EVE New Citizens Q&A

Hello there,

Some quick questions from a complete EVE newbie.

1 - Is the PvE in EVE viable? Or in other words, is everything in this big universe centered around PvP?
1a - Is there any low level PvE (besides agent missions)?
1b - Do newbies even have a change in PvP? I'm guessing there are no artificial boundries in place to seperate the newbies from the veterans (high level players)

2 - I'm considering either exploration or military as my cup of tea. When you decide on a path, are you 'stuck' with it forever? For example, can an explorer do combat stuff to?

3 - How do you make money from PvE? Running agent missions? Selling loot to NPC vendors? Basically like in every other mmo?

4 - What is this red vs blue warfare thingy? How do you get into it? What are the consequences? Do you need to be in a corp for this?

5 - Are there rewards for doing PvP (besides ofc having the eternal joy of shooting someones ship to dust)? Is there a system comparable to WOW (sorry for the comparison), where you can buy gear with honor points? Do you even get anything for PvP kills? Like tokens or kill scores?

6 - At what point does a new character have what it takes to shed the newbie-feeling?

I'm sure there are more questions in the back of my head, so I'll add them here when they pop up.
Thanks in advance for checking out my topic.

Chrs!

PvE is entirely viable. Though you can't avoid PvP, if someone wants to violence your boat.There's no artifical split between people who want to PvE and those who want to PvP. In addition, things that might seem to be PvE (industry, trade) are actually PvP. As your competitors are all players too.

Low level PvE includes exploration. Find places, blow up red crosses, hack cans and steal stuff. And so on.

Newbies have a chance in PvP. EvE's based on diminishing returns. Stick a five year old character in a rifter, and a 3 month character, and you'll probably find they have very similar skills which can be applied to that ship. The advantage that Veterans get is flexibility. They can fly more kinds of ships.



EvE's a sandbox. There's nothing in the game that's irrevocable. Worst case is that you'll end up with skillpoints in something that you don't use (and have to pay ISK for, with a more expensive clone)




Running Missions, blowing up NPC ships (bounty) and selling loot to other players. There are very few NPC vendors you'll interact with.

You can also act as a broker, buying the loot and reselling it for a profit. Anyone can do this, but most are too lazy. Laziness is where traders make their profit. (I could go to a trade hub and save 5 million. Or I could buy it from this trader who hauled it here. (and if you introduce opportunity cost as something to think about, you might save 5 million, but you'd not be earning the 10 you could get in that time))




Red and Blue are Corporations that people can join. They exist so people can have fights in High-sec, as they're constantly at war with each other. http://wiki.eveonline.com/en/wiki/Red_Vs_Blue_%28RvB%29 The main consequence is, while you're a member, you can be attacked by the other side (and your own. but I don't know if they do that. It can happen in any non npc corp)

There's also faction warfare, which you might want to look at on the wiki



Nope. Only thing you get are their kill mails. (And you can loot their ship. This can be valuable, if you're pirating.)


6: Shedding the Newb feeling? All depends on you. /I/ don't feel like a newb any more. But I'm still learning. Eve's like that.

Confirming all that is about, and expanding on what Di Mulle said about being in a constant state of PvP.

To the OP, look at it this way. If you're a miner and you go mine a belt, you are gathering ore that someone else can nolonger mine anymore. If someone else wants to mine that particular asteroid or mine in that particular belt, they have to -compete- with you to do so, whether by scaring you off or mining that ore faster than you. That competition is Player vs Player, though I'm sure most don't think of it at the time.

When you dock and refine all your ore into minerals and sell them on the market, you are either fulfilling buy orders that someone else could fulfill or you're selling at a price cheaper than the next lowest bidder. They have to -compete- with you to maintain the upper hand, either by selling minerals faster which means mining faster as stated above, or by trying to top your sell orders and once again become the lowest bidder. This conflict is Player vs Player.

If you run missions, all the loot and salvage you sell applies to the same basic principals in the last stated example. Player vs Player. The ACT of running a mission isn't necessarily PvP unless you are or have a ninja salvager around. Then it's a competition to salvage the wrecks faster. Player vs Player.

Same thing for BUYING things on the market.

Same thing for joining and operating with corporations of any time and size.

etc etc.


You will be in a constant state of some for of PvP or another. Some are more transparent than others, some can get you killed more than others (my trade alt has a tendency to make folks in Jita very very angry -- He doesn't pew pew, he just undercuts more).

I'll throw in my thoughts too.

1 - Is the PvE in EVE viable? Or in other words, is everything in this big universe centered around PvP?

PvE is certainly viable, though it tend to be repetitive. Keep in mind you're always exposed to pvp, even in highsec, although it's very unlikely anyone will shoot a mission ship with less a few billion in mods on it.

As far as low-level PvE, not really. You can be in a drake in a few weeks and head to wormhole space with a decent corp if you want, which would get you a fair bit of ISK quickly.

As far as pvp goes, you'll find out very quickly that EvE pvp is group-based pvp for hte most part. There are exceptions and plenty of people like to solo (hell, I solo myself sometimes in lowsec), but most people fly in fleets and there's plenty you can do without a lot of SPs under you belts. Everyone loves hero Rifters (fast nullsec tacklers) because your corpmates can give you a hundred of them to explode without even noticing the change in their wallets, and the Drake is a bog-standard DPS platform that is also relatively inexpensive and doesn't require a lot of skillpoints to fly. These are just examples but you get the idea. Don't be like this guy ( http://www.fondl.eve-kill.net/?a=kill_related&kll_id=12399130 ) and fall into the trap of thinking that you need lots of SPs and tons of ISK to pvp, all you'll do is die horribly in a fire to the first gang you run into. You need guts and a competent FC; that really is it.

2 - I'm considering either exploration or military as my cup of tea. When you decide on a path, are you 'stuck' with it forever? For example, can an explorer do combat stuff to?

You can do whatever you want. That's the big appeal of EvE. I started off as a miner. I got tired of being harassed all the time in highsec and that's how I initially got into pvp. I was in FW for a long time, did a stint in Atlas, lowsec pirated, lived in a C3 wormhole for a while. now I live in NPC nullsec. I make my money these days from PI, trading on my alt, and nullsec exploration. If my corp imploded tomorrow I'd probably go back to lowsec since I have zero interest in anything sov, or possibly back to wormhole space. I don't like missioning, I don't like being a slave to an NPC, one of the big reasons I can't ever seem to go back to more traditional MMOs

3 - How do you make money from PvE? Running agent missions? Selling loot to NPC vendors? Basically like in every other mmo?

You can PvE pretty much however you want (see above). In EvE though the market is almost entirely player run. This opens up possibilities not available in other MMOs - you can make money hauling things from one place to another to sell, and it's actually possible to make a decent living crafting in this game via invention (T2) or T3 manufacturing. There are no obsolete gathered materials in EvE (every item uses even the lowest end of materials) and negative-sum pvp ensures there's always someone to sell to.

4 - What is this red vs blue warfare thingy? How do you get into it? What are the consequences? Do you need to be in a corp for this?

Never been in RvB, but I support the idea. It's a free, permanent wardec without the baggage of FW (which limits your access to some areas of highsec, most notably Jita if you go in on the Minmatar or Gallente side). You join by joining a corp that's involved in it.

5 - Are there rewards for doing PvP (besides ofc having the eternal joy of shooting someones ship to dust)? Is there a system comparable to WOW (sorry for the comparison), where you can buy gear with honor points? Do you even get anything for PvP kills? Like tokens or kill scores?

Killboard e-peen waving is a time-honored tradition of EvE :D, just look at my sig link. You don't get anything for pvp kills except loot (each module on the ship has a 50% chance to appear in the wreck, else it's destroyed). A lot of corps pvp purely for the sport of it (again, killboard e-peen waving), these tend to live in empire or NPC nullsec. Sov holding corps pvp to keep their space secure. And for killboard e-peen waving. Wormhole corps, same story. You'll find outside of highsec the general rule is NBSI (Not Blue, Shoot It) and you're likely to get blown up before you've gone two jumps if you don't know what you're doing (see my horrifically out-of-date guide ( http://wiki.eveonline.com/en/wiki/Rookie_Lowsec_Survival_Guide ) for some tips). Again, EvE is a group-based game, do your homework, get into a good corp that you'll fit in well with. Don't be afraid to leave if it's not working out for you either.

6 - At what point does a new character have what it takes to shed the newbie-feeling?

You're caught up on SP when you realize it doesn't really matter. You're really caught up on SP when you can cross-train for 3 months without using any of the stuff you're cross-training for and not care.

You're caught up on ISK when you can explode in pvp, laugh on voice chat, then take your pod home and jump into one of several identically-fit ships that you fit up earlier because you knew this would happen, then go back out and rejoin your fleet inside of fifteen minutes.

Things that will make you feel like less of a noob:

- When you realize that your pocket of low/null really is safer than highsec so long as you watch intel channels, have competent friends, and keep your wits about you.
- When you realize your story in EvE is yours alone, not some variation of the same story everyone else is experiencing, and that no-one can take that away from you.
- When you realize that in a game that enforces no standards of behavior whatsoever, that trust is a precious commodity that is earned by honorable behavior.

I know most of the questions have been answerd but being lazy i did not read trough all of them thus i dont know if something was missed.

1. You can settle in EVE with doing nothing but PVE. But in most cases you will find your self in situations where you choise is either fight,or dock and log off for a week. In most cases people decide to have some fun and go out and get them selfes blown up and have some fun with the war but some decide to never PVP at all.
1a. Not really. You have belt ratting,some low level complexes and ofc with more skills incursions are open but this is not really what i would call low level PVE.
1b. Definatly. Get your self into a frig,get some basic skills to use a scram and webber and your good to go. You will die,but again,your ship will be cheap. Just find a good group of people and have fun with it. Dont obsess to much about your KB stats.

2. You can explore,you can join the millita,you can mine,you can trade...it all depends on what you want to do and when. You can train for every races ships,run missions for different factions,blow up pirates,be a spy..well you get the idea. You are not stuck,but when you have trained the skills you cant change them and if you decide to go from a miner to a mission runner you have to train those skills.

3. Running missions is a decent way to make ISK. Remember to salvage and dont quick sell your loot/salvage. Move it to a trade hub,put it up on the market and just wait,someone will buy it

4. RVSB is a corp/alliance and you have to join one side. They are in constant war with eachother. I have to admit i have never been in either but i have heard a lot of good things about them and been told they are very patient with new players and has been recomended as a training system for those interested in PVP. If a third party war decs either side both red and blue will war dec said corp/alliance and if they show up in local they will work together to bring the third party corp/alliance down. Atleast this is my understanding of it.

5. There is no real reward in it like it is in WOW. But in EVE PVP is also a lot more exiting since you always run the risk of loosing your ship and ofc bragging rights if you kill something really juicy
There is no tokens or points,but killboards are used to track how efficient you are. There is nothing that force you to post your losses or kills on these sites,even tho if most corporations involved in PVP will requiere that both kills and losses gets posted. Losses to NPC's does not get posted ofc (you wont believe how many times i have gotten that question )
Some corps will look at your kb score to determine weather or not you are "good" enough to join them. Someone who has nothing but losses,all very poor ones and cant really be considered "bah just a few noob losses,he has learned his lesson" will make more serius corps say no.

6. Most likely never. There will always be things you wont understand 100% but you will get the basics of the game within a few days. Make sure you join someone who understands you are new and are willing to help you and answear questions. A good corp can do so much to improve your time in EVE.
I would start with looking into EVE-UNI. http://www.eveuniversity.org

Good luck out there and remember,have fun with it. Remember that getting blown up is also part of the fun

Okay, to lazy to read all other comments that are posted before so here it goes (sorry if stuff already has been answered before):

1.) One of the main income of most PvP players is actually PvE, there is mission running in high/low-sec, there are the incursions that hit all over universe, there is exploration and there is ratting (mostly done in null-sec), all of which are viable PvE things you can do as a player. In a way you can divine certain things as PvP btw that you wouldn't guessed as PvP, take the market for example, as it's player driven you actually compete with other players, so that is also PvP.

1a) Low-level PvE means mainly missions, belt ratting (not quite profitable in high-sec) or some of the easier exploration sites.

1b) Yes, even new players can actually PvP and to be honost, can actually make a difference. While older players can fly more (and bigger) ships any new player can become a tackler in just couple of days training. And with the older players in the more DPS fitted ships, there is always a need for tacklers / scouts etc. *just keep in mind as a tackler you will be shot quite often by the enemy, so be prepared to loose a ship or two*


2.) You're never stuck with any profession in EVE, it's a sandbox you can just do what you like. Some people stay at 1 profession, some have 2 while other just have multiple. Just keep in mind, someone with skills in mission running, PvP, mining, industry, science and what so ever will be less effective as a pilot with similar skillpoints that is specialized into 1 thing. But nothing is impossible.

3.) Making money from PvE splits into 4 basic thing:
(1) Making money from the reward you get from completing missions (and the bonus reward).
(2) Making money from the bounties of the rats you killed (payed out every 20min).
(3) Make money by looting and salvaging the wrecks you killed and selling the items.
(4) Make money from Loyalty Points (LP), you can turn LP into items in the LP store, and then sell those items for profit.

* On selling to NPC Vendors, that doesn't count for EVE, EVE market is almost completely player driven, so 99% of the time you buy / sell from other players. The only thing that is sold (and sometimes bought) by NPC are: unused blueprint originals, skillbooks and some Trade items *

4.) RVB (Red vs Blue alliances) are 2 alliances who are always at war with eachother (with some basic rules of engagement) to provide basic (and cheap) PvP for players who like it. If you want to join, you just pick one the 2 sides and join the corp and you're set to do some PvP. Only consequence there is is that you might loose some ships. You can just leave when you don't want to PvP anymore with them, and even rejoin when you want it again.

5.) Only rewards in PvP are: Killmails to put on killboards, loot that your enemy dropped and occasional tears of your victim. And of course the bragging right when your frigate with his civilian gattling gun shows up on the killboard when assisting a carrier kill.

6.) Depends only on the actual person behind the character, some will find themself newb forever others actually only couple of days. But in all honesty, I play EVE now for over 2 years, and I still learn and in some professions am still the newb.

1 - No, some people can go on for ever without ever PvPing (no idea why though).
1a - Rats (NPC) often spawn in Asteriod belts, more often in low sec and null sec.
1b - No not really, you are restricted in what ships you use because you have to train to use ships and this takes time. There is plenty of opportunity for newbies to pvp and they can make a big difference in fighting

2 - You arent stuck with anything. If you aren't enjoying something just train in another direction. Make sure you really WANT what you train, because training can take a long time.

3 - Bounties - you are paid every 20 minutes for an active bounty on a rat. You can collect loot from their wrecks or salavage their ships into base materials and then go and sell them

4 - RVB are two corps that have an agreement to fight against each other. Their doors are always open as far as they know, and if you want to learn about PVP its a good place to start. Its extremely likely that you will die at some stage, do not fear, its a part of eve and should be embraced.

5 - Some players have bounties if you kill their pod. But this is often small amounts of money. Apart from that there is looting their ship which can be lucrative (http://eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=12427139 if you got this kill and looted it you would have enough isk to play eve for free for about 5-6 months depending on PLEX prices) or not. Apart from that you can monitor your PVP activity through killboards (like the one i linked before).

Apart from that it is just very fun to kill people without their permission...

6 - You'll always be learning things in eve online/