How should one go about being a pirate?

[Erik Rutins]

Please give the new 1.9.0.2 update a try. We fixed those Pirate Bases up again, they are now working as intended, at least based on my testing today.

[CyclopsSlayer]

I don't know what you mean about hidden bases being too easy to kill, maybe they were for those godlike Pirates. For merely human players under 1.9.0.1 they were ridiculously strong. 119k (player vs. 36k (pirate), care to guess who won? Hint; not me...

Maybe next time I'll try 5:1 odds...

[Mad Igor]

somehow DW pirates starting to ruin my understanding of all that "harr harr parly yarly" stuff.
as i know,pirates are solo(ship) or small group of ships of freeman (mostly outlawed),that roam around and borrows stuff from less guarded ships/colonies or do shady trading.
but pirate barons,that can compete or even annihilate entire empire ? then they should become empire (like sith),not pirates,cuz they grew up from that stage.

[Zangi]

Is it intended for independent militia to side with enemy pirate raiders to attack a pirate base?

Cause that is just what happened, I think. I had no way to click/see the battle while my pirate defenders were getting wiped out by both pirate raiders and independent militia.

I do admit, that having some defense is better then it was before. But if militia sides with pirate raiders, then pirate bases under construction are still a 100% babysitting affair against those suicidal lone escorts.

[Plant]

I find that Pirate bases are around 80-120k in strength, enough to defend most raids.

One issue I find is that after a pirate base has been completed, some homeworlds will suicide their troops in the pirate base repeatedly, and others will wipe it out in one go. This gets slightly disturbing when a homeworld loses their troops in this manner, forever. It seems that races with strong troops can easily deal with piratebases, whilst others will never get rid of them.

As to the opening question, I find the best way to gain money as a pirate is just to forever patrol round a nearby homeworld that you have refused protection till 100%, occassionally raiding them if you can.