EVE New Citizens Q&A

My playing sessions are limited to 60-90 minutes at a time.

I'm thinking about braving null-sec for the first time, but wondering how to stay safe in-between login sessions if I'm not a member of a corp?

Is there a specific part (NPC) space I should go to in order to be able to dock at stations? Are there dockable stations available to me in parts of null-sec that aren't NPC-space?

I'm figuring since I'll be a long way from home (Caldari space near Jita), I should not plan on returning in the same play session as when I venture off. Also, I was going to try out exploration. I assume I should try to arrange for a station to be relatively close to drop my loot off at?

I'm reading all the advice I can find on surviving in null-sec, but strangely this topic of how to split up your playing sessions is left out a little bit. Thanks! (Any other null-sec advice is greatly appreciated. I'm paranoid and self-educating, so I'm learning all about d-scanning, bookmarking, cloaks, being alert, etc.)

You can create a random bookmark while warping and return to that bookmark when it's time to logout. Then, right click on your ship and select "log off safely"- 30 seconds later you will be logged off. You will be vulnerable when you log back in but, if your bookmark is in the middle of nowhere, it's unlikely anyone will be waiting for you!

another note is that ships that can fit cov ops cloaks are often good for exploring deep into null like that. Of course even a regular cloak can help with that as you can safe up and cloak then go afk when nature calls etc... however fitting a cloak can sometimes gimp the ship fit so it's not so good at what you brought it there for in the first place.

Depending on what you plan on doing finding a home can be kind of important. If you want to PvE having space that you are familiar with and access to intel channels etc... can make all the difference. Operating in null solo can be difficult especially for the player new to null.

Of course easy and fun do not always go together so it's your call on what you want to do, like everything in this game.

Your biggest challenge will be bubbles. There are navigational tricks to avoid them - i.e. bouncing off a celestial instead of warping gate-to-gate so you approach the gate from an angle. Another option is to use an interceptor for exploration. You'll need better scanning and hacking skills since the ship isn't bonused but the agility (align/warp in less than 2 seconds) and interdiction nullification makes them very difficult to catch.

JonnyPew has a number of excellent videos on nullsec exploration https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwFpMhZDCXwHoiUFGXhmaRd8K5d1J6sv1

Providence is NRDS (Not Red Don't Shoot) null-sec and has stations in most systems. You can dock at any of them, although a docking fee based on ship size may apply. You are free to operate in the area as long as you don't do anything to annoy the locals, in which case you would end up on the KOS (kill on sight) list. Of course, other visitors to the area may be hostile towards you, but it will be much safer for you than most of null-sec which tends to be NBSI (Not Blue Shoot It).

Pay a visit, give it a try, see if you like it. Some people hate it, others like me call it home and stay permanently.

This is all amazing advice. Thanks everyone. Please keep it coming. :)

Interceptors rely on speed as their defense. You align so fast that you probably don't even need to bother with MWD-cloak-trick. So, because they rely on speed, anything that affects your speed is a nightmare for interceptors.

Stasis Webifier modules are thus the worst thing to encounter. Most ships are limited to 10-15km range on the webifier range, but certain Tech2 cruisers have specific ship bonuses that can extend this range to 40+ km, and you will need to memorize the names of these ships so you can WARP OUT the moment you see them in the Overview.

You also need capacitor juice to run your MWD and keep up your speed, so Energy Neutralizer modules are also a danger. Same thing as webifiers, normally they are short range, but certain ships can suck you completely dry from 40+ km.

You also have to worry about drones; interceptors don't have a lot of armor or shields, and certain tech 2 drones CAN match your speed / catch you. Most big ships have a small complement of drones for anti-frigate defense, and depending on skills the drones could reach out to 40-80+ km.

Finally, you have to worry about insta-death. Your interceptor is small, and most big ships will take a LONG time to lock you as a target, but there are sensor boosters, remote sensor (assist), passive targeters (you don't realize you're targetted), and other modules that can achieve insta-lock (0 seconds lock time) even on interceptors, and then a cruiser or battleship sized weapon only needs one shot to take you out completely. Also, smartbombs are point blank area-effect weapons that do NOT require target locks, and they're often used at gate camps to catch and kill everything that arrives (your screen won't even load before you die).

EDIT: Watch this cool video (NSFW audio, some swearing) and you'll see smartbombs from minute 2:20 onward.

This is more stuff that you are bringing from other games. I know because I felt the same way when I first came to Eve and I can tell you that just does not work here. Eve is very casual friendly and typically all that is required of you is to be fun to play with.

Yes many null sec corps have a very in-depth application process but this is more to weed out spys than low activity players. You don't need to commit to anything to join a corp in this game. Some corps may have some requirements just don't join them. The kind of crap where you need to be a leet PvPer or leet decked out level capped raider to be helpful to a corp just has no place in Eve and there are no game mechanics to make it of any use here. The sooner you can let go of this idea the better off you will be in Eve.

I often compare Eve to kids at the playground. You see a bunch of kids and they tend to kind of round everyone up and figure out what they can play that would involve all or as many as possible of the kids present. They don't pick some L33t difficult game and then get rid of all the kids that can't play it, they work with what they have and find a way to have fun together. Eve works very similarly to that.

Even the hard core corps that do have mandatory CTAs typically that only means if you are logged on then you need to show up. I've not heard of any (even though I'm sure some exist) corps that require certain hours of play time. The equation RL > Eve gets thrown around a bit in this game. Certainly you can find a corp that gets you access to null sec with little to no requirements. I know because I am in one such corp.

The best way to get over this fear is to just jump into some wormholes with a cheap ship with a T1 cloak. Make some safe spots then warp to a safe and drop your probes then warp to another and immediately hit your cloak and then start moving in some direction just in case. This way you can scan all you want and not have to worry about someone scanning you down. Just focus on the sites and make sure you book mark everything. You can use combat probes also to check for PoS and other players and such without having to actually go there. Also D scan can be used for this as well once you learn how to use it.

If you are freaking out about throwing a way a few ships on trying out wormholes send me an Eve mail and I'll throw a couple T1 scanning ships your way. Then you can insure them and go get blown up and make isk in the process.

The process of trial and error also known as experience is one of the best ways to learn. And worst case scenario is that you get lost and have to self destruct your pod to get back home. All that is lost then is a cheap or free ship.

This is amazing advice I would never have thought of. Is the reason they wait until you are on the last can so that you have the most loot possible when they pop you, and they wouldn't have been able to hack it open themselves?

Or is it simply because it takes them a few seconds to lock and attack you, and they need you to have your guard completely down.

Thanks on the offer to contact you in-game; I shall do that in the not-too-distant future.

Everything in Eve is extremely situational and subject to your personal playstyle. They way that one person who logs on only during prime time hours and only scans systems very close to high sec would operate and how someone scanning during off peak hours deep in wormhole space or null sec many jumps away from empire in a system where you are likely alone operate are completely different.

There are many intel tools available to you. For example if you jump into a wormhole and it has 30+ sites and the last time that you saw and empire link was 3 wormholes ago and the KBs don't show any activity in that hole in the past month and there are no active towers in system then you can be fairly certain that the likelihood of anyone else being with you in that hole are low.

Also once you get more familar with exploring there will be more give-a-ways. For example there are ways to tell if you are the first person to scan down a wormhole and start it's timer for example. Gas sites have sleepers spawn 20 minutes after the first person to initiate warp to the signature. So you can warp to a gas site and if there are no sleepers and 20 minutes later there are then you know that you are the first person at that site.

Also once you are familiar with the hacking sites you'll know when a container is missing and thus has been hacked. Some players use cargo scanners to scan the containers and check the loot and only waste time hacking the most valuable ones.

These are just examples and the more that you explore the more this stuff will become second nature.

I just want to point out here that someone that enjoys scanning and exploring and is good at scouting and can jump into a wormhole system and preform a full recon job and come back with good intel and give warp tos to the fleet is extremely valuable in this game. Again I refer back to the agony empire dictor vid and focus on content creators.