Work. School. Family. Some people have all three. Maybe you’re disabled or have a chronic illness. Maybe there are just too many games. Whatever the reason, maybe you’re a player who can’t devote hours at a time to a space game.
This thread is intended as a jumping off point for pilots looking to engage with the game on their own; in particular, pilots like me with very little time to invest in the game. The idea is that there are a number of solo activities that can be undertaken within a reasonably small window, but the trick is knowing what you want to do and what you’re capable of doing. This thread assumes some basic familiarity with the game; not all of these activities will be rookie friendly but a lot of of them are good learning opportunities. What follows should function as an expandable binder of recipes and resources to get a solo pilot who’s low on time an EVE fix in just a few minutes to an hour or so.
The guiding principles are:
- These activities are intended for one pilot: multi-boxing is unnecessary (and unwelcome) here.
- These activities are intended for pilots to be active in space and interacting with other players.
They will be organized by the time available to the player, then content type, then activity/gameplay.
Since I can only base this on my own activity and limited research, I am more than happy to include the feedback, knowledge, suggestions, etc. from other pilots who want to contribute to a centralized binder. Thanks for the inspiration goes to @fire_stunner for their Full List of EVE Guides.
15-30 Minutes
Summary
PVP
- Faction Warfare + Insurgencies
- Enlist with a militia, fit a cheap ship, head to lowsec. Whether you’re looking to fight or make fast LP running sites, this gameplay delivers.
- Check T Sky’s 2025 Faction Warfare Yearbook (not just frigates!) for helpful fitting and piloting tips.
- Lowsec Piracy
- Same as above except for enlisting with a faction. Instead, warp to sites/complexes and skirmish with militia pilots as a neutral.
- ESS Heists
- Fit a cheap cruiser for combat in a warp interdiction field, grab a few filaments and blip to nullsec.
- You may have to trek to a system with a decent payout within your time constraints. The alternative is to filament again to a new region or logoff and wait.
- After the six minutes at the ESS, you will either get a fight or make off with the bounty bonds. Asset safety them if you like and pick them up later.
Indy
- Lowsec Gas Huffing
- Fit a cheap gas Venture with a scan probe launcher and seek gas signatures. Hammer D-scan and pre-align to a tactical.
- Border Ore Anomalies
- Same as above but with miner modules, and in 0.5 systems, if you happen to live near them.
Trade
- Secondary Market Stocking + Seeding
- Load a properly tanked hauler with a modest ISK value worth of a commodity, take it from a hub to a secondary market like a mission runner system.
- Alternately, scout the buy orders in the nearest hub and head to a mining system in an adjacent region; offer a competitive regional price for ores/minerals.
30-60 Minutes
Summary
PVP
- Faction Warfare + Insurgencies
- Ice Heists, Mining Ops, and Outposts. These are situational and probably require you to cooperate with multi-boxers. Beware awox.
- Lowsec Piracy
- In areas of high traffic or Lawless conditions, a cheap smartbomb cruiser might net frigate, shuttle, or pod kills. Be prepared for competition.
- Watch your sec status with these, and reset the gate guns between kills.
- Kiting/Skirmish Roam
- Take a cheap cruiser or battlecruiser with a utility high slot for command boosts (don’t forgget to fleet yourself) and filament to null.
- Chart a path through the local constellation in the hope that a small gang will engage and maybe you can trade a hull or two before defeat.
- If you survive, filament out with the loot.
Indy
- WH Gas Huffing
- Fit a cheap gas Venture with a scan probe launcher and seek WH signatures.
- Once inside, bookmark the exit and scan for gas signatures. Pre-align to a tactical/celestial and be ready for hostile sleepers to appear.
- Scavenger Roams
- Put together a salvage ship (destroyers are popular, align time is your friend) and head to lowsec. Scan/search for wrecks to loot and try to get out intact.
- This also works in highsec with combat anomalies.
- Ninja Loot + Salvage
- Fit an exploration vessel with an expanded probe launcher and salvagers then head to a mission runner system.
- D-scan the mission runner before moving the combat probes to the mission site, then analyze as quickly as possible. (Quick Combat Probing Tutorial)
- Recall probes and wait until the mission runner leaves the mission site, then warp to the signature and begin stealing.
- This will earn you a reputation among the locals so it’s best to move on or rotate your zone of action.
60-90 Minutes
Summary
TBD