EVE New Citizens Q&A

Eve is justly famous for the great stories that originate here and spread across the internet gaming media. The great battles, the huge wars with the rise and fall of great powers, one minute bestriding the universe and the next, crashing into insignificance and ruin. The free, open sandbox environment where deceit, lies, betrayal, treachery and of course, cold blooded scamming are not only allowed, but encouraged.

So many players are drawn to this great game by the tales spread of a game where what you do really matters. A game where you don't follow a path made for you by the developers. A place where a player moves between good AND evil and even a gray amorality on a decision by decision basis. Decisions made by the player, not by a preplanned AI that tells you to do a particular thing and then gives you bacon for doing it.

The new player downloads the game, creates his first character and steps out into this dark, dangerous, universe of Eve. And then, inexplicably, decides to mine.

Make no mistake. Eve does not allow mining because it needs a way to convert asteroids into ships. It does not allow mining because the complex economy is an endless maw for minerals. It does not allow mining because mining draws new subscribers to the game. No, miners, especially highsec miners, exist for one reason....

They are targets.

Compare the average highsec miner to the wildebeast of the African savannah. The lion knows to find his prey at the local waterhole. Even so, the lions of Eve know that the miner will be sitting in a belt or icefield. The lion of Africa must use cunning and surprise to keep his quarry from bolting. Again, the parallel in Eve is the same. The only difference is that highsec miners more closely resemble very sleepy wildebeasts than the wary actual animal. In fact, the highsec miner more closely resembles domestic sheep as they quietly graze under what they think is the watchful eye of the sheepdog, CONCORD.

The safety is an illusion for even as they quietly stuff themselves the wolves are approaching. And after the red ruin occurs, they bleat and stampede and beg for safety, for fairness, and cry for justice. But if you really want to hear them scream, tell them justice is what they just got.

Nobody joins Eve to become a miner. Its a trap and will make your Eve experience a short and frustrating one. The "experienced player" who advises any new player to become a miner is someone who has already lost at Eve and just doesn't know it yet. There is nothing you can do to make mining more fun. Because your fun isn't the point of mining.

Mining exists for the fun of the people who shoot things. Be one of them.

Highsec is worth fighting for.

Bing Bangboom
Agent of the New Order of Highsec
Belligerent Undesirable

My advice is to take a look at Dax Virpio's avatar picture. Look at that guy. When you created that picture did you imagine being in a ship, sitting still, waiting for your ore bay to fill while you watched youtube? Or did you maybe picture being in some ship heavily laden with guns and engaging in thrilling space battle while you crush your enemies?

Go against your 'mentor's' advice and join a corporation. I have such a blast with the group of friends I have been with for over 2 1/2 years. You have just as much chance being ganked as you do getting dec'd IMO. Besides, getting dec'd is a great learning experience. We all started off as miners pretty much, got dec'd and realized how essential it is to learn to pvp. Found we liked it a lot better.

Being in a corp could also get you other peeps to mine with, and Orca support with buffs. Besides, you may find another path in Eve more appealing to you. Having others to hang out with, mine with, mission with, blown up with is a lot of fun.

On more word about decs, just because you may get in one does not make it an automatic death sentence. You can learn how to stay alive and have fun at the same time in a dec.

I'd personally ignore the New Order and Bingbangbong's roleplaying responses. If you want to spice up your mining, try som losec ninja mining, maybe:

Fit a Venture with mining lasers, an afterburner, and a survey scanner, and find a base station 2 or 3 systems away from losec. Then hit F10, look at the Star Map, and mess around with the filters. Look at numbers of:pilots docked, in space, shops snd pods destroyed in the last hour etc. this should give you an idea of where the 'quiet' losec systems near you are.

When you've settled on a suitable losec system (ideally the first or 2nd into losec), head there and make a few safespots (ask your mentor how to do this), and then go belt to belt until you find one without rats (no defense, see?). Find a Jaspet rock, and either orbit it or sit motionless but align to your exit gate.

Mine your rock while keeping an eye on local and the pvp overview. If anyone warps in, you warp out. Once you're full, head home and sell. Or better yet, stockpile and work on your refining skills).

Your vent is this cheap fit with no drones etc as it is disposable. If it gets killed, get another one. One full load of Jaspet should pay for 2.5 lolsec cheapfit vents. So every other successfull trip is a win for you.

The actual profit over hisec mining isn't that huge, but it's definitely a bit more fun in lolsec.

This is soooo true. Read this, absorb it and act from it!

I have an alt that mines, but I didn't make him to just point a laser at rocks in high sec for ever. I'm getting his refining to a high level and he's going to train for a blockade runner -- these are the shorter term goals so that he he come with me to null sec and mine/refine the higher end ores out there. He's also a reasonably competent combat pilot who is up to the battlecruiser level.

Mining does not have to be a dead end, however it does seem that a lot of miners want to live up to that unfortunate stereotype.

When it comes to making ISK, check the Making ISK guide for ideas.

it's probably been said a million times, in many, many, threads similar to this before



Eve is a game
you play a game to have fun

if your not having fun mining, don't mine

try combat missions
try exploration
join a FW corp
join a wormhole corp
join a nulsec corp

they are all valid options, the more things you try, the better the chances are that you will find something to do in eve that you do find to be fun

if people start talking about isk/hr ratios. ignore them
you CANNOT place a value on fun/hr
your playing time is priceless, because you can never, ever get it back and do it over again.

I mine while I work (please don't gank me).

Answer emails in one window - mine in another - listen for "the asteroid is depleted" and target a new 'roid.

I get paid in Eve and the real world.

So to liven up mining I er... work.