Blockading

Blockading is one of the major activities that a captain can do in orbit of a zone. Blockading is inherently hostile to the zone below and its faction owner. Blockading attempts to interfere with the commerce of the zone by intercepting merchants who service it. Blockading is most often carried out by pirates who are seeking to relieve rich merchants of their precious cargo. It may also be used by Military and Zealot Captains who wish participate in a faction conflict. During a conflict a Captain may draw a "Strike a blow in a conflict" card which will influence the conflict score away from the zone owner and give reputation with the opposing faction. Bounty Hunters may also be sent to blockade as part of a mission, this is generally do draw out a military ship target. As a hostile act, blockading is likely to draw out hostile military captains of the faction below. Any captain engaging in blockading should be prepared to engage in ship-to-ship combat.

Strategy
Like other operations, becoming great at Blockading will require a dedicated build. Increasing ship Pilot, Navigation and Intimidate Skill Pools should be a key priority. Blockaders will also need to invest in Talents that will help them determine the results of the card game. Most of these are provided by Pirate and Wing Bomber crew members, though Gunners and Zealots also each have a single Talent that can help. In the early game, it is best to Blockade often, checking the hand that is dealt at nearly every zone that is visited and only playing those hands that give a reasonable chance of desirable outcomes. As a Captain's crew and ship develop, they will be able to engage in more extended Blockades over the planet of their choice.

The Card Game
The results of blockading are determined by a card mini-game. The Captain will draw 5 cards which are determined by risk and reward factors. He or she may then have the opportunity to modify their draw through the use of one crew talent which can allow them to redraw, remove or improve a card. Then one card will randomly be selected from the remaining cards providing either a negative, positive or neutral result. If a negative result is drawn it is possible that its results may be avoided by a test of certain captain and ship skills. All blockading actions consume time and fuel.

Economy Rating Starport Rating Pilot Skill Pool Intimidate Skill Pool Captain's Charisma Captain's Resilience