Frequently Asked Questions

What are the restrictions on placing a bounty?

A bounty will be rejected for placement if any of the following are true: the customer and the target are in the same corporation, the customer and the target are in the same alliance.

I tried to place a bounty but it was automatically refunded, why?

Either the bounty had a malformed "Reason", or it violated the restrictions mentioned above. Be sure to have a "Reason" that begins with "Bounty:" followed by the exact name of the target.

I accidentally sent ISK to an unlicensed broker, can you help?

Sorry, no. There is nothing we can do.

What are the restrictions on earning bounties?

A killmail will be rejected for earning a bounty if any of the following are true: the killmail was generated before cBounty began operations, the killmail was already processed, the final blow was done by a corp-mate, the final blow was done by an alliance-mate, there is no capsuleer victim (ex: structures are rejected), the victim is an NPC, only NPCs are on the killmail.

Who on the killmail earns the bounty?

The capsuleer with the final blow. If for some reason the killmail does not have a capsuleer for the final blow, it is the top-damage capsuleer.

Why are payouts lower than 100% of a killmail's value?

Market forces and disincentivizing RMT launderers. A customer placing a bounty wants 1 ISK of their bounty to pay for as much destruction as possible, while a bounty hunter wants to earn as much as possible for 1 ISK of destruction. The service cBounty provides matches these market forces.

Will payout rates change?

In order to meet market demands, the payout rates are subject to change at any time with no notice. There is no way to predict how these rates will change, when they will change, or if they will change.

Why is a ship's insurance value subtracted out?

To prevent insurance fraud scams, which result in bounty targets being able to profit from customers who place bounties upon them.

Why is a small portion of dropped item value paid out?

As a gesture of good will to bounty hunters as part of our incentives to participate in cBounty. If they are able to loot the field it is a small ISK bonus, and if they are not then it is a small form of insurance.

How do I become a bounty hunter?

Undock, use locator agents to find your targets, use your wits, and prepare carefully.

What are all the fees?

We have two fees for two different services: a bounty service fee, and a refund service fee.

Is there a fee for placing a bounty?

No. cBounty earns the ISK when it connects a bounty with the killmail of a successful bounty hunter, at which point the bounty service fee applies. Should the customer request a refund, at that time a fee is applied.

Why is there a fee for requesting a refund?

There are three reasons. Firstly, it is not free in terms of cBounty resources to repeatedly request refunds, so we want to encourage respectful usage of the service. Second, issuing refund and transferring ISK out of cBounty accounts is not a trivial task. And finally, it provides opportunities for people settling private affairs to address who might cover the refund fee as part of negotiations.

What is the bounty service fee?

The bounty service fee covers the cost of using the bounty service. It applies separately to the customer and the bounty hunter.

How is the bounty service fee applied to the customer?

Once a killmail is evaluated and the bounty payout determined, cBounty looks at the customer's contribution to the payout and their remaining bounty on the target. If the customer's bounty was exhausted (aka completely paid out), no fee is levied. If there is a portion of the customer's bounty remaining, a fee proportional to the customer's contribution is paid from the remainder.

Why might the customer pay no fees?

When a customer's bounty against a target is exhausted (aka fully paid out), they pay no fee as they have no remaining bounty. To attempt to recover fees in this scenario is suboptimal for everyone: to bounty hunters because their payout may be adjusted downwards, and to other customers who would have to pay more than their fair share. In these edge case scenarios, cBounty has determined it is simpler to forfeit its fees and make the ecosystem happier.

How is the bounty service fee applied to the bounty hunter?

Once a killmail is evaluated and the bounty payout to the bounty hunter is determined, a portion of their payout is allocated to pay for the fee.

How do I request a refund?

Log in to your account with the character that placed the bounties. Scopes are not required. On your account page, you are able to request individual bounty refunds, or refund all placed bounties.

Why is there a fee for requesting a refund?

See the answer in the "Fees" section.

If I cancel a refund request, is the fee refunded?

No.

How long does it take to get ISK after requesting a refund?

Three to five Caldari business days. It is subject to meatspace constraints, so depending on seasonality, health, and force majeure there is variance. Please be patient.

Why can't I cancel a particular refund?

Refunds cannot be cancelled when they are being processed. Additionally, certain kinds of automatically generated refunds are not cancellable.

I donated you ISK as a gift, so why is it being refunded?

Please do not send ISK donations to our Licensed Bounty Brokers as it is treated as a malformed bounty placement. See the "Service" section on how to donate ISK.

How do I get paid for my earned bounties?

Log in to your account with the character that earned the bounties. Scopes are not required. On your account page, there is an option to flag your account for payout.

How long does it take to get ISK after requesting a payout?

Three to five Caldari business days. It is subject to meatspace constraints, so depending on seasonality, health, and force majeure there is variance. Please be patient.

Help, I received an EveMail saying someone placed a bounty on my head, and I've never heard of cBounty before! What is happening?

Someone has used the cBounty service to place a bounty on you. For first-time recipients of a bounty, we attempt to send an EveMail out of courtesy and awareness. Please see our informational page "How It Works" to learn more.

Can I opt out of receiving EveMails?

EveMails are strictly opt-in, with an exception for first-time bounty recipients, placers, and earners. This is done as a courtesy to inform the target that this service exists and others are using it so that they may take appropriate steps to resolve any private affairs.

Can I opt into receiving more EveMail notifications?

Yes, there are strictly opt-in EveMail notifications available when you log in. Scopes are not required. However, the EveMails are best-effort and should not be considered timely notifications.

What is the time delay of receiving EveMail notifications?

Extremely variable, for technical reasons. The common case is for it to take on the order of hours.

What ESI scopes are required to use cBounty services?

None. You are able to log in without granting any scopes. All services are functional without granting scopes.

What happens when I grant a killmail scope?

cbounty will automatically pull your killmails periodically. All killmails and lossmails pulled this way are likely to be made public. If this is undesirable, use the killmail link submission service instead.

Is cBounty a scam?

No, the third party developer license forbids applications whose purpose is to scam. If I wanted ISK, I would take the monthly costs of running the servers and simply buy large quantities of PLEX instead. The only entity that has a proven track record of mass-scamming capsuleers out of their bounty ISK is CONCORD.

I accidentally uploaded a killmail I didn't want made public, can you delete it or make it private?

No, due to technical limitations this is not possible.

What do the stars and skulls mean?

Stars and skulls provide a quick glance to a pilot's bounty or lifetime earnings. The first star and skull are earned at 1 million ISK and go up by an order of magnitude each, ending at 10 billion. You can hover over them to see the capsuleer's value.

I bought a character and it has bounties on its head! Can you please remove them?

No, please log in with the character and identify the customers who placed the bounties. Work privately to have them removed.

I sold a character and it has outstanding bounties with ISK placed! Can you please refund me the ISK?

No. Please work with the person who bought the character to return the ISK to you.

This service is excellent, can I donate ISK / in-game assets as a sign of gratitude?

Yes, but please do not donate to our Licensed Bounty Broker as he treats it as a misplaced bounty. Send donations to Io Koval -- that's "io" like the moon, not "Lo". Note that any attempted bribes will be confiscated and instead treated as a donation.

I don't want people placing bounties on my head, can I opt out?

No. Like CONCORD's service before, anyone in Eve is able to have a bounty placed upon them. There is no opt-out.

I don't like cBounty existing, it goes against EULA / ToS / Developer Agreement.

This isn't a question, but an opinion. cBounty implements a decades year old feature by CCP Games that was temporarily disabled for performance reasons.

How do you detect and fight against RMTers who might use the service for laundering?

Unfortunately, this is not openly discussable. Suspected RMT actions will be reported to CCP Games with all evidence available.