EVE Online Misconceptions

Mining is the only way to earn money as a rookie

When people start the game, the tutorial requires them to mine a little. Even though you can skip the whole thing, it's recommended that you finish it - including the mining section. Afterwards, you may choose never to mine again because you are hooked up immediately with an agent who will give you missions to complete, and later on, you can deal with more and more of them as your standing increases. When you complete an assignmant, you get a financial reward, and sometimes get to keep items as well. Occasionally, you may be asked to give your agent some ore, but you can buy from the market if you do not want to mine.

EVE was designed as a sandbox, so there is always room for people who just want to log in a few times a week for different amounts of time. There's no need or requirement to play 10 hours a day to be successful.

vThe reason this misconception exists is that, depending on the market, mining for ore to refine into minerals that are in high demand can be the most lucrative thing to do at a given time. It's not uncommon to see a four-year veteran player mining veldspar next to you because it's the fastest way to make money at that moment. Because EVE's economy is largely in the hands of the players, the demands fluctuate, and what pays the most changes as well.

Of course, you don't have to do that what pays best if you don't want to, and there are relatively safe ways to make money, like the mission running described above.

You can't enjoy the game if you aren't in a major alliance

The players who receive the most recognition from the community are usually those players who work without an alliance and still manage to create reputations by and for themselves. There were several well known, feared PVPers who fought against gangs with great success, always solo. They didn't rely on friends or alliances to help them, but instead dealt with whoever came their way, alone. Whenever they won, they didn't have to share the glory with anybody else. The community respected that, and still does to this day.

Aside from combat, you can also enjoy other aspects of the game without the help of an alliance. One method might be to enjoy the profits from supplying a low security system with common goods. If you do it right, you will pretty much establish a little economy and monopoly there and nearby. People will often pay a little more for something so they don't have to travel 10 jumps. You would still interact with other players, but not directly because you play the economy, which is controlled by everyone as a whole, so anything that happens will affect your game as well. The fluctuations of the overall market would affect your system, and keeping on top of this can be very intense and rewarding.

You don't need to have an alliance to do missions either, and you can even complete high-end ones that require combat alone. You won't have to wait around for your alliance to get ready; rather, you can just jump into action whenever you want. It might be easier to finish some with friends but certain players are known for tackling them alone with great success.

With the release of the Empyrean Age expansion this summer, it will be possible to side with one of the factions and fight in its name for territorial control with or against other players. You will not have to be in an alliance to do this. We expect that working with a faction will be a perfect compromise for those who aren't keen on the player alliance idea, but who wouldn't mind working together with others on occasion.

EVE is not meant for casual players

A very important difference between EVE and other games that are attractive for casual users is the ability to train and advance your character even if you are not logged in. You can start a skill that takes 16 hours to complete and do something else during that time. Unlike other titles, you don't have to do the same thing over and over again to advance your skills or attributes.

EVE was designed as a sandbox, so there is always room for people who just want to log in a few times a week for different amounts of time. There's no need or requirement to play 10 hours a day to be successful. Even the most casual player will still have an effect on the overall game because of the way the economy is structured. One can log in for maybe 30 minutes just to restart a production line, sell a new batch of ships, browse the market for cheap minerals, and maybe place an order or two. This user can have as big as an effect as another who camps a gate for five hours and shoots eight ships.

It's not strange to see people go through phases of different play styles. Sometimes, they'll spend six hours or more a day in EVE, then take a break and come back as very casual gamers after training some new skills.

Chantal Zuurmond

Game Designer EVE Online

CCP

Matthew Woodward

Game Designer, EVE Online

CCP

Arnar Gylfason

Game Designer, EVE Online

CCP

Arend Stuhrmann

Associate Producer, EVE Online

CCP

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