MMORPG.com EVE Online Correspondent Andrew Wallace writes this guide to different combat areas within CCP's sandbox sci-fi game.

I've been a mercenary, a pirate, an anti-pirate, a salvager, a mission runner, and an explorer. I've fought in Factional Warfare for the Caldari State, assaulted Player Owned Stations in Empire, and flown suicidal fleets into 0.0 space. There are thousands of players that populate the vast universe of EVE Online, each one following their own path on a single server. There are no set character classes or careers, and it's up to the players to decide what they want to do. From peaceful industrial activities, like mining, to vicious piracy; there is a wide variety of roles and professions to explore. Isk, the currency of New Eden, is a driving force behind any profession. If you are having fun, or making money from it, then it's perfectly valid, and if you can find something that gives you both, then you may have just found the path that's right for you.

Read Places to Kill

Good explanation

Good to see Eve getting some good, accurate love for a change. The anti-pirate stuff is becoming a lot more popular in certain systems and joining in has proven to be great fun, even if not terribly profitable.

While a nice writte up...

EvE is getting old too fast...ISK based gameplay had its course in my opinion.

And what I mean is...want to explore? gotta have ISK, Want to PVP gotta Have ISK, want to Factional Warfare PvP gotta have ISK, want to Build Bases Gotta have ISk, want to Conquer 0.0 Wild West...you better have ISK (otherwise no chance), heck even being a Pirate in Low sec you need to have ISK...it is so...play to work gameplay...you can mine for ISK...gotta handle the monotony, Mission running might be fun for a while, but missions push you to Low sec at one point so you going to lose ships trying to make a mission...then again it is how the Pirates get victims...cause they gotta have fun too otherwise there would not be any of em.

Settling in 0.0 forget about it if your not in an alliance of at least 500+...and be able to actually survive the day when the other 5000 alliance decides to pay a visit because they are bored or because they want your turf to expand their ISK based operation which they can turn in to real cash as well.

Trying to glorify this type of gameplay by saying EVE has no set classes, portraying it as a skill based system...is starting to become redundant as well.

It is not, you will lose your ship you will wait to get a beter one and you will lose that one too, you will find yourself leveling constantly trying to make enough ISK to support what you are really wanting to do...having fun.

Your capacity to have fun is directly proportional to your capacity to generate in game income, the problem is, it takes weeks to finance your next ship and moments to lose it....

Same old, same old.

I am really looking forward to the competition, and hope they will not have same flaws in the gameplay.

Originally posted by Suraknar

...

It is not, you will lose your ship you will wait to get a beter one and you will lose that one too, you will find yourself leveling constantly trying to make enough ISK to support what you are really wanting to do...having fun.

Your capacity to have fun is directly proportional to your capacity to generate in game income, the problem is, it takes weeks to finance your next ship and moments to lose it....

Same old, same old.

I am really looking forward to the competition, and hope they will not have same flaws in the gameplay.

Hi,

You're correct that ISK is the most important part of the game. This is because EVE simulates a working economy. You may find that part boring and that is your right. But please don't call the gameplay "flawed" because it differs from what you expect.

In the game Counter-Strike you can't respawn after you die during a round. That is not flawed gamedesign. It may be unfair when you're the only one left on your team, while the other team has 3-4 players ... but isn't it exhilarating when you manage to win that round ?

EVE is based on a working economy. Players gather resources and sell them to players. Players build ships and equipments. The customers of said ships and equipments are also players. - It is often said: EVE is a PvP game. Yes it is, but that includes more then just shooting ships. EVE is like a strategy game with all the players being the AI. If you need resources you can't just send out harvesters to collect them. If you need a couple of ships to beat a stronger NPC, you don't just build more units in your factories. PVP in EVE extends to every aspect of the game. Your sell orders can be undercut, your bids on auctions can be outdone, your corpmate can be a spy, your mission can be scanned out by a ninja-salvager, your ore can be stolen while you mine ... all this would not make sense if you weren't dependent on ISK.

In EVE you can fit ships worth 15 minutes of work, 2 hours of work, 20 hours of work or much more than that. And as you said correctly: it takes only moments to lose them. What is more: a couple of "cheap" ships can take down a single "expensive" ship. This is not just a question of luck, a roll of the dice. It is more a question of planning ahead and taking the right decisions. Sure it is painfull to lose an "expensive" ship due to a bad decision, and allthough you could put the blame on countless external factors, usually you have to blame yourself. You decided what ship you wanted to fly and how to fit it. You decided wether you'd fly in 0.0, low-sec or high-sec. You decided wether to fly alone or in a fleet. Ultimately EVE gives you the freedom to choose how hard you want to be punished for your mistakes.

I'm sorry to hear that EVE didn't live up to your expectations. I sincerely hope you will find a game wich suits you better.

Originally posted by Suraknar

While a nice writte up...

EvE is getting old too fast...ISK based gameplay had its course in my opinion.

And what I mean is...want to explore? gotta have ISK, Want to PVP gotta Have ISK, want to Factional Warfare PvP gotta have ISK, want to Build Bases Gotta have ISk, want to Conquer 0.0 Wild West...you better have ISK (otherwise no chance), heck even being a Pirate in Low sec you need to have ISK...it is so...play to work gameplay...you can mine for ISK...gotta handle the monotony, Mission running might be fun for a while, but missions push you to Low sec at one point so you going to lose ships trying to make a mission...then again it is how the Pirates get victims...cause they gotta have fun too otherwise there would not be any of em.

Um...exploration is by far one of the cheapest and most profitable careers to get into, anyone with decent levels in the exploration skill + the basic mods can find sites in under 20 minutes and those sites have a chance to be very profitable.

Settling in 0.0 forget about it if your not in an alliance of at least 500+...and be able to actually survive the day when the other 5000 alliance decides to pay a visit because they are bored or because they want your turf to expand their ISK based operation which they can turn in to real cash as well.

Trying to glorify this type of gameplay by saying EVE has no set classes, portraying it as a skill based system...is starting to become redundant as well.

It is not, you will lose your ship you will wait to get a beter one and you will lose that one too, you will find yourself leveling constantly trying to make enough ISK to support what you are really wanting to do...having fun.

None of that in any way makes it a class-based game. Class-based means that you are stuck to a certain type of gameplay that you can never switch from without creating a different character. In eve all you have to do to change roles is switch ships or fitting. There are no restrictions except for those you place on yourself based on the skills you decided to train.

Your capacity to have fun is directly proportional to your capacity to generate in game income, the problem is, it takes weeks to finance your next ship and moments to lose it....

If you're putting all of the isk you make in a few weeks into a single ship then you're doing it wrong, there is absolutely nothing that requires you to fly the biggest baddest ships or fit the most expensive mods. In fact, for everything other than PVE almost no one fits the rare mods on their ships as it's just not worth the risk. Personally I find it quite stupid to pay 200 million+ isk for a single mod. Sure they do give some nice bonuses over the t2 ones but it is rarely if ever enough to justify the huge cost. In the end though in EVE you have to live within your means. If you only have a few hours to play a week then no you're not likely to be able to afford some of the more expensive ships, at least until you find a steady income stream.

Same old, same old.

I am really looking forward to the competition, and hope they will not have same flaws in the gameplay.

salvage krew 4 lyf3