Dueling

Dueling basics

With the introduction of the Retribution 1.1 patch, the "Dueling" mechanic was introduced to the game. Starting a duel with another capsuleer allows you to fight anywhere in space without CONCORD interference. Technically, starting a duel with another player creates a limited engagement timer between the two players. A few key points to remember about limited engagement timers:

• Their base length is five minutes,
• This five minute timer is reset by the use of any offensive module (this includes electronic warfare as well as weapons) by either player, and
• They persist even with loss of ship, so remember to warp out your pod!

How to initiate a duel

Initiating a duel is simple.

1. Duels can only be initiated with a pilot in space with you or in your station
2. Right click on the desired pilot's name or portrait and select "Invite to Duel"
3. The other player (or you, if you are the recipient) will have 30 seconds to respond to this challenge
4. You may not issue additional duel challenges until the other player has responded, but you may issue additional challenges after the response. In this way you can start limited engagement timers with multiple other pilots at one time.

If you would like to deny all duel requests automatically, enter the "Audio & Chat" section of the game menu (Esc key) and tick the "Auto Reject Invitations" option in the "Dueling" section.

Uses of duels

1. The most obvious use of a duel is to initiate consensual combat in high-sec or, less commonly, low-sec. Some players commonly offer and fight duels outside of busy stations.
2. Many people test fits against corp-mates in high sec, but prior to the dueling mechanic this was impossible with a friend from out of corp. Dueling allows such testing or challenges without interference from the space police.
3. A less obvious use of duels is to assist freighters in quickly moving through high and low security space. Due to the way warp mechanics work, applying a stasis webifier to a freighter can greatly decrease the time it takes it to enter warp. Inconveniently, using that stasis webifier is considered an aggressive action and will result in gate gun and/or CONCORD action if the freighter and webber are not in the same corporation. Use of the dueling mechanic allows pilots to circumvent this problem. Freighter pilots should only accept a duel challenge from someone you trust completely, preferably your own alt.

A few notes of caution about duels. The limited engagement timer is independent of the ship the player is in. If a pilot challenges you to a duel in a Rifter, there is no guarantee he won't dock and come back for you in his pirate battleship. Additionally, double check the name of the pilot challenging you. Some players use similarly-named alts to bait players into a duel with a much stronger, hidden ship.