EVE Online at Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMOG Gamers to the Next Level!

#2: Participate In EVE's Culture

EVE Online is a massively multiplayer game, but that doesn't matter all that much if a player keeps to himself and doesn't make friends. Join a corporation. Really. They will help you understand EVE faster. They will help you make ISK faster. Most importantly, they will help you enjoy EVE more.

Any aspect of EVE Online is improved by sharing the experience with other players. Whether it's a corporation of people dedicated to your particular raison d'etre, or posting on the EVE forums, or posting on another site dedicated to EVE Online, participating in EVE's wider culture will make playing the game a hundred times more fun. It will also give you a sense of where you fit into the larger continuum of player activity. If you don't participate, you won't see the big picture, and EVE won't be as fun.

Ten Ton Hammer has a guide that helps new players find and join a worthwhile corporation, here. I recommend this more than anything else. Experience isn't necessary. Run well, corporations are a support net that enriches their members EVE experience, literally and figuratively.

#1: Try Everything

Sure, you tried mining, production, and running missions, in the tutorial. But the experiences offered by the tutorial are a far cry from making an EVE career at any of these professions. And these isn't even a taste of PVP, except the occasion ship loss.

Try mining as your main source of revenue. Getting bored? Not making enough ISK? Move on. Enjoying yourself? Have you found a mining corporation that loves carousing over ventrilo or teamspeak during corporate mining ops, and makes a ton of ISK through collaborative effort? You may have found your calling.

Try buying a few blueprint originals for modules that you find yourself needing, and think will sell in whatever area you live at. Are you making decent money? Do you enjoy the thrill of hunting for market gaps and filling them? Are you rolling in ISK? Then this is the profession for you. Expand your market coverage as your skills and production capabilities increase, and you will

Try running missions for ISK. You're going to want to run a lot of missions for the same NPC organization, in order to get access to level 2 (or better) missions. As your cache of loot, ISK, and loyalty points increase, and you find yourself moving to better "mission hubs" with higher quality agents, as your standings improve, you should get a sense as to whether this is something you want to run with, or a passing diversion. If you find yourself thriving in this role, run with it.

None of the PVE activities offer the same level of invigorating excitement that PVP does. Every EVE Online player owes it to themselves to try it at least a couple of times. Try ganking in low-security space or, if you can make it, null-security space. Get together in low-sec with a few friends in reasonably priced tech one cruisers, and hang around until something runs into you. Do your best to blow it up. PVP is not a solo activity. Attempts to PVP with just one character usually end in failure, except for the most advanced players. And even they usually end up using two characters at once. Nor is PVP a foolproof science: things constantly go wrong, and victory is never certain. Especially as a new player. But learning not to fear PVP or to rue the loss of ships is in many ways the most valuable PVP skill that can be learned. If you enjoy the thrill of combat, this is a good path for you to pursue.

It is true that certain professions are arguably better than others, or at least make more ISK per hour. For example: done properly, level 4 missions will always make more money than mining the asteroids that are available in high security space. My advice is that, if you have tried everything and enjoy what you are doing most, then it doesn't really matter whether the other professions make more ISK. If you like it, do it. None of these professions preclude one another. You easily can mine or run missions while your manufacturing jobs are going on, and PVP in your spare time.

That's all for now. Be sure to check in on the Ten Ton Hammer forums if you have any further questions. We'll do our best to help you out.