EVE Online: Too late to play?

[SilverStrike]

I've been seeing ad's for EVE online on a site I recently visited, and it got me wanting to play the game again, as happens. And by again, I mean I've only ever done the trial. A few times. Latest time a few months ago I actually got the farthest into figuring out how the freak it works. Got an Amarrian cruiser outfitting with five laser guns and some other shit, went to do the next mission in a line of missions which meant facing a few frigates and a pair of destroyers. Still got pwned. This might be due to skills, because there are far, far, FAR too many skills, and it's kinda really complicated, but the point is, if I started the game now, I would never ever catch up to anyone who started a year ago+ in terms of skills and power. That puts a damper on things.

The discussion I'm aiming for is what does EVE have to offer that makes it worth starting this late in the game? Apart from the fact that it's gorgeous, unique, and has spaceships. And I adore well animated gorgeous spaceships with laser cannons..

Bearing in mind I wouldn't actually get it for a month or two given Reach comes out on Tuesday.

I want to like it. It just makes it difficult.

 

[Altorin]

ehh.. No it's not too late. Just focus on one thing (hopefully killing things) and you'll be upto snuff in a couple of months. Of course you won't have the skill makeup of the best players, but you'll be competant enough.

If you intend to play it, and if you have the money, I'd get it asap, and just keep your training queues working for that "month or two". That'll give you a leg up. Get your attribute increasing skills upto 3 first, then focus on upgrading your ship skills and various weapon skills. If you have a friend who is in the game, it can be very helpful to get advice.

What does it offer? It's vast. It's one server so the politics of the various corporations are a lot more real. Whereas other MMOs might have their top raiding guilds spread across various servers, Eve's single shard means that the politics of the different areas are more interesting. You'll know the big players if you ever make a presence in nullsec (Basically "PvP area" or "The Entire End Game"), and their doings and transpirings will make for interesting stories.

What I found so interesting about Eve (it's perhaps strange but) - There are areas of space where everyone speaks different languages. Instead of having their own servers, the Russians (for instance, there are lots of other smaller "language centric areas") all congregate in one part of Nullsec. So if you enter their space, you'll know it. (Tip: Don't enter their space.)

I'd say give it a wing. It has a very steep learning curve, but it's really good, and has lots of free content being released all the time. Plus, if you can ever make about 450million credits (iirc) a month liquid, you can basically play the game for free (although, it may take a long time to get to that point, lol)

 

[sogortheogre]

It is never too late to start playing; while you may not stand toe to toe with a veteran player, a lot of combat is done in fleets, and in fleets anyone is useful, even if your skills are junky.

 

[danintexas]

I started in 2005. Last week I lost 30 million in a ship to a 2 month old player.

Any one who says the noobs can't compete vs the vets is lying and doesn't know anything about EvE

Focus - Focus - Focus

 

[Jack_Uzi]

I like the way eve is going in the future (may that be dust 514 or walking in stations) I think it's incredible! So no, eve isn't a bad choice if you ask me. Doesn't matter when you start with it. Just have a little patience to learn your way around.

 

[Mr.Petey]

"EVE Online: Too late to play?"

Basically, yes

And anyway, EVE is a fail MMO.

Hardly constructive to the topic there Mr Troll. Don't even take it elsewhere, just don't say it next time as that doesn't help the topic.

I found it a bit of a grind for cash (as for once this isn't a level specific grinding MMO) To be honest I miss the anticipation of how much money the mined ore will fetch once it's processed, so its been a while since I've been on EVE.

But I digress sorry, it is enjoyable but I wish it could be a little cheaper each month as I think it's still about £14 each month here in the UK.
I personally found my high points to be in the corporation's weekly mining expedition, with each one having their own little role. Makes for the good cash and idle banter.

 

[zhemis]

Seems to me, if one wants to compare themselves to others in concern to MMO that the answer is pretty simple:

If the game came out yesterday than you are already too late.

On the other hand, if there's no comparison between the newcomer and the veteran then it's not too late. Those that came before started at the bottom, too. It just takes time. One could also say it's better that so many came before because a newcomer would be able to learn off the experience of those veterans of the game. Call it quantum mechanics if you want. The answer changes based on your own perception.

 

[StANDY1338]

Just pick a ship you want then work for that. If you pick interdictors or support everyone will love you for it.

 

[Scars Unseen]

Not too late. One of the common complaints(or at least they were common back when I was still playing... I've quit all MMOS since my daughter was born)in EVE is that since the devs are always expanding the skills in the game, and since skills are learned in real time(and thus, unaffected by grind), new players will never ever be able to catch up with veterans who have been playing since the beginning. What these people don't realize is that, after a point, the advantage gained by veterans becomes one of breadth, not depth. That is, for any one role there are only so many relevant skills, and new players that do their research and focus can max out a role of their choice, thus becoming just as good(at least in the skill set) as any veteran. The veteran will just be able to wear more hats than you.

Also, don't feel that you have to max out every skill right away. You get diminishing returns for you time investment as you get closer to the top, and it may be more important to you to get a couple of hats(say, a combat role and mining, for instance) before you take the long investment of hitting those 5-levels. Besides, smart fighting and a group of friends will get you further than a maxed out skill set anyway.

 

[StANDY1338]

yea if all else fails get a tackle and just do that.

 

[Woodsey]

And anyway, EVE is a fail MMO.

And you're a fail troll. Congratulations.

OT: I've dropped in a couple of times on 2 week passes and gotten into it quite easily. I usually mine though, it's pretty chillaxing.

 

[Arachon]

I think people tend to overestimate the impact of skill training in EVE, the fact that you died was probably more due to a bad fitting, than bad skills.

 

[Axelord FTW]

Never too late, but if you are having trouble getting seriously started, I suggest you check out and read the whole 400+ pages of the fan-made ISK 2.0 guide.

http://www.isktheguide.com/

Anyway, download it in .pdf and start reading. You can concentrate to the sections you will need the most at first, but the whole thing is a serious info-well.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

Make friends with someone who's pro at the game, that should help you a bit.

 

[Miumaru]

You seem to think games become barren after a couple of years if they are not WoW or something. Some games get rather empty, but even really old games still have online, assuming the servers are still up. (evil eye to SEGA for ruining Chromehounds that way)

 

[Ruairi iliffe]

I Find it quite funny this mentality that EvE Vets are Untouchable, I mean i've played the game for over 2 years and i can think of tons of 04's taken down by groups of New players. All it takes is to know your ship and roll, like any other game, just takes a bit more than most.

 

[Kiefer13]

It's never to late to play.

Veterans who have been playing for years may have a more rounded skillset then people who have been playing for a few months, but there's only so much you can train in a single area, and only so many skills that are going to help you in the ship you're currently flying. If you focus your training, you can close the gap a lot faster than you might expect.

In EVE, even a month old player in a frigate with a warp scrambler and a stasis web costing less than a million ISK can hold down a battleship worth 100+ million ISK long enough for allies to finish it off. I'm not saying you'll be fighting off hardened PVP veterans in your first week or anything like that, but the gap is certainly far less than say that between a level 10 player and a level 80 player in World of Warcraft.

By the way, when/if you do decide to get into it, feel free to give me a PM with your character name, and I'll be happy to give you some pointers and assistance in-game.