Preface

Hello you wonderful people. Let’s just dive right in.

I’m an MMO junkie. My first one was Ultima Online, and it snowballed from there. Here are some of the ones I’ve played over the years:

Ultima Online, Everquest, Eve Online, World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy 14, Tera, Rift, The Elder Scrolls Online, Aion, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Secret Worlds, Star Trek Online, Dark Age of Camelot, Anarchy Online, DC Universe Online, Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2, Star Wars Galaxies, WildStar, Age of Conan, etc.

I was thrilled when Eve Online came out in 2003. It was really the first space MMO. As soon as it hit the stores, I picked up my copy. (That’s right. Physical copy when first released)

I had loads of fun. Mining, shooting down pirates, etc. Even the skill progression system impressed me. When not logged into the game, your character raises his or her skills (albeit very slowly)

Then it grew. Major changes and updates were coming out on a regular basis. Now it’s this massive universe with countless activities to invest time in. I want to play it so bad.

Here’s the rub. I suck at it. Actually, let me rephrase that. I SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK at it.

Part of the problem is I have severe anxiety. I need 2 xanax to leave the house if I go more than a few blocks. I’m incredibly shy, even with the anonymity of the internet, and will rarely chat with people, even within my own guild. Voice chat? Unthinkable. PvP? Instant panic mode and a quick death.

If you are familiar with Eve, unless you want to stick to “carebear mining” or solo operation missions, you need to be in a corp/alliance. This is pretty much mandatory. My shyness is one big motherfucker of an obstacle to that.

I love Eve. The universe is wonderful. Everything from ship customization to combat to exploration to the economy is amazing.

Now, let me make this clear. My personal issues are only part of the problem. There are thousands of strategies you can use when building ship loadouts alone, so it’s very easy to be overwhelmed. On top of that, the Eve universe is full of very, very smart people. Now, I’m not stupid, but I’m also aware when I walk into a room, I’m not the smartest person in it. Also, Eve has a very high population of current or ex-military players. So when you’re surrounded by people of that ilk, it’s more than a little intimidating.

I’m entering into a bold experiment. I intend to get good at Eve. As you can tell from the URL, I’m on a mission. I’m giving myself a three month window, with the exception of a little over a week break in late August when I have a vacation planned.

I hope to update this blog daily with my experiences within Eve

Eve online is my white whale. I think about it even when I haven’t logged in for a year. I keep my subscription going, and just fill the skill queue with about 6 months worth of learning, and leave it alone.

Let’s make clear what this blog is: A record of my activities and progress in Eve Online.

What this blog isn’t: A guide to learning how to play. There are much better, much more involved guides and tutorials out there that I can’t hope to compete with.

Anyway, I may succeed, I may fail, but I will have tried to ensure I enjoy something I love to its fullest.

Fly Safe,

Sauriel

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *