Dangers of 0.0 and how to avoid them

This is the first article in a series of articles dealing with the guestions we recieved from new pirates.
First out is the 0.0 guide.

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So you want to make it out to 0.0 and thinking of getting rich? Or perhaps it's just the danger which attracts you in this adventure into deep space far from borders of empire.

The first times I went into 0.0 the biggest trouble for me was to get through the chokepoints.
Systems which would occasionally or almost always be camped by different corporations. Be it other pirates or alliances, they all have the same goal. To blow anything to pieces and take what loot is left-over.

I've seen a phrase written over and over.
"In 0.0 there are no pirates." This is partly true. Indeed, most people won't ask questions but rather shoot and get on with it.
It's a kind of attitude in 0.0 which is close to "kill or be killed".

For a lone pilot I'd suggest bringing a lot of warpstabs. You may be shouting "Are you serious?! Warpstabs?! Coward!". Yes, coward perhaps. But if you want to move to places in 0.0 you might aswell stab-up if you're lone.
Another point is speed. Having good instas through the region is definately a must in this time of insta-travels. Most other pilots will be having them. When the new "insta-nerf" patch is in, I'm predicting that an equibilerium will be met in 0.0 travel. More people will fit warpstabs, get scouts and travel in bigger fleets. This however makes it more easy for a lone pilot to try get out if he is fast too. Bigger fleets cant chase quickly, avoiding ceptors is pretty easy if you're fast enough to approach the gate and jump when they are shooting/scrambling you.
After the patch, speed of the ship you're flying will be very important. Avoiding camps is doable in a fast ship. Even if they've put up load of interceptors and warp-bubbles it'll still be possible to hit your microwarpdrive and try make a run to the gate. It's often more safe to do than attempting to turn and warp out.

Aggression a no-no in some cases.
If you see a lone hauler near a gate in jumprange and lots of people in the system. You might want to consider NOT shooting it if you're in a slow expensive ship.
The reason may simply be that the hauler is going to be able to jump through and escape and you will still be primetarget since you cant jump after him.
The gate will deny any jump if you're agressing someone or returning fire for a set period of time (ca 30seconds).

Supplies in 0.0 is a problem. Finding a good point of origin in 0.0 is a must if you plan to stay for a long time. Usually the market will be pretty bad and you'll find that lots of commodities which in empire would be cheap are very expensive. If you think you find a good station, you can probably count on that many others think so too. You wont want to be forced back to empire to fetch ammo every now and so often.

In 0.0 there's also a second type of station, the playerowned stations.
These will most likely deny you from docking so you'll be forced to find NPC-run stations unless you find an alliance willing to let you use their stations.

My honest opinion is that most alliances wont want to share their wealth, I'd suggest you just take it by force instead. Ignore their calls for tolls and other claims. Why go there if you're paying a toll and then cant shoot at them? Bah.

Finding your targets:
A good way is to watch transport-lines. People WILL be running haulers through there eventually, have a friend scout-ahead and spot their haulers. Take it out when it jumps through into your system and loot the riches. Avoid encounters with massive fleets since they will simply camp you inside the system. If you find yourself trapped in a system, you find a safespot. Keep jumping between several if they bring out probes. When your agression timer ends (30minutes from last time of getting shot/shooting at some player) you log-off at the safespot. There's no point in waiting forever when camped.

Another way is to look at the map to see where people are mining or hunting NPC's, this is more risky though since it might aswell just be a fleet or camp.
You'll have to be quick since people in 0.0 know how to avoid "the hunters". They'll safespot once they notice you coming in.
A good way is to send in a scout some time before, find which belt they were at. Usually they leave cans and stuff behind (damn carebears litterin' in space, it's our duty as pyr8's to clear up after them). If they are stupid they'll return to that belt and mine again. Wait a LOONG time before returning, if they see you return shortly after they'll pickup their stuff and leave.
The second time you return should be after 15-30minutes. Jump in to that belt and catch whatever you can.

Important points:
Learn to use the scanner!
Check the map for "kill-zones" and choke-points.
Be fast. Dont loiter near the gates for too long.
Even NPC's in 0.0 can be very dangerous.
Don't be afraid of the warpstab when you travel longer distances through hostile territory.
Get the feel of the region, which other locals are there often and learn the signs of danger (enemy scouts, warpbubbles on the scanner).

Most important of all:
DONT TRUST YOUR INSTAS! LEARN TO FLY YOURSELF IF THEY SHOULD FAIL!