New to EVE Online? A Bitter Vet’s Advice
If you’re a brand-new EVE Online player, I wish I could personally walk you through everything.
Unfortunately, I’m a bitter vet at this point.
I’ve been playing long enough that I’ve forgotten what it feels like to not understand why your overview is trying to kill you, why your ship just exploded, or why everyone keeps telling you to “just use D-scan.”
But I can at least point you in the right direction.
My #1 Recommendation: Join a Large New-Player-Friendly Group
EVE is a massive game with an equally massive learning curve.
You can learn everything on your own, but you’ll probably have a much better experience by joining an established group of players that regularly works with new pilots.
A good corporation or alliance can help you learn:
- How ships and fittings actually work
- PvP basics
- Fleet mechanics
- D-scan and probing
- Ratting and making ISK
- Mining and industry
- Logistics
- Nullsec mechanics
- Wormholes
- How not to die quite as often
- And, most importantly, why you died when you inevitably do
Here are a few established groups with new-player programs:
Fraternity University
wiki.winterco.org/en/rules/corp/frtu
Part of the Winter Coalition ecosystem and designed to help newer players get established and learn the game.
KarmaFleet
KarmaFleet is part of the Goonswarm/Imperium community and has a large player base, infrastructure, fleets, and resources available to newer pilots.
Brave Newbies Inc.
wiki.bravecollective.com/public/corps/brave-newbies-inc
Brave has been bringing new players into EVE for years and has historically focused heavily on getting people into space and actually playing the game instead of spending six months studying it first.
There are certainly plenty of other good corporations and alliances.
These are simply a few places where I would start looking.
The important part is finding an active organization that will put you in ships, get you into fleets, answer questions, and let you experience the game.
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New Player Resources
There is an absurd amount of information about EVE Online scattered across YouTube, wikis, Reddit, Discord servers, and random websites created by people who have apparently dedicated their entire lives to calculating spaceship numbers.
Here are a few resources worth starting with.
EVE Academy
Fenris Creations' official introduction to EVE. It covers the major career paths and basic game mechanics.
EVE University — Getting Started
wiki.eveuniversity.org/Getting_Started_in_EVE_Online
EVE University has one of the largest collections of EVE educational material available. If you Google an EVE mechanic, there is a very good chance you'll eventually end up on their wiki.
WCKG Newbie Guide
Another collection of information aimed specifically at helping newer players figure out what they should be doing.
New Player Video Guide
Sometimes watching someone actually play and explain the game is considerably easier than reading another 8,000-word wiki page.
New Player YouTube Playlist
A collection of videos covering additional mechanics and concepts useful for newer pilots.
Don't Try to Learn Everything
This might be the most important advice I can give you.
You do not need to understand all of EVE Online.
Nobody does.
Pick something that sounds interesting and go do it.
Want to mine?
Mine.
Want to explore wormholes?
Buy a cheap exploration frigate and jump into a wormhole.
Want to fight people?
Join a fleet and accept the fact that your ship is probably going to explode.
Want to build things?
Start learning industry.
Want to make ISK?
Try several different activities until you find one you don't hate.
EVE becomes much easier to understand once you stop trying to understand EVE Online and instead start learning the small part of the game you're actually interested in.
And Don't Be Afraid to Lose Ships
Your ships are ammunition.
Especially when you're new.
You're going to lose them.
Sometimes because another player was better than you.
Sometimes because you didn't understand a mechanic.
Sometimes because you clicked the wrong thing.
And occasionally because EVE decided that today was simply your day to die.
That's normal.
Figure out what happened, replace the ship, and go back out.
Eventually you'll become an experienced EVE player.
Then, many years from now, you'll get to complain about everything like the rest of us bitter vets.
Welcome to EVE.