Classification
This is piracy. This is PvP. This is griefing.
Not every attack is piracy and not every unwanted PvP is griefing. Context and behaviour make the difference. This page is the yardstick we let ourselves be measured by.
Piracy
Piracy means: another player is attacked or threatened to gain a gameplay or economic advantage.
| Situation | Verdict |
|---|---|
| Intercept a hauler and demand cargo | Piracy: Piracy |
| Disable a ship and steal its cargo | Piracy: Piracy |
| Demand a ransom | Piracy: Piracy |
| Raid a miner to take resources | Piracy: Piracy |
| Attack a salvage ship to take over the haul | Piracy: Piracy |
| Watch a trade route and intercept haulers | Piracy: Piracy |
| Organise a blockade to control trade | Piracy: Piracy |
| Destroy a ship after it refuses | Borderline: Can be legitimate piracy |
| Attack escorts to get at the target | Piracy: Piracy |
Communication is desirable but not automatically a requirement for something to count as piracy. What matters can be loot, control or economic gain.
PvP
PvP at first means nothing more than player versus player. PvP needs no economic reason.
| Situation | Verdict |
|---|---|
| Two players in a dogfight | PvP: PvP |
| Bounty hunter hunts a criminal player | PvP: PvP |
| Player defends their crew | PvP: PvP |
| Organisations fight over territory | PvP: PvP |
| Player attacks a known rival | PvP: PvP |
| Players fight over an event objective | PvP: PvP |
| Escort against pirates | PvP: PvP |
| Spontaneous fight in space | PvP: PvP |
| Revenge kill after a previous fight | Borderline: PvP, as long as it does not turn into targeted harassment |
PvP does not have to be fun for the victim to be legitimate gameplay. “I did not want PvP” does not automatically mean “the other player griefed me”.
Griefing
Here the purpose shifts: it is no longer primarily about profit, cargo, bounty, event, conflict or gameplay, but about deliberately and repeatedly spoiling or preventing someone else's play.
| Situation | Verdict |
|---|---|
| Repeatedly seek out and kill the same player on purpose | Borderline: Possible griefing |
| Attack the same player again right after every respawn | Griefing: Griefing |
| Follow a player across servers | Griefing: Highly problematic |
| Locate and disrupt a streamer using their stream | Griefing: Stream sniping, griefing |
| Pad ramming | Griefing: Griefing, rule violation |
| Use exploits to kill players | Griefing: Griefing, exploit abuse |
| Keep a player from playing for hours | Griefing: Griefing |
| Permanently block spawn points on purpose | Borderline: Problematic |
| Permanently pursue a player out of personal dislike | Griefing: Harassment |
Griefing has no goal inside the game. The target is the person behind the screen.
Borderline cases
- Destroyed without communication
With a recognisable goal of cargo or loot, more likely piracy; as a single fight, more likely PvP. Not automatically griefing.
- Ransom paid, destroyed anyway
Can still be criminal gameplay. It becomes more problematic with deliberate deception plus persistent pursuit.
- The same player, repeatedly
If the victim returns to the fight themselves, more likely PvP. If the attacker keeps seeking them out despite attempts to evade, borderline to griefing.
- Spawn camping
Short-term area control in a fight can be PvP. Permanently preventing play can be griefing.
- Station blockade
Controlling a route with a gameplay goal can be piracy. Blocking everything just so others cannot play heads towards griefing.
The simple test
| Question | Hint |
|---|---|
| Is there a gameplay reason? | Cargo, money, bounty, event, control, defence: more likely piracy or PvP. |
| Is one specific person being targeted? | If so, look closer. |
| Does it happen repeatedly? | Once is usually PvP or piracy; persistently against the same person: borderline. |
| Can the victim escape? | If the attacker still deliberately pursues: heading towards griefing or harassment. |
| Is the only purpose to annoy someone? | Profit: piracy. Fight: PvP. Preventing play: griefing. |
Concrete Star Citizen scenarios
| Situation | Verdict |
|---|---|
| Pull a C2 out of quantum and take the cargo | Piracy: Piracy |
| Pull a C2 out of quantum and destroy it without taking anything | PvP: PvP, not automatically griefing |
| Keep hunting the same C2 player across servers | Griefing: Probably griefing or harassment |
| Raid a Prospector and demand a share of the load | Piracy: Piracy |
| Attack every miner you find | PvP: PvP, criminal gameplay |
| Destroy only the same known player every day | Griefing: Griefing, harassment |
| Fight pirates who are blocking a route | PvP: PvP |
| Kill the escort to get at the hauler | Piracy and PvP: Piracy and PvP |
| Permanently keep all players at a station from playing | Borderline: Borderline to griefing |
In short
- Piracy
I want something from you.
- Cargo, money, control, loot.
- PvP
I want to fight you.
- Conflict, bounty, defence, rivalry.
- Griefing
I want you to stop being able to play.
- Targeted harassment, pursuit, exploits, permanently preventing play.
- Borderline
An action can be gameplay.
- But frequency, intent or behaviour make it problematic.
An attack is not griefing just because the victim did not want it. What matters is whether it is intended PvP or criminal gameplay, or whether someone deliberately and repeatedly tries to keep another player from playing.
The concrete assessment of individual cases ultimately lies with CIG, based on context and evidence. There is no simple rule like “no profit equals griefing” or “repeated killing equals griefing”.
What of this is official rule, and what is interpretation
Officially prohibited by the Roberts Space Industries Rules of Conduct: stream sniping, pad ramming and using bugs or exploits to grief or continually harass others, as well as cheats, exploits and game modifications for an unfair advantage. CIG explicitly states that this list is only an example and not all-inclusive, and that penalties from warnings up to account suspension are issued at its discretion. Reports go through a support ticket with evidence such as screenshots, videos and the time of the incident; each case is reviewed individually.
Everything else on this page, the classification of spawn camping, cross-server pursuit, revenge kills, ransom fraud and the situation tables, is our reading of those rules and of the game's mechanics, not a quote from CIG. It matches the spirit of the rules (repeated, targeted harassment is the core), but the judgement in an individual case is CIG's.
Checked on 15 September 2026.