Loun Guns presents an updated method for efficiently farming Ace Pilots and Pristine Medals in Star Citizen patch 4.6 by using EMP-equipped ships to safely disable and loot ace pilot ships during mercenary patrol missions from Foxwell Security and Head Hunters. The guide highlights mission selection strategies, weapon choices, and teamwork tips to overcome challenges introduced by the engineering rework and decreased spawn and drop rates.
In this video, Loun Guns provides an updated guide on farming Ace Pilots in Star Citizen patch 4.6, focusing on acquiring Ace Pilot Helms and Pristine Medals—valuable resources for Wiccolo hand-ins. After a bug in patch 4.5 caused NPCs to spawn without inventories, the medals have returned in 4.6, but a new challenge has arisen due to the engineering rework. Small fighter ships piloted by aces are now difficult to “soft death,” often resulting in the ace pilot’s body being propelled into the void at high speed, making it impossible to loot. The video offers a reliable method to prevent this by using EMP-equipped ships to safely disable and retrieve loot from ace pilots.
Loun Guns recaps where to find ace pilots: they spawn randomly during patrol missions in the mercenary section of the contract manager, offered by Foxwell Security (verified) and Head Hunters (unverified). Both mission types have identical structures and payouts, and only patrol missions can spawn ace pilots. The patrol missions involve moving between points and completing objectives such as neutralizing targets, deep scanning, satellite sweeps, or protecting ships. Higher difficulty missions increase the chance of encountering an ace pilot. The video also clarifies that these missions do not affect the player’s crime stat.
The core strategy involves bringing the ace pilot’s ship to a complete stop before destroying it to prevent the pilot’s body from being lost. EMP-equipped ships are key to this method, with several ship options discussed including the Anvil Hawk, Aegis Avenger Warlock, RSI Scorpius Centurions, and Aegis Vanguard Sentinel. Loun Guns prefers laser repeaters over ballistic weapons to strip shields without destroying the ship prematurely. The shutdown technique involves disabling shields with lasers, then using an EMP blast at close range to stop the ship, allowing for safe destruction and guaranteed loot marker retention.
The video also discusses changes in spawn and drop rates since patch 4.4, noting that ace pilot spawn rates and pristine medal drops have decreased significantly. Whereas before nearly every ace dropped a pristine medal, current testing suggests about a 50% drop rate. To maximize farming efficiency, Loun Guns recommends cycling through different mission levels and factions (Foxwell and Head Hunters) to minimize downtime. Higher-level missions offer better spawn chances but come with tougher enemies, so teaming up with wingmen or larger ships is advised for faster mission completion.
Finally, Loun Guns shares additional tips for speeding through missions, such as ignoring satellite scan results during satellite sweep missions and simply destroying all satellites regardless of color to complete objectives faster. He emphasizes the importance of teamwork and coordination, thanking community members who helped test the strategy. The video closes with an invitation to join their Discord community for further support and encourages viewers to like, subscribe, and stay tuned for more content.