Help me find a profession in Eve-Online

November 25, 2006 7:59 AM

Give me some good suggestion about what to do in Eve Online.

A quick search suggest me there are some players and ex-players of the game on MeFi.
I've started playing yesterday and I'm still unsure about what actually do in the game.

I started mining asteroids and bought my first frigate, but seems to me too time consuming, because you can't mine AFK in dangerous sectors.
Is researching and manufacturing profitable even if you are not in a corporation (there are so many, it's not easy to find the right one)?
I'm actually more interested in the business part of the game, but I'm not excluding PvP: is it fun?

posted by darkripper to computers & internet (9 comments total)

Heh. Welcome to your new addiction.

You're going to spend a lot of time 'grinding' as a newbie these days ... working to the point where you can do something 'fun'. I ran a corporation in Empire (safe) space for a while, and then spent a lot of time in Ascendant Frontier ... but I eventually got bored with the game and decided to stop paying for it.

Your first step should be to get into a good corp. If you're interested in the business side, I'd contact my old corp, Axemaker, Inc... tell them that Calvin sent you, and he says hi. I think Noirrac is the CEO right now, if not, Tallon Kurde is a good person to contact.

What race are you? Your strategy will depend a lot on what ships you have available, but in general:

* Get into a cruiser ASAP. It'll allow you to make money a lot faster, and to start running some more lucrative missions.
* Get into a corp ASAP. The game's about socializiation. They'll take you the rest of the way and help make the game fun.

Once you've been in the game a month or two, decide if you'd like to go out into 0.0 space (and if so, I can't reccomend a better group to kick ass with than Ascendant Frontier), in which case you may need to start training some combat skills in a serious way. If not, then find a way to carebear in empire effectively so that you don't get bored.
posted by SpecialK at 8:11 AM on November 25, 2006

I left the game because i was so bored with being podded by NPCs. There is a diary of a guy who joined the game to spend the whole time in 0.0 space, it's called 0.0 Project. you might do a search
posted by parmanparman at 8:19 AM on November 25, 2006

eh, NPCs won't pod you, dude. (To be podded means to have your pod be killed, not to be put into your pod.) NPCs will only kill your ship.
posted by SpecialK at 8:23 AM on November 25, 2006

As I understand it, the possibilities are truly endless.
posted by EatTheWeak at 8:43 AM on November 25, 2006

I only played the trial but I know that to get anywhere you need to join a corp. You say mining in 0.0 is too dangerous - in a corp they will send out a fleet of miners with a heavily armed escort meaning you can make vast amounts of money very fast while being protected from danger.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 9:44 AM on November 25, 2006

too time consuming

heh

well, mining is one of the most boring, tedious things to do. if you're into trade and making money, a good thing to do would be to scout the markets and look for money to be made by buying low, hauling stuff from point A to point B, and selling high. this requires some starting capital and willingness to brave lowsec space in a slow, easily perforated ship, but it can be profitable.

it takes weeks generally before one starts to grasp the whole scope of the game. at this point i'd recommend trying various things to see what you like - try running (combat) missions for NPC agents, try ratting in asteroid belts, try some trading, run out to 0.0 and try some PvP (be prepared to get slaughtered, though). consider starting your own corporation if you like the business side of things. i think there are supposed to be some new 'professions' coming in the expansion that's due out in a week or so as well.

(also i would disagree with the you-must-join-a-player-corp-immediately mentality. there's no rush for these things; do it if you want, but don't feel like you have to. one can have plenty of fun in the starter corp.)

basically, just mess around and try stuff out. you're at the point in the game where you don't have a lot to lose, which can be very fun since you can dick around with this and that. in time you'll gravitate towards things you like.

also, remember that not every game is for everyone; a lot of people find eve is not to their tastes, so don't beat your head against the wall if it just isn't fun for you.
posted by sergeant sandwich at 9:49 AM on November 25, 2006

I play Eve Online. Not as much as I used to, but I'm still fairly deep in the game.

The #1 thing you need to do is find a good corporation to join. The game's just not much fun without other people to chat with, to help you, etc. As a newbie you won't be too interesting to people (and seen as a security threat by the more serious corps). When you get about 5M skill points you'll be better.

The usual money making activities are ratting and mining. These are boring and repetitive, but reliable. Early on you should get good at one of the two. A more interesting money making activity is working the markets. There's some boring profits to be made via the NPC markets (trade goods, trade routes) but the real fun is buying and selling stuff from other people. Lots of opportunities here, but it's a challenge. One hint for you: eve-central.com.

The usual money losing activity is PvP. You will get killed by nasty pirates. Don't let it bug you. Maybe you want to be a nasty pirate yourself? Or at least learn how to avoid them.

Eve is a brilliant game in many ways, way more rich and deep than the usual online game. It's also deeply flawed and can become boring or irritating quickly. Me, I mostly love it, flaws and all. The game is about to change radically with the patch on Nov 28. Should be interesting.
posted by Nelson at 10:43 AM on November 25, 2006

If you just started, you may want to take a look at the stats on the character you created, there are a few attributes listed, Intelligence, Memory, Charisma, Perception and Willpower. Perception and Willpower are used for learning ship flying skills, you'll want them fairly high. Intelligence and Memory are used for most other skills. Charisma is the odd one out, and most people chose to minimize this one if they can, to improve the others.

The #1 rule of eve: don't fly what you can't afford to lose. I can fly battleships, and do so regularly when 'ratting' (killing NPC belt pirates), but for PVP I usually fly a cruiser. Make sure to insure your ship and upgrade your clone or you'll be in for some sad times.

As said above, your first goal should be finding a good player corporation. Mine had me in 0.0 space my first day in game, and on a PVP gang by my second. There are corporations that focus on various things, mining, inudstry, PVP, etc. I'd stay away from industry, as most people find it terribly boring. I manufacture a small set of things, mostly ammo for my own use, but couldn't consider doing at my main game activity.

If you post your in-game name, I'll send you a few million ISK to help you get started, I'm sure some other mefites would as well.
posted by borkencode at 2:10 PM on November 25, 2006

First thing, thanks for the answers, everyone. The in-game name is Sebastian Dark if you want to chat (or send money :) ) . At the moment I'm mining and doing some occasional PVE against pirates. I'm near 1milion credit and wondering what could I do with such an huge amount of ISK (at least for someone who played for less than a week).
posted by darkripper at 12:07 PM on November 26, 2006