Players are normally unable to attack anyone below their fight range (10% of their level), however, if the lower level player provokes with an Attack, Pistol Whip, or Bounty, the higher level can retaliate for 24 hours or until the lower level player is killed, whichever comes first.
Lower-level players can also be Pistol Whipped once per hour and Bountied. Bountying the same player over and over again does get expensive quickly, as after a player adds someone to the list, each repeat listing within a 24 hour period will increase in cost dramatically.
If both players are in War Mode, there are some additional rules:
If a player in a Armada at war attacks another player in a Armada at war, the attacker will appear on the rival list of all members of the defender's Armada, regardless of level/fight ranges. A high level player may attack a player who is on their War Rivals list but outside of their fight range up to 5 times, enough to get war points for their Armada, but not more unless the lower-level person makes a hostile action directly against them.
Lower level players who are being Bountied a lot can also use the Protection feature to block the higher level player from Attacking and placing a Bounty on them for a time.
Lower-level players can also be Pistol Whipped once per hour and Bountied. Bountying the same player over and over again does get expensive quickly, as after a player adds someone to the list, each repeat listing within a 24 hour period will increase in cost dramatically.
If both players are in War Mode, there are some additional rules:
If a player in a Armada at war attacks another player in a Armada at war, the attacker will appear on the rival list of all members of the defender's Armada, regardless of level/fight ranges. A high level player may attack a player who is on their War Rivals list but outside of their fight range up to 5 times, enough to get war points for their Armada, but not more unless the lower-level person makes a hostile action directly against them.
Lower level players who are being Bountied a lot can also use the Protection feature to block the higher level player from Attacking and placing a Bounty on them for a time.