=== RULE SECTION 4) GAME RULES - COMBAT ===

1) **Reasons for Combat** 
\\ ALL Hostile engagements must have some kind RP tied to it, attacking someone because you wanted to OOC is not allowed. Examples of RP reasons include but are not limited to: War over IRP politics, Encroaching on "territory" (defined as within the broadcast range of a *static* grid's beacon), Suspicious behavior by a vessel (said behavior must be documented for proof if required by admins). 

Piracy in the sense of always being at war with everyone or attacking random ships is **not** allowed. Currently, Piracy as a reason for war (i.e. I declare war on you to steal your loot) **is** allowed, but is like any another war and peace can only be reached by one side's surrender or a mutual peace agreement.

2) **No meta-building** 
\\ Warships must have some form of a reasonable interior for their size, i.e. you can't just throw a cockpit down a tube in a 10k block warship and call it good. A ship that size would need to have at least a small bridge. Any warship found to be a meta-build, usually defined by blocks being excessively used in ways besides their intended function, may be deleted with or without warning and without compensation. Mining/Industrial ships are exempt. If you have a question if something is "too meta" please ask.

3) **Build & Repairs (BARs), Welders, and Projectors**
\\ They are not allowed to be activated in combat whatsoever. Repairs must be done at a station, by another ship, or by hand if done in the field. You cannot jump out of combat to get away from this. I.e. you cannot jump out, activate welders & projector, and jump back in after you've repaired. Once your ship is damaged, it's damaged until you can have an external entity repair it.
\\ - 3.1) Drone Command Ships (???) and Carriers (CV) are an exemption to this rule, but their welders can only be used for production of Small grid fighter craft and not self-repair.

4) **Hydromanning**
\\ You get ONE (1) attempt at hydromanning an enemy grid during a fight, this is a per-player per-ship basis, so if your ship is destroyed and you come back as a "reinforcement" you get another chance. Additionally, if you have another player on your ship, both of you may make a hydroman attempt. You may not "use" someone else's hydroman attempt, even if you are on the same ship. Dying in a hydroman attempt does not count as a character death. When it comes to "capture" of a player during a hydroman attempt, it will be decided by the parties involved (with assistance of Admins if needed) on what is to happen to the captured party.

5) **No Offline Raiding**
\\ If a faction is offline, you may not attack any grid that belongs to them. You may also not camp an enemy's location to wait for them to log on unless RP permits (such as IRP leaked coordinates). Setting traps, moving or tampering with grids, or otherwise interfering with a grid or location while the owning faction is offline is also considered offline raiding. If your client crashes during a fight, you are encouraged to ping your opponent(s) on discord to inform them of the crash, and they are encouraged to stop shooting until you can log back in.

6) **Combat Logging**
\\ If a player/faction logs off during combat, the attack on that specific location may continue. Attackers may not go on to attack grids at other locations, but may attack other grids at the location being attacked at the time of the combat log. If a player logs off as you arrive, please open a ticket to inform an admin and it will be noted. If a faction is guilty of doing this repeatedly, an attack with them offline may be allowed.

7) **Shield Generators**
\\ Station shield generators may not be built on any vessel that is considered a ship (usually determined by having gyroscopes or being a dynamic (ship) grid).

8) **Hangaring**
\\ Using the hangar to hangar grids while actively engaged in combat is not allowed. Even if you are beyond the check range of 5km, if you have someone actively hunting or shooting you, you are NOT allowed to hangar your grid.

9) **Drilling**
\\ Drilling around defenses within 2km with either a hand drill or ship drills is not allowed. This applies to both player and NPC engagements.

10) **Stoneaging**
\\ Only applies to planetary (but not moon) bases, If an attack on a faction could significantly hinder their ability to recover or if you are at all unsure, open an admin ticket to ask if an attack would be considered stoneaging.

11) **Abuse of Quantum Hangar**
\\ Using the hangar to hide grids or loot while at war is not allowed. "Loot" is defined as anything that would not normally be on that ship or station (such as ingots on a cruiser). Hangaring non-empty grids (such as a full cargo hauler) is considered a violation of this rule except for in the case of warships.