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Help a Confused WoW Escapee

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Senn Typhos:
One of my major confusions in the EVE universe, which has yet to be answered in any decent manner, is if there is any reasonable correlation between the character advancement system everyone and their momma is familiar with, namely "levels," and the system in place in EVE, "SP."

For example, in my previous dealings, there were basic levels of competency; you start out at one, don't matter until 30, guilds don't need you until you're 50, and at some level cap or another, you can qualify for anything you don't suck at.

Can some of the veterans offer some comparisons, so I can start swinging my mind's focus from the former system to the latter? Case in point, when is it appropriate for me to start seeking a corporation? When does my likelihood of being filled with superdense antimatter rounds upon entering lowsec fall from "unavoidable" to "slightly more avoidable?" (I fly an exploration ship, my survival rate ain't high).

If anyone has any advice to offer, it would be much appreciated. Thank you for your time. :3

Casiella:
It doesn't really compare. One may regard that as fortunate or unfortunate (I certainly believe the former).

You should start seeking a corp right away. You may not be able to join until a character has passed the two week age limit, however, as most corps don't want trial accounts. Beyond that, lots of corps take new pilots as trainees, so find one willing to teach.

I always recommend spending lots of time in lowsec right away. You'll learn good habits that will serve you well in the future, and if you're in a frigate, most gate camps won't catch you.

Senn Typhos:
To answer the first bit, I suppose what I can offer as an explanation of this very thread is this; I love the freedom of the EVE system, but I'm terrible with choosing a direction. That being said, I'm done with the whole "get to the last level and then start playing the game" thing. >>

My character is about 30 days old if I remember correctly. Primarily, I'm waiting until I decide on a solid character before I go looking for a corp - I'm really only interested in finding one that's at least receptive to RP, if not heavily engaged in the practice.

The lowest I've gone thus far is 0.5 in my Cormorant. What I learned in that system (the name of which I forget) is that if you feel like a pirate is watching you, you're correct. I warped out of an asteroid belt in time to see a red-skull marked Vexor warp in and deploy drones, and thank my jittery FPS sniper senses for paying off in other games.

I also let out a girlish squeak of despair, but I like to leave that part out.

Casiella:
We won't discuss the girlish squeaking, but you'll get over that. :D

As you've noticed, EVE provides a "sandbox" open world experience, rather than the "theme park" of WoW and similar games. You have no prescribed path except the one you choose to blaze (or follow, as the case may be).

If you haven't taken time yet to explore the wiki, you really should -- lots of good information there. And don't feel like a character can only do one or two things: not only does EVE not have levels, it doesn't have classes. My character started out as a bit of a space trucker (something she still does because, well, the ISK is good), but since then she's developed substantial research, manufacturing, and exploration skills and can handle herself pretty well in combat as needed. Just for reference (because some folks have 3x the SP), I have just shy of 40m SP.

So, by all means, start doing something you enjoy, but don't feel like it's a choice you have to keep: we don't respec, we just train more skills...

Silver Night:
Well, the SP-Levels comparison is an easy one to fall into, but it is largely entirely false.

Skills mostly just open up options. They give you more things to fly, maybe a bit more flexibility in what you put on them. Even the skills that increase some particular stat across all ship largely max out at 25%.

So, you can't fit every module right away, and you can't fly every ship, and you have a fraction (25% or less) less in a few stats than my character (after a length of time playing on my part that hardly bears thinking about.)  A few fairly new players in inexpensive ships can easily take on a solo vet in anything sub-capital, in most cases, and win.

What really tells - and takes time to acquire - is player knowledge and skill. What do do in a situation. How to fit a ship effectively.  Where you can go and can't go. What effective ways of making ISK are. (ISK, up to a certain point, is much closer to representing 'levels' than SP is. ISK is what decides what you can afford to fly, and what you can afford to fit it with.)

When you go to low sec (Low sec starts at .4, and goes to .1 - in .5 and up, people can't attack you with getting CONCORDed unless you do something to allow them to, like taking something out of a can that belongs to them) it isn't how old your character is that determines if you are going to survive. It is if you, the player, know how to survive there.

And not to worry: There are guides, and when you are new, the price of your mistakes is usually fairly low, though it may not always seem that way at the time. The player skill will come with playing.

As for SP, and training, you should set a goal. Decide something you want to do. A good initial goal might be getting into a Battlecruiser, for example. Find out what you need to train, and train for it.

Anyway, if you have questions or anything and I'm around IG, feel free to ask, or PM me here.

And I would try to find a *good* corporation fairly soon. A good corporation can make the game for you, and a bad one can really drag it down. 30 days in is plenty to start looking.

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