganking incidents, the pilot had panicked and behaved in a manner which was detrimental to his or her chances of escape, such as trying to escape interdiction and failing, boosting away in a straight line in a desperate attempt to get out of weapons range, or attempting to low wake, which even if successful almost always results in another re-interdiction a minute later. Gankers rely on this to score an easy kill. Let's make things as difficult for them as possible!
Submit
Throttle down and submit to the ganker's interdiction. Whilst it may be tempting to fight it, even the most skilled pilots struggle to fight an interdiction, and losing that fight means your frame shift drive will take much longer to cooldown, allowing the ganker much more time to fatally damage your ship. The sooner you can activate your FSD to get out of there, the better.
Pips
Put four pips to engines, two to shields. You want to able to move as fast as you can, and as already mentioned attempting to engage the ganker in combat will in most cases be futile unless you are on the same skill level as him, in which case, this guide is not required.
Turn
Turn towards your enemy. Now this sounds awfully counterintuitive since your initial thought is to get as far away from your assailant as possible. Turning flight assist off can be extremely beneficial when doing this, especially when flying ships with poor manoeuvrability such as the Lakon T-series of freighters, particularly the T9 and T10. After you are facing your enemy...
Boost
...boost immediately past the ganker. The ganker will have to turn around in order to attack you, buying you precious seconds. Immediately after boosting you should...
Silent
...engage silent running. Whilst many pilots will baulk at not having shields to protect them, many gankers can strip a pilot's shields away less than 10 seconds, even when fitted with shield boosters. However with silent running activated the ganker will have a much more difficult time getting a target lock on you, and furthermore it frustrates the use of a common ganking tactic which involves firing endless volleys of seeker missiles at you until you are destroyed.
Heatsink
If possible, deploy a heatsink. This will prevent your internal modules from sustaining heat damage alongside the inevitable damage you will take as the ganker lands shots on your ship. Remember, it only takes a good hit on your thrusters or FSD and you are a sitting duck for the ganker, and a rebuy will be imminent in such a situation.
Star
Open your nav panel and select a nearby star. If you know of one that's inhabited, that's a bonus since you can call in for repairs before returning to a system where the ganker may still be lurking, but the key thing is to set your navigation computer to take you anywhere except where you are now. Don't waste time searching for an optimal star system.
Jump
Jump to your chosen star system. Whilst waiting for your FSD to charge, keep boosting when your engine capacitator allows it, and avoid flying in a straight line until the FSD is charged and you need to align with your destination. High waking has two important advantages over low waking in system. Firstly jumping to another system is not impeded by the mass lock of nearby ships. Secondly the ganker cannot follow you unless he has a frame shift wake scanner, and in many cases they don't, choosing instead to find some easier quarry. If you want to be extra sure of not being followed you can immediately jump to a third system when your FSD has cooled down.
Escape
You have successfully made your escape. Congratulations! Now you can find a friendly station to carry out repairs and celebrate getting one up over a ganker, and relish in scoring a small victory over these unpleasant people who sadly still remain a scourge in highly trafficked parts of the galaxy.