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

One of the great tragedies of EVE Online is that a huge segment of the player base clings to high-security space, where PvP takes the form of war targets that are generally easy to avoid, or suicide ganks. Both of these have their time and place, and are thrill in and of themselves, but they aren't the free and open PvP that takes place in null-security space, or the intricate brouhahas that flare up in low-security space.

The purpose of this article is to suggest specific reasons to venture out of high security space. Some players won't do this no matter what the carrot is, because they don't want to play a high-risk lifestyle. That's absolutely fine, so long as you're having fun. But I recommend at least giving the dangerous lifestyle the old college try.

Consider: I still get the shakes in PvP, even though I've been playing EVE Online for something like four years. I've never gotten the shakes from other games, or even during dangerous situations in real life. It's something that happens to a lot of people that play EVE, though. My guess is that some combination of adrenaline, relatively high-stake PvP, and my interest in EVE is what makes this happen. One thing I know for sure, though, is that I've never gotten the shakes from running missions or mining. Just some food for thought.

I don't mean this to be a jeremiad or insulting to anybody's play-style, and I hope you won't interpret it that way. I just want to tempt you into trying something new. And if you're already out here, maybe you will still find this article useful to convince a gun-shy friend to leave the nest.

To Be Part Of The Space Opera

Most of the really interesting things happen within the so-called "end-game" of null-security space, or within the factional warfare taking place in low-security space. Conflict is the dynamo that makes the wheels of EVE Online's industry turn. It's also the really interesting stuff that we thrive on. By comparison, high-security space's tepidity offers a good place to learn the basics of the game, periodic high-profile scams or suicide ganks, and perhaps an occasional roleplaying event. Most of what happens there isn't going to interest other denizens of high-sec, let alone make international news.

But plenty of stuff that happens out in null-sec is big news. Whether it's a major scam or territorial reversal that makes the New York Times, or something that gets voted to the front page of a new media web site by interested viewers, the conflicts that occur in null-security space are interesting.

If you want to be part of a fleet battle involving hundreds of people at once, you need to leave high-sec. If you want to plant your flag on the map, take sovereignty, and build a station, you need to leave high security space. If you want to start a corporation that garners a reputation and is famous throughout EVE, you probably will have better luck outside high-security space.