# EVE Isn’t Actually Hard — It’s Mostly Time-Gated **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [January 28, 2026, 11:49pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/eve-isn-t-actually-hard-it-s-mostly-time-gated/505640 "2026-01-28T23:49:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eileithya\_Carmenta](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/eileithya_carmenta/32/487561_2.png) [@Eileithya\_Carmenta](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Eileithya_Carmenta)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2026, 11:49pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/eve-isn-t-actually-hard-it-s-mostly-time-gated/505640/1 "2026-01-28T23:49:41Z")
Good evening! 😃 This post is mostly some of the thoughts I’ve gathered since I started playing. First I got a bit sad about it but then I told myself that EVE is a long game and reputation matters more than a zkill board. So since I feel better about it, I present… EVE Online has a reputation for being brutally difficult, but the longer I play, the more that reputation feels inflated. Most “difficulty” in EVE doesn’t come from execution, reflexes, or decision-making under pressure — it comes from time. Skill points accumulate whether you log in or not, standings grind upward through repetition, and access to ships, fits, and income streams is largely locked behind how long you’ve been around. A new player can understand mechanics perfectly and still lose simply because they haven’t waited long enough. What often gets labeled as “player skill” is really just long-term accumulation of advantages: trained alts, stockpiles, bookmarks, intel channels, and institutional knowledge passed down through corps. None of that is learned in the moment; it’s inherited or accrued over months and years. When veterans talk about “earning” their edge, it’s rarely about outperforming someone in a fair situation — it’s about having more layers of preparation already in place before the fight even starts. That doesn’t make EVE bad, but it does challenge the myth that it’s uniquely hard. It’s more accurate to say EVE is slow. The primary filter isn’t competence, it’s patience. If difficulty were really the defining feature, newer players with better understanding and adaptability would have more room to compete. Instead, the universe quietly rewards whoever has simply been here the longest. I’m genuinely curious whether people disagree — and if so, where the actual “hard” part begins **once time is removed from the equation**. ---
**Author:** ![Aiko\_Danuja](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/aiko_danuja/32/481237_2.png) [@Aiko\_Danuja](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Aiko_Danuja)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2026, 11:50pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/eve-isn-t-actually-hard-it-s-mostly-time-gated/505640/2 "2026-01-28T23:50:36Z")
That’s not really accurate. As a one month old player I was ganking decade old players. Competence is obviously more important than time invested. ---
**Author:** ![Eileithya\_Carmenta](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/eileithya_carmenta/32/487561_2.png) [@Eileithya\_Carmenta](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Eileithya_Carmenta)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2026, 11:55pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/eve-isn-t-actually-hard-it-s-mostly-time-gated/505640/3 "2026-01-28T23:55:12Z")
> [@Aiko\_Danuja](#): > > As a one month old player I was ganking decade old players. I don’t doubt it, but everyone can’t be as fantastic as you are. Most of us are mediocre, and the rest are terrible. ---
**Author:** ![Eileithya\_Carmenta](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/eileithya_carmenta/32/487561_2.png) [@Eileithya\_Carmenta](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Eileithya_Carmenta)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 12:36am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/eve-isn-t-actually-hard-it-s-mostly-time-gated/505640/5 "2026-01-29T00:36:22Z")
> [@Atomke](#): > > Ten year old noob chars. All that crap content: mining, missions… all this stupid grind is just the thin oil layer on an ocean. I agree, but let’s not forget about the casual players who don’t have the time or the inclination to sacrifice 8h a day on gaming. They have 2-3 hours at most, enough to mine, rat or do some missions. I never started EVE thinking I’m going to conquer a constellation, be lord of a wormhole or CEO of a corporation. I knew I was just going to do low-hanging fruits because - I’m not a real gamer, I’m super-duper casual. - And I don’t have 8h a day to spend on my PC. > [@Atomke](#): > > The real game is taking a deep breath and finding out how deep you can dive That makes a lot of sense but again, some players don’t care about diving deep, they just want to play a space game for a few hours. ---
**Author:** ![Eileithya\_Carmenta](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/eileithya_carmenta/32/487561_2.png) [@Eileithya\_Carmenta](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Eileithya_Carmenta)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 1:06am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/eve-isn-t-actually-hard-it-s-mostly-time-gated/505640/7 "2026-01-29T01:06:23Z")
> [@Atomke](#): > > It’s really a matter of choice and personality traits It is. Everyone should have the freedom to choose what they want to do in a game. That’s what _Sandbox_ is supposed to mean. > [@Atomke](#): > > Be a sheep or be a wolf, no matter for how long My choice to play casually puts me in the sheep category and I don’t mind. After all, it’s just isk. My time is worth much more than that. ---
**Author:** ![Your\_Ex-Girlfriend](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/your_ex-girlfriend/32/429252_2.png) [@Your\_Ex-Girlfriend](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Your_Ex-Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 1:18am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/eve-isn-t-actually-hard-it-s-mostly-time-gated/505640/8 "2026-01-29T01:18:39Z")
Player skill is learning the mechanics of the game. No amount of ISK invested into buying trained alts off the bazaar, mass buying resources, injecting SP, or blinging out fancy hulls will ever replace the skill and knowledge you acquire while training those alts, gathering those resources, and building those fancy hulls. Yes, you can literally buy your way into a Titan, but if you don’t know what you’re doing with it you’re just going to lose it to the first people that have the knowledge to lock it down and kill it. I can and have lost T2 hulls to week old PvPers, because they were better at flying their ships than I was at flying mine. ---
**Author:** ![Eileithya\_Carmenta](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/eileithya_carmenta/32/487561_2.png) [@Eileithya\_Carmenta](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Eileithya_Carmenta)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 2:06am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/eve-isn-t-actually-hard-it-s-mostly-time-gated/505640/9 "2026-01-29T02:06:21Z")
@Your_Ex-Girlfriend Thank you for posting and leaving your opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Aiko\_Danuja](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/aiko_danuja/32/481237_2.png) [@Aiko\_Danuja](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Aiko_Danuja)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 2:07am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/eve-isn-t-actually-hard-it-s-mostly-time-gated/505640/10 "2026-01-29T02:07:37Z")
You are welcome. ---
**Author:** ![Eileithya\_Carmenta](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/eileithya_carmenta/32/487561_2.png) [@Eileithya\_Carmenta](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Eileithya_Carmenta)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 2:08am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/eve-isn-t-actually-hard-it-s-mostly-time-gated/505640/11 "2026-01-29T02:08:46Z")
> [@Aiko\_Danuja](#): > > You are welcome Thanks! I don’t hear that everyday. ---
**Author:** ![Eternus8lux8lucis](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/eternus8lux8lucis/32/385152_2.png) [@Eternus8lux8lucis](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Eternus8lux8lucis)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 2:11am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/eve-isn-t-actually-hard-it-s-mostly-time-gated/505640/12 "2026-01-29T02:11:16Z")
IMO youre really changing your tune in later posts. In your initial post you say its about time invested and then later on you say you do not have the time to invest and that you are a “super-duper casual”. Other posters have said it is about where you sink your time in into this game and what you dream of. You admitted that you didnt think of doing X, Y or Z when you started. Yet what is to stop you, or anyone of doing so? No matter how early on in game. The end result is you have chosen to play a game in a certain way where your progression is limited by you and you alone ( PEBKAC) and if you are okay with that then what is your actual argument? Yes, Eve takes time, as all skills do, truthfully, to get better at and master, and what you choose to go after is really how you will rise or fall in Eve Online. But saying it’s a flawed system because you won’t put the time into it, and that it’s a horrendous time requirement to “get gud,” then that’s simply a choice you are making, and others are not. (PEBKAC) Now if you want to use those few hours into diving deep into the game I think youll enjoy it a lot more as you will eventually run into people. And those people will frustrate your gameplay more than NPCs will. And then you will get your difficulty level ramped up considerably. If you are only bumping up against the upper levels of yourself then you need to get out of the kiddie pool. Your imagination is your limit. ---
**Author:** ![Aiko\_Danuja](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/aiko_danuja/32/481237_2.png) [@Aiko\_Danuja](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Aiko_Danuja)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 2:16am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/eve-isn-t-actually-hard-it-s-mostly-time-gated/505640/13 "2026-01-29T02:16:22Z")
In a game like chess, time invested certainly helps. I wouldn’t want to play EvE Online if it didn’t reward effort and thought. However, time alone is not a sufficient explanation for success or failure. Just like in real-life, attitude is the most important factor. ---
**Author:** ![Eileithya\_Carmenta](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/eileithya_carmenta/32/487561_2.png) [@Eileithya\_Carmenta](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Eileithya_Carmenta)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 2:33am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/eve-isn-t-actually-hard-it-s-mostly-time-gated/505640/14 "2026-01-29T02:33:03Z")
> [@Eternus8lux8lucis](#): > > Yet what is to stop you, or anyone of doing so? Time and skills, as explained in the O.P > [@Eternus8lux8lucis](#): > > what is your actual argument? It’s in the O.P > [@Eternus8lux8lucis](#): > > But saying it’s a flawed system because you won’t put the time into it, and that it’s a horrendous time requirement to “get gud I never wrote that. Again, read the O.P. I know it’s a long one but I didn’t think it was _that_ long. > [@Eternus8lux8lucis](#): > > that’s simply a choice you are making I never wrote that it wasn’t a choice I was making. > [@Eternus8lux8lucis](#): > > Now if you want to use those few hours into diving deep into the game I think youll enjoy it a lot more I am enjoying it. I never wrote that I wasn’t enjoying it. > [@Eternus8lux8lucis](#): > > And those people will frustrate your gameplay more than NPCs will I never wrote that I wanted, or didn’t want my gameplay to be frustrated by other people. > [@Eternus8lux8lucis](#): > > then you will get your difficulty level ramped up considerably I never wrote that I wanted, or didn’t want, my difficulty level ramped up considerably. > [@Eternus8lux8lucis](#): > > If you are only bumping up against the upper levels of yourself then you need to get out of the kiddie pool I never wrote that I wanted to bump up against the upper levels of myself. I actually like the kiddie pool. ---
**Author:** ![Eternus8lux8lucis](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/eternus8lux8lucis/32/385152_2.png) [@Eternus8lux8lucis](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Eternus8lux8lucis)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 2:54am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/eve-isn-t-actually-hard-it-s-mostly-time-gated/505640/15 "2026-01-29T02:54:37Z")
> [@Eileithya\_Carmenta](#): > > I never wrote that I wanted to bump up against the upper levels of myself. > I actually like the kiddie pool. Then there isnt much to argue about is there? If you are good with where youre at then your initial post is highly irrelevant to anything. That people get better with more time invested is a certainty and that is all you have argued here. You are saying the sky is blue or the grass is green and then saying that because you have played it longer and longer that your sky is more blue and that its easy to say its blue. To people learning something it is always hard, to those who have been around and done it longer it is not so anymore. And as per our OP ‘time’ can never be removed from anything as long as you are on this side of life. So your argument for removing it is invalid. I read the entire thread btw. What again is your argument? I dont see one. Just a rant at how Eve isnt hard because you have put time into it. ---
**Author:** ![Eileithya\_Carmenta](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/eileithya_carmenta/32/487561_2.png) [@Eileithya\_Carmenta](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Eileithya_Carmenta)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 3:04am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/eve-isn-t-actually-hard-it-s-mostly-time-gated/505640/16 "2026-01-29T03:04:44Z")
> [@Eternus8lux8lucis](#): > > That people get better with more time invested is a certainty I’m glad you agree with the O.P. > [@Eternus8lux8lucis](#): > > So your argument for removing it is invalid I never wrote that I wanted to remove it. > [@Eternus8lux8lucis](#): > > What again is your argument? I don’t think that my O.P is so complicated. Sorry you don’t get it it. Unless you were expecting a squabble? Sorry for disappointing you. > [@Eternus8lux8lucis](#): > > Just a rant Right… now that we didn’t squabble you characterize my O.P as a “rant”. Sure, Sherlock 🙄 Thank you for telling me to ignore you without telling me to ignore you. ---
**Author:** ![Lesican](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/lesican/32/448285_2.png) [@Lesican](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Lesican)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 9:46am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/eve-isn-t-actually-hard-it-s-mostly-time-gated/505640/17 "2026-01-29T09:46:32Z")
> [@Eileithya\_Carmenta](#): > > I never wrote no, chat gpt did the writing ---
**Author:** ![Eileithya\_Carmenta](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/eileithya_carmenta/32/487561_2.png) [@Eileithya\_Carmenta](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Eileithya_Carmenta)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 12:14pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/eve-isn-t-actually-hard-it-s-mostly-time-gated/505640/18 "2026-01-29T12:14:17Z")
@ISD_Drew Could you please close this thread? The topic doesn’t seem to interest much people. Thank you! o7 ---
**Author:** ![Aiko\_Danuja](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/aiko_danuja/32/481237_2.png) [@Aiko\_Danuja](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Aiko_Danuja)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 12:16pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/eve-isn-t-actually-hard-it-s-mostly-time-gated/505640/19 "2026-01-29T12:16:25Z")
It’s not that people aren’t interested… it’s that they find the following statement to be objectionable: > [@Eileithya\_Carmenta](#): > > EVE Online has a reputation for being brutally difficult, but the longer I play, the more that reputation feels inflated. Likewise… > [@Eileithya\_Carmenta](#): > > Most “difficulty” in EVE doesn’t come from execution, reflexes, or decision-making under pressure — it comes from time. I would describe both statements as fundamentally wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Eileithya\_Carmenta](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/eileithya_carmenta/32/487561_2.png) [@Eileithya\_Carmenta](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Eileithya_Carmenta)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 12:46pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/eve-isn-t-actually-hard-it-s-mostly-time-gated/505640/20 "2026-01-29T12:46:23Z")
> [@Aiko\_Danuja](#): > > it’s that they find the following statement to be objectionable There are lots of objectionable statements in the other threads too. It doesn’t prevent anyone from posting. Whatever the reason, there is hardly any conversation going on about the topic so I think this thread is a waste of space on the server and needs to be closed. ---
**Author:** ![Aiko\_Danuja](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/aiko_danuja/32/481237_2.png) [@Aiko\_Danuja](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Aiko_Danuja)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 12:48pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/eve-isn-t-actually-hard-it-s-mostly-time-gated/505640/21 "2026-01-29T12:48:15Z")
Well, unfortunately, although it will be closed, it will not be deleted. So the server space is sadly wasted, and we will need to mine more silicon in order to create new threads. Remember, please post responsibly! ---
**Author:** ![Eileithya\_Carmenta](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/eileithya_carmenta/32/487561_2.png) [@Eileithya\_Carmenta](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Eileithya_Carmenta)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 12:57pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/eve-isn-t-actually-hard-it-s-mostly-time-gated/505640/22 "2026-01-29T12:57:01Z")
> [@Aiko\_Danuja](#): > > unfortunately, although it will be closed, it will not be deleted. So the server space is sadly wasted True, but it won’t be collecting any more data. > [@Aiko\_Danuja](#): > > silicon in order to create new threads Would that be Silicon - III Grade? > [@Aiko\_Danuja](#): > > post responsibly! I’m not so good at that. I’m already banned right off of Reddit and Facebook has shadow-banned my posts. Facebook Idgaf but I used Reddit for info. But now I have A.I so I don’t have to endlessly surf the Net for a small piece of information. [Next page](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/eve-isn-t-actually-hard-it-s-mostly-time-gated/505640.md?page=2)