"Can flipping" is the act of taking the contents of someone's cargo container (or wreck) out in space. When you steal from a container, the player you stole from is now able to shoot you. Can flipping can be employed in many different beneficial ways.
The most basic example of can flipping is by simply finding a wreck out in space that belongs to another player, taking all of the contents, and warping away before they target and shoot you. You've now gained the loot of something that didn't belong to you, without having to kill anything.
Often times, players that are mining in belts will jettison a temporary can near them that can hold much more space than their ship's cargohold. They then use another character in a hauling ship to move it back to a station. If you find a player mining, you can just as easily take the contents of their can into your own hauling ship, and fly away with it. The key to succeeding is by pre-aligning your ship for escape, grabbing the loot, and warping immediately. There is very little they can do to stop you. Once you get away, you can wait out your aggression timer while docked, until it is safe again.
Besides stealing from other player's cans, you can also take advantage of player's stealing from you. As mentioned before, stealing from a wreck or a can creates an aggression timer. That means, you can set a can out as "bait," wait for a player to steal from you, lock them down, and blow their ship up. Not only do you get a fancy explosion, but you also get the surviving loot from their ship.
Various methods can be used to trick a player into stealing from you. First, you can simply leave a can in a place where they believe they are safe, and you can later kill them undocking or in another place. Players will have no problem stealing from you if they don't think you're around. Secondly, you can convince them that it's a gift. If a player thinks you're just being kind, they might be willing to steal from you, not concerning themselves with the risk involved.
Players often like to have "frigate duels" outside stations. Another method of convincing someone to steal from you is the promise of a fair duel. Once the player has stolen, you can simply dock up, switch to a stronger ship, and hopefully catch and blow them up.
There are plenty of other approaches to this that are not covered here. The main emphasis is that if someone takes from your wreck or can out in space, you will be able to shoot their ship.
Generally speaking, this isn't the most profitable route of scamming. It can certainly be entertaining, but don't plan on earning a whole lot from it. If you some how manage to convince someone flying a more expensive ship to steal from you, there's the potential that the module drop will add up, but it's a very unlikely scenario.
Also note that salvaging a wreck that does not belong to you will not flag you. This means that you can salvage other player's missions, or their kills in PVP, without having to worry about them being able to kill you. If you get your salvaging skill high enough, you'll be able to salvage tech 2 wrecks. There are always players in high security space fighting wars, and there are sure to be plenty of wrecks laying around. If you follow fights, you can salvage and earn quite a bit of ISK, with no risk.
This page last updated: 2010.02.26
The most basic example of can flipping is by simply finding a wreck out in space that belongs to another player, taking all of the contents, and warping away before they target and shoot you. You've now gained the loot of something that didn't belong to you, without having to kill anything.
Often times, players that are mining in belts will jettison a temporary can near them that can hold much more space than their ship's cargohold. They then use another character in a hauling ship to move it back to a station. If you find a player mining, you can just as easily take the contents of their can into your own hauling ship, and fly away with it. The key to succeeding is by pre-aligning your ship for escape, grabbing the loot, and warping immediately. There is very little they can do to stop you. Once you get away, you can wait out your aggression timer while docked, until it is safe again.
Besides stealing from other player's cans, you can also take advantage of player's stealing from you. As mentioned before, stealing from a wreck or a can creates an aggression timer. That means, you can set a can out as "bait," wait for a player to steal from you, lock them down, and blow their ship up. Not only do you get a fancy explosion, but you also get the surviving loot from their ship.
Various methods can be used to trick a player into stealing from you. First, you can simply leave a can in a place where they believe they are safe, and you can later kill them undocking or in another place. Players will have no problem stealing from you if they don't think you're around. Secondly, you can convince them that it's a gift. If a player thinks you're just being kind, they might be willing to steal from you, not concerning themselves with the risk involved.
Players often like to have "frigate duels" outside stations. Another method of convincing someone to steal from you is the promise of a fair duel. Once the player has stolen, you can simply dock up, switch to a stronger ship, and hopefully catch and blow them up.
There are plenty of other approaches to this that are not covered here. The main emphasis is that if someone takes from your wreck or can out in space, you will be able to shoot their ship.
Generally speaking, this isn't the most profitable route of scamming. It can certainly be entertaining, but don't plan on earning a whole lot from it. If you some how manage to convince someone flying a more expensive ship to steal from you, there's the potential that the module drop will add up, but it's a very unlikely scenario.
Also note that salvaging a wreck that does not belong to you will not flag you. This means that you can salvage other player's missions, or their kills in PVP, without having to worry about them being able to kill you. If you get your salvaging skill high enough, you'll be able to salvage tech 2 wrecks. There are always players in high security space fighting wars, and there are sure to be plenty of wrecks laying around. If you follow fights, you can salvage and earn quite a bit of ISK, with no risk.
This page last updated: 2010.02.26