Something fun I remember from my early days in EvE, is the Angel epic arc, which I ran in a Tristan, one Tristan, made it in and out alive.
But I also see, a lot of solo fun (for me) niche stuff was killed during the years by CCP, hunting FW mission bombers, hunting T3Ds and above in a T3D, running drone data sites, and finally hunting Abyss runners in highsec …
Let’s see what the next event brings to the table …
Subbed players who have been in the game for quite a while usually have a longer subscription time period because it’s cheaper then buying a monthly sub. That means your advice to unsub and take a break probably wouldn’t apply, especially if they have quite a bit of time left on their subscription.
When telling someone to unsub and take a break, the unsubbing aspect doesn’t happen immediately. Even if it did, when or if the player does come back their character is exactly the same as when they left. That doesn’t offer much incentive to return since they’ll still be in the same situation as before. Now if they keep their account subbed and training skills, when they come back their character will have advanced which opens up new content which generates more incentive to play.
@Zachri - some excellent points there thank you, this character is an Alpha I may well look to do something with him, but becuase my main has so many SP it is nice to be able to step into most ships that you want to 
@Tipa_Riot - thet epic arc must have been a challenge in that ship.
@Cletus_Graeme - I suppose i could on a alpha as someone else said, just to see what its like (doing something outside of my norm)
Not so much the actual PvE (lvl2 difficulty), but it‘s happening in nullsec … and at the time I was running it was active hunting ground by Agony.
No worries there. Your response touched on something of interest however. It may very well be something to consider.
A lot of people play EVE to relax. Nothing wrong with that. Others play for this or that challenge. Nothing wrong with that either. Here’s the thing though, in order to achieve any position or situation where it is possible to relax or face a challenge, there’s a road towards that point.
In my experience EVE delivers not while floating, or through quick gratification, but by delivering satisfaction on multiple points. Emotional, intellectual. EVE delivers best when something is not easy. We’re not people in EVE, we have a character, but we don’t really identify with it unless the road is hard. Not being able to do something makes us think, and it makes us feel. It makes both road and destination worthwhile.
In today’s EVE since F2P a lot of that has been lost in many ways. Emergent behaviour no longer is the prime focus of CCP, instead it has become something … well, something else. Let’s not go into that now. In spite of that however, it’s still the best reward and the best connection when you develop an association through investment and exposure.
Surprisingly, an Alpha isn’t bad for that. It isn’t just a disposable tool instead of an established identity with long standing abilities, it’s also a fun challenge. Going slow isn’t that different from taking a step back, or setting one to the side, in order to make two steps forward.
I can’t look into your real world, but I can imagine that real time is always a factor, gameplay doesn’t get as much as say work, the wife, kids, the cats, the mistress and so forth. So while I could understand the sentiment of not spending some Alpha time to do different things, or even just to explore, because it isn’t as comfortable in the time available … it can very well be the exact thing you need.
Something a lot of us do (most of us have been here since beta) when things get a little wonky, or we get a bit bored, frustrated or such, is to figure out stuff we’ve recently done, and grab an Alpha or Omega to do something not on that list. And if that’s not possible, to simply go or join some place we haven’t been.
Even if the experience sucks, it’s a change, and change is the only constant. If it reinforces decisions, fine. If it opens opportunities, also fine.
I’ve always played as a sub/Omega. What you’re stating is obvious and known by all subs.
If you read the OP carefully you’ll note he’s been playing 8 years without a MEANINGFUL break. I’d expect someone who has played that long to know he doesn’t need to login every week/month and that his skills will keep training, so he can take short breaks whenever he likes.
More stating the obvious…but you’re arguing against a strawman here.
Nowhere in my reply did I RECOMMEND he unsub.
What I was getting at is that taking a long (i.e. meaningful) break isn’t a game killer and could be preferable to waiting until you’re so fed up you quit for good.
You don’t know what you’re talking about here tbh.
I came back from a 5 year break just recently and have since spoken with maybe a dozen players who are in a similar situation. I’m sure there are more like me and I’m sure this happens all the time, even if such players probably only make up a small percentage of the total population.
I didn’t return to EvE because I had XXX more SP or even because CCP released an expansion with content that interested me. I came back because I was curious to see what the game had become and I was ready to give it a try again after not playing it for a long time. (i.e. after a meaningful break). Perhaps of more relevance, I also “quit” partially out of boredom but also because of RL.
The point being, there are many different reasons why people leave and why they return, ergo, as returning players, ALL our various viewpoints have validity.
While gaining SP to fly ships is obviously a big part of EvE it’s not a requirement to try new things (i.e. experience more) in game. Indeed, EvE is one of the few games which doesn’t REQUIRE constant skill training (the equivalent of XP accumulation) to play. Also, the OP has been playing for 8 years so I suspect he can already fly plenty of ships anyway, so I doubt his SP is really an issue here.
I’m done dealing with people who flip-flop all over the place in an attempt to constantly prove themselves right.
If you think unsubbing and taking a break for 5 years, then coming back and picking up where you left off is easily done then more power to you. If you think having more skills available to engage in new content doesn’t give more incentive to play after taking a break then that’s your opinion which is fine.
Anyway, I’m done with you, not gonna get into a forum flame war with you and derail his thread just because you didn’t like me saying he didn’t need to unsub his account if he decided to take a break.
@Zachri - Wise words. I am in the process of clearing my stuff out of low sec and will soon drop my main to go do other things, probably solo and nomadic as I think that play style suits me better, even more so I can fly a bowhead and move what I need around with me.
Ill look into what my 3 alphas are trained into (had another account with 3 characters that I lapsed to alpha) and go try something else with those.
Thanks again, yourself and a few other here have made me think more about this game and what I do in it
Have you considered wormhole space?
yeah been there, done that, Lived in a C1, C2, C3, C5 and very briefly a C6, there are things I like about WHs ie differing exits and good PI, but the scanning… all that scanning.
Take a long look in the mirror before you point the finger at others.
And maybe learn to read while you’re at it…
Just saying.
You need to practice what you preach.
I have de-subbed for a while, my longest break was 6 months, I think I have had about three de-sub breaks, most of the time however I left my accounts subbed and did not play much as I was training stuff for later and was playing other games.
I also sub on a per month basis two accounts, so I can choose when I decide to stop playing or not, I also don’t like paying long periods for a game where the company can ban my accounts under their EULA and no refund which is why I stick to monthly subs.
The key to this game is putting yourself in the position to outwit or defeat other players, and that may also mean doing stuff that get’s out of your comfort zone, but also not doing stuff that makes it too easy for them, unless of course you want to.
Have you tried Stain, it is NPC 0.0 and there are at times micro conflicts over systems in that region that can get quite interesting. If you have a certain amount of ISK you might want to see what you can generate. Trying to work together with other solo type players can also be fun, I have done it and that is why I mentioned Aaron in Stain as a very good example of creating content.
Sometimes trying to do something stupid or difficult against people who really are on top of the game can be fun, for example it would be like me going to Niarja and putting a Fortizer down, certain people on this forum would be in seven heaven…, which is why it is on my list of things to do at some point. 
I played this game because it is full of evil minded competent people who want to ruin your day, I am getting to the point where I need to push a little outside my comfort zone to engage at a more challenging level these people, so am busy building up a lot of ISK so I can have a lot more fun with them and certain easy peasey gameplay that they have. Perhaps that could rock your boat?
I really like the capital game play, so have been working hard on that, but this Leshak ship has really got me interested in what I could do with it…, so I am in the process of max skilling it for future fun and games.
@Dracvlad - I am formulating a plan in my head of what I may move to do. I am currently in the process of consolidating all my stuff, selling off unwanted equipment etc and once that is done ill be leaving my corp and probably staying solo for a while. My plan is to do Cosmos missions, Epic Arcs and Combat sites, moving around in a nomadic kind of way.
On top of this I was thinking of blogging those epic arcs and cosmos missions because a lot of the info out there is old and may be taken off the net at any time so I wanted a record, even if it was just for me, I may or may not include videos. I’ve enough isk that I can do it for the fun and not worry about money to do anything. That’s the theory anyway.
I think solo may be best for me at the moment, maybe joining up with people that need help if I come across them, but some of the replies to this thread have got me thinking about how I’ve approached the game for the last few years and that is look for a corp, join, gt involved but then the interest tails off, I get a bit bored. It may be the content, the space, anything I just get a bit bored and move on. Even when I am in game i generally listen to music so only on comms when in fleet so I think the nomadic lifestyle is more suited to me and i’ve been trying to shoehorn myself into a corp way of life.
I was potentially toying with the idea of of starting a corp for solo/nomadic people. everyone is off doing their own thing but the corp is there if people want to meet up/fleet up to do something together or have a chat channel… not sure if this is a pointless thing (wardecs and the like), but it is something I am toying with.
Following this thread closely.
I too have done almost everything there is to do in New Eden - incl. mining!
Best fun is in small fleets with plenty of targets and a good FC.
Best ISK is from Ship Replacement Programs LVL 4 mission running sucks balls when you rely on it for ISK. Planetary Interaction is profitable - in null sec - they say.
PI is indeed profitable in null sec, more so in WH space, but once I am out of my corp that option wont be available unless i pay silly tax rates.
I like small fleets too, but it isn’t sustaining my interest at the moment.
One thing you can do is set yourself an objective to get the tax rate reduced for you on your chosen POCO’s by war decking the people who own them and asking for preferable rates. It creates a challenge for you. I did this but then found the guy concerned had made an error on the tax rate, which was kinda funny. But this will then open up your exposure to hisec mercs, which can also be amusing.
I am very much a solo / small group player at heart, but I will help people out, because why not… Most of my time is not spent on comms either, though I do it every so often and I get involved in the home defence stuff in the pocket where I am in, at the moment I am in a nullsec alliance, but an AU TZ one which enables me to have more fun capital stuff not the TiDi lagfests of EU and US TZ’s.
I did look at setting up a coalition of like minded people in hisec at one point, and I have toyed with the idea of giving it a go, it was based on joining up together against war deckers etc., using certain mechanics to create surprise. It is possible to be in the main solo, but link up for more challenging stuff if you can find the right people. Do note that the chat channel is a very good way for people to keep tabs on your login, so if you do war decs make sure you are careful with the public chat channels you are using.
Let me know how you get on and good luck.
Would a WH corp accept me if I only want to do PI? No fracking call to arms - will of course help if I’m close.
Wouldnt your question be better on your own thread?.. but why would a corp want to take you on if all you wanted to do was take and not give.