EVE New Citizens Q&A

Almost every EVE Online player will tell you that if you want to play the game successfully, you should join a player corporation. What advantages does a player corporation have over an NPC corporation? What should a new capsuleer look for in a player corporation, and what should they be cautious about?

One of the biggest problems (at least in my experience) is that NPC corps do not have any goals or direction. I remember when I started, every time I asked what can I do in EVE, the answer was always the same, "whatever you want, Eve is a sandbox". Well, for someone that has no clue what CAN be done, that answer is frustrating, to say the least.

Player corps will help you with more specifics on what to train and what's out there to do, most likely in a way to benefit the corp itself, but if you find yourself doing something you do not like, you can always move on and join another player corp.

Over time you should find your place and doing something that fits your playing style.

As Above Knowledge is the key, and finding a player corp with a diverse player base will give the best choice and direction.

One thing for new players to make sure when interviewing a player corp (becase the interview process should be in both directions) is to have a voice chat with the recruiting person or director (CEO) you will get a feel for the vibe of the corp much better with a spoken conversation. Also it is an ever more prevalent requirement for some kind of voice comms in most player corps.

You can't steal all the NPC corp's assets if they make you angry. Nuff said ;)

I think all the above have made some good comments. I think a distinction should be made between new capsuleers who have played mmo's before and those who haven't. For those that have, they pretty much should know what to look for in a corporation, but for those that haven't I recommend the NPC corps or one of the larger corporations such as Eve University as mentioned earlier. Mostly because these players will have an overabudance of questions and the more players to pitch in and help the better.

As far as those who come into eve with previous experience; my warning is that Eve is a game of long-term gameplay. We don't look at just what we want to do this weekend, we want to know what we will be doing this year. Its one of my favorite qualities of Eve and as such should be applied to looking for a corporation. Its the strong recommendation of myself and many players to have a vent/ts3/mumble/etc. chat with the CEO or recruiter. When you do ask them about their aspirations for their corporation as well as what they are doing today.


For all new players I recommend at looking at what to do...
http://swiftandbitter.com/eve/wtd/

Good Luck to all those new capsuleers
-BahumutX13

In a nutshell, player corporations allow for PvP in the broadest sense (player vs player interactions - market, combat etc) while NPC corporations only really provide PvE (player vs EvE). You do most things in EvE co-operatively - the question is whether you want to influence the gameplay of other players or just login for some fun of your own.

The best analogy I can think of in gaming terms is NPC corporations are like the 'singleplayer campaign' in a computer game while player corporations are like the 'online multiplayer' gameplay.

If you want your actions to impact other players (build/destroy their stuff, buy/sell things, lead/follow them) then you need to leave the NPC corporation and find a corporation run BY players FOR players.

I'm sure there are groups within NPC corporations who organise themselves to do PvE in the same way that there are player corporations who do nothing but PvE - but the truth is there little difference between them and both only scratch the surface of what the game has to offer.

EvE PvE is only the tip of the iceberg. The question is whether you want to dive into the icy depths to see what lies below the surface. A good player corporation will help you SCUBA instead of drowning. It's a big ocean out there (and plenty of sharks about!)

The thing i find as the biggest benefit of joining a corp is that you get to know people on a much deeper level then you would expect in an online game.
Because of how Eve is made you really get the chanse to sit and talk to people pretty much whatever you do. Even if its waiting between mining cycles,or the long hours camping at a gate or the mindless looting of a mission you have dead time where the chat is the only thing that keeps you sane.
If you find the right group they wont judge you,even if you have some weird fetishes,speak a different language then the general public or if you have different opinions regarding real life politics. Ofc the last one always means someone will try to rip eachothers heads during the duration of the discussion but you still end it as friends

The simple version,if you find the right corp for you,you might end up lucky and find friendships that will go beyond internet spaceships,and that is something that is hard to find in an NPC corp,no matter how long you stay there.

I've been on the leadership side for 5 of my 5.5 years in game and my primary role in most of them has been recruitment. Both as a corp owner and as a Recruiting Officer/Director I have always leaned toward the recruitment of new players. The theory behind this is that when new players find a good corp to play with they stay in game longer and they will almost always build relationships within the corp.

I think that finding a corporation that fits what they like to do in game is the most important part of picking a corp. You don't join a combat focused corp if you want to mine all day. Picking the wrong corp can be deadly to your moral and desire to keep playing.

Having the right corp can also help you learn the game mechanics and others can assist you with things that might be just out of your reach. My current corp (I'm Co-CEO) is focused on combat. We use missions to assist in the teaching of PvP basics and help younger members earn cash faster through group missioning.

All in all... If you have even the slightest notion that you are in the wrong corp... You are. find another one before it kills your game.

Ok new player. You have a few choices. Depending on your personality type you are going to want to gravitate towards like minded people right? If you like learning from veterans without the hassle of what I describe below stay in your NPC corp.

The challenge with EVE is the game mechanics do not work the same way as other MMORPGs. There is no petition/help for being scammed. It's encouraged.

Highsec does not mean "safe". This is perhaps the worst part of EVE but it's been this way since day 1 and the veterans are used to it, but as a fairly new player myself (March '11) I incorrectly thought that highsec meant safe since CONCORD is talked about so much, lowsec was dangerous and was consentual pvp and nullsec was the Wild West.

BZZT. War Declarations are a game mechanic that CCP put in place to allow player corporations to fight each other without being blown up by Concord, however, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and you can and will be griefed via wardec and lose that brand new cruiser you just trained for and spent your hard mined or perhaps gifted ISK. You are not safe in highsec as it is now something bored veterans do for sport.

Find a new/small corporation and wardec them and continue to blow you up. Do not pay a ransom to these people, they will blow you up again anyway, and due to the game mechanics can continue to kill you for 24 hours, as that is the fla..er design.

With all that said, even CCP has stated to avoid being griefed by wardec, stay in an NPC corporation. Center For Advanced Studies, the Gallente NPC corporation. After experiencing the above problems more than once in 2 different player corps, i actually quit the game. I was mocked in an email, I was griefed out. However I chose to be a student of the experience, rather than a victim of the circumstance.

I restarted anew and joined CAS in June. I had met several of them, as a previous character/alt i had before i quit allowed me to lurk/listen/learn.

As a NPC corp who happens to like PVP you can learn the ropes without the griefing in an NPC corp like CAS.

I'm not recruiting I am just stating facts. In my quit comments the GMs can tell you I put the non-consentual PVP comments in there.

I now live in 0.0 space myself and have a pretty good killboard and enjoy helping bring others out to nullsec myself. I give out free ships, provide advice and help move cargo with a command industrial ship and I'm a newer CAS member, you should see the generosity and wisdom of the Fleet Commanders and Titan owning veterans.

I'm honored to be a part of an NPC corporation and until CCP makes highsec safe from non-consentual pvp and move the griefing to lowsec and null the way any other MMO would do or at least rename it, my advice is be very very very wary of any player corp who asks you for your API key or how many skillpoints you have as first/primary questions. They are sizing you up as a playtoy for the bitter veterans who have nothing but time on their hands and tens of thousands more skillpoints and experience than you.

TL;dr

Be very wary of new/small Player Corps, they need toys to play with, highsec isn't safe and even CCP recommends staying in an NPC corp if you don't want to be griefed with wardecs. Also CAS is the friendliest, most helpful npc corp I've seen in my 8 months of playing, and there is a very bloodthirsty nullsec division that I love being part of, but we do it in 0.0 space. Good enough that I started over just to be in CAS.

there is nothing wrong with sticking to an NPC corp as there can be lots of people in the corp channel, but no events or direction given to new players, if you know exactly what you want to do you can stay in NPC corp for a while, if your unsure or need serious help NPC corp isnt very good..

also +1 protection from wardecs, these are used to grief new players and new player corps.