Instancing and Avoiding Unwanted PvP

Instancing with the client failed

What is a failed instance and how do you recognize and report it

A failed instance is when you've dropped on the client, whose wing beacon is visible in normal space, but their ship itself is not there. As a rat, this must be reported to your dispatcher and possibly include the distance in your call. (for example: #case inst- 1km)

Sources of instancing issues

The most common reasons that instancing fails:

1. Proximity to a gravity well like stars, planets or moons
2. Known bugs like a full wing of 4 CMDRs or reverse wing request and subsequent chaining of more rats
3. Proximity to a station or fleet carrier.
4. Console issues as outlined here: PS4 Troubleshooting Xbox Troubleshooting

Client too close to a gravity well and possibly in the Exclusion Zone (EZ)

Navlock sometimes drops the rat at a significant distance to the client. The following solutions can be attempted or recommend by dispatch:

1. Dispatch instructs the client to perform a Supercruise Hop. (Non-CR clients only, most likely solution)
2. Manual Drop: This consists of disabling nav-lock and flying to the wing beacon normally like you would going to a station.  This only works when the client is not very deep into the gravity well.
3. Blind Drop: This is done by disabling nav-lock and flying toward the wing beacon. Reach 0% throttle by the time you are at a 100km distance to the beacon. Then untarget the beacon, count to 3 and drop out of supercruise. This maneuver only works when the client has not hit the exclusion zone yet. 
4. For Code Red clients (only) that are fully in the Exclusion Zone a Tactical Face Plant (TFP) needs to be performed.

Failed instancing in Open Space (or next to a station)

After a navlock drop the distance to the beacon may be smaller than a few km. The following steps might help:

1. Dispatch instructs the client to perform a supercruise hop. (Non-CR clients only)
2. If there was a reverse wing and chain or the wing was full: have the chained rat drop from the wing (or one of the 3 rats in case of the full wing bug)
3. Relog the client and rats. Rats return to supercruise and a new wing is attempted.
4. Wingless: In a CR with very low time remaining, one rat remains in normal space at the location of the beacon, and the client logs out to the menu and logs back in.  Often, this causes the client to load into the same instance without requiring the need to wing.  When more than one rat is assigned to the case, one rat should remain in normal space, and the other rat(s) should go to supercruise and attempt to wing and drop on the beacon if the maneuver doesn’t work. 

Other causes of instancing failures

1. If the client is using a console, check the relevant troubleshooting guide.
2. If instancing issues can’t be fixed and the client has fuel, double check that there is not actually a nearby system that the client can jump to with a station offering fuel services (and appropriate landing pad sizes).  Sometimes a client may have just missed a system.  Use eddb.io or a similar site to locate the closest station with appropriate services.
3. When all else fails, and we mean ALL  else fails, a fleet carrier can be utilized to complete a rescue when none of the above options are feasible.
4. There is also the potential of the client being shadow banned by FDev, where wing requests can be accepted, but instancing is never possible.  In this case, messages cannot be sent by the client (or at least may not be seen by the rat), and docking at fleet carriers is not possible.

Client cannot enable their wing beacon using the right panel

This sometimes happens when the client cancels the safety timer on either Reboot/Repair or self destruct. Dispatch can give the client instructions to enable the beacon using the social tab on the comms panel.  It only works when the wing is already established: Options > 'Enable Wing Beacon'

Avoiding unwanted PvP (Griefing)

Don’t Panic! 👍

Occasionally during a rescue we come across players who try to stop us or destroy us. If this happens we usually form a private group with the client and fellow rats also on the case.  To form a private group, go to the main menu and select “FRIENDS AND PRIVATE GROUPS” and under the groups tab you can create a group. Once you have a group created you go back to the friends tab, select the client or fellow rat and click on “Invite”.  After you have a group set with the client and any fellow rats on the case with you, all you have to do is go to start, then private group. Now it’s just you, the client and any fellow rat that’s helping in the game and no griefers.

PLEASE ALSO INFORM ONE OF OUR MODERATORS.