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Friendly for newbies?
Kiamde
Member CommonPosts: 5,820
in EVE Online
I am working on getting a buddy key. Until then, perhaps I could get some questions answered.
My first question would be the obvious "Is EVE friendly to newbies?"
My second would be the also obvious "Does EVE have staying power?"
Last would be "Why do you like EVE?"
Thank you all.
"Whoever controls the media controls the mind..-'Jim Morrison"
"When decorum is repression, the only dignity free men have is to speak out." ~Abbie Hoffman
Comments
You key was emailed
1) EVE is extremely friendly to newbs. The community is outstanding. Throw out a question on the help channels or in local and you will get a good answer. There is a corporation called "EVE University" that is dedicated to helping new players. I highly suggest joining them until you figure out what you want to do with the game. They are a great bunch. Also, do the tutorials, they are extremely helpful for first time players.
2) Staying power is definate. There is a large player base and the game keeps getting better. I've been playing about 9 months now and have gone through the expansion from Genesis to Exodus. There is more being added all the time and the Devs listen to the community (disclaimer: they don't do everything everyone says they want, but they do listen).
3) I, personally, like eve because it is so diverse and there are so many things to do. After nine months I am still learning. A lot of people get overwhelmed and get bored because they "mine or run missions". The trick is to stay social...at least from time to time. The "world" is set and you can do what you want in it. I rarely PvP, but when I want to the option is there...and there is the "spice" of knowing that you "could" get in a fight any time, though it's rare in high security empire space.
Enjoy!
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NFWolfDude
I love the interface. The tutorial is boring but I can tell that it will help me.
With that said, mind if I ask some more questions?
*Mining could be a lot of fun, but are players who don't mine and wish to strictly PvP or pirate hunt looked down upon?
*There is only one server US server, correct? Just want to make sure I started on the right server
*How does the economy work?
*How common are pirate attacks [Warp and approach] and what is the % rate of survival?
*If I play 7-10 hours a day, how long would it take until I get to the "good" stuff?
"Whoever controls the media controls the mind..-'Jim Morrison"
"When decorum is repression, the only dignity free men have is to speak out." ~Abbie Hoffman
Mining for most people is boring, I think I'm one of few that actually enjoys it. It's the best way of earning isk and if you have some friends you can chat with, the time flies by quickly. I'm sure you've gotten a taste of mining from the tutorial, but you basically warp to a belt, lock onto an asteroid, and turn on your mining lasers and wait. You also have to watch out for NPC pirates that spawn every so often and in the lower security zones, player pirates who are looking for an easy kill, but it basically boils down to waiting a whole lot for your cargo hold to get full.
There is only one play server, period. Tranquility is the real server and Singularity is the test server.
The economy is based on a real market system with supply and demand. Some things are bought and sold by the NPC corporations but most of the things you find on the market, especially the better items, are player-made. Don't expect a simple buy/sell from and to a NPC vendor system though, there's many factors involved. For example, let's say I want to sell some ammo. I would study the local region and see what the prices are, and maybe a nearby region to see what it goes for there. Then I want to observe where I should sell the items at. If I place the item for sale in a less-traveled system, chances are it won't sell very fast. But if I find a nice frequently-traveled system, I will be able to sell it faster. I might even be able to sell it at a higher price because people are more willing to buy something close to them rather than travel extra systems just to pick it up.
Player pirates can't do much (except suicide attack, which is rare) in systems with security ratings of 0.5 and above, but in 0.4 and below you're pretty much fair game. Even the sentry guns near stations and the gate aren't much help because they're tankable. In 0.5 and above systems, the most you have to worry about is ore thieves when mining, who steal your ore from a jettisoned container. Best bet if you keep getting your ore stolen is to get a secure container. Rate of survival depends on how you're equipped and if you got any friends with you, but if you're mining and you're by yourself, don't expect to win any fights against player pirates. If they got you warp jammed and webbed (slows you down), you can pretty much expect to lose your ship and possibly your pod, which will respawn you at wherever you picked your clone to be.
Playing time doesn't matter in this game since your skills train in real-world time. What does matter though is the amount of isk you have, so if you play more, the more cash you will accrue. As for the 'good' stuff, you will always find something to look forward to and you will always have something to do. Complexes range from very easy to very hard, and agent missions scale the same way. Even people who own a battleship have things to do and don't get bored easy. Don't think of this game as a traditional MMORPG where content is 'unlocked' as you level up. Think about it as a space simulation game, where everything is open to you and all the content is there, and all that's left is for you to explore them.
there are 5 basic camps - PvPgriefers - PvP - Carebear - Anti-PvP - What? (im making this up while i drink my coffee
PvPgriefers give PvP players a bad name, and in eve they hover in slightly more secure space and try and hit new / weak people. There are not too many of them, they dont last long, they do not form cohesive, well led groups. Their impact is limited in scope and the higher the security area the more likely they will suffer some penalty. Loot / Ore theives abound.. hard to deal with them as you can (if not a secure can) just walk up and help yourself. You cant not shoot them when they take your stuff (yet) and the police dont come a rough them up.
PvP players come in all shapes and forms, but unlike griefers they kill for a reason. Although being on the receiving end of it might blurr the issue, most pvp'rs are roleplaying to some degree. Alliances control the outter regions of space and will kill anyone their leaders desire. Many alliances shut off space to all non alliance or unauthorised pilots, protecting from spies and restricting access to the reources. Pirate corps abound as well, and are differentiated from straight up griefers by actually carring why they are doing what they are doing, if not the individual members, at least at the corp level.
Some people do nothing but pvp, some only occasionly, some never at first and lots later.
Carebears hang out in Empire space, and mine and/or do agents and/or trade and/or manufacture and/or research etc.. PvP is an annoyance for them at best, but its a means to an end, war is good for business. The economy is intrinsiquely tied to the pvp goings on. Thing about most carebears is they really dont dislike pvp, they just want to be left out of it. And in secret at night many carebears fit on some guns and have a go.
Many players mix it up, with industry/commerce/pvp. Got to pay for all those ships / skills / and equipment.
The anti pvp players most likely shouldnt be playing eve, they are few in numbers but vocal. Likely they placed all their assets in one basket and got thuroughly ganked by some griefers and now hold a grudge about how it ruins their game and they dont want to pay a monthly fee for some punk teenage kid to make their life miserable.
I have been killed sooo many times and never once received a kill mail for my combat endeavours - so you could expect me to have a negative opinion of the whole pvp thing but 90% of the time i got killed cause i did something stupid while taking a calculated risk.
What? There are many in eve, likely newer to the game, that hardly know whats going on, with 5k systems and 10k players online at peak .. its easy to get caught up in your regional activities and in the high security systems in the galaxies hub, pvp is neither common or prevelant.. well until the corp / alliance war system, but thats another story, for another time.
One server for all - although 10k is about normal peak / day - obviously not all players are on, so the total player base involved in the political / economic areas if the game is huge, my estimate is at around 50k (active and semi active). No other game out there has a 50k person market, and there are several alliances with 1-4k members. If you enjoy the political side of mmo's try running a hundred person corp, working in a 4k player alliance in a political arena with other equaly large alliances. IF you dont like politics ... keep your head down and let your ceo deal with it :P
You dont want to ask me how the economy works :P You can see already that im quite verbose. To quote Douglas Adams about how big the eve economy is it "is big - really big - you just won't believe how vastly, hugely mind-bogglingly big it is. You may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist, but that's just peanuts". Everyting in game (almost can be bought/sold/manufactured) Everything needed to manufacture can be bought and sold. As a 20 jump trip can take up to 30-40 minute (depending on how slow you are going and if you have bookmarks) distance is a factor in creating mutualy independant zones of commerce, only aidded by the market view being by the region. This is to say that if you here and there is stuff way over there.. you might not even know unless you have an alt over there , or can ask someone to check for ya. Producers can carve out niches and sell at varying rates depending on local supply and demand. Like real life. Wars can stem the flow of certain resources and have a ripple effect on the overall economy.
Pirate come in NPC and PC varieties. NPC wont leave you alone at belts for long, but they dont inhabit the other areas of space, cept in 0.0 security space where they hang around gates too. PC pirates usualy are in the choke points between empire and 0.0 space. Check map and view stars by kills / podkills in last 1/24hrs. Get in a shuttle, update your clone and go have a look, whats the worst that could happen. Rate of survival is dependant on a million factors, your ship, their ship, your numbers, their numbers, warp bubble or no, warp scramblers or no, warp core stabilisers or no, low slot speed modifying equipment, weapons fittted, system security level, bookmarks or not, jumping into system or jumping out...etc... If it goes bad its over fast. The usual tactic is to wait at a gate, and scramble ships comming through, if they have a fast locking / fast moving ship and know their stuff, and your in a slow boat, without warp core stabs, and no bookmark its game over.
The more you play the more isk you make, or stuff you mine, or npc you kill and loot, or agent standing you increase, friends you make, etc. The real time skill training means that progress in terms of char development is restricted, but a few things can help. 1) Training Skills raise your attributes which makes training time lower. - do them first to get best results 2) Check pre reqs for equipment you want to use, alot fo the time things just need LV I,II,or III so you can quickly learn it. 3) always be training .. train short legnths while online and then put on a 24hr one before you leave for the day.
What is the good stuff? Dont be predictable and think that you need a battleship and the best eq fitted. You can have more fun in a shuttle than a battleship, its up to you to make the most of the game. Trying to fly a battleship to early in your game will sink too much capital in one basket if you were to lose it, which you will if you try and take it somewhere you shouldnt. Just mining with the thing can work to advance your capital, but be careful. Buy want you want, but use what you can afford to lose. Also unlike lots of games out there, there is most definatly something to be said for the players skills, knowing how to fit the ship you have, and how to use the equipment and when, and what it will do to your power, is much more important that just owning the stuff. My advice be content with frigates for a while, work on your basic skills -things that will help you in all ships in all tasks; to go faster, have more power, be able to fit more stuff, learn faster, repair faster, etc... Good long term strategic planning of you gaming instead of me want/me get style will pay off in the end.
that enough info ?
Yes more info
I am considering restarting. Does class and stats really matter?
"Whoever controls the media controls the mind..-'Jim Morrison"
"When decorum is repression, the only dignity free men have is to speak out." ~Abbie Hoffman
Race doesn't really have anything to do with anything other than the area of space you start in and what kind of frigate you initally fly. A Minmatar can fly Gallente ships if he trains the skills, etc. As for attributes, if you want to specialize in something like fighting, you would want perception/willpower to be the highest.
Here some of the common skills and their attributes (this list is far from complete but a good "baseline"):
Drones:
Memory - Perception
Electronics:
Intelligence - Memory
Engineering:
Intelligence - Memory
Gunnery:
Gunnery is slightly different. Unlike the other skill areas Gunnery has skills which can be either perception or willpower as primary attribute and vice versa. Perception is probably more important however.
Industry:
Memory - Intelligence
Leadership:
Willpower - Charisma
Learning:
Memory - Intelligence
Mechanic:
Intelligence - Memory
Missiles:
Perception - Willpower
Navigation:
Intelligence - Perception
Science:
Intelligence - Memory
Social:
Charisma - Intelligence
Spaceship Command:
Perception - Willpower
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NFWolfDude
ahh i didnt know you needed a key
im downloading the client now..could anyone help me out?
im hearing so much good stuff about this game its almost irritating me to a point because im kind of looking forward to Guild wars but Eve sounds like a blast
Eve and Guild wars are opposite ends of the spectrum (nearly) for MMo games.
at least in my opinion.
No. More often players who strictly want to mine are somewhat frowned upon, but there are many more ways to make money than mining. Most people don't find mining *fun*.
NPC piracy happens in asteroid belts. The lower the security, the tougher the NPC pirates. They will come if you are in as asteroid belt in 0.8 and below -- it's just a matter of time. You'll be able to handle the easioer ones early on, the tougher ones in lower security space will be harder and you will need more skills to defend youself against them if you are mining there or to hunt NPC bounties.
PC piracy involves players hunting you either to ransom your ship (ie, extort a certain amount of money from you in exchange for them agreeing not to destroy your ship and/or your lifepod) or to destry your ship (and maybe your pod) and take your cargo and some of your modules. When your ship is destroyed, it drops the cargo you were carrying and some of your modules fitted on the ship -- the pirate can take those and use them or sell them. If a PC attacks another PC in space 0.5 and above, Concord, the NPC police with uber ships, will attack the PC -- the strength and speed of their attack depends on the security level, so that they take slightly longer and come in slightly fewer numbers in 0.5, say, as compared with 0.8. In security systems between 0.1 and 0.4, Concord will not police the asteroid belts ... you can attack there (and be attacked there) without any response from Concord. Sentry guns do police the stargates and the stations, so you can't attack in range of those without being attacked. Also, if you attack in this space and kill someone, you are "tagged" for 20 real life minutes, so if you approach the station or a gate within that time frame, you will be attacked by the Concord sentries. The upshot of this is that if you are in an asteroid belt in 0.1 - 0.4, you can be attacked by PC pirates without a response from Concord. In 0.0 space, there are no Concord police or sentry guns, so you can be attacked by anyone anywhere with no repercusssions or response from the police.
So how common are attacks? It really depends on a lot of things. One factor is whether the system is 0.1-0.4 or 0.0. In 0.1-0.4, attacks are more frequent in systems that are more convenient (ie, not "out of the way" systems). In 0.0, it can happen anywhere, but because the access to 0.0 space is reached through "choke point" systems, pirates tend to hang out in the choke point systems and the neighboring ones so that they can attack people who are transiting in and out of 0.0. Of course, attacks are more frequent when there are more people online as well.
What to do? A few things. First, use the map. The map is confusing at first but it's worth the time investment in learning how to use it. Play around with the filters on the map. Different filters tell you how many people are in a system, how many of them are in space, how many ships have been destroyed in system recently and so forth. The map information is *delayed* so it is not completely reliable, but it is worth checking so you can see if action is going on in a system. Second, use the local chat channel ... but not for talking! Use it to scout everyone who is in the system. Click on their info window, and try to see if they are pirates (low security ratings or pirate logo corps or pirate like names etc.). The third thing you can do is set up a safe spot -- in other words a random spot in the solar system which you bookmark and which you can warp quickly to if you need to get someplace quickly. Another is to fit, if you can, warp core stabilizers to your ship, because these counteract against propulsion jamming. In other words, they interfere with the pirate weapon commonly used that interferes with your ability to warp away -- and therefore they can help you run from a pirate who is trying to "scramble" you (jam your warp drive).
Piracy is a part of the game, but if you are aware of your surroundings and take a few precautions, you can manage the risk.
It depends on what you want to do. You can have a lot of fun without very high skills. Battleships and huge ships are not necessarily more fun to fly than small frigate ships. In fact, many high skilled player often fly frigates (including elite frigates like interceptors and assault ships ... although those take a long time to train) because they are nice and fast to fly, and highly maneuverable. In my opinion, the "good stuff" comes when you find a good corp that matches what kind of game experience you want to have, and play in that context. In EVE you make your own game, in terms of what you want to do.
One final note, EVE's skill training takes place in real time (including offline time), so your time in game does not make your skill training faster. The time in game advancces you in other ways (including money, standing, security status and the like), but *not* skills.