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How Do I Make ISK In EVE?
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Eternum Praetorian
Doomheim
#1 - 2011-09-06 19:25:59 UTC  |  Edited by: Eternum Praetorian
How Do I Make ISK In EVE?





When you're just starting the game making ISK seems both hard to do and time consuming.
Truth be told, it is VERY easy to come by…


There are many perspectives on how YOU should go out there and make your ISK, but not many of them take into account what it is like to be truly new to the game. I have some experience in this, being new to the game myself once [)] but also I have spent the better part of my time in EVE helping rookies like you get their feet wet.





Ok So How?

Quote:
The simplest, easiest and most strait forward way (at present) for you to generate wealth is to run missions. Lv 1 and Lv 2 agents are not so great… but when you get to Lv 3 agents you will start to realize that there is some nice ISK to be made there.

Once you get to Lv 4 missions you will have your hands in the cookie jar :P
Lv 4 mission runners bank tons of ISK with very little effort.





An Added Bonus To Running Lv 4 Missions

Quote:
THE SAME skills that will allow you to run Lv 4 mission really fast (and thus make lots of ISK in the process) are the exact same skill that you will need to engage in Player vs. Player activities. Miners for instance spend months (or even years) doing nothing but training skills that leave them as defenseless as a paraplegic Shocked


Mission runners however have options…
Should they choose to implement them in combat that is.





What about Mining, Trading, Manufacturing & PI?

Quote:
Wealthy players with tons of assets and ISK will tell you things like “I make a killing on the market” or “I made my first Billion manufacturing”. Sure they did… they spent a long time working towards it and some people just have a natural predisposition for such things. But do you? And even if you do, think about this…


Do you currently have spare ISK to invest in trade?
Do you have the right skills to manufacture nice ships?
Do you know what the nice ships even are? Or what the “preferred modules” to trade are?





No you don’t, you in a frigate and you are really REALLY new to the game.





Watch out for older players stroking their egos in front of the new guys...
They know allot of secrets and tricks that got them to where they are today and they SURE AS HELL are not going to share the REALLY good with a noob like you. Right?Blink

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Eternum Praetorian
Doomheim
#2 - 2011-09-06 19:26:15 UTC  |  Edited by: Eternum Praetorian
Eternum Praetorian’s ISK Making Story


Quote:
I got lucky when I first started EVE, I hooked up with a mission running corporation who let me run Lv 4 missions with them. I was in a Caracal (which was a tech I cruiser) and I vividly recall how amused everyone was when they realized that my little cruiser could tank Lv 4 mission battleships Lol


The result was that I had access to Lv 4 mission agents long before I was able to fly a ship that could solo them. Pretty cool really…


It was quite an experience for a new player TBH. I worked so hard just to generate that first Million ISK in Level 1 Missions (I didn’t even know what salvage was at the time). Suddenly, because of the corp I had joined, I was making millions upon millions of ISK back to back and in quick succession running these missions. Individual Lv 4 mission NPC’s had bounties on them that were larger then what I was earning running ENTIRE Level 1 missions from beginning to end, and the salvage was sooooo much better.




...



I set my skill path… Cruiser to Battlecruiser and in very little time I was blasting through Lv 3’s. As I ran them, I slowly waited for my battleship skills to finish, and when they did I bought my first Raven battleship. Lv 4’s were mine!



But I wanted more…
You see in EVE once you start making ISK really fast… you just want to make it faster.


...





I saved up my ISK and invested in a Faction Raven and Faction Modules that increased my DPS enough to allow me to kill even the really long Level 4 missions in half the time. I made my first billion farming Angel Extravaganza Lv 4.


Then…
I had so much ISK and had gotten so bored making that ISK I decide to start PVPing.
Which was really easy because by then I had enough ISK and SP to fly whatever I wanted.




I could fly everything from frigate up to battleship now do the skill path I took in order to maximize my ISK per hour running Lv 4'sCool

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Eternum Praetorian
Doomheim
#3 - 2011-09-06 19:26:28 UTC  |  Edited by: Eternum Praetorian
As a mission runner I was making way more then those who mined in the Corporation…


Their focus had been to get into a max skilled Hulk and start buidling things, mine was to max my Tanking and DPS skills so I can blast through Lv 4 missions as fast as possible. A couple of months down the road, I came out on top as the Mission Runner.


I had more ISK
I had more ships that I could fly
…and I had more options in game then my max skilled, Hulk flying, miner counterparts.


I was glad that I chose the path that I did, and still am today even though I don’t run missions anymore.





Quote:


So yea...
Running missions will be the best, fastest and easiest way to generate wealth when you are first starting the game.
AFTER you master them, you will have enough ISK to do whatever else you decide that you want to do.




And if your future master plans for universal domination fail.. hell... you will still have the lV 4 missions to fall back on amright? Cool

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Eternum Praetorian
Doomheim
#4 - 2011-09-06 19:26:45 UTC
Reserved.

[center]The EVE Gateway Blog[/center] [center]One Of EVE Online's Ultimate Resources[/center]
Mara Rinn
Cosmic Goo Convertor
#5 - 2011-09-07 00:59:35 UTC
Remember to point folks at the interesting parts of the Making ISK GuideBig smile

There are ways to make ISK that don't rely on you endlessly grinding L4 missions. There's more to the game than that.

Day 0 Advice for New Players
Barricade Dark
#6 - 2011-09-07 06:15:48 UTC
Mara Rinn wrote:
Remember to point folks at the interesting parts of the Making ISK GuideBig smile

There are ways to make ISK that don't rely on you endlessly grinding L4 missions. There's more to the game than that.


Agreed. I noticed when I first started a new character (this one) I started looking at the game from a new perspective, meaning, I had limited options and while I do support my new character with ISK from my main I found myself re-examining certain mechanics that I had never even tried with my main.

Planetary Interaction: Highly underated, this can be very very profitable and its a fairly maintenance free cash cow, not to mention the many other benefits like stockpiling resource you will likely need later.

Moon Mining: I don't know why it gets such a bad rap, its very profitable.

Wormholes : This one is highly overated in terms of its dangers. I find wormholes to be actually quite safe in particular for newbs doing C1-3 wormholes. They really are gold mines.

Manufacuring T1 : I'm always suprised to hear people complaining about low margins, I mean ya in Jitta, but their is a ton of ISK to be made in T1 manufacuring and new characters can get into it very quickly.

Salavage: Another highly underestimated income booster. Whenever your blowing anything up anywhere salvaging increases your profits by 10-20% even with minimal skills.

Research: Again easy to get into, low maintenance and extremely profitable. Data Core farming should be a default activity of every character and again its very easy to get yourself up to the point that you have 4 Level 4 Agents working for you.

Anyway, just wanted to point out to the newbies that their is so many ways in this game to make ISK but the real trick is to diversify and get your cash cows going. After 26 days with a new character I'm already pulling in about 50 million ISK a week automatically even if I don't actively play at all just from the various fixed cash cows.
foksieloy
Rockets ponies and rainbows
#7 - 2011-09-07 07:30:43 UTC
Barricade Dark wrote:
Salavage: Another highly underestimated income booster. Whenever your blowing anything up anywhere salvaging increases your profits by 10-20% even with minimal skills.


Actually, not really. Compared to simply running missions, unless you have a noctis, you will earn less by salvaging.

Reason for this is that rat bounties remained the same, while salvage is under inflation due to people earning more salvage with the noctis. If you do not have a noctis, you are loosing out on opportunity cost from bounties.
The days of earning a living salvaging in a destroyer are gone.

Disclaimer: I do not actually play this game, I just forum warrior.
Kesshisan
#8 - 2011-09-07 07:52:59 UTC  |  Edited by: Kesshisan
foksieloy wrote:
Barricade Dark wrote:
Salavage: Another highly underestimated income booster. Whenever your blowing anything up anywhere salvaging increases your profits by 10-20% even with minimal skills.


Actually, not really. Compared to simply running missions, unless you have a noctis, you will earn less by salvaging.

Reason for this is that rat bounties remained the same, while salvage is under inflation due to people earning more salvage with the noctis. If you do not have a noctis, you are loosing out on opportunity cost from bounties.
The days of earning a living salvaging in a destroyer are gone.


This depends.

If you are new to running level 4s chances are you will not be doing enough damage to warrant a huge opportunity cost from running level 4s. At this point you can probably make more isk in opportunity cost via looting and salvaging your own missions in a destroyer or a battleship.

Even if you factor in the LP to isk conversion a newer player most likely won't know how to make the most isk off of LP.

I believe that newer players to L4s will find salvaging to be a greatly rewarding. However as their shooting skills improve their opportunity costs will go up and eventually salvaging's opportunity cost will plateau out. This leads to missioning eventually being better than salvaging, but "eventually" is not "I just started running level 4s."
foksieloy
Rockets ponies and rainbows
#9 - 2011-09-07 08:03:20 UTC
Kesshisan wrote:
This depends.


We completely agree on this point, but...

Kesshisan wrote:
If you are new to running level 4s chances are you will not be doing enough damage to warrant a huge opportunity cost from running level 4s.


I disagree here, the only reason why you are not doing enough damage is most likely lack of player knowledge, manifested as overtanking your ship. I tried this myself with a brand new character, and if you play your cards right with skills and fitting, by the time you can do lvl4 you can also earn more ISK/h due to bounties and LP than with missions+salvage in a destroyer.

Of course keyword is "player knowledge", hence your first point. I think it is "our duty :)" to point out to new players to consider optimising their missioning practice before they simply fallback to salvaging.

Kesshisan wrote:
Even if you factor in the LP to isk conversion a newer player most likely won't know how to make the most isk off of LP.


Again, we agree on this but also in this case best approach for the player would be to increase his "player knowledge", not simply fallback to the simpler solution.

Kesshisan wrote:
I believe that newer players to L4s will find salvaging to be a greatly rewarding. However as their shooting skills improve their opportunity costs will go up and eventually salvaging's opportunity cost will plateau out. This leads to missioning eventually being better than salvaging, but "eventually" is not "I just started running level 4s."


Quite possible, and increase or decrease of opportunity cost is not warranted solely by the player, but also by the environment, so I encourage people to constantly question: "Could I be earning more by doing something else?".
Something easily determined by occasionally checking the market prices for salvage and comparing them to your missioning income.

Disclaimer: I do not actually play this game, I just forum warrior.
Aethlyn
Brutor Tribe
Minmatar Republic
#10 - 2011-09-07 08:27:46 UTC
Once you're in a battleship and running L4 missions there shouldn't be anything stopping you from buying and utilizing a Noctis.

Looking for more thoughts? Follow me on Twitter.
Cameron Zero
Sebiestor Tribe
#11 - 2011-09-07 16:17:31 UTC
foksieloy wrote:
Kesshisan wrote:
Even if you factor in the LP to isk conversion a newer player most likely won't know how to make the most isk off of LP.


Again, we agree on this but also in this case best approach for the player would be to increase his "player knowledge", not simply fallback to the simpler solution.


Praytell, how does one make the most ISK off of LP? (*looks at 30000 LP sitting there, unused*)

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. …"
Sovennek
The Scope
Gallente Federation
#12 - 2011-09-07 16:39:20 UTC
Unless you're focused on ISK/hour, there's no harm, and only a little bit of risk, in salvaging all of the wrecks after finishing a mission. On Level II and III missions, I consistently double my income with a combination of loot and salvage. Plus, I find it is a pleasant way to cool off after a particularly challenging fight!

Remember: They're only pixels; it's not real money; it's supposed to be fun!
foksieloy
Rockets ponies and rainbows
#13 - 2011-09-07 17:25:19 UTC
Cameron Zero wrote:
Praytell, how does one make the most ISK off of LP? (*looks at 30000 LP sitting there, unused*)


Sadly you will have to figure it out for yourself. The market is constantly changing.

Last time I was selling LP (several months ago truth be told) I was earning nicely on RF disruptors, gyros and propulsion mods.

Disclaimer: I do not actually play this game, I just forum warrior.
Slade Trillgon
Brutor Force Federated
#14 - 2011-09-07 18:06:42 UTC
foksieloy wrote:
Cameron Zero wrote:
Praytell, how does one make the most ISK off of LP? (*looks at 30000 LP sitting there, unused*)


Sadly you will have to figure it out for yourself. The market is constantly changing.

Last time I was selling LP (several months ago truth be told) I was earning nicely on RF disruptors, gyros and propulsion mods.


As foksiely states, you have to look at the LP store that you have all the LP's with and then do a search in contracts for the items that are contained within the LP store. In the past the 2500 isk/LP was the target for many pilots to attain to make it worth their while. That being said there are items that can get significantly higher rates depending on the area you try to liquidate the LP's in


Slade
Cameron Zero
Sebiestor Tribe
#15 - 2011-09-07 20:32:07 UTC
Slade Trillgon wrote:
foksieloy wrote:
Cameron Zero wrote:
Praytell, how does one make the most ISK off of LP? (*looks at 30000 LP sitting there, unused*)


Sadly you will have to figure it out for yourself. The market is constantly changing.

Last time I was selling LP (several months ago truth be told) I was earning nicely on RF disruptors, gyros and propulsion mods.


As foksiely states, you have to look at the LP store that you have all the LP's with and then do a search in contracts for the items that are contained within the LP store. In the past the 2500 isk/LP was the target for many pilots to attain to make it worth their while. That being said there are items that can get significantly higher rates depending on the area you try to liquidate the LP's in


Slade



Okay, so I was on the right track, then. I had considered possibly buying faction ammo and selling it, but I don't think I'd have come close to that 2500ISK/LP point, so I'll have to look a bit harder.

Thanks!

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. …"
Gogela
Epic Ganking Time
CODE.
#16 - 2011-09-07 23:33:24 UTC
I've been playing EvE since about 2006ish.. and man if I only knew then what I know now....

So if you are a new guy, let me tell you the two words that would have let me essentially skip my first 3 years in terms of ISK income:

Ninja. Looter.

What you need (nubja looter fit):

  • A Destroyer. It doesn't matter if you can't fit much. It doesn't matter if you JUST got into the ship. It doesn't matter which race (much). If you can fly it you are pro.

  • Warp Core Stabilizers (aka "stabs") Jam 'em on there. All low slots (1 prong slots) should have stabs in them. This keeps you slippery... because not everyone takes too kindly to the ninja looter.

  • Salvagers (optional) Sure... throw a few salvagers on your high slots (3 prong slots)... you don't need guns to play this game... and with minimal skills you might just make 100 mil from a T2 or T3 wreck in salvage alone! nice bonus!

  • Cloaking Device (also optional) ...for beer breaks.


Yar! On board yet? Consider this, making 4-5 safe spots around a low sec gate at 200km or so and waiting at that range for a fight at a high traffic gate doesn't take much in the way of skill, effort, or risk. Your in a cheap destroyer w/ no weapons and only cheap-as-possible modules can be replaced for almost nothing. After a good fight in low sec, the gate guns often encourage the victor to go on about his business. In some cases the the victor might just feel like the wreck isn't worth even looting. Well if you are new, it may very well be to you... particularly if you have salvagers, because most PvPers won't have salvagers fit. The gains can be great. There is a system about 3 jumps from Jita called Tama. It's a great place to start. Make your safe spots around the asteroid belts (there's only a few) and gates (3) and you are ready to rock. Warp in on the wrecks, start your warp out, and as your ship is aligning to warp off to a safe spot or planet or whatever, grab the loot from the wreck (quick! like a bunny!). It's a dangerous lifestyle, but also a fun one.

In my opinion, Ninja Looting makes a lot more ISK than level 4 missions, is more fun, non-repetitive, and best of all... ANYBODY can do it.

That's my isk making advice for anyone starting out. Dive in and have some fun. Make that space dollar. ...and start playing the other players right off the bat.

just my 2 isk....

GL and fly dangerous... Pirate

Signatures should be used responsibly...
Mara Rinn
Cosmic Goo Convertor
#17 - 2011-09-08 04:34:17 UTC
Gogela wrote:
I've been playing EvE since about 2006ish.. and man if I only knew then what I know now....

Ninja. Looter.. Pirate


… and once you've decided to follow that path, you can expand on Gogela's advice by reading Kahega's Ninja Salvaging Guide.

Good luck, have fun!

Day 0 Advice for New Players
Himnos Altar
An Errant Venture
#18 - 2011-09-11 07:47:46 UTC  |  Edited by: Himnos Altar
Gogela wrote:
I've been playing EvE since about 2006ish.. and man if I only knew then what I know now....

So if you are a new guy, let me tell you the two words that would have let me essentially skip my first 3 years in terms of ISK income:

Ninja. Looter.

What you need (nubja looter fit):

  • A Destroyer. It doesn't matter if you can't fit much. It doesn't matter if you JUST got into the ship. It doesn't matter which race (much). If you can fly it you are pro.

  • Warp Core Stabilizers (aka "stabs") Jam 'em on there. All low slots (1 prong slots) should have stabs in them. This keeps you slippery... because not everyone takes too kindly to the ninja looter.

  • Salvagers (optional) Sure... throw a few salvagers on your high slots (3 prong slots)... you don't need guns to play this game... and with minimal skills you might just make 100 mil from a T2 or T3 wreck in salvage alone! nice bonus!

  • Cloaking Device (also optional) ...for beer breaks.


Yar! On board yet? Consider this, making 4-5 safe spots around a low sec gate at 200km or so and waiting at that range for a fight at a high traffic gate doesn't take much in the way of skill, effort, or risk. Your in a cheap destroyer w/ no weapons and only cheap-as-possible modules can be replaced for almost nothing. After a good fight in low sec, the gate guns often encourage the victor to go on about his business. In some cases the the victor might just feel like the wreck isn't worth even looting. Well if you are new, it may very well be to you... particularly if you have salvagers, because most PvPers won't have salvagers fit. The gains can be great. There is a system about 3 jumps from Jita called Tama. It's a great place to start. Make your safe spots around the asteroid belts (there's only a few) and gates (3) and you are ready to rock. Warp in on the wrecks, start your warp out, and as your ship is aligning to warp off to a safe spot or planet or whatever, grab the loot from the wreck (quick! like a bunny!). It's a dangerous lifestyle, but also a fun one.

In my opinion, Ninja Looting makes a lot more ISK than level 4 missions, is more fun, non-repetitive, and best of all... ANYBODY can do it.

That's my isk making advice for anyone starting out. Dive in and have some fun. Make that space dollar. ...and start playing the other players right off the bat.

just my 2 isk....

GL and fly dangerous... Pirate



....wut. is. this. I do not even....

Destroyers are too slow. IIRC The Minmatar Vigil is the Ninja mascot. Sometimes Dodixie can't even keep 'em in stock. Why the Vigil, and not Noctis/Dessie? Speed and cost. much cheaper than a Noctis, and cheaper than dessies. IIRC the standard ninja fit is to have 1 tractor in the his, the rest all salvagers. You slap an AB/MWD onto this bad boy and zoom around at hi speeds, salvaging every wreck as you go. trailing a jetcan full of salvage behind you when your cargohold gives out.

STABS: Leave them on the Industrials. Low slots are for going faster/turning faster. someone blows you up, you're out....500k ISK?

grab another Vigil and get back out there.

Cloak:

No. Just....no.

if you have to have a beer break,then dock up (after BMing the site).





aaaaaand I fail at reading. lol

above is for mission ninjaing.

if you go into Tama, beware--the gate is camped 98% of the time. Tama is basically THE Caldari FW hangout point in low sec. Old Man Star is the Gallente FW equivalent. if you go into either system, there will be people hunting you down as soon as you break cloak.
Toshiro GreyHawk
#19 - 2011-09-11 14:55:35 UTC
Well ... these wonderful new forums ate my post ... so I'll just say ...


If you hate mining - and want to spend your time in EVE having some snarky NPC as your Master, handing out the same old missions over and over again - then go ahead and do that.

If you like mining - and want to be your own Master - then be a miner, trader or an industrialist - or all of the above - mission running included (it just helps to have more than one account).



Also note - that mining is an easier profession to get into than mission running. For one thing ... unless you're mining certain missions - the asteroids don't shoot back.

You can start mining in a rookie ship - but they don't fair that well running missions ... unless you're an experienced player. Besides which ... for 20k you can get into a mining frigate after a few runs in your rookie ship and by repackaging and assembling your rookie ship - have yourself a pair of free Civilian Miners to put on it.

If you run missions - and then mine those with asteroids in them - you're relatively safe from can flippers too.


And - while you will relatively quickly (in terms of your overall EVE career) top out in any particular ship - there are more things to do as an industrialist than most people can master.


Do what you want to do - but don't let some Mission Runner tell you that The Way To Make ISK in EVE - is to Run Missions!



And no - you don't have to be the EVE incarnation of Donald Trump to be making more money than mission runners if making money is what you want to do. The big thing you've got to do to be a successful Trader is - to like doing it.

I make most of the money I make in EVE Trading - but I don't like doing it - or I'd make a lot more.

I like mining - but I mine with multiple accounts ... so managing those other ships keeps me busy - and it is not boring. That is - it's not boring to me - and that's what counts.


The great thing about EVE - is that there is a LOT of different things you can do. Having fun - should be your prime consideration - not how much ISK you make.

.
KaarBaak
Squirrel Team
#20 - 2011-09-11 15:03:58 UTC

A side benefit of salvaging/looting for me was that after a while I started to wonder what other people were doing with the salvage I was selling. That caused me to train scrap metal processing and eventually get into manufacturing.

KB

Dum Spiro Spero
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