Been away from even since 2016, thinking of coming back and bringing some friends this time. Need some help to wrap my head around all the new stuff that was added to the game in the mean time that might help them to get into the game easier.
I see there’s some “proving grounds” thing, but googling it only brings up articles from September with not a lot of detail. From what i gathered it’s some sort of timed pvp arenas that rotate allowed hull sizes and number of ships. Where can i read more about it?
As for PvE - used to be that solo missions/ratting/exploration is more profitable solo (or with an alt) and group PvE is when you can’t bring enough alts, i.e. incursion sites. Maybe some new pve activity appeared, more geared towards 2-3 people doing it in a “fleet” with different roles?
My friends are coming from more traditional mmo’s where low level content is often “co-op” and small scale pvp more structured. They don’t want to join a corp immediately but would like to play together from the beginning. Ratting or exploring for isk while sitting on comms just not to die of boredom would probably not be their thing. If they’ll like the game joining a corp and doing proper pvp would ofc be on the menu.
Faction Warfare in my opinion is a great place to learn small scale PvP. It is not a perfect environment, but it is low key and requires minimal investment. As you know EvE has a frustrating learning curve, but many of the Faction Warfare corps are new player or returning player friendly. You can learn about joining a faction in The Agency window under: Home --> Encounters --> Faction Warfare.
You and your friends can create a corporation, and then join a faction of your choosing to support. You can do both PvP and PvE activities (albeit at greater risk). Its a more active play style than passive that will keep you engaged and on your toes.
For pve frigate abyss sounds like a good option. T1s you can solo with some pretty cheap frigates, adding extra pilots should make the completion speeds go way up, and maybe could do t2 or even 3? As skills and wallets grow will for sure be able to move up, I’m not quite sure where the limits are.
for pvp the proving grounds rotate, they just did 2v2 t1 cruisers, probably be something else announced soon for this weekend, check here https://www.eveonline.com/articles/news
and you don’t have to join FW, can just fly out there and shoot things as a neutral. will probably take some security standing hits but that’s half the fun of it.