EVE Online

I was thinking of starting EVE to see how it is. I currently play LOTRO and like for it's casual play but I'm a little burned out on fantasy games and need a good Sci-Fi game. With working 40 hours a week and taking 2 classes I have only a little time for gaming. Can I play EVE as a casual gamer? If so what advice would you give a first time player? Thanks in advance for all the input.

Well after playing the LOTRO trial I can definatly tell you that EVE is less casual then LOTRO. EVE is a complicated game to talk about though. It can be both casual or hardcore.

Let me break it down...

Lets say you need to work 23 hours a day for one week. EVE lets you train skills without acually playing the game so your character gets better without you acually playing. On the flip side however your skills are nothing without your source of income. The only way to make isk(ingame money for EVE) is to acually play. Money is what rules the EVE world due to the fact that 98% of things in the EVE universe are made by player's. So the way it works is the more you play the more isk you make instead of other game ware its the more you play the faster you level.

Also depending on witch career you take can help decide on how casual your gaming experiance will be.

Miner for example  are  very casual because you can log on mine some or and set stuff to manufacture and log off.

Pirates require alot of split second decisions and fast thinking.

0.0 security alliance players are probebly the most time consuming. It requires alot of patiance and time running around looking for enemy's for little or no gain for your self. The main point of alliance players is to help expand there alliance's empire. Many player's say that this is the most fun of them all (including me) but its also the least profitable.

(NOTE: All things stated in this post are based off of my time in EVE and my experiances. If something is wrong please dont flame. thank you.)

Originally posted by unherdninja

Well after playing the LOTRO trial I can definatly tell you that EVE is less casual then LOTRO. EVE is a complicated game to talk about though. It can be both casual or hardcore.

Let me break it down...

Lets say you need to work 23 hours a day for one week. EVE lets you train skills without acually playing the game so your character gets better without you acually playing. On the flip side however your skills are nothing without your source of income. The only way to make isk(ingame money for EVE) is to acually play. Money is what rules the EVE world due to the fact that 98% of things in the EVE universe are made by player's. So the way it works is the more you play the more isk you make instead of other game ware its the more you play the faster you level.

Also depending on witch career you take can help decide on how casual your gaming experiance will be.

Miner for example  are  very casual because you can log on mine some or and set stuff to manufacture and log off.

Pirates require alot of split second decisions and fast thinking.

0.0 security alliance players are probebly the most time consuming. It requires alot of patiance and time running around looking for enemy's for little or no gain for your self. The main point of alliance players is to help expand there alliance's empire. Many player's say that this is the most fun of them all (including me) but its also the least profitable.

 

(NOTE: All things stated in this post are based off of my time in EVE and my experiances. If something is wrong please dont flame. thank you.)

One would point out that the part you posted about 0.0 alliances depends entirely on how organized your alliance is.  In ASCN, TSA, Storm Armada, Makhai and Hydra I found the above to be true.  It was a royal pain to get to 'do' anything fun in hydra because things were always sporadic and 'by the seat of your pants'.  In RISE it was a little better, they had a bit more organization but you were still only going to get cool and fun action if you happened to log in when an op got announced.  For whatever reason they never planned anything in advance, at least not down to the 'this is when we leave'.  Both those alliances had problems with getting people into fleet/gang quickly as well.

Now I'm in KIA.... and it's like night and day.  I know when ops are going to be so if one is going to fall at a time I can play I can log on, x up, and be confident that we'll be getting moving in very short order and I'll have plenty of time to have fun before I have to log out.  For me KIA , while we are a VERY hard-core PVP outfit, is absolutely a perfect match for my more casual playstyle.  While I have several hours a day I can play they aren't always consecutive.  I can play a hour here, an hour there... 2 hours while the kids are in bed and the wife is at work, etc.  Because I always know when ops are going to be and the alliance is amazing at x'ing up quickly and getting moving on time I can always find time to be on for the fun and excitement.  And those times when nothing is going on I can take care of getting ships fitted, etc. without cutting into 'pew pew' time.  Works out great for me

But yeah... EVE is one of those games that can be either VERY casual player friendly or very hard-core player oriented.  It just depends on you and the alliance you choose and the playstyle you want to persue.  Being an 'empire' player where you stay in high sec and run missions or mine is, obviously, the most casual player friendly environment.  Being a lowsec player can also be very casual friendly (though you do need to be on your toes).  Being a 0.0 player entirely depends on whom you surround yourself with.

What he said.

I work offshore so I can only log on a couple days a week.  Despite the occasional cash crunch I don't really have any problems - my alliance is based out in 0.0 but they're pretty laid back.

Eve is a lot more about how you use the gray matter in your head than how many hours you can pound away in front of the keyboard.

Originally posted by keltic1701

I was thinking of starting EVE to see how it is. I currently play LOTRO and like for it's casual play but I'm a little burned out on fantasy games and need a good Sci-Fi game. With working 40 hours a week and taking 2 classes I have only a little time for gaming. Can I play EVE as a casual gamer? If so what advice would you give a first time player? Thanks in advance for all the input.

The thing you have to 'get' about EVE is it is Free-For-All PvP all the time, everywhere (except inside NPC stations).  You are NEVER safe anywhere.  Ever.

In addition, when you lose your ship, it really is lost.  And all its gear.   You can insure it to a certain degree.  But then comes the problem of re-fitting it.  Same goes for your 'self'.  If you are personally killed (Podded), then you WILL lose all your 'gear' (Implants).  And if you are not fully Clone insured, skills as well.  Skills can be retrained, but will take time.  And time is $ in EVE.

Being in a good Corporation that fits your playstyle is virtually a MUST in EVE.  One can Solo, but it takes a special mindset to do so for long in EVE.

And the one single piece of advice for all EVE players?
It is this :

NEVER  FLY  ANYTHING  YOU  CANNOT  AFFORD  TO  LOSE !

Play the trial.
Good Luck

Yes, EVE will allow you to train while offline, so you can set a skill before you go to work and it will be finished when you get home. Yes, you can log in and run a couple of contracts and log off again, but you are never going to see the magic of the game that way.

In reality, if you want to taste half of what EVE has to offer you are going to have to invest a lot of time in your character. I agree that it is essential to find a corp that suits your play style, but every corp is going to want to see you pull your weight too.

One of the main reasons for me leaving EVE in the end was the amount of time it can suck out of your life with 0.0 mining ops taking several hours or station defense or attack runs pretty much the same. Just travelling in the game is a major time sink, with moderate runs giving you enough time to go make a cup of coffee, drink it and still be waiting.

Don't get me wrong, EVE is a polished, detailed and fun game to play if you have the time, but if the truth be told it is in no way a casual player game. Again, you could train up your character without being there, but do you want to be paying $15/month just to train up a character you have no time to play?

you can mission run casually. I do. One thing you need to learn how to do is Salvage that will bring in a nice sum of money and allow you to continue to progress in the Eve world and not give you the feeling of being left behind.

Originally posted by jason_webb

Yes, EVE will allow you to train while offline, so you can set a skill before you go to work and it will be finished when you get home. Yes, you can log in and run a couple of contracts and log off again, but you are never going to see the magic of the game that way.

In reality, if you want to taste half of what EVE has to offer you are going to have to invest a lot of time in your character. I agree that it is essential to find a corp that suits your play style, but every corp is going to want to see you pull your weight too.

One of the main reasons for me leaving EVE in the end was the amount of time it can suck out of your life with 0.0 mining ops taking several hours or station defense or attack runs pretty much the same. Just travelling in the game is a major time sink, with moderate runs giving you enough time to go make a cup of coffee, drink it and still be waiting.

Don't get me wrong, EVE is a polished, detailed and fun game to play if you have the time, but if the truth be told it is in no way a casual player game. Again, you could train up your character without being there, but do you want to be paying $15/month just to train up a character you have no time to play?

I had heard before that EVE is a very time intensive game. As I said before my gaming time is very limited but I still wanted to see if I could play it. From many of the comments I have gotten here and read elsewere EVE seems a bit too  time consuming and dog-eat-dog for my taste . If I wanted dog-eat-dog I would started a career in advertising.   I'm not saying EVE is a bad game, I'm just saying that my time restraints and my personal taste in games make EVE a game that isn't suited for me. I appreciate all the comments and suggestions that everyone wrote and thanks for taking the time to respond.