Missions & Complexes

TL;DR: All offensive modules regardless of slot position immediately deactivate as soon as the server declares you logged off (immediately in the case of a manual log off or after exactly 4:15 in the case of a disconnect). All other modules, regardless of slot position, continue to function until you disappear from grid exactly 5 min later.

***Initial Post***

I had some trouble finding a definitive answer to what happens if you get disconnected while engaged with NPCs during a mission, so I wanted to recount my experience. I inadvertently burned my missile launchers out while running the Burner Serpentis mission leaving me with no working offensive modules (experiment gone awry). However, I was running a cap stable Hawk fit so I could tank him indefinitely with my shield booster running. He had me scrammed and webbed of course, so there was no getting away from him. At 35 m/s, it would have taken me many hours to move far enough from the warp-in point to get him to disengage, so I had no choice but to log out.

I can confirm that active modules in your mid slots (and presumably your low slots as well) will continue to function during the 5 min NPC aggression timer. I logged back in after about 10 min and found myself sitting at the mission gate with no damage, so my shield booster must have continued to function until my ship was removed from the grid. I docked up, repaired my launchers and warped back to the mission to finish up with no issues (the Serpentis Daredevil was simply hanging around about 100 km from warp-in where I had disappeared).

This is one of the best reasons I've seen yet to use cap stable burner fits. If you DO get a disconnect, you won't lose your ship. Maybe others knew this, but after a search, all I could find was vague innuendo regarding the action of mid and low modules following a DC. Presumably your high slot modules WILL shut down, but I can't confirm that.

***UPDATE***

I ran some additional testing with a second character watching my main. As suggested below, I had my alt simply jump into the mission room in a cheap frigate, get destroyed and then observed my mission ship from the pod. I ran several tests against both the Burner Serpentis Daredevil (2 point scram) and the 3 Burner Talos (1 point disrupt) using cap stable ships. The Talos mission also requires the use of a prop mod to speed tank. My observations follow - some of which appear to be new information:


1. Log off detection: If you log off manually, the server immediately declares you logged off and you drop from fleet and disappear from local. If you get a disconnect (that I simulated by simply turning off my wifi), the server declares you logged off exactly 4:15 later. I know 4:15 is an odd number, but it was perfectly consistent across numerous runs.

2. Module functionality prior to log off: Until the server declares you logged off, ALL modules continue to function as you left them and your ship continues following your last command. Your guns will continue to fire until they run out of ammo. Obviously, this only applies to a disconnect since log off is immediate if done manually.

3. Module functionality after log off: Once the server declares you logged off, all offensive modules, to include guns, webs and scrams immediately deactivate. However all other tested modules, to include shield boosters, armor reppers, hardeners and prop mods continue to function until the 5 min aggression timer elapses.

4. Ship status if pointed: If you're scrammed (2 points) OR disrupted (1 point), you stay in the mission pocket after log off until the 5 min aggression timer elapses (with all defensive and prop mods functioning). At that point, you simply disappear from grid. If you log back in before 5 min elapses, you come back to your ship in the pocket just as you left it with defensive modules and prop mods functioning and the ship following the last commands given.

5. Ship status if NOT pointed: If you are NOT scrammed or disrupted, then you immediately align and auto-warp out of the pocket as soon as the server declares you logged off (which happens immediately in the case of a manual log off or 4:15 later in the case of a disconnect). If you log back in before 5 min elapses, you subsequently auto-warp back into the pocket - at which point, defensive modules will continue to operate, but prop mods will not be active and your ship will come to a stop.

6. NPC actions: The NPC continues to engage as long as your ship is on grid regardless of your log in status. It moves back to the mission beacon once you disappear from grid or auto-warp away.

7. Actions when aggression timer elapses: The 5 min aggression timer begins when the server declares you logged off. When it elapses, you ALWAYS disappear from space regardless of where you are (at the auto-warp point or in the mission pocket) or whether you're being scrammed or disrupted. This means that, in the case of a disconnect, it takes exactly 9:15 to disappear from space (4:15 for the server to declare you logged off plus the 5 min aggression timer). In the case of a manual log off, it takes 5 min to disappear.

8. Logging back in: If you log back in after the aggression timer elapses, you reappear at the acceleration gate with all modules deactivated. If you log back in before the timer has elapsed, you either rejoin your ship in the mission pocket (if pointed) or auto-warp back into the pocket (if not pointed).

I know there's a lot of information there, but I tried to make it as clear as possible.

That makes sense about the high modules. So, all modules continue running until the aggression timer ends and you auto-warp away - but the highs simply stop after reload.

I've always preferred cap stable burner fits for simplicity, but I didn't realize they would save your ship upon disconnect.

I agree, if warp scrammed by the NPC, the ship shouldn't have warped away. Maybe the NPC warp scram effect shut off for a bit allowing the ship to complete it's Disconnection warp.

Or maybe he just eventually got out of the NPC's Ewar range during that 10 minute disconnection time. NPC's will travel out from their original spawn point for a set amount of distance and then slowly head back to that spawn point. I'm thinking that might be the case since the NPC was over 100km from the warp-in point by the time he returned to the site after repairing his ship.

Anyway, lucky it wasn't a Perma-Warp Scram effect.



DMC

ok looks like they changed it a bit because of the expanded grid. some guys had to fly over 8 k to get rid of him and before expansion it was only 300+. maybe i will test it out too to verify it. but the highs are a bit annoying.

maybe it would be an idea to fill a report and get ccp lebowski the link.

this change is a good thing compared before. but we dont now without an official statement.

monitoring it would only savely on teamburners and maybe the worm, but he would catch up interest from the burner to soon if he wanna get clocked and/or will not give a result which can be used.

but thats a thing ccp lebowski can help out. he knows whats should be going on. we can barely determine what happens , but he can.

I'm thinking mwd out to 100km+ with a griffin and use the look at to see what the web/scram effects do, because I'm pretty sure the watchlist will disappear on disconnect.

sounds interesting as I would have thought the burner would keep you web/scrammed forever as the 5min engagement timer constantly resets similar to a pvp timer.

As far as watching with a second character just use the gate with a junk frigate and let it explode. You can sit there in your pod, see the watch list, use Look At, etc.

Then bring in your cap-stable ship you intend to disconnect with. I'm the person that got stuck with the burner (Worm) chasing me, by the way. I had to fly for thousands of kilometers with a burnt out MWD before it finally left me alone. I left it flying for a stargate while I was at work and it took hours for that Worm to give up. Sounds like I could have just logged off and gotten away. :)

So I finally got around to running some tests with a second character observing. Rather than add my observations to the bottom, I updated my original post above so that the information was at the top. I can't positively attest to the fact that these rules apply in all missions since I only tested it on 2 different burner missions, but it seems likely that these are universal. It might still be useful to test it in a non-burner mission.