EVE!

[Visaoni]

I picked up EVE for a few months almost a year ago now, and quit once classes started. Classes have finished, and I'm itching to pick EVE back up. However, progression in EVE cannot be remotely described as quick. Only playing ~3 months/year isn't feasible.

Is it at all possible to play EVE very casually for most of the year and still get anywhere exciting? If so, I don't suppose any of you have figured out how to play an MMO (especially EVE) very casually?

 

[TheVrolok]

I picked up EVE for a few months almost a year ago now, and quit once classes started. Classes have finished, and I'm itching to pick EVE back up. However, progression in EVE cannot be remotely described as quick. Only playing ~3 months/year isn't feasible.

Is it at all possible to play EVE very casually for most of the year and still get anywhere exciting? If so, I don't suppose any of you have figured out how to play an MMO (especially EVE) very casually?

We talked about it a few posts back.. I think EVE is one of the most casual friendly MMOs to ever have existed. This summer, for instance, I've played MAYBE 1 night a week and still have fun.

 

[KaOTiK]

I picked up EVE for a few months almost a year ago now, and quit once classes started. Classes have finished, and I'm itching to pick EVE back up. However, progression in EVE cannot be remotely described as quick. Only playing ~3 months/year isn't feasible.

Is it at all possible to play EVE very casually for most of the year and still get anywhere exciting? If so, I don't suppose any of you have figured out how to play an MMO (especially EVE) very casually?

One of the big things is, training even while not playing. So if you just keep your sub activated you are always progressing and when you do get time to play you can get into it a lot quicker. There was a nearly a 6 month period I couldn't play due to health reasons but I kept up on training so when I came back my character was way ahead and it was so much easier to just jump in and do things.

But Eve is extremely casual friendly. Most corps are fine with having casuals as well, just need to find one that fits your needs. You can do nearly everything in Eve in short bursts and get things accomplished. It just all falls on you to go do it.

 

[Saga]

One of the big things is, training even while not playing. So if you just keep your sub activated you are always progressing and when you do get time to play you can get into it a lot quicker. There was a nearly a 6 month period I couldn't play due to health reasons but I kept up on training so when I came back my character was way ahead and it was so much easier to just jump in and do things.

But Eve is extremely casual friendly. Most corps are fine with having casuals as well, just need to find one that fits your needs. You can do nearly everything in Eve in short bursts and get things accomplished. It just all falls on you to go do it.

Probably the single most inaccurate statement I've ever seen.

 

[KaOTiK]

Probably the single most inaccurate statement I've ever seen.

How about you explain then. Cause I can play the game for an hour every couple of days and get many things accomplished from whatever I want.

Feel like pvp'n? Either join a corp or alliance roam, heck even go out solo for some action as well. Want to make some isk? Go run some missions, rat, trade, mine, or however you like too. You can do plenty of stuff on a very casual basis and still accomplish plenty.

 

[Fallen Kell]

I think KaOTiK is correct, at least once you move past the first month or so of frantic training when most things only take a few hours. Then it is simple queue up a bunch of skills and log out. Have something like EVEMon running and have it send you an email/notification when your training queue is empty so you can log back in for a few minutes and fill it up again with more skills that you want to train up. Once you have played for a week or two, you will get an idea of how this makes it easy to deal with. You don't need to grind to get your character learning new skills like other MMO's, all you have to do is get the skill book, inject the skill, add it to your training queue and then do nothing (kindof like the travelocity commercials, book it, do nothing and get a reward).

 

[Visaoni]

I think KaOTiK is correct, at least once you move past the first month or so of frantic training when most things only take a few hours. Then it is simple queue up a bunch of skills and log out. Have something like EVEMon running and have it send you an email/notification when your training queue is empty so you can log back in for a few minutes and fill it up again with more skills that you want to train up. Once you have played for a week or two, you will get an idea of how this makes it easy to deal with. You don't need to grind to get your character learning new skills like other MMO's, all you have to do is get the skill book, inject the skill, add it to your training queue and then do nothing (kindof like the travelocity commercials, book it, do nothing and get a reward).

Right, as I said I have played EVE for a couple of months, and I realize I can do 'stuff' very casually. I guess I'm just more interested in (eventually) making it out to 0.0, which from what I've heard pretty much is the exact opposite of casual. People will call you and request your presence asap, even without previous plans. Only time I've ever experience calls demanding an online presence is maybe when the MT misses the big raid, and nobody else is geared for it.

Of course, I would enjoy non-0.0 corp pvp ops and whatnot, so perhaps I should just enjoy what I have time for, and maybe sometime in the future I'll have the time for the more hardcore stuff.

On another note, has anybody had success studying while mining? I do have a barge, so the lasers aren't quite as demanding, but if I recall correctly it is still only 1.5 min between refreshes.

Also my guy is Minmatar, would it be worth it to train up another races ships? I believe shortly before I left I jumped into a Hurricane.

 

[Nik]

You know, since I have been a Pirate for more than a year now, I can't remember what it was like before I was a Pirate.

Is there anyone here that is not a Pirate? If so, what sorts of things do you do in the game for fun?

Is there a large non-pirate community in the game? It seems to me that the pirates are the largest player base, but at the same time I live in low-sec. I usually end up shooting at other pirates, but maybe in high sec or null sec there is a higher percentage of people who rarely PvP.

<-- not a pirate

Run missions for corp rep, help new members learn the ropes, help normal members choose what to fit what ships with, help newbies get rep up by running higher level missions with me, farm complexes praying for items I can sell for 150mil, mine a specific list of resources that corp mates need for crap, participate in group mining while BSing and running my hauler back and forth between secure containers and station, pvp every once in a while.

 

[Nik]

Also my guy is Minmatar, would it be worth it to train up another races ships? I believe shortly before I left I jumped into a Hurricane.

Unless you're going to start specializing in interceptors or special operations, there's no need to waste time learning other race ships. Basically, yes there's a good reason to do so but if you have to ask then you're quite a ways from needing to do so, so don't worry about it.

 

[Visaoni]

Well I think I've talked myself into resubbing. I also took a look at the posts back, and the responses to my own, and I think it'll work out alright once school starts back up. If not, I guess I can always quit again.

Anyway, is there any sort of resubscribe bonus program thing going on with EVE right now? I know awhile back one of my friends tried to get me back into WoW with a free period, and if I resubbed he'd get a free month or some such.

 

[KaOTiK]

Well I think I've talked myself into resubbing. I also took a look at the posts back, and the responses to my own, and I think it'll work out alright once school starts back up. If not, I guess I can always quit again.

Anyway, is there any sort of resubscribe bonus program thing going on with EVE right now? I know awhile back one of my friends tried to get me back into WoW with a free period, and if I resubbed he'd get a free month or some such.

Nope, only a thing for new accounts sadly.

 

[Martimus]

Also my guy is Minmatar, would it be worth it to train up another races ships? I believe shortly before I left I jumped into a Hurricane.

I would stay with Minmatar, and use that. They have some pretty nice setups, they are fast and do a lot of damage.

I wouldn't cross train until you at least have a good proficiency through Battleships (Min BS to level 4, T2 autocannons and Artillery to L4, good shield and armor tanking skills.) Cross training at that point would be useful, because additional skills would be going to the point of diminishing returns compared to learning to fly a new races ships. However, you want to train Minmatar to that point first, since you need to be able to fit the ship properly or else you are likley to just lose it.

 

[TheVrolok]

Probably the single most inaccurate statement I've ever seen.

I would also like to know how EVE is NOT extremely casual friendly. Understand that casual is not synonymous with idiot/bad gamer/easy to learn. A casual is just someone who doesn't have time to play every day, or maybe even every other day. Getting into EVE at first is difficult because the learning curve is mighty steep, but after that, it's VERY casual friendly.

 

[v8envy]

Count me in with the "extremely casual" crowd. I've only been logging in to switch skills mainly, but even there I'm making game progress.

Also, not all of 0.0 is hot blobby alliance on blobby alliance action. Not all 0.0 entities spend their entire waking hours POS bashing and blobbing. You can even do fairly well solo in 0.0 npc space (by solo I mean you and your scout alts).

Oh, and I qualify as a carebear -- my security rating is .7, so I'm not even orange. For me it's all about the size of my wallet. That's how I keep score in eve -- ISK, not killmails. I don't grind very much, my income is mostly from trade and industry. I rarely undock, and on the odd chance that I do a hulk or mackinaw is likely to die shortly.

 

[Fallen Kell]

Any recommendations for which race ships to learn first? Would like to be either a fighter pilot or possibly interdictor (but don't know which is more useful to a corp).

 

[Martimus]

Any recommendations for which race ships to learn first? Would like to be either a fighter pilot or possibly interdictor (but don't know which is more useful to a corp).

I would suggest Gallente, since they have good damage, and a good tank, and seem to be the most well rounded race. They have good Mission running setups and good PvP setups, and none of the above are expensive.

All the races have pretty good setups though. Whatever you pick will likely work for you.

 

[TheVrolok]

I would suggest Gallente, since they have good damage, and a good tank, and seem to be the most well rounded race. They have good Mission running setups and good PvP setups, and none of the above are expensive.

All the races have pretty good setups though. Whatever you pick will likely work for you.

I agree with Gallente ships first.

 

[Visaoni]

I would stay with Minmatar, and use that. They have some pretty nice setups, they are fast and do a lot of damage.

I wouldn't cross train until you at least have a good proficiency through Battleships (Min BS to level 4, T2 autocannons and Artillery to L4, good shield and armor tanking skills.) Cross training at that point would be useful, because additional skills would be going to the point of diminishing returns compared to learning to fly a new races ships. However, you want to train Minmatar to that point first, since you need to be able to fit the ship properly or else you are likley to just lose it.

Alright thanks. I know what I generally heard before I left was that Caldari was the way to go, at least until you knew what you were doing enough to jump into more specialized ships from other races. But I never had a problem with my ships, so I didn't take the time to make the switch.

 

[ichy]

Any recommendations for which race ships to learn first? Would like to be either a fighter pilot or possibly interdictor (but don't know which is more useful to a corp).

Depends on what you want to do. Rifters are very popular as cheap PvP frigates, so IMO it's worth at least training Minmatar frigate skills. For the Caldari I'm a huge Drake fan, they're useful in both PvE and as relatively low cost 0.0 ratting & PvP ships. The Megathron is probably the best general purpose PvP battleship.

 

[ichy]

Alright thanks. I know what I generally heard before I left was that Caldari was the way to go, at least until you knew what you were doing enough to jump into more specialized ships from other races. But I never had a problem with my ships, so I didn't take the time to make the switch.

The Raven is a great mission running ship. I'm not a fan of carebearing, but I always keep a nicely fitted Raven in high-sec space so that I have an easy way to earn some ISK.

 

[v8envy]

Gallente? Really? In 2010?

Gallente have been savagely beaten with the nerfbat over the past few years. When's the last time you saw an Eos flying around, for example?

The speed nerfs (the web changes specifically) savaged blaster tracking to the tune of 400%. Blasters are in your face weapons with tracking being the difference between a killmail and a lossmail. Railguns have always been lol. Which leaves only the drone boats as viable ships. Drones are easily countered, and e.g. wormhole sleepers target them over everything but remote rep.

And while on paper I get something ridiculous like 500+ dps out of a t1 fit thorax, 1000 dps out of a t2 fit brutix and 1600+ out of a hype -- but getting to USE that productively is a challenge.

I'd say if you're going to do PvE look into Caldari (kestrel, caracal, drake, raven). If you're going to do blob or large gang PvP, look into Caldari (blackbird and rokh for fleet ops with raven for pos bashing). If you want to fly a cap ship do NOT look into Caldari. If you're gonna solo or small gang it doesn't matter what you're flying, everything blows up to megablobs at about the same rate. Minmatar is probably your best bet for survivability.

Oh, my qualifications on this topic: a 45M sp character specialized to fly only gallente subcaps, with "all Vs" in applicable skills. She's been pretty much a ship spinner and miner ganker ever since the nano nerf of '08 made the mighty t2 neutron Mega borderline useless.

 

[KaOTiK]

Each race has ships they excel at next to another. Generally speaking, Minmatar are the best for PvP but they also require the more SP cause some of their ships are shield tanked while others armor. Gallente imo are pretty meh, they are mostly drone boats, a lot of their ships just aren't up to snuff it seems. Caladari are generally best for PvE and are rather easy to get into due to shield tanking. Amarr are gank and tank ships, they use lasers and are armor tankers, generally their ships are slower as well, but in fleet and other large engagements they shine.

Edit: Of course there are exceptions to everything, I was just making generalizations. But in the end with Eve, a lot of it just comes down to who brought more people to the fight(again generalization).

 

[v8envy]

That summs it up. The viability of various races ships depends on how much SP you have in various skills.

Minmatar: all Vs in everything combat related, then you shine. Projectiles, drones, missiles, cap, navigation, fitting, support -- you'll need it ALL to V for best effect. You can skip training controlled bursts though.
Caldari: a bit of SP in shield, missiles, drones and ECM and you're good to go. You can even skimp on cap and fitting skills at first.
Gallente: Same as Minmatar, but you can ignore missiles and shield skills. Controlled bursts V and Advanced Wepon Upgrades V are fundamental.
Amarr: cap skills first and foremost. Then laz0rs. Then more cap skills.

 

[ichy]

Interesting, I didn't realize that blasterthrons were that useless. I still see lots of them flying around.

 

[v8envy]

Oh, they're not completely useless. But there are much better choices. You can find Bellum Eternus whining on the forums circa fall of 08 re: the web/tracking nerf. He was also an all Vs blastheron specialist, and re-trained Amarr.

In a big enough blob even a rail mega can dish some hurt. But I'd rather have an apoc pilot with the same SP.