2024

A Day of Firsts

stargrace April 11, 2024 0Comment

Most of my adventures in EVE happen in high sec because after attempting to pass through low sec and getting instantly blapped I had zero desire to interact with that portion of the game. It just wasn’t fun playing a game where everyone else seemed to know the rules, and I knew nothing.

These days things are a bit better. I’m still learning those rules, but survival is the name of the game. Most of my recent days are spent in nullsec (jspace, wormholes) which I find much safer than low sec. I’ve been trying to get more familiar with these aspects of EVE, and the best way to do that is to put yourself into those types of situations (almost like exposure therapy). So yesterday, I found myself a quiet C2 system, and decided on a whim that it was time for me to attempt some of the combat sites within. All of my combat to date has been in high sec, scanning down anomalies and doing L4 missions.

I don’t really know much about WH sites. I had to look up the one I decided to attempt, and I guess it was a C2 sleeper site? The loot was OK, and while my tanking was fantastic, my DPS felt a bit slow. Something to work on I suppose. Anyway, I cleared the site (all the while frantically checking d-scan, expecting an angry swarm of attackers to scan me down and blap me again) and then I scanned down the rest of the hole, wondering what other trouble I could get into. I found a gas site, and decided that with the little bit of free time I had left over, I might as well do some huffing (that’s the name for gas harvesting).

I’d never done it before, and while my alt account can use the covert ops ship for huffing, I can’t use the good scoops (harvest modules) and on my main account I can’t use the ship (I need 9d of training still) but I can use the fancy scoops. I swapped over to the cheaper venture, deciding that I didn’t need the covert ops cloak that bad since I had been in the system for quite some time and not seen anyone – and I was hyper aware of anything that moved, so I was hoping I’d have time to get away if someone did show up.

I set a timer so I knew when the rats would show up at the gas site – and when they did, I swapped out again for the exploration Tengu I have. After that little adventure I decided to step into an adjoining WH, but there were a few ships on d-scan so I didn’t stick around too long. One was a Helios (appropriately named Dora the Explorer) and the other was a navy issued combat ship (I’ve forgotten the name). Still, it was a nice gaming session where I felt I had accomplished quite a bit that was ‘new’ to me. Now I just need to keep up with it.

Fly safe o7

My First Brick (Monolith)

stargrace April 10, 2024 0Comment

This week, instead of doing any mining, I decided to just jump out of bed and find a wormhole. In fact it’s safe to say I have done ZERO mining this week – and that’s a good thing. I’ve mostly been looking for C1/C2 just to get familiar with them. They’re a bit quieter (I find, maybe I’m wrong) and I was lucky enough yesterday to find some relic/data sites within. As I was headed to one in my Helios I spotted a gigantic monolith just silently floating past. You’ll have to ignore the tactical overlay I have displaying with it, since I was headed to a relic cache I didn’t have time to stop and taking any really scenic screenshots.

I also wanted to try my hand at gas huffing / ore mining within a WH – but the one gas site I found said in the notes that I shouldn’t even bother. So I didn’t. I’m also not completely happy with my venture fit, so I need to play around with that a bit too.

I did manage to set up two alts and have them each training for 1 month, since my latest subscription bundle came with MCT (multi-character-training) for 30 days. If nothing else I’ll get them situated for PI and they can supplement my drone crafting.

I also picked up a BPC yesterday while at the relic site, nothing especially fancy, but the crafted item costs 1.5m in supplies, and sells for close to 3m, so I’m pretty happy with that sort of gain. It’s little consistent gains over time that I’m looking for. I also set up a spreadsheet (of course I did) to monitor my ISK gains/expenses, as I play the game I’m hoping to get more familiar with the market just like I did in Warcraft. Of course, for that game I have 19 years of experience, and in EVE I don’t think I’ve ever really stuck with it for more than a month or two. It might even be safe to say that this particular adventure I’m on right now is the longest I’ve continuously played.

I’m still meandering through the stacks and stacks and stacks of information provided by Signal Cartel, but I’m getting to know people and settling into some routine when it comes to corp life, too. So far it feels like a very comfortable fit, and I really enjoy having a purpose in WH that benefits everyone else. I watched a few videos on hug fleets, and it all just makes me smile.

Fly safe o7

A Home for Peaceful Explorers

stargrace April 9, 2024 0Comment

When people talk about EVE Online, I’m always surprised at how many different ‘things’ the game is to each individual. To some, it’s a PVP game. To others, it’s an industry game, and for some – EVE is a game about exploring, and discovery (it can also be a game of all of these things, that’s the point). It’s no surprise that I fall into the later categories, and to be honest I’ve always felt a bit awkward, like I wasn’t “playing the game right” because I’ve got zero interest in blowing up other people. I am glad there are many different ways for each person to play, but I never truly felt comfortable doing what I enjoy, in a corporation setting.

Then I heard about Signal Cartel. A neutral corporation who helps players who are lost in space, no matter their standings. They thrive on exploration, and the more I read about their credo the more interested I was. I hummed and hawed over the decision for a month and then decided to take the plunge. I got an invite. I joined. I met people. I tended to my first EVE-Scout cache, and for the first time in 15+ years I felt like I was HOME in EVE. It’s not a ‘safe’ choice, since Signal Cartel does get wardec’d frequently, and let’s face it this is EVE, but right from the start, it felt like the right choice for me. If you’re not sure if your current corporation is the ‘right’ fit – then go out and find one that is. I promise such a thing exists, it just takes a bit of time to wade through everything first.

After I joined, very little changed in my day to day except that I had more purpose (and a lot of reading). I was already jumping into WH and mapping – that continues. Now I can tend the caches that are placed for lost pilots while I’m already out and about. Industry is a nice background activity, and I continue to do that, too. I’m hoping that this ends up being my ‘home’ for a good long time, we’ll just have to see.

As always, fly safe o7!

Woah. Auviken has something going on

stargrace April 6, 2024 0Comment

Yesterday I got an email from CCP saying that there was something mysterious going on in the Auviken system, and if we were to turn in some drone graviton emitters, we could help contribute to the development of the new facility, and earn LP (loyalty points) that could then be traded in for a new consortium tractor beam and mobile tractor unit.

Right now these items are going for a LOT of ISK – but I’m not sure I have any interest in trying to collect them right this second. I did fly out to the location, and well, a LOT of PVP has been happening over there, even though it is a high sec area. My concern is that if I try to turn in the parts, I’m more likely going to get killed and have those bits stolen. There were some cargo scanners going off – and while I was as “safe” as I could be (I just headed out in a tiny imicus with nothing important on me for screenshot purposes) I don’t really feel like tempting fate. I’m quite content to let everyone else chase after the new shiny, and I’ll just watch and take screenshots – much more my thing.

The rest of the day was filled with my usual adventures. I scanned down sites, I found a few quiet sections of space with some data/relic adventures, and of course I continued with my industry, and earned a bit over 100m ISK for the day. I had to do some shopping, my Orca was out of booster / compression components, but it was still a pretty nice day. I found one particularly neat looking relic site that was filled with all sorts of space junk floating around – took a lot of screenshots.

Today – shield management V is finally finished! My training queue is sitting at 370 days (hah) just of items that I actually want / make use of. I do have almost 47m SP, but that is just a drop in the bucket. I have nice skills for flying / using what I have but I’ll be chasing that SP train for years still and I’m OK with that. Even though I find the PVP aspect of the game incredibly fast paced and anxiety inducing, the rest of the game is pretty relaxing and low key (minus the constant paranoia that I’m about to get ganked). It’s the weekend, so the skies are filled with players, especially in my little neck of the woods where everyone comes out for the ice belts.

As always, happy gaming – no matter where you find yourself!