Well, here you are! You are the proud owner of a Rookie Ship and you are faced with the sheer massiveness which is Eve-Online.

What to do first?!

First and foremost, finish the in-game tutorials. When I started playing Eve four years ago there was only one tutorial to work with. I understand that a new player now has many tutorials to choose from, each one covering different aspects of the game. My first piece of advice to you is to have the patience to listen to 'Aura' and work through everything she has for you. This will at least teach you a little about the Eve universe and how to maneuver within it.

If you've finished the tutorials, read on...

What is Eve?

The EVE Universe, dubbed New Eden, is a content rich environment, which while created by CCP, is mainly shaped by the actions of all the pilots within. Every action taken by each and every player has an effect on the virtual reality within New Eden. It's truly amazing. Obviously, some actions may affect you directly, whereas most will have in indirect effect on your new 'life'.

New Eden, is made up of literally hundreds and hundreds of star systems. Each star system is accessible through 'Jumpgates'. You will have encountered these in the in-game tutorial. Some of these systems you may never visit. Each system has been assigned what is called a security rating, or status. This ranges from 1.0 down to 0.0, where 1.0 is the safest and 0.0 is the least safe. In 1.0 you are protected from aggressors by 'Concord'. Concord is an NPC organization much like the police in the real world. Their job is to patrol systems and protect Empire assets and the pilots within. In 0.5 and above, should you be attacked anywhere in space, Concord vessels will warp to your location to attempt to destroy whomever is attacking you. The response times of Concord depend greatly on the security rating of the system they occupy.

In systems rated 0.4 down to 0.1, Concord are absent. The only security features are near stations and jumpgates in the form of sentry guns. These sentry guns will fire on any aggressor within the range of the gate or station. However, no Concord vessels will come to your rescue. Your aggressor may be able to 'tank' the sentry guns, and survive long enough to destroy you and warp out. So be careful in systems rated 0.4 to 0.1.

The exception to the above rules concerning 1.0 to 0.1 space is the war system. Corporations and alliances may declare war on each other, effectively bribing Concord to mind their own business. 24 hours after such a declaration all involved parties may engage each other in combat without fear of Concord intervention.

0.0 is the Eve Universe equivalent of the Wild West. There are no police to come to your rescue, and no laws with which you must abide. You are free to shoot who you please, and they are free to shoot you right back. 0.0 is a very dangerous place, and I strongly recommend you not visiting there alone in the early game.

What can I do in Eve?

There are all kinds of different careers that you may pursue and all kinds of corporations you can join. You are not limited to the NPC corporation that you start your life in, and in many ways, joining a player run corporation will leapfrog you towards your goals. Provided, of course, that you have joined the right corporation.  Some corporations are pirate oriented, and on the other end of the scale there are anti-pirate corporations. Alongside these polars there are industrial corporations, research corporations and corporations that cover the entire spectrum. Some that are dedicated miners, or dedicated manufacturing corps, but all corporations will have an element of combat in them and they all may be managed differently. Some are freelance based, where you are left to your own devices, others are more strict and place demands on their pilots.

Choose Wisely!

Who are you?

When you were creating your character you probably had thoughts of being a mean, fierce bounty hunter, ridding the galaxy of pirating scum, or maybe you had your sights set on becoming the richest pilot in all the universe through entrepreneurial enterprise and superior trade skills.  Well, I've got news for you, neither of these goals are easily attained.

The good news, however, is that you can be all of these things and more.  There is no limit on the skills you can learn in EVE.  A choice to be a miner now, does not have an effect in the long term on a change of career.  Your character can be a 'Jack-of-all-trades' or you can specialize in one thing only.  It's entirely up to you, and I guarantee, at some point, you will change your path.

The character creation experience in Eve is a complicated process which more often than not leaves most players with the wrong attributes for their playing style or chosen career. An understanding of what the attributes are and how they affect your progress is important. If you follow this link you will find information on skills and attributes that (hopefully) will help prevent any mistakes when creating your character..

Now What?

You've created your character and you've completed the in-game tutorials. So, now what?

There are many things you can do in Eve. You can become an industrialist, a miner, engage in manufacturing, research, etc... The list goes on.  Or you can concentrate on your combat skills and you can seek out agents and carry out 'missions' for them, or enter the realm of PVP, to name but a few. As previously mentioned you can be one, or some, or all of the above if you so wish. It is generally agreed upon, however, that specialization is the key to being good at any one thing.

You're personal economy in Eve is paramount. You must be able to support your outgoings with sufficient income. With this in mind the two easiest ways to make isk in Eve are running missions and mining. Below are two links, each one will lead you to a specialized page detailing each topic:

Running Missions

Mining

In addition to the above there are other ways of earning isk in New Eden. Below is a list of further guides designed to assist you in the various aspects of economics in Eve-Online:

Ratting

Salvaging

Research & Development

Invention

Manufacturing

Trading

How do I survive?

Surviving in Eve is a simple case of situational awareness and the know-how to move around either undetected or in a way to avoid being engaged...

Firstly, understand the security ratings of each solar system. Understand the numbers and what they mean. I covered these numbers further up the page, but briefly:

0.0 is null sec - No laws, no police, more often than not occupied by player run corporations with a territorial excitement about them.
0.1 to 0.4 is Low Sec - Frequented by pirates, no police to assist you.
0.5 to 1.0 is high sec - Typically referred to as safe space.

Knowing where you are will inform you of what to expect. You will also learn, with experience, which systems are famous for pirate activity.

Secondly, Local channel is your friend. Keep this channel open and in view at all times. Local channel is simply a comms channel limited to all pilots that are in a solar system. For example, if you are located in Rens your Local channel will show a list of every pilot who is also located somewhere in the Rens solar system. You can also type in this channel and all pilots 'local' to Rens will be able to read your messages.

The knowledge of who is in local combined with the understanding of the system security rating gives you the ability to make an initial assessment as to the risks of being there.

It is very possible to move about New Eden without ever having to defend an attack on your ship.

To be Continued...