EVE New Citizens Q&A

As I said - I died within the first couple of hours....so I'm certainly not going to argue that there is anything wrong with dying on your first day

But dying before they even know what their overview is? Before they even have time to realize they are already "in space"? Before they even realize they *can* die? That is a bit much.

And trust me - CCP can't keep up with enforcing rookie system protection from griefers *right now* using high-sec mechanics...they wouldn't be able to keep up with the insta-locking campers in every single rookie system if they were moved to 0.0/low-sec.

New players need a safe place to learn the basic controls of the game. To use your own analogy: You should at least teach the child to *walk* (or at a bare minimum crawl) before you go and throw it in a lake expecting it to learn how to swim.

Initial starting area aside: Sol is correct that *communication is key* when a new player explodes. It reassures them that they aren't alone and helps them find their place in the universe much faster. I was lucky in this regard as I had a friend actively playing who recruited me into the game - and he had already made connections with other players that he introduced me to very early on.

But if you don't have the benefit of a friend to hook you up - New players: Do not be afraid to talk to the guy who just killed you - you might learn a lot from him/her. Most "evil pirates" are pretty nice/helpful to new players if the new player isn't immediately hostile to them.

And older players: Remember you were new once yourself - there is nothing wrong with blapping a new player who crosses your path in low/null sec (or wherever), that is part of the game - but if you later realize they were brand new to the game, you might consider taking a moment to reach out and have a conversation with them - help them figure out where they went wrong and how they can advance in the game. If your corp is new player friendly - recruit them

If you mean rookie systems - I actually used to drop in on them from time to time...and some of my highest kill-counts per day/week/month were obtained there just counter-baiting the people trying to grief new players... I quit when CCP started enforcing their own rules a bit better, so I didn't feel my services were needed...and by the time their petition system got overworked and they stopped enforcing rookie system rules again I'd already unsubscribed and I just haven't worked myself up to caring enough to go back recently...



As for killing new players and convoing them afterwards - I've had a *lot* of talks with new players I've killed in one way or another over the years (not in rookie systems) - and I've given several of them the push that it took to send them off into the PvP side of EVE. At least one of them ended up all the way out in 0.0, has more isk than me already, and I've heard rumours he might be flying in the Alliance Tournament this year.

I also used to recruit at least 1 new player a week (on average) through unorthodox recruiting methods such as killing them and talking about it, sparing their life with an explanation, or (the non-violent route) trolling around helping them when they got stuck on high-sec missions... Some went on to become good players, others still fizzled out - and part of the failure rate was that the corps I was in were unfortunately not as new-player friendly as I could have wished sometimes

I never made any *huge* or particularly noticeable impacts in EVE, but I'd like to think I've done my part to get new players out of their carebear bubbles and into the real game over the years...



But again, lately, I'm kind of done - I don't really have the patience to form a lot of new friendships constantly anymore, knowing that I'm leaving the game in less than 2 months.


Maybe some day if I have the time and talk myself into coming back to EVE I'll start back up again - but for the time being I'll stick to solo work and being "retired" from actively seeking new players (though of course if any stumble across my path I may still give them some free advice)