The EVE vs WoW Rant

Yesterday I sat down and did some thinking - mainly about the things I miss in EVE, but had in other MMO games.

All in all, this came down to an "EVE vs WoW" battle in my head as I spend about 2 years and 7 months playing WoW after all.

Is this turning into some sort of rant? You bet!

Will you make WoW sound better than EVE? At times.

Do you like anything in EVE at all? I do.

Interface

I really miss the ability to make the interface mine! I don't need a ton of add-ons as I had in WoW, but the interface is just not anywhere close to usable. If you set it up for one thing then it's more or less useless for all others. In WoW you new that you'd never go heal as say a warrior, so that made you set the interface as a good "inter-your-face". You needed info on your character and your target (group and raid almost optional).

In EVE you need to fit too many things into a screen that's half full from the start. There's not much you can disable or ignore as the threats are lurking all over New Eden so every bit of info is able to save your ship.

Looking for Group

I know this is a WoW feature but damn it's neat. When running instances (dungeons) in WoW you could queue up in an automated system and be thrown into a random group to run with - maybe even just while in an NPC corp.

A feature I really miss something like in EVE as a new player. It could be made so the person in the queue could not  group/fleet with players at a higher standing than him/her. So if your highest mission standing/level was 3 then you couldn't group with people who were 3+. Maybe make it so players with a standing within X of the next level could join the fleet would still have an average of Y making them able to fly said level.

- I am aware that missions don't work like instances, so it's not as easy as I make it sound.

Quests & Missions

Let me say that I hate both in every aspect and try to do as little of them as possible! A thing that reflects this is two of my main characters in WoW. My old main was herbing his way from 15-85. The other and most recent main made his 100th quest while leveling from 85-90 after MoP hit.

In EVE I find the missions to be wasting my time by having me jump more from one system to another than doing the actual fighting. And should you want to grind a little standing this only get worse.

Crafting & Production

I LOVE the production system in EVE. If it was a chick I would take it to dinner!!!

The fact that you need to think ahead a bit, and it takes time (more than just the time of a click) to create things are so great! The problem as I see it is that if you're not full on into production then you don't get to do any at all.

If you're in a corp it's mostly done by players in control of POS, best skills or those dedicated to it.

As a new player that doesn't leave you much. So you gotta hunt down a system with a close to free assembly line.

WoW makes it a matter of grinding your profession and after that it's all about finding the recipe/pattern, and you're set to go... if you have the materials. In this way a fresh 85 (the level you can get profession to max) can actually create viable items on same terms as a high end hardcore progression raider... give he/she has the materials and recipe/pattern.

Skill vs Skills

This one might have an entire community rage on me - but so be it.

To me it seems like EVE is a matter of skills (the ones you train) and not really skill (the ones you have). It might be the core of it all when you're at a certain level of play but as I see it now there's not even a slight hint that this is the case. In WoW one thing was level and gear - another was skill. A skilled PvE geared player could whoop a certain body part of even a well geared PvP player. I liked that. EVE is making it (to my knowledge) too big a benefit to have a PvP fit ship. It's like saying a suit from Wall Street can't break your nose, but the pizza guy most likely will. It makes no sense to me at all.

Things to Do

I never ever thought I'd say this... but man is EVE limited when it all comes down to it. There's a billion ways to make a living in EVE and that simply rocks! Having said that every single way feels like a job after two months.

And to be honest, you get nothing to show from your effort. To make things worse it's nearly impossible to play the game with only one character - if you want to get into the different ways of playing/making ISK.

In WoW you could always take a day off from the usual ways of play to work on a new outfit (transmog) for your character. Hunt down a new mount or even pet battle if you're into that. There were more options to make your character personal. When it came down to fights this was also the case as you could make your healer cast bigger heals or faster heals depending on what stat you had as the first priority.

FYI I haven't tried all the ways to make a living in EVE, but I've talked to other new-ish players about this subject.

End of Rant

Do I miss WoW in general... no. Do I hate everything in EVE... no. What I do miss in WoW is the fact I could do what ever I'd like to do with or without the help of others. I could sit down one day and throw myself into PvP. I didn't have to train for it - I simply had to die and get better at it. I could solo old content (instances and raids) for items/mounts on my beloved Priest. A thing that was great fun on a disc priest I must say.

EVE is more like making your character sheet look better than others. It's a training game, and while it does have it's advantages it has far more disadvantages if you ask me. It's not too late to start EVE though - but it's more corp-dependent than WoW is guild-dependent unless you want to do high end progress raiding or large scale ranked PvP.

Note: While thinking about this post, and writing it, I've asked myself two simple questions:

1) Will I go back to WoW?: I don't know. The panda thing simply killed my joy for the game so at the moment I can't see myself back in WoW.

2) Will I quit EVE?: Odyssey seems like a time to answer that question. One thing is what it looks like on paper but when it hits Tranquility it may feel different and be either a dealbreaker or a time to go full throttle into New Eden.

Not EVE But Still Space

I simply have to share this video.

Getting into PvP

I've been reading and watching videos about PvP in EVE. I'm rather sure I'd want to try PvP in some aspect but the great thing about EVE is the different ways you can use PvP.
So far I haven't figured out what kind of PvP speaks to me more. Actually all I've come to terms with is I'll start an alt and train it towards PvP. Not sure if that's really the way to do it, but this way I'll also get some use of my 2nd account.

My first thought is the open world PvP as it adds more excitement I think. But to do that I guess null sec is the place to be and to be honest that scares me a bit yet. I still find myself being a bit extra paranoid when I enter low sec so I have to get used to the thought of that. Open world PvP really isn't that great in high sec if CONCORD has their say.

The obvious choice of style for open world PvP is piracy. After all ISK is the main drive behind close to all actions in EVE. But am I the pirate kind of player? - I ask myself that a lot these days.
I don't see any reason to blow up a Venture or Retriever as their chance of survival is limited due to the lack of weapons. Players belt ratting on the other hand could be a more exciting target in my eyes.
Maybe also those who explore New Eden. Then again maybe piracy would be a fast way to pay the PLEX for the 2nd account.

But for now this is just thoughts of what I'd like to have a closer look at in EVE. No question that PvP is the most attractive style of play for many pilots, and I want to join the ranks. Right now I'm (still) looking for a good blog, guide, forum post, video that actually take into account that it's the first PvP adventure of a player. And it should be of a date new enough to be viable now.
Found some really nice guides from 2009-2011 so I don't rely too much on the info they supply. In general though it seems to be a good idea to start out with a frigate for some newb PvP action.

EVE is a big game to begin with and from where I stand the PvP part of EVE is no different. So if any readers have a good tip or a way of getting into PvP without losing all the time... please do share as I'm ready to get my feet wet.

Starting EVE: What it Takes

I feel I've played enough to make a post about what it takes from a new player to join EVE.

Knowing I haven't played all aspects of the game yet I think it's safe to say that it's still the same things that a new player need to keep in mind when flying in New Eden.

The first thing needed is the game and a computer to run it. Most computers should be able to do that today, so I'll skip this part completely. Just download the client and create a trial account.

Creating A Character

Now you're ready to enter the game, and you're faced with the first choices in the character creator.

If you're not into the lore then there's no mistakes to be made in choosing your race or bloodline. It's mainly just the looks of your character. If you want to fly the ships made for a given race then you could read up on that before making your choice.

Depending how much you go into detail when creating your character this step can take anything from two minutes to hours. There's plenty of options to give your character the desired personal touch and look.

Understanding the UI

At first the interface can feel very overwhelming, but don't be afraid to explore it by clicking around before you start the tutorials. Personally I get a better feel for things while learn-by-doing than playing through a tutorial.

Some features in the EVE UI may feel like they're from another decade - and they are! EVE is 10 years old!

The Key to EVE

One thing is needed more than any other when you start playing EVE; patience.

There's simply no way you can rush through the tutorial and be ready for hardcore gaming after a day or two. You need patience and plenty of it. EVE is build in a way that doesn't allow you to drown in a sea of possibilities and be in over your head - but you'll surely get your feet wet and maybe even get in knee deep a few times at first.

As soon as you get to terms with the fact that patience is key, then you're ready to start learning the ways of EVE.

Don't Rush It

I know it is cool to join a big corporation (it's not called a guild in EVE) from day one. And I'm not the one to judge if you go that way. But there's time enough. Fly around, do the tutorials and maybe even a few real missions to find out what you like about the game at first and then take it from there.

While you learn EVE don't be afraid to use/follow the Help chat channel. Simply reading some answers give you a better insight to how things work.

Breathe EVE to Play EVE

This is not as hard as it sounds. The point is that you should take some time to read a bit on the forums or blogs to get the knowledge that could make it easier for you to adapt. Watch a youtube tutorial every now and then or use guides for missions if you find them too hard to handle - maybe the obvious way is not as obvious at first.

When I knew I'd start playing I started to read up on EVE and it's ways. I joined the Google+ Community, followed a few bloggers and tried to figure out where to go from there.

The Rules of EVE

Finally, there's three rules of EVE that I've come to terms with since I started playing.

1) Trust no one!

- this is the foundation of EVE. Keep your friends close but your enemies closer. Before you know it the cannon is pointing at you.

2) You know nothing!

- not saying that new players are dumb. The thing is even seasoned players have things to learn in this game. There's no "one way to rule them all".

3) You will lose your ship!

- it's a matter of time. Maybe you'll suffer your first loss on day one. Maybe after a month or two - but there's great certainty that you'll lose it. Trust me (yeah I know... rule 1).

There are many other rules of EVE and many other things I could write about what it takes. But this is the cornerstones according to my experience as a new player. For a little more info please visit the Newb Area subpage on my blog.

What is EVE?

Some might think EVE is just a game. All I have to say to them is; you're wrong!

EVE is the most full blown MMO experience you'll ever be part of.

EVE is the players mining and selling their minerals on the market.

EVE is the players buying the minerals and turning them into ships and modules.

EVE is the players running missions to gain a good standing.

EVE is the players killing to lose standing.

EVE is the players flying between belts to kill rats and salvage the wrecks.

EVE is the dedication it takes to join the CSM.

EVE is the podcasters and bloggers who love to talk or write about it all.

EVE is the scam that takes away millions of ISK from a naive player.

EVE is the player locking their weapons on you.

EVE is when Jita burns.

EVE is paranoid players scanning every single second.

EVE is politics.

EVE is a community like no other.

EVE is trusting those who deserve no trust and going behind the back of friends.

EVE is the ultimate experience.

EVE is Online.

EVE is EVE!

Happy birthday to EVE and credits to CCP for creating this experience.

Happy Birthday EVE!

Nothing much to say here really - this is EVE's birthday. We shall celebrate in all of New Eden.

Now You See Me - Now you Don't

I've heard and read that the game changes in quality once you've trained for cloaking. And I must say expands the game a lot. It makes it possible to go into more dangerous areas and stealth up if danger arises.
As I like to salvage this is a good thing when I jump through belts that I don't normally salvage in and thus have no safe spot to hide in. I can stealth up if something shows in local that I'm not a fan of.

But the thing is there's some limits still. These limits are soon to be dealt with, and I look forward to it!
- my training for a Stealth Bomber is soon done. This makes me able to warp while cloaked.

I really, really, REALLY look forward to jump into my SB and have a few adventures into areas I haven't been yet. At first I'll take it easy but as the needed skills start to complete I'll take it deeper and deeper into low and null sec.

The purpose of my SB is mainly ratting and then the occasional trip to do things on my to-do list like trying to see the bigger ships of EVE. Looking at a youtube video of a Carrier or Titan is one thing, but I want to have the feeling of it. Feel how it is to be close to the giants of New Eden.

Most of my playtime so far has been in high sec, and a little trip into a 0.4 low sec - but that's not where the big boys hang out. I need to go a bit deeper to get the experience I seek.

Since I started my training for the SB I've been reading a bit about the ships of choice and the possible uses of them. Doing this I found a blog that I would like to share with those who're interested in knowing what flying a SB in EVE is like.

It's a blog called Confessions of a Stealth Bomber - and I guess the title says it all.

Next weekend I should have trained some of the needed skills to a level where I feel like taking the ship for a spin. Then we'll see how long it takes for it to pay for itself. No matter how long that'll take I'm sure it will be a great experience to fly it in areas I haven't seen yet.

NOTE: just found an article on cloaking with some FAQ about the subject. Read it here.

Careers: The Choice of EVE

When you start playing EVE there's a lot of things you get thrown at you. Some of the things are easy to cope with while others may need a bit more thought. But can you make the right choice without the needed information?

Personally I researched the internet for a few days to figure out the right path of career for me. You see in EVE there's many ways of playing. You can be a straight-forward mission runner, a pirate, industrialist, a bounty hunter, a transporter and many other things. There's simply a wide range of possibilities in a true sandbox game like this.

There's something to do for every single kind of player, and the security level of the systems dictates how hard these things might be. But always remember this; there's no ISK without a risk.

In my search of answers I came across one single document that gave me close to all of the career choices in one place and showed me the info needed on them. And this document is worth a share - so that's what I'll do.

EVE Careers Guide by Zapatero (55MB PDF)

This is a really nice active (clickable) PDF file that brings a good overview to new players. All credit goes out to Zapatero and who ever helped him create this masterpiece!

After reading this "career bible" you are ready to set some goals - now go reach them... EVE is the limit.