This should be interesting. Despite all I've heard of Eve I have no idea what the moment-to-moment gameplay consists of. I don't know what you do in the game.

Try a Google Image Search for "eve online learning curve". The first result is pretty enlightening...

When I started playing Eve Online 2 years ago or so, I found the noob corp to be extremely useful. There are a few of them and they vary in usefulness by quite a bit it seems. But CAS, the Gallente Industrial corp was a very nice place in my opinion.

So my tip is try to "use" some of the 50k players that are online daily for advice and help. :)

It's definitely a hard game to find meaning in. It really should guide you better through game options. But really, they're counting on player corporations to step in and do that for you. I would recommend Eve University as a good place to start. They offer a super supportive environment, classes (live and recorded), plus frequent events to try out things like PVP combat. I don't think I would have stuck with EVE without them to guide me. You can read more here: http://www.eve-ivy.com/

Surely that freedom is precisely what separates EVE from the likes of WoW. It doesn't make things easy, and it unfortunately alienates alot of new players but it also ensures that no one follows quite the same path of progression, unlike almost every other MMO. As Drew says, the need is to find your own support network in the form of other players. EVE University and other such corps, not to mention the many corporations (which can cover the whole range of occupations in EVE, from pirate to industrialist) that actively recruit new players are essential for the game to pan out.
As much as it's a game about player driven economics it's a game about social relations and politics, without that side of the experience it is profoundly empty.

Hey Chick,

Anytime you want to throw in with us feel free. The Lost Drones still wants you. ;-) I also agree witht he others above. I think EVE creates socialization by making it a little more difficult to learn alone. Although there is numerous amounts of info online.

Where's the hug plug for The Lost Drones in the article?....lol

Cheers Mate
Talemacus

EVE Online is one of the few, if only, free world MMO's out there. You can go anywhere. Do anything. The only thing holding you back is yourself. When I started, it took me a week to train up to cruisers. Before that, I was out mission running in a frigate with people in a corporation I joined.

You slowly build yourself up. Awesome thing about this game is, new players CAN compete against vets. I know people keep crying foul on that, but skills don't make you all that better. A T1 frig can best a battleship captain if he isn't smart enough to fly his celestial tool of destruction. The game is about smart fittings, smart tactics, and just being aware. If you decide to fly into 0.0 by yourself, say goodbye to your ship.

The great thing about this game IS the fact it's completely player driven. It brings you a galaxy that's pretty alive, save for the random empty sectors.

In terms of things to do, what would you want to do? Kill rats (NPC pirates)? Mine your way to glory? Make ships? Pirate the hell out of people? Track down fugitives as a bounty hunter? You can do all of that and more. But it DOES require initiative on your part. No one's going to come to you and say "Hey, here's how to be a bounty hunter." You have to go and seek that knowledge out.

Now with the latest expansion, from what I understand, you run a few missions as a newb, and you can join up with a militia office. You're now part of one of the factions navies, and can wage war on the other factions.

So, in conclusion, there's always something to do. You just have to go do it.

i think it's really telling of how dependant MMO players get on NPC given quests. most MMOs hold ur hand though out the game. but, and i cant play EVE (money), it seems EVE pushes u out of the nest. now is a casual play going to like this? nnnoooo. a casual player isnt looking for a full simulation. they want directions at every turn. confusion only adds to the casual's aggervation. an easy way to get them to quit. "AWW, I HAVE TO THINK ABOUT ENOUGH IN MY LIFE WITHOUT HAVING TO WORRY ABOUT FINDING THE NEW ITEM SHOP NPC!!" EVE doesnt coddle players. and depending on the player, i think that attitude makes for stronger players in game and out-of-game. hey, that's what real life does. i think in this case art is imitating life. especially the part were life is a betch.

SQUEE

Sorry, I got a little excited there. The number one thing you must keep in mind coming from Warhammer or LOTRO is that Eve's design ACTIVELY DISCOURAGES PICK-UP GROUPS. There are sound and wise reasons for this which have kept Eve growing over the past six years, but it just kills the game for the new player, especially the new player with expectations shaped by fantasy MMOGs. If you try to play Eve like a spaceship in the Barrowdowns you will be bored and quit nearly instantly. You absolutely must commit to another group of players to give Eve a fair shake. I am reasonably certain the vast majority of new subscribers to Eve have been friends of someone already in the game.
Here are some options for you, Tom Chick, to play Eve as it was intended, ranging from least intense to most intense:
1. Join Eve University, as another commenter already stated. They will give you the tutorial that Eve should have shipped with.
2. Join Agony Unleashed or Sniggwaffe. These are clearinghouses for two active PvP corps to sort through new player rabble and recruit the few gems among the dross. They, too, will teach you Eve basics, but all your learning will be live fire exercises against real enemies.
3. Join a factional warfare militia, or a corp pledged to a militia. From my brief time spend in FW, I'd say that the training you'd recieve is spotty and haphazard. However, you're a mensch; you can figure the basics out. FW provides you with a clear demarcation of enemies and friends and the most tangible list of objectives to achieve; it is the most "game-y" form of PvP Eve provides.
4. Join a PvP corp. There's a lot to choose from. Personally, I find the listings on http://scrapheap-challenge.com/ to be a cut above the official recruitment channels. If you like, I would sponsor you into my corp. I am Dwindlehop in-game.
5. Join a major 0.0 power bloc. For a new player, you are likely going to be restricted to goons. I am sure someone on the QT3 forums could pull you into the Penny Arcade or Ars Technica corps. F13 might be happy to have you.

Off in the deep end:
Join a single purpose group. It needn't be a corp. Some options, off the top of my head: Join Ess & Whiz and covertly report on the secrets of smuggling. Join the racing league and report on high speed flights. Join ISD and report on being a reporter. Get yourself in with the alliance tournament organizers or one of the competitors---they practice on Singularity, the test server, constantly. Join an RP corp like Ushra'Khan or Curatores Veritatis Alliance and report in-character. Make a deposit in a bank or make some trades on a stock exchange and report on economic stability in a virtual universe. These activities might make for the most interesting journalism, though they are likely the least representative of most players' Eve experiences.

Almost forgot: if you want to, you can play the March expansion today! Just log into the test server. See the official testing forum for detailed instructions.

Some of the changes to gameplay are quite substantial, like a training speed boost to players with less than 1.6M skillpoints.
http://myeve.eve-online.com/updates/intesting.asp?s=28122693&sid=28312063

Hello, I read your site all the time but this is the first time I've posted. I'm a member of Agony Unleashed, and yes we do offer training but our training is pretty much all about the PvP aspects of Eve. While much of the basics will help in nearly any field, there won't be much info on say mining or running missions. Another thing is that we don't require a pilot to join our corp - in fact, joining Agony Unleashed is a bit harder than just signing up for a class, and we require anyone who wishes to join us to have attended at least one of our classes.

Check out the Eve Wiki here: http://www.eve-wiki.net/index.php?title=Main_Page

Also our website has some useful information here: www.agony-unleashed.com

In the beginning, I would do as you have done, run missions, do some mining, do some ratting (killing NPCs in asteroid belts), figure out how things work. Stay in high security systems (0.5 to 1.0), don't steal, don't shoot at someone that steals from you (as tempting as that may be). There is a player help channel you can join as well in the channels tool on the left - join that and when you have a question post it in there. Also, the official Eve forums have a pretty nice new players section you can hit up here: http://myeve.eve-online.com/ingameboard.asp?a=channel&channelID=3509

The non-PvP aspects of Eve aren't complicated enough to warrant courses. :)

Best advice ever! ****GET INTO A PLAYER CORP ASAP**** Why; yes they want you, and they want to help you. There is a wide variety to choose from, check out local HQ's in stations, or go on the recruitment channel. Ask questions and try to find one that suits you.

They will help with the game curve to no end, and playing in a player corp gives you a whole new sense of "purpose and direction" that so many are looking for. I know that the corp that i am in basically is the key to my enjoyment eve. Its like nothing I have found in any other game.