EVE General Discussion

Okay, so a few days ago I posted about a friend of mine was interested in playing as an Alpha. Well, he's gotten a bit ahead of himself, and actually started today.

I spent about four hours today taking him through the very basics of how the game works. Setting waypoints, navigating, etc. We had to part ways for a bit, so I sent him 10 mil to putz around with until we reconvene.

Now I'm thinking long-term. I'm making sure his integration with the game is going smoothly. He knows about suicide ganking. He and I have discussed zkill killboards over the past few weeks (probably what got him excited enough to start today). He knows not to autopilot, not to linger, not to make himself an obvious target, etc etc. But going past the tutorials, I want his EvE experience to be better than mine. I don't want him stuck in highsec like I was/am. I want him earning a little isk to sustain himself, and spending the rest of his time shooting other spaceships.

So, after I feel he's gotten a basic grip on the game, I want to send him hurtling through space at a corp that will do him well for that. First thing that came to mind was the RvB thing. Is that still recommended? And do they operate in areas other than highsec? Because I want my friend to experience low and nullsec sooner rather than later.

I don't know if he'll eventually sub or stay alpha. So far he's really enjoying the game (and he really enjoys the stories from the killboards. Surprised me that he knew some vague details from the major battles that made the news). But I don't know if he's having enough fun to sub, or even if he can scrape together the money to do so. So, what's RvB's stance on the upcoming Alpha clones?

And if not RvB, what other newbie-friendly corps can I send him hurtling at?

I recommend setting him up with Pandemic Horde. We have lots of helpful people to answer all his questions and teach him stuff. There's loads of content too especially since we're fighting a war currently.

Full disclosure: I am a recruiter for Pandemic Horde.

Personally I let the guys find their own way, while answering questions when asked. It depends on what people want, but personally I had a lot of fun in my early days just searching through all the resources and clicking on Show Info on pretty much everything. The figuring out part can be fun for some people, and the early days are quite special this way. If he wants to get on action quick though, then yeah, I think FW is pretty good starting point.

If a newbie joins any large volume group then all he'll learn is how to follow orders and to "fit in", all those newbie groups/traps are all the same in that regard. "join this massive group" is not a good start to create well rounded and knowledgable players, the groups who do this just want cannon fodder and increase their numbers. Not saying they're necessarily bad but they breed a very specific type of player, one I'm not so sure we need more of.

Everyone has different goals, drives, interests and preferred way to learn & advance. Why not ask him what he's looking for play style wise and "intensity" wise. Simply educate him on the possibilities and traps and teach him that dying or failing is fine as long as he learns from it.

If your friend decides they like "exploration" I would give them a gentle push in the direction of Signal Cartel.

Throw him into the wormhole it's the best place to live.