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How to make solo ISK in EVE?
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Atreus Kadeyooh
Doomheim
#1 - 2012-06-09 14:20:54 UTC  |  Edited by: Atreus Kadeyooh
Hey people,

with 10 years of MMORPG experience in my back and approx. 2 weeks of EVE life, I find it extremely difficult to raise ISK by solo playing (you cant really do much besides solo gameplay in your early days obviously, as you are useless to any fleet).

Aiming to become a PvE/PvP combat pilot, I focus on combat skills and do tons of PvE missions (currently cutting through level 2 missions in a very poorly equipped cruiser).

My funds are starting to fall behind my skills though, Im going to hit good enough standings and skills to do l3 missions in a week or two , but my ISK income is nowhere near the needs to get appropriate ship and equipment. I have only died twice so far with tutorial ships, so my cruiser and its medium lasers are pretty much all I ever bought (and some skills), I loot all the small and medium wrecks and sell stuff on the market and try to buy as cheap equipment as possible (which ends up in me doing one mission for 1-2 hours in average).

Yet I barely made 22mil ISK, being far from what is needed to get advanced skills, not to mentions ships. If I lose my cruiser, Ill have enought to give it one or two more goes and then Im broke.
Edit: Unless I go level 1 missions in frigate forever, which is boring. I tried to do some l2 missions in destroyer, but I could only finish about 50% of them, where the enemies dont repair faster than I shoot.

Suggestions people? Each time I try asking more experienced people, Im told to spend the next 2 months raising mining skills or buying ships 200x times beyond my budget .. well, its generally best not to talk to experienced people in EVE at all, the level of hate and elitism beats even WoW O.o
Surfin's PlunderBunny
Sebiestor Tribe
Minmatar Republic
#2 - 2012-06-09 14:36:51 UTC  |  Edited by: Surfin's PlunderBunny
Grind up to lvl 4 missions, train up the related social skills

Or learn to play the market, though you could lose everything in a second. Happened to me once Sad

"Little ginger moron" ~David Hasselhoff 

Want to see what Surf is training or how little isk Surf has?  http://eveboard.com/pilot/Surfin%27s_PlunderBunny
Pax Scindus
Federal Navy Academy
Gallente Federation
#3 - 2012-06-09 15:16:02 UTC
See if someone in your corporation will let you tag along on their level 4s-
Not only will you get a standings boost and bounties, but most of us blitz and never salvage-
Equip a salvager and make millions easily.
This game should be coop.
Abdiel Kavash
Deep Core Mining Inc.
Caldari State
#4 - 2012-06-09 15:33:18 UTC  |  Edited by: Abdiel Kavash
Atreus Kadeyooh wrote:
you cant really do much besides solo gameplay in your early days obviously, as you are useless to any fleet).


This is where you are wrong. If you wait until your skills are "good enough" before you do anything, you will never be ready. You will only make a year-long plan, sit in a station for two months training skills, then quit of boredom. It's not the number of SP that defines whether you are useful or not, it's your attitude, the will to apply the SP you have, and the friends you make.
Jame Jarl Retief
Deep Core Mining Inc.
Caldari State
#5 - 2012-06-09 16:10:50 UTC
Abdiel Kavash wrote:
Atreus Kadeyooh wrote:
you cant really do much besides solo gameplay in your early days obviously, as you are useless to any fleet).


This is where you are wrong. If you wait until your skills are "good enough" before you do anything, you will never be ready. You will only make a year-long plan, sit in a station for two months training skills, then quit of boredom. It's not the number of SP that defines whether you are useful or not, it's your attitude, the will to apply the SP you have, and the friends you make.


That's debatable. A new player capable of 100 DPS with little/no tank is not going to do any good in 99.88% of activities in EVE. When you have the DPS and the tank of a heavy drone, you are not exactly a game-changer. Sure, some corps will take you as you are and train you and hold your hand, but it's really just a pity gesture - they get nothing out of it. And most corps/fleets will tell you to "fly off" (replace fly with another f-word) if you have less than 10 mil SP, usually. In this respect, EVE is just like every other MMO. Try to group with a level 60 as a level 1, and it probably won't work very well, if at all.
Adam Junior
Aliastra
Gallente Federation
#6 - 2012-06-09 16:27:54 UTC
Jame Jarl Retief wrote:
Abdiel Kavash wrote:
Atreus Kadeyooh wrote:
you cant really do much besides solo gameplay in your early days obviously, as you are useless to any fleet).


This is where you are wrong. If you wait until your skills are "good enough" before you do anything, you will never be ready. You will only make a year-long plan, sit in a station for two months training skills, then quit of boredom. It's not the number of SP that defines whether you are useful or not, it's your attitude, the will to apply the SP you have, and the friends you make.


That's debatable. A new player capable of 100 DPS with little/no tank is not going to do any good in 99.88% of activities in EVE. When you have the DPS and the tank of a heavy drone, you are not exactly a game-changer. Sure, some corps will take you as you are and train you and hold your hand, but it's really just a pity gesture - they get nothing out of it. And most corps/fleets will tell you to "fly off" (replace fly with another f-word) if you have less than 10 mil SP, usually. In this respect, EVE is just like every other MMO. Try to group with a level 60 as a level 1, and it probably won't work very well, if at all.


Tackling takes hours to train.
Flakey Foont
#7 - 2012-06-09 18:12:59 UTC
Jame Jarl Retief wrote:
Abdiel Kavash wrote:
Atreus Kadeyooh wrote:
you cant really do much besides solo gameplay in your early days obviously, as you are useless to any fleet).


This is where you are wrong. If you wait until your skills are "good enough" before you do anything, you will never be ready. You will only make a year-long plan, sit in a station for two months training skills, then quit of boredom. It's not the number of SP that defines whether you are useful or not, it's your attitude, the will to apply the SP you have, and the friends you make.


That's debatable. A new player capable of 100 DPS with little/no tank is not going to do any good in 99.88% of activities in EVE. When you have the DPS and the tank of a heavy drone, you are not exactly a game-changer. Sure, some corps will take you as you are and train you and hold your hand, but it's really just a pity gesture - they get nothing out of it. And most corps/fleets will tell you to "fly off" (replace fly with another f-word) if you have less than 10 mil SP, usually. In this respect, EVE is just like every other MMO. Try to group with a level 60 as a level 1, and it probably won't work very well, if at all.



So what do you recommend as it all seems so hopeless?
Jax Bederen
Dark Horse RM
#8 - 2012-06-09 18:44:00 UTC
I'm a bit over a month in myself. Fortunately I started playing last year just for a month when the ship prices were half what they are now, so even had the time to buy a BS. However the good news is the L4 components dropped like a rock price wise recently. You should focus for now on buying the top L4 guns. Really I don't know what ship you use, but I was able to get decent firepower and a good tank running by adding capacitor rigs early on. There are lot's of toys out there to make a fit happen, do some research, some will give you a better damage modifier at the expense of having enough cap for a good shield/armor tank. In the end once you have the damage you make isk faster.
Ian Isk
Sounds Legit
#9 - 2012-06-09 18:48:09 UTC  |  Edited by: Ian Isk
Flakey Foont wrote:
Jame Jarl Retief wrote:
Abdiel Kavash wrote:
Atreus Kadeyooh wrote:
you cant really do much besides solo gameplay in your early days obviously, as you are useless to any fleet).


This is where you are wrong. If you wait until your skills are "good enough" before you do anything, you will never be ready. You will only make a year-long plan, sit in a station for two months training skills, then quit of boredom. It's not the number of SP that defines whether you are useful or not, it's your attitude, the will to apply the SP you have, and the friends you make.


That's debatable. A new player capable of 100 DPS with little/no tank is not going to do any good in 99.88% of activities in EVE. When you have the DPS and the tank of a heavy drone, you are not exactly a game-changer. Sure, some corps will take you as you are and train you and hold your hand, but it's really just a pity gesture - they get nothing out of it. And most corps/fleets will tell you to "fly off" (replace fly with another f-word) if you have less than 10 mil SP, usually. In this respect, EVE is just like every other MMO. Try to group with a level 60 as a level 1, and it probably won't work very well, if at all.



So what do you recommend as it all seems so hopeless?


Don't listen to this guy, he has no clue what he is talking about.

With a salvager in hand, you can do a whole lot of good in level 4 missions. If the corp is newb-friendly, people will take you on those missions to salvage, or to transfer cap, or just do damage and talk and have a good time.

I don't agree for a second that the community of eve contains a majority of elitists and trolls, I have played this game since 2007 and been in lots of corps, most of which had pleasant people who like talking and having fun together. If your current corp is inactive, or doesn't want to take you with them, screw them. Find a new corp. I can tell you for a FACT there are dozens of great corps out there willing to take you on board.

If pvp is what you want to do, you are literally hours away from being a valuable pilot in any fleet as a tackler.

If you want more help, feel free to convo me in game, and I'll point you in the right directions :)
J'Poll
School of Applied Knowledge
Caldari State
#10 - 2012-06-09 19:11:10 UTC
Who ever wants to play a MMO solo is stupid.

Who ever says you can't help in fleets as a new player is also stupid.

EVE is a MMO, best played with others.

And a new player can be a good addition to a fleet.

Think of:

- Running salvaging (in a destroyer / noctis, maybe even given by older players if they trust you) while the others run missions.
- Help in the missions, older players take aggro, new player shoots the smaller stuff (frigates and cruisers).
- Help in PvP, only 1,5 week of training and you can help in PvP by being tackle ship.
- Help in mining, more miners mean more stuff mined. Even a frigate helps.

Personal channel: Crazy Dutch Guy

Help channel: Help chat - Reloaded

Public roams channels: RvB Ganked / Redemption Road / Spectre Fleet / Bombers bar / The Content Club
J'Poll
School of Applied Knowledge
Caldari State
#11 - 2012-06-09 19:16:11 UTC
Jame Jarl Retief wrote:
Abdiel Kavash wrote:
Atreus Kadeyooh wrote:
you cant really do much besides solo gameplay in your early days obviously, as you are useless to any fleet).


This is where you are wrong. If you wait until your skills are "good enough" before you do anything, you will never be ready. You will only make a year-long plan, sit in a station for two months training skills, then quit of boredom. It's not the number of SP that defines whether you are useful or not, it's your attitude, the will to apply the SP you have, and the friends you make.


That's debatable. A new player capable of 100 DPS with little/no tank is not going to do any good in 99.88% of activities in EVE. When you have the DPS and the tank of a heavy drone, you are not exactly a game-changer. Sure, some corps will take you as you are and train you and hold your hand, but it's really just a pity gesture - they get nothing out of it. And most corps/fleets will tell you to "fly off" (replace fly with another f-word) if you have less than 10 mil SP, usually. In this respect, EVE is just like every other MMO. Try to group with a level 60 as a level 1, and it probably won't work very well, if at all.



hahah, U mad bro for not getting into a group.

There are plenty of corporations that take on and teach new players.

I joined a corp when I first started and they took me on with everything they did.
The moment me (or any new player) logged in they asked if I wanted help with something, or just wanted to join them for community, teaching and ISK making reasons.

And that wasn't even a real learning corp. There are plenty of corps that are made just for 1 reason, teach new players.

Personal channel: Crazy Dutch Guy

Help channel: Help chat - Reloaded

Public roams channels: RvB Ganked / Redemption Road / Spectre Fleet / Bombers bar / The Content Club
Petrus Blackshell
Rifterlings
#12 - 2012-06-09 19:17:22 UTC
Atreus Kadeyooh wrote:
you cant really do much besides solo gameplay in your early days obviously, as you are useless to any fleet

There is literally no way to be "useless to any fleet". You can have closed-minded FCs that don't realize that a frigate can make or break a fleet, but that's the fault of the FC and of the alliance being bad. Find a better group of people to play with.

Some things you can do for easy money without ever stepping in ship worth more than 10 mil ISK:

  • Salvaging (legitimate or just busting into people's L4 missions)
  • Hisec exploration
  • Faction warfare complexes (lowsec)
  • Play the market


New players in cheap ships are never useless. In fact, a week or so ago, my corp killed a Tengu worth 3 billion ISK. If it wasn't for a couple new players in Griffins, we would have all failed horribly.
Abdiel Kavash wrote:
This is where you are wrong. If you wait until your skills are "good enough" before you do anything, you will never be ready. You will only make a year-long plan, sit in a station for two months training skills, then quit of boredom. It's not the number of SP that defines whether you are useful or not, it's your attitude, the will to apply the SP you have, and the friends you make.

This, a hundred times. Eve is a multiplayer game. Find a group that appreciates you for what you are, and have fun! Nobody is useless.

Accidentally The Whole Frigate - For-newbies blog (currently on pause)
Stogo Cavin-Guang
Center for Advanced Studies
Gallente Federation
#13 - 2012-06-09 20:02:58 UTC
One thing I did was grind missions for Loyalty Points, pick an item that you can buy with Loyalty Points then sell it on the market. I'm only doing level 3's so money isn't really an issue right now for me, but there was one book I could buy for 10mil +LP then turn around and insta-sell it for 19Mil.

Now, not sure how much this will help at the lvl2 stuff, but it's worth looking into .
Surfin's PlunderBunny
Sebiestor Tribe
Minmatar Republic
#14 - 2012-06-09 21:14:50 UTC
My advice is best advice Big smile

"Little ginger moron" ~David Hasselhoff 

Want to see what Surf is training or how little isk Surf has?  http://eveboard.com/pilot/Surfin%27s_PlunderBunny
Tau Cabalander
Retirement Retreat
Working Stiffs
#15 - 2012-06-09 23:27:03 UTC
loldadaf Rotineque
SkyNet Experiments
#16 - 2012-06-09 23:35:29 UTC
I would say trading being a very profitable way, I trade alot my self averaging a nice amount of ISK a day, If you need help or want more info feel free to mail or convo me.

another thing I did was wormholes which I stopped doing to the lack of time.
Zoe Athame
Don't Lose Your Way
#17 - 2012-06-09 23:39:56 UTC
I am 1.5 months old.
I have not mined and have not run a single mission other than tutorial agents for standings.

I've won 2 PLEX via SOMERBlink (~1bil)
I've won 10ish EOH tournament games (~2bil)
I've gotten a free Moros from a trivia contest (2.4bil)
I've picked up countless T2 modules while flying a frigate in both RvB and FW.

The richest people in EVE didn't get their riches from Mining and MIssioning. You need to think outside the box.
Homo Jesus
The LGBT Last Supper
#18 - 2012-06-10 00:30:51 UTC
If you're in a corp and they can't somehow put you in a battlecruiser when you have the skills to fly it you're in a crappy corp.
Sugar Kyle
Middle Ground
#19 - 2012-06-10 02:40:24 UTC
Many people invest in new players. They take you on and help because in six months you may become the game changed. Sure it sucks to be the noob. There are more then so elitests out there.

OP I did a mixture of mining, missions, salvage and local courier missions. I ran courier missions as well as security.

I salvaged everything I killed for a long time. I also made friends and that is where the game improved for me. Even a bunch of moons could pour through the missions faster then solo. I'm still a big fan of salvage. It's not glamerious but plenty of .level 4 mission runners give away their loot and salvage.

I assume you have done the sisters of eve arc?

I own three fancy ships that I undock. One is an assault frig, one a cloaky hauler and the last a logi. I don't fly fancy leet stuff because my skills are not there for the loss to be worth it.

You are in a rough place but by no means insurmountable.

Member of CSM9 and CSM10.
Iria Ahrens
Space Perverts and Forum Pirates
#20 - 2012-06-10 07:32:23 UTC  |  Edited by: Iria Ahrens
As above. It only takes a short time to learn enough to fit a point. Most fleets will be happy with any player that shows up in a frigate with a point for tackle. Most fleets will also reimburse the tackler's ships when they get shot down. So you're pvping for FREE. A few weeks later you can be trained up enough to take on a scout role. Or you may choose to specialize in EW or dps.

Really, it is not a matter of being valuable, being older just makes us able to fill more roles. Being able to fill 20 different roles is nice, but we can still only fill one role at a time. That's what makes EVE so great is that within Days of joining, you could join an alliance and participate in "End game" content, such as sovereignty warfare.

As for what to do, my Biggest recommendation now is Join a corp of experienced players that pvp and value your contribution, and are happy to raise you in the world of eve. There are hundreds of corps out there. It takes a few days of research usually to find a good one that fits your play-style and game times, and you may not stay in the first corp. Don't feel wedded to the corp, just go in, try the group on, and if they suck move on.

As for what you can do NOW to increase your income. learn destroyers 1, and salvaging 3, and fit a dessy with 4 tractors and 4 salvagers, and a cruiser sized AB, with cargo expanders in low. For level one and two missions and even level 3, the isk from salvage is much better than the bounties you make. I suggest salvaging over the other suggestions made above because it won't detract from what you are already doing much, like trading would, but will significantly improve your profits. Salvaging should get you a few million per mission, provided there are enough wrecks. But level 2s should usually have enough to be profitable.

Train up a few levels of trade. Because often the buy prices and the sell prices for modules have a huge gap. Don't sell your turrets for 10 Isk when there are sell orders up for 300,000 isk. With a few levels of trade, you can put your module for sale and at least get good value for you more rare/expensive modules.

And find a good corp. It bears repeating.

My choice of pronouns is based on your avatar. Even if I know what is behind the avatar.
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