Considering returning to the game after 13 years... would love some input whether or not the game is for me

New Citizens Q&A
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Hello everyone,

This is going to be a rather lengthy post, but I’m seriously considering playing EVE Online again, and I’m trying to figure out if the game is actually something that would work for me or my current life situation. I’ll also be posting this on the game’s subreddit as I want to make an informed decision.

Okay, some backstory first, I first played EVE all the way back in 2007 when I was 17 years old. I played for a while, but due to not having a credit card and my sources of EVE timecards running out, I was forced to quit. A few years later, I returned, and joined a Gallente FW corp, and I’ve been pretty much doing dropping in and out of the game between hiatuses, always joining Gallente FW corps when I got back. I last touched the game all the way back in 2013. So while my in-game character is over a decade old, I still very much am and feel like a newbie.

I like the idea behind the smaller scale PvP I saw during my FW times; the enormous blobs of alliance battles don’t really appeal to me. That said, I barely visited nullsec before. I still don’t quite know if it’s a good place to find smaller scale PvP fights, but back then the consensus was that it simply wasn’t worth it as you’d get blobbed.

Now here is the problem I’m facing: I simply don’t know if EVE is a game worth returning to for me. I have much more responsibilities now than I did before, so I will get less hours in, and I can’t commit to playing set hours. Also, while I did enjoy my time with PvP, and would like to return to it at one point, I’m also fascinated by the industrial site of things, and would love producing some items. And frankly, I’ve always been a sci-fi fan, so I wouldn’t mind shooting at PvE things with a Battleship either (I flew frigates in PvP to reduce losses).

Sadly, due to my FW past, Caldari space is essentially closed-off to me. If I’m not in FW, I think I’m just barely above the standing where the navy always gets called in. Furthermore, though I wouldn’t mind playing FW again, I fear it will just prevent me from doing any other stuff like PI, industrialising, etc. It seems to me these playstyles are mutually exclusive to each other.

I don’t like the idea behind alts; I never did, and when the militia kept making clear that to be efficient at things people needed hauler or scout alts, that was kind of an argument for me to stop playing as well.
So, I’d like to genuinely ask your opinions. Is it worth returning to EVE? Should I join FW if I were to? Or are there better ways to get small-scale PvP action? And would doing so block me off from the industry side of the game? Could I even be efficient at this game due to my limited time available? Do you really need an alt to achieve anything?

I found EVE to be an information overload at times in the past, and that’s still the case today. I checked the Alpha Clone version of the game yesterday, but was a bit confused by how much had changed, and other things I had forgotten. Several questions stuck out though:

  • So are clone grades gone now? If your pod gets destroyed, SP is no longer destroyed as well if you are in an underclassed clone?
  • Is PI and industry worth it in high-sec? Do I need to be part of a corporation for this to be worth it?
  • What exactly is exploration for? Does it spawn resource or combat sites? And if so, is the purpose of a combat site to get back to it with a PvE combat ship? Or do you need to take the challenge inside on with whatever ship explored the site?
  • How is Low-sec nowadays? When I quit, nobody in my region would go out for Industry or PvE (well, if you don’t count FW plexes I guess) there. I’m not looking for targets, but I take it you can’t do much industry or PvE there because you’re just painting a target on your back?
  • What’s a good resource for information nowadays? I still find a lot of guides that are years old online, but I have no idea anymore if these are still applicable or not.
  • Is Discord essential for most corporations? I guess I’m still not used to the application; messages just spill in there and I feel like I always have to alt-tab to read what’s going on, taking me out of whatever game I’m playing. I find it extremely annoying to be honest. I also just realised I sound like an old fart.

So yeah, lots of things to think about, and I’m very confused. I’d very much appreciate all of your feedback so I can figure this out. If you’re of the opinion that the game probably isn’t worth it for me at the moment, that’s fine. I’d love to hear your opinion about that, after all.

I appreciate any feedback you’re willing to give me, and thank you for your time.

Have a pleasant day!
David

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While an alpha account is restricted in many ways you can still have a lot of fun with it. So just give it a try.

No SP reduction except T3 ship loses.
PI/Industry is certainly viable in hisec but of course more risk/profit elsewhere.
“Exploration” is really resource gathering just different mats, combat exploration is a thing of course.
Lowsec is fun, I mine and gas huff among other things, the risk makes it worth doing.
General starting point … https://wiki.eveuniversity.org/Main_Page
Discord ur choice, I don’t use it, neither does my corp.
Yes u are an old fart, I’m older and fartier, I spawn my own gas sites as does my cat.

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  • Clone grades are gone. Only way to lose SP now is dying in a Strategic Cruiser or extracting it yourself.

  • Industry is definitely worth it in Highsec - that’s where the markets are. PI is questionable - you’ll harvest twice as much in Null with lower taxes but it still works in highsec. Industry scales well with multiple characters - 3 characters on the same account can do 3 times as much work because most industrial activity is background. You only need to log in to submit or deliver a job. A lot of solo industrialists create ALT corps making it easier to share stuff. The main benefits from joining an industrial corp would be access to a blueprint library and possibly an in-corp hauling service to pickup material and deliver finished goods to market.

  • Exploration gives you access to combat, data, relic, gas sites and wormholes. The signatures need to be scanned down. Once you’ve scanned the signature, you can change ships but for data and relic sites in particular, the ships best for scanning are also the best for running.

  • Lowsec is still dangerous, at least near highsec gates. Industry can be lucrative if you can defend your structures.

  • The Eve University wiki is as close to a manual for Eve as you’re likely to find. There are also a lot of streamers on Twitch and YouTube these days. You can find videos of varying quality on practically any topic.

  • Discord has pretty much taken over - I suspect there are still some holdouts using TeamSpeak and Mumble but any corp is going to have voice comms. It’s likely you’ll only be required to use them in fleet.

Eve is a sandbox - you set your own goals and define your own victory conditions. Don’t expect the devs to entertain you. The game works for social players - there are alliances with over 10 thousand players. It also works for solo players. You can play for the military simulation, the economic simulation, or both.

Some people want the ability to write their own story - Eve is definitely the right game for them. Some people want to enjoy the content provided by the developers - not be content for other players! Eve may not be the right game for them!

Good luck.

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That. You will know pretty quickly if Eve is still for you without having to spend any money. Make a new charter and start fresh (IMO this is best after a long absence).

GL!

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Thank you everyone for your advice, I’ll give the game a go and see how I like it. I also noticed you can now train two characters on the same account (if you pay for it), which I might do to get back into the game and make an industrial guy.

Thank you very much for your thoughts, and see you in space!

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I would the suggest to just have 2 Omega accounts over the dual training part.

Similar in price, but you are able to use them at the same time

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I second @J_Poll J’p’s sugggestion…If you load-up all oyur characters on one account you can never use them at the same time…for the same price, open a second account. Then you can be training two omega at the same time AND have two characters to control at the same time…extremely handy…

As always, do your research before jumping…

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@David_Caldera

looks like not … you think to much … just login and try … a lot have changed …

JuuR

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I don’t have alts. My “main” is whichever of my six characters I’m flying at the moment. :slight_smile:

Five of those characters are in the same corp - which has no other members. The sixth is still in his (my) starting corp, because I’ve been intending to join EVE University for years, but I never seem to get a rountuit. “Soon™” :slight_smile: Nevertheless I’d advise you join it. The various campuses will allow you to sample many aspects of New Eden with like-minded capsuleers who can help keep you out of trouble.

The Uniwiki is my goto info source for just about everything.

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Honestly I never understood posts like this. Eve is a video game that you can try for free. Its not like you are getting married, or buying a house. If you want to see if eve is for you, download and log into the game and give it a shot. To make sure you get the full eve experience - look to join a player corp. If after trying it, you dont like it then dont play it.

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Some people have been playing Eve longer than they’ve been married…

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