I have been looking but have not found it yet so thought I would ask and see if someone has one or can point me in the right direction. Is there a list that shows what level to expect to see npcs? Personally I would find this quite helpful so I know what levels I need to be to hunt specific npcs for drops.

http://galaxylegion.com/wiki/index.php/Combat

scroll down and you can view each faction

that really doesn't help because it does not show the level range they appear, but ty for the response.

A lot of the major ones do show a level range, especially the Elites/Bosses. For the most part, the Commons and Uncommons have corresponding ships in several rank ranges so you'll see various versions of most of them the whole time you play. (at least well into the 600's)

ok, maybe I'm asking the wrong question.... to be specific say I'm level 58 where would I find my npc pool that can possibly spawn?

When you click on the faction it shows the npcs and their ranks for that faction. If something has M for their rank that means it is a matched npc and you will always be able to see them. Their strength will vary based on your rank.

You will see npcs around your rank. The dark ring is rank 100 but you can see them at rank 60.

As far as i know, no one has a list for if you are rank X you see these npcs.

Well unfortunately, there's no listing of NPCs by rank range. A good rule of thumb however is that you will normally see Standard (Ranked) Common NPCs until NPCRank*3. There are exceptions to that and I don't believe there is a guideline for when you start seeing a ranked common. Look at it this way, Commons are basically nothing more than cannon fodder while you look for Uncommons, Rares and Extremely Rares. UCs, Rs, and ERs tend to have a little wider visibility range than ranked Commons. Sorry I can't be any more specific, but it just boils down to this: Don't worry about it, just kill everything.