I'm currently playing the two-week free trial for EVE Online and I gotta tell you, I'm enjoying it a lot. As soon as I can I'm going to upgrade my account to full, which means my in-game character ("Philo Ahlskior") will be able to use different ships and have access to all the features of EVE Online.
But I've noticed that many people trying EVE for the first time get very frustrated. The game does have a steep learning curve! I've joined the "Rookie Help" chat channel and every day there are new players there who say they are confused because they don't know what to do in the game. And to be honest, for awhile I was a bit frustrated, too. Fortunately, I did three things which really have made EVE Online much more fun and understandable.
First, like I said, I joined the Rookie Help channel. There are usually hundreds, if not thousands, of new players on that channel asking questions, but there are also experienced players doing their best to answer questions. If you are new to EVE Online and are just beginning the game, I heartily suggest joining the Rookie Help channel, and any other Help channels. You will have to be patient and may have to ask your question repeatedly due to the other new players doing the same, but eventually with persistance you will get an answer. And you can learn a lot by just watching other player's questions getting answered.
Secondly, I did the new player's tutorial.It guides you through the very basics of the game like piloting your ship, using the market, and figuring out the starmap. There was one part in the tutorial I didn't quite understand which had to do with inventing higher technological items, but the more experienced players in the Rookie Help channel helped me through that part. In fact, they provided me the solution to that part in the tutorial!
There are other tutorials in the game too, after you've completed the new player one. There are helpful tutorials for exploration, salvaging, combat... pretty well every facet of EVE Online is addressed by a tutorial that can be accessed at any time in the game. I've read through most of them; I know I'll have to re-read them more as I learn, but it's comforting to know the tutorials are always accessible.
Third, I found a great corporation to join. This has helped me the most, to be honest. I've learned a lot more about the game being in a corporation than I would have if I'd stayed alone. I've gone on a few corporate missions that have taught me the basics of effectively working in a group in battle and mining (or both at the same time!). I have a good appreciation now on the importance of working effectively in a fleet of ships; I haven't been in any big battles, but I know someday I will, and my corporation is going to teach me the ropes.
To join a corporation, the Recruitment chat channel in EVE Online can be a good start. There are always recruiters there from small, medium, and large corporations. Try to have a good idea of what you'd like to do in the game (mining, pirating, etc) and watch for a corporation with similar goals. From what I've seen so far, being in a good corporation makes EVE Online 1000% more fun than playing alone.
So give EVE Online a chance and don't get frustrated. It may seem at first your only role is to either courier items between stations, or engage in basic PvE combat, but that's only a tiny slice of the possibilities in EVE Online. There are over 5,000 solar systems to explore, you just have to be patient with the game's learning curve. And, like I said, joining a good corporation helps immensely.
In a few weeks I'll write another article about my newbie adventures in EVE Online and share what I've learned. And if you see my ship in an unprotected sector of space, please don't blow me up, thank you very much.
