EVE New Citizens Q&A

Hi guys, brand spanking new to EVE but already know I will be sticking around for the long haul, i'm keen on creating another account to support my main account but am confused about the buying options and the limitations of each. Perhaps if I explain what I want to get out of it then that will help.

My main aim is to have my main character trading/manufacturing and my alt mining, i'd also like another alt in the future for combat and might see what piracy's like. I want to be able to train both in two seperate career paths and have my miner provide the materials for my manufacturer to use who can then switch to trading the items. I'd like both to be able to work at the same time and be easy to switch between.

I've asked on the help channels but all answers have been vague and confusing so thought i'd get a better response here. I've heard that a Sidekick can be on the same account and logged in together while the Dual Character has to be switched between. If that is the case why would u want dual character, surely using a sidekick at the same time is more useful? What are a sidekicks limitations?

TL;DR What's the difference between sidekicks and dual character training. Explain like i'm 5.....

Many thanks!

Dual character training enables you to train 2 characters on one account. That also means you can only play one character at the same time. It's handy if you want a second character with a short training plan, and never use them both at the same time. Like a quick trading character, or a cyno/scout character.

In your case, you want to play them both at the same time. The only option is to make a second account.

A sidekick is just an extra account (probably bought with a discount or something). Meaning you have 2 accounts to play with. The term sidekick is something CCP made up.
Please note you have to pay subscription for both accounts too!

Edit:
You can also just use the buddy program to create a new account for yourself. Thats how I have done it. For subbing your new buddy account you will receive a plex. You basically get the first month free but then you still need to pay a monthly sub for both account.

BTW. If you want to mine with one character and manufacture with your second character that is all fine. But why not train 2 miners first and then specialise the characters. One for manufacturing and one for something else (combat?). So your manufacturing char have something to do when waiting for manufacturing jobs to complete :)

Sidekick is just a simple cash discount inviting you to sub a second account. It's a good deal if you want to train up an alt that takes < 90 days, or it's just a way to save some money up front on a new account.

Dual training is good for training short plan (< 30 days) alts or polishing off a few things on an alt that is already on your main account. It saves transfer fees vs. dumping the character onto a second account just to do a little bit of training for it, and it avoids the need to stop training on your main just to get a few things trained on a same account alt.

If you plan to train longer term alts, that will take 60-90 days or more to be done, then a second account started with Sidekick or whatever is the current altoholic promo deal will work out better, even if you plan to transfer it back to your main account at the end. If you want to dual log, of course you need to keep the second account subbed anyway.