One of EVE Online's shining features is the persistent, meaningful nature of its economy and metagame. In many other games, players will go up levels and leave most of their old gear behind. Not so, in EVE Online. This season, show your love to your EVE Online friends by giving them thoughtful, meaningful gifts. Need ideas? Read on, player.

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Bargain Gifts

Like your Mom always said, "It's the thought that counts" when it comes to gifts. Many players will be touched that you thought of them at all, never mind how much your gift is worth. Here are some ideas for affordable presents that will still go over well with your space friends.

10. A Blueprint For A New Battlecruiser

In the initial rush after the Crucible expansion went live, many players hustled to make copies of the new battlecruisers (Talos, Tornado, Oracle, and Naga) that had little or no material research done on them. As these things go, the earliest blueprints are already being rendered un-sellable by updated versions with more research. Older blueprints are now showing up pretty cheap on the contract market. Buyers like me have scooped up most of the really underpriced ones (sorry, reader), but expect there to be more soon, as peoples' contracts expire and they try to make at least some ISK from their copies. If the spirit moves you, pick one up to give to a friend this holiday season.

9. Learning Implants

So-called 'learning implants' are one of the most important tools for improving your character, by improving your attributes and, thus, the speed at which you acquire related skills. They allow you to effectively leverage your financial success into skill point progress. In fact, they are currently the only way to improve your character's skills with wealth, aside from buying a new character. At this moment, a set of "+3" basic implants can be had for 44 million ISK from Jita sell orders, or perhaps 30 million ISK with buy orders. Couldn't everyone on your list use a little character development this year?

8. A Stealth Bomber, Ala Carte

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Everybody loves flying stealth bombers. They can get anywhere, kill helpless or nearly helpless targets, and allow you to cloak any time you need to run to the bathroom. A well-fitted stealth bomber probably costs less than 30 million ISK and will give a lot of bang for its buck. Stock it with extra faction ammo and ship it off to your best EVE buddy. Even if he jumps into a gate camp and forgets to cloak, it'll still make for a good chuckle.

7. A Faction Damage Module

Most players in EVE Online spend their time running missions or grinding cosmic anomalies. To that end, a faction weapon upgrade module will help your space friends improve their ability to earn ISK. Faction modules are a gift that keeps on giving, and my suggested ones include:

• Caldari Navy Ballistic Control Systems (missiles)
• Federation Navy Magnetic Field Stabilizer (hybrids)
• Imperial Navy Heat Sink (lasers)
• Republic Fleet Gyrostabilizer (projectiles)

Remember, giving gifts isn't about you. Get to know your friends and figure out which types they'd most like to receive before buying.

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Middle Of The Road Gifts

Maybe you have a productive business model that has been netting you a lot of ISK, or maybe you are just generous. Either way, these gifts are for you.

6. A New Battlecruiser

The pre-built hulls of the new battlecruisers have already settled in cost. While prices are inflated over what they will eventually be, they are nonetheless reasonable for the here and now. For example, yours truly grabbed a Tornado in Jita for only 56 million ISK earlier today. That's not out of reach for many or most players, as long as you don't give them out like candy. Nab bonus points with friends by presenting the ship already fit with modules.

5. A Customs Office Gantry

As of earlier this week and the Crucible expansion, the gantry needed to set up a player-owned customs office cost about 140 million ISK, with blueprint and parts included. Assembling the whole thing is easy as pie. Presenting it to a friend with aspirations for financial dominance might be just the kick in the pants needed to get things rolling, especially in corporations thinking about making the move from high-sec space. A great gift for CEOs, especially.

4. A PLEX

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Nothing says happy holidays in EVE Online like the ability to continue to play EVE Online. Market manipulation, bot elimination, and CCP sales have caused PLEX prices to drop recently. Take advantage and lock in game play time with your EVE friends for 2012 by buying a PLEX today.

3. A Blueprint Original For One Of The New Battlecruisers

Forget the copies, big spender, and focus on a blueprint original for one of the new battlecruisers. They are sold in their home stations for a mere 650 million ISK, which is about the cost of a PLEX and a half, as of this writing. Original blueprints will almost certainly pay for themselves within a year, assuming they are researched and then used to make either finished hulls or blueprint copies. Throw one in for yourself, so you and your friends can become captains of industry together. Why not? You've earned it.

Top Of The Line Gifts

Okay, so you've got the scratch to buy a really impressive gift. Maybe you're very successful at earning ISK, or maybe you've just got a Santa complex. Either way, your gift recipient is going to be very happy.

2. A Dreadnought Pilot

Fleets of dreadnoughts have been envisioned as doing the heavy lifting in null-sec warfare and conquering customs offices. Until the Crucible expansion, the terror of supercarriers and titans has prevented most groups from really leveraging their dreadnoughts. Now, things are a bit more risky for supercapitals, and as time passes they should become less of a constant threat (at least as long as you aren't messing with a really big alliance). That means dreadnoughts can once again waltz across fields of burning starbase wreckage and station shrapnel. More importantly, they are uniquely suited for destroying Interbus customs offices.

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If you head on over to the character bazaar subforum on the official EVE Online forums, you should be able to nab a dreadnought-capable character for under 20 billion ISK, though the market fluctuates quite a bit.

Sure, you'll be emptying your pockets, but the joy you'll bring to your friends (and fear to your enemies) just might be worth it.

1. A Revenant

I don't know if you're an RMT kingpin or a real life millionaire, but if you really want to give out the most pimping piece of holiday loot, this is it. The Revenant is a faction supercarrier whose blueprint copies can only be obtained from Incursions in low-security space, and even then only rarely. There are maybe ten of these guys in existence, and they can be sold for anything from 40 billion ISK to 70 billion ISK (though some people try to sell them for more). Notably, this ship is a flying coffin: anybody that sees one will want to be on its killmail, and the ship itself is all gank with very little tank. Still, if you give one of these as a gift you'll probably be regarded as the most generous EVE player, ever.

Gift on, EVE players.