EVE

Learning (Still) (Always)

Things have already fallen into a bit of a routine when it comes to EVE. I’ve got my PI to do first thing when I log in, then I’ve got industry jobs to check in on, then I try to complete the dailies (usually just kill missions). From there my schedule is wide open.

My corporation was no longer active, so I decided to apply to a new one. I had been watching YouTube videos to try to get back into things and see what changes had happened when by chance a friend mentioned their corporation and it was run by the s

ame YouTuber that I had already been watching. I have very little experience with corporations in Eve, I tried to join one many years ago and I instantly decided it was not a fit for this casual care bear. Hopefully I have better luck this time around.

Speaking of little experience – I got killed yesterday in 0.5 space! I’ve been playing off and on since 2009 and I’ve lost 4 ships (and been podded twice). The Tristan was my first loss, then a hulk, a tengu, and yesterday an Iteron Mark V. I know Eve is never ‘safe’ but in 2020 I had zero issues running from my home to Jita – that is no longer the case. There’s a single 0.5 bottleneck on my way to Jita that is pretty well camped these days, and I absolutely wasn’t expecting it (although I should have been) and took zero precautions. I was carrying too many high value things, in an obvious ship, and while I was not on autopilot, I also wasn’t nearly as safe as I could have been – that’s all on me.

Thankfully the Iteron Mark V isn’t exactly an expensive ship, I craft them myself, and I have more in the hangar. I did end up losing the products I was trying to sell in Jita, but in the grand scheme of things it wasn’t exactly a lot of ISK (maybe 200 million). There are lots of different ways to be ‘safer’ as you move products across space, or you can hire a company to do it for you, and you typically mark the value of your belongings to 120% so that if they lose it, you get reimbursed for more than you were expecting anyway. You do (of course) have to pay for that service (it’s run by players) but it’s either that or find a different way to get your items to market, or make it an ultra-safe trip.

As always, the rule of thumb in Eve is don’t fly things you can’t afford to lose. I’ve always personally felt safer in WH space than I ever did in lowsec and that looks like it still holds true for now.

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

Returning to Eve Online (4 years later)

The last time I wrote about Eve Online was back in 2020, so I assume that was the last time I was playing it, too. A LOT has changed in four years – but the basics were still familiar as I dove head first into the game. First of all, there’s (yet another) new / returning player experience by means of the AIR Career Program. This is great for old and new players, and it’s meant to give you a little more direction in what you want to do. You basically complete tasks like you would in a regular quest journal, and you get rewarded for it. I had a task to complete a mining mission, and you get to pick any that you have access to, so I didn’t have to complete L1 missions when L4 were available. I like this method, instead of being forced to do lower level content. Of course now they want me to complete 5 mining missions, and so on. After running a few of those, I swapped over to the Epic Arc Agent I had been working for in the past. This is the SOE (Sisters of Eve) quest chain that I never really completed. Doing these missions also check some points off in the AIR Career Program, which is nice. Daily log in rewards were a thing when I played last, but now there are also daily goals, like killing 25 NPC, etc.

Even though I’ve been away for a fair amount of time, it didn’t take long at all to reacquaint myself with my ships and my tasks. I set my scanners running again for PI, insured my most-used ships, and defeated some bad guys with the Tengu. I’m not exactly sure what goals I want to work towards, but it feels nice to be playing again (I know, I say this every time I return). For now I have no expectations, and I’m content to just fumble my way through while lurking in the Rookie Help channel. If you happen to be playing Eve, feel free to say hello! My in-game character name is Ellithia.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself.