EVE General Discussion

I have played lots of games and MMOs and I personally feel that PLEX is amazing! It allows new players to get into the game quicker, and allows older players who only like to do pvp (or some other non-money making activity) to do what they want.

My story is as follows:

I was a new player to the game, and being a noob I made several mistakes. I gained around 30 million or so isk through the starter quests and the sisters of eve epic storyline, but unfortunately I lost all of that isk through some dumb mistakes:

1. I bought the wrong cruiser and then had to sell it for a net loss of a few million isk.

2. I bought the right cruiser and then had it destroyed during my first foolish ratting trip into low sec.

3. I spent millions on skills I did not need.

4. I wasted money on excessive amounts of ammo that I lost when my cruiser died.

5. I bought the wrong industrial shipping ship.

6. I made many other wasteful mistakes along the way.


In the end I found myself several weeks into the game, and effectively broke. It sucked. I bought 1 PLEX and sold it. As a result I was able to use the money I earned a lot more wisely this time around. I got myself into a good null sec corp, I upgraded to Battlecruisers, and now have enough supplies in null sec to rat / pvp for a few weeks. As a new player PLEX is what kept me playing. Without PLEX I probably would have given up because I was unable to keep playing with good ships due to costly mistakes that I keep making as a newer player. I still have a lot to learn, but I am doing really well now since PLEX helped me establish myself.

Well the point is SOMEBODY bought that PLEX with real money to sell to the player who then uses it to fund his sub.

It would be one thing if PLEX was seeded on the market, but that is not the case.

Not to mention that the ISK you are getting in return is part of the games economy, as are the ships and equipment purchased with that ISK. Somebody, somewhere manufactured those goods. Which isn't the same as just purchasing items that appear from thin air in game as it would be with other F2P MMO's.

Technically Industry doesn't take a hit or lose meaning.

The ISK that these people are buying is from the economy pool generated by the players who actually made that ISK in game. That very same ISK is what is used to purchase goods that Industrialist manufacture.

If there was nobody making money in game, there would be nobody to buy that PLEX from the individuals selling it. On the other hand, If these very same PVP'ers suddenly stopped buying ships from the people who manufacture them, Industry does lose a bit of meaning.

Am I cheating when I pay someone else to do my vacuuming and dusting?

Am I cheating when I pay someone else to drive me to work (e.g.: taxi or bus, I'm not RL rich enough for a chauffeur yet)?

To me, selling PLEX for ISK is basically the same thing: as the hypothetical PLEX-seller, I'm paying someone else to do the drudge-work of collecting in-game resources for me. That leaves me to do the parts I enjoy.

As such, I'm more than happy for people to be selling PLEX, simply because that means more people get to focus on the parts of the game that they enjoy.

The OP, if you noticed, contradicts himself "ISK is...an investment..." I agree it's cheating. Just because it's endorsed by the game rules makers, that doesn't make it not cheating. The rules makers in EVE also play the game, so they aren't as reliable as one might assume. Once this cheating was allowed, it shifted the related stat calibration. Being rich had nothing to do with being good at the game.

I've said for years now that webbing and warp scramming are the same things - cheats. (I do call them "crutches", but I mean cheats when I say that.) They're there for ego purposes only - 'cause someone has to "win". I've mentioned the vast majority of naval engagements result in no winner per se, and uninformed, and ill-read idiots spew forth "HUH???" Which, is expected.

I think these things are finding their ways into games to accommodate a psychotic tendency shared by the majority of the world's population - impatience being one of the symptoms. These sorts of "improvements" serve only to shorten the length of time it might require to do something otherwise. It might take years to make that much ISK. It might take years to finally destroy that sucker's ship!

As in all such matters, the afflicted ones bray the loudest. They know they like it for the above stated reasons, but claim it has something to do with some other line of logic. When pressed, ultimately, it then becomes "just a game. What's the big deal?" Apart from the intellectual dishonesty and lack of integrity involved, I guess there ISN'T a big deal. SO, if it's NOT a big deal, why the LOUD DISAGREEMENT when it's MENTIONED? HUH?

It's funny.

Wait, wait.. HOLD THE PHONE! You mean that we can actually have fun in this game and not just a second job/life? So all my life is a LIE?

Yes, it does make it "not-cheating" (or "legal" as the kids today might say, please cut back ont he double negatives) if its endorsed by those who make the rules. They make the rules, after all. And those rules include extremely strict rules on how they interact with the game universe when they play.


Never has, and never will. Not sure what your point is on that.


Please explain how (without changing the fundemental mechanics of the combat aspect of the game) you can get a decisive combat when anyone can simply warp away? Of course someone has to win in a universe where conflict is constant and drives the economy. Replace the word "webber" with "tractor" and both Star Trek and Star Wars include many instances of "cheating" according to the above statement. In World of Tanks is it cheating to shoot engines or tracks? In Mechwarrior am I not allowed to shoot legs because thats cheating too?


Wanting to have fun is psychotic, and you feel left out and in extremem minority because you dont want to have any, thats what you have just said.


This part I like. You have basically said "Anyone who disagrees with me is a liar"

Well lie me up, because your post is full of ****

Keep in mind that without the current plex system, Eve would lose a large number of players.

The option to sub via ISK only exists because of the fact that people are reselling it to other players. No plex for isk = no way to pay for subscription using purely In game currency.

I've paid for my sub the normal way over the last 9 years, but I know tons of people that sub via plex. Many of them simply could not afford to play the game with real money.

I'm picturing you as the sort of person who also has a lot to say about chemtrails.

Spot on. My fun factor (if I had any time to log on right now) comes from small gang / small ship roams. I'm also game-time poor at the best of times. So spending time on grinding ISK rather than roaming reduces pew pew time and therefore fun factor (for me).

So for this reason I pay my subscription annually in advance and spend the money I save on buying a PLEX or two and selling it for ISK. If I couldn't do that I would simply not be able to enjoy the game. Likewise, if other players didn't make lots of ISK in order to play for free I couldn't sell those PLEXes to make my game time entertaining.

Ultimately, the fact that my ship was effectively purchased from ISK I derived from managing my real world money in what I consider to be a "best bang for the buck" manner doesn't give me any advantage in the field of combat. It doesn't give my toon more SP nor my brain better PVP skills. So I can't see how doing this is in any way a cheat mode.