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Returning vet needs advice on solo profs, isk generation & adventure!
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Kalithia11
Center for Advanced Studies
Gallente Federation
#1 - 2012-11-29 19:01:16 UTC
Quick facts:

- Corp-less, on and off player since launch, just came back after nearly a year.
- 30M SP - Mostly combat/ship oriented with a minor focus on exploration and mining.
- I was a pirate for years, long time low/null npc rat killer and left off at lvl 3 security missions.
- I'm back due to the ever expanding game play and I'm intrigued by what’s happened in EVE.
- I have one account and no longer eat, sleep, breathe games, I play about 1-3hrs a day, tops.
- I have 2mil in unaccounted SP to use to instantly get into a profession

I realize much is to be gained from joining even a small newb corp but I'm trying to go solo in an almost experimental way to see what the power of 1 can really do in Today's EVE. That being said, I do have reliable, long term friends still in game I could get help from, or even join me from time to time.

I really enjoy Exploration and find it to be fun but I'm seeking more (not just Isk but any challenging or unique experience)

PVE/PVP is mundane after doing it for years. I never once dipped my foot into Industry or Science. Exploration has yielded a lot of interesting finds and some surprises. I really enjoy the "odd jobs" in EVE and tend to not read up too much to keep things fresh and exciting.

There are massive gaps in my information due to my time off and so I'd like to get some cliff notes if anyone is willing to share.

Questions:

1. Is there a profession or area that has great depth and is mutually rewarding? The ability to parlay my loot in Exploration would be a major boon. (I'm Minmatar and would like to keep expanding class knowledge)
2. Are missions any more interesting, Did they add more? I remember running the same randomly picked 10 missions over and over, with the occasional storyline, it was rather pathetic and boggled my mind they let it that happen. Is it just a Security thing or are all areas this lame? I'm open to all areas, especially those with lore or long term benefits.
3. What’s the traditional contract hauling market like? I cant jump and this would be something I'd like to supplement my time with.
4. Planetary Interaction - This looks right up my alley but I've read its not all its cracked up to be especially with just 1 account and part time play?

I would love to have a long open discussion about this stuff but if I could just get a brief "yeah its worth it" I'll do my own research and make it happen.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to your replies.
The Protato
Deep Core Mining Inc.
Caldari State
#2 - 2012-11-29 19:17:40 UTC
5. Bittervet
Solomar Espersei
Quality Assurance
#3 - 2012-11-29 19:18:57 UTC
I think exploration is a very compelling pursuit for your PVE time. This of course can lead you into Null Sec or Wormholes as a sort of end game if you wish. OTOH< many people are just as happy to zoom around high sec in their Pimpy Tengus doing 3/10 & 4/10 for pretty solid profits and near zero risk.

As for solitary pursuits, I think high sec piracy (baiting, mission invasion, etc.) and shenanigans offer the solo pilot a nice, adventurous lifestyle. Find a community of pilots (ie Player Corp) who you can fly with and go at whatever you decide to be most compelling and fun. Even if you do a lot of things by yourself, active corp mates make the game more fun.

Quality Assurance Recruiting intrepid explorers and BlOps/Cov Ops combat enthusiasts
YoYo NickyYo
Doomheim
#4 - 2012-11-29 19:18:58 UTC
Wrong game, Guild wars 2 is -> that way......

I am not, nor will I ever be...Nicky Yo.... The question you should ask is.....When will they release the NICKY!
Megadon
#5 - 2012-11-29 19:26:59 UTC
You are looking at the wrong MMO. There is no "game" here for anyone but those people who enjoy playing the part of one irrelevent cog in a machine of thousands of cogs. Otherwise, you are wasting your time and money.
Kalithia11
Center for Advanced Studies
Gallente Federation
#6 - 2012-11-29 23:37:47 UTC
Nothing quite like the sarcastic cynicism of EVE players. (minus Solo, thank you)

I'm serious about the topic and would like input.

Oblivion Maximus
War 247
#7 - 2012-11-30 00:20:12 UTC
ways to make fists full of isk in high sec or low sec are out there... Just have to do some research.. no one is gonna just give away their way of making isk though
Merouk Baas
#8 - 2012-11-30 00:59:11 UTC
Don't know about making ISK.

PI is, you do some math, you move around some glowy icons, and then you have to haul stuff between several planets daily to make your ISK.

Courier contracts are probably the same; lots of scams, a few legit but cheap ones, and generally less income than mining.

Missions have the same text (they've added a few, but you're still go here, kill NPCs), but they're changing the NPC and rat AI to be smarter (they'll focus fire, switch targets, kill drones, tackle, and use ewar), and they're also rebalancing the T1 frigate, destroyer, and cruiser ships so it's a bit of an uknown how missions will play out at this point.

Mining is better now cause mineral prices are high (lots of ISK around, not many miners). Market is as volatile as ever, but with ships and items (esp. T2) selling for quite inflated prices, it's probably possible to make some profit trading and/or manufacturing.

Suicide ganking has increased; freighters fall quite often now. Also, mining ships, though they've been buffed a bit.

They are changing Faction Warfare a bit, read the latest blog. Might end up being more PVP'ey and less PVE grindy. You said you want to play solo, but if you don't mind pick-up fleets, that may work for providing you with fun.

Incursions are a group affair, and the NPC's are tough, but again, pick-up fleets do happen in high-sec to take them on. Not always succeeding, but incursion payouts aren't too bad if you win.

Complexes are profitable if you have a group of friends to do them with, as the encounters are tough.

And finally, some people enjoy living in wormhole space, in POSes deployed there. With the wormhole space entrances and exits being so shifty, I don't know how they manage to fuel the POSes, but otherwise it's like 0.0 space with no Local. Others just travel through to PVP.
CraftyCroc
Fraternity Alliance Please Ignore
#9 - 2012-11-30 01:40:36 UTC
Exploration is a great way to make isk if you fancy doing a bit of bearing - seriously though, do it in lowsec/null. rewards are far greater and the chance of pvp is far higher. You'll have plenty of isk to fly something shiny so do it.
Gogela
Epic Ganking Time
CODE.
#10 - 2012-11-30 01:49:35 UTC
1. Is there a profession or area that has great depth and is mutually rewarding? The ability to parlay my loot in Exploration would be a major boon. (I'm Minmatar and would like to keep expanding class knowledge)

Yes. Ninja looting is a lot of fun and can pay quite nicely. Pods get really burned up when you do it too, so there's a nice 'tears' bumper to your bottom line. The upfront ISK and SP required is negligible.

2. Are missions any more interesting, Did they add more? I remember running the same randomly picked 10 missions over and over, with the occasional storyline, it was rather pathetic and boggled my mind they let it that happen. Is it just a Security thing or are all areas this lame? I'm open to all areas, especially those with lore or long term benefits.

If you are looking to play the game and not the players, you are in for a really boring time imho... and you will forever be poor.

3. What’s the traditional contract hauling market like? I cant jump and this would be something I'd like to supplement my time with.

Full of scams and boring when not a scam.

4. Planetary Interaction - This looks right up my alley but I've read its not all its cracked up to be especially with just 1 account and part time play?

See above. Play the players, not the game. You can't get rich and playing against NPCs. Also, NPCs are kinda dumb. Players are smart. It's a better challenge and will teach you more about the game.

/my 2 isk

Signatures should be used responsibly...
Megadon
#11 - 2012-11-30 03:06:21 UTC
Kalithia11 wrote:
Nothing quite like the sarcastic cynicism of EVE players. (minus Solo, thank you)

I'm serious about the topic and would like input.



No sarcasm intended mate. Seven year player here. I meant what I said above. There is no game here except for those who are interested in playing the part of an irrelevent cog in a machine of thousands of irrelevent cogs.

I have been playing this game since 2005 and, although I have enjoyed the ride from 1.0 to 0.0, the game has never provided me what I really wanted. It has massive potential to actually become the ultimate "space" game, but it is far from it at present.

You are just returning... I am in fact leaving ( in less than 24 hours this account will expire unrenewed at last due to giving up hope that CCP will ever "get it").
Aeril Malkyre
Knights of the Ouroboros
#12 - 2012-11-30 15:09:48 UTC
Welcome back. 24m sp Minmatar pilot here, on about the same path you described. I play a few hours every few days. Ignore the bittervets. You can solo the game just fine if you want, I have since I started. I'm currently in the process of changing my operations over from Level 4 missions to low/NPC null life and exploration just for something different, so I'll jot down what I can.

1. Exploration seems like the place you'll want to look. If you need to get your PvP chops back up to speed, I'd start in lowsec with some convenient high nearby, so you can bounce between safety and maybe some mission income to supplement your losses or just keep your cash flow going if you come up empty. Problem being that exploration is a very short branch of the tree, and once you've trained it, there's nowhere else to go with it. But, once you move into null and luck out on a few billion dollar drops, you'll have all the incentive you need. Jump clones are obviously awesome for this.

2. Security missions are still pretty much the same. Sometimes you get an interesting storyline one that has actual content, but usually it's the same 15 or 20 recycled. But, it pays, and it pays reliably. It doesn't require a lot of your time. And it's shooting spaceships. All depends on what your needs are like, in and out of game.

3. Contract Hauling is pretty scam-ridden, and when they're not scamming you they're not paying you squat. There are a couple huge trucking corps that handle a lot of the traffic now. Red Frog is one.

4. I tried PI when it came out, and while interesting conceptually, it's a lot of fiddling around with dials and scanners, things happen, and you ship those things off site. Like manufacturing, you have to get really down in the weeds and crunch numbers to realize reasonable profit, though it can work as a passive thing. Mostly I found it far too tedious to do in a game I spend my spare time on.

Check out the Loki strategic cruiser and related skills (if you left before then), it's extremely versatile and great for running around the dangerous places. Though it's commensurately expensive. Also make sure you read up on the racial destroyers/battlecruisers skill change coming up. Chance for people to cash in on a few months of free skills if adequately prepared.

Hope that helped. Good hunting.
Dr No Game
Full Broadside
Deepwater Hooligans
#13 - 2012-11-30 15:17:46 UTC
Megadon wrote:
Kalithia11 wrote:
Nothing quite like the sarcastic cynicism of EVE players. (minus Solo, thank you)

I'm serious about the topic and would like input.



No sarcasm intended mate. Seven year player here. I meant what I said above. There is no game here except for those who are interested in playing the part of an irrelevent cog in a machine of thousands of irrelevent cogs.

I have been playing this game since 2005 and, although I have enjoyed the ride from 1.0 to 0.0, the game has never provided me what I really wanted. It has massive potential to actually become the ultimate "space" game, but it is far from it at present.

You are just returning... I am in fact leaving ( in less than 24 hours this account will expire unrenewed at last due to giving up hope that CCP will ever "get it").

I will happily take any and all items you no longer have use for and give them a good home Twisted
Kalithia11
Center for Advanced Studies
Gallente Federation
#14 - 2012-11-30 22:45:17 UTC
Excellent information here, I appreciate it. Thank you.