Excellent post Ralen. Please bookmark this post of yours for later. The first time you get frustrated, or feel like you were squashed unfairly and the first time you get suicide ganked please return to this post and read it.

You will get ganked while mining.
You will get utterly destroyed before you can react at some point while in a combat ship.
You will die in a fireball while stuck on a space rock to some laughable easy NPC rats.
You may even get scammed.

When it happens, roll with it. Do not get discouraged, just get even.

Welcome to EVE!

Only thing I would tell you - you are going to hear a bunch of high sec carebears tell you that you "can't" go into low or null sec until you have specific skills or a specific ship. Ignore them. These are the people who have been hugging high-sec all their lives and are always "almost" ready once they get that "one more skill" or that "one more ship" - then after they get it, there will be just "one more thing" they need to get - repeat until death due to boredom.

I've personally witnessed accounts less then eight hours old flying with and taking part in some epic fun pew pew space battles against other players.

So again, welcome - and my best piece of advice - don't believe anyone when they tell you how to play EVE. Most of them are too cookie cutter to try anything new or original, or have been simply fed the same line by someone else and will pass it on to the next generation of newbie. Hell, I know players who in their entire eve career have never even come up with a original fitting for a ship - they just ask others what the "Best" fitting is, and use that every single time they fly that kind of ship. Then they will cry when they are countered easy by other cookie cutter fits designed to counter the original cookie cutter fit. Think outside the box, man!

Only thing I would tell you - you are going to hear a bunch of high sec carebears tell you that you "can't" go into low or null sec until you have specific skills or a specific ship. Ignore them. These are the people who have been hugging high-sec all their lives and are always "almost" ready once they get that "one more skill" or that "one more ship" - then after they get it, there will be just "one more thing" they need to get - repeat until death due to boredom.

Now back to mining!!!

Quoted because it just cant be said enough.

I think it's fine to stay in HighSec. But don't ever come to the forums demanding changes to how "safe" it is.

...
I might be divorced soon, though. :)

Are you talking about the rampant highsec should equal safesec entitlement threads..or the highsec is too safe, nerf highsec threads?

Well, welcome to Eve :)

Posts like yours are really enjoyable to read because you show understanding that nothing happens instantly and a lot depends on your own initiative not on what devs implemented for you. Devs always say they just give us tools and we can build something beautiful with them or make other people miserable by touching their pixels in wrong way.

Few things from me as general advice:

- There is no such thing as playing Eve wrong if you enjoy what you are doing. That has not to be confused with being stupid, lazy and full of entitlement. In Eve you can do whatever you want but same applies to other people and they may want to explode you or scam you or exploit you in some way. Until it is all within TOS/EULA limits everything if fair game.

- There is no such thing as fair game. There is no such thing as space honor or guaranteed 1v1, etc. As one Tusker once said "E-honor is self imposed limitation". You can be gentle, honorable and helpful but do not be naive and gullible to think everybody will be the same to you.

- There is no such thing as being ready for low, null or anything else. If you think you are ready just make that move and see what will happen. And honestly, there is no amount of duels in hisec that can prepare you for being ganked by total stranger. And it applies to every space even hisec (and if you are mining please read on gankers, New Order dudes and such stuff).

- For the love of God when you decide to leave hisec, even for short trip google "how to survive in lowsec" and read and/or watch guides and tutorials so you will know how to theoretically avoid fights if you don't want to engage in them. Things can and probably will go wrong but maybe at least somebody like me will have to put some effort into finding you in space.

And last but not least do not let anybody tell you how you should play Eve. What one finds boring others find relaxing, what one finds difficult others find intriguing. Play as you like but listen to advice when somebody offers one because they may already went through some growing pains and can help you get better results faster.

Have fun and remember: ships are just tools, they will explode and you should take every explosion as a learning experience not the end of the world.

Quoted because it just cant be said enough.

I mean, ya, I get it. It'll be a long time before I'm a veteran pilot who can hold his own in low or null sec.

The tutorial is very well done. From what I'm gathering, it's been developing over the years. But investing the time in doing the tutorial and the Sisters of EVE epic is proving to set me up quite nicely with a wide range of the basics.

Now back to mining!!!

Welcome to EVE!

Only thing I would tell you - you are going to hear a bunch of high sec carebears tell you that you "can't" go into low or null sec until you have specific skills or a specific ship. Ignore them. These are the people who have been hugging high-sec all their lives and are always "almost" ready once they get that "one more skill" or that "one more ship" - then after they get it, there will be just "one more thing" they need to get - repeat until death due to boredom.

Quoted because it just cant be said enough.

Welcome to EVE!

Only thing I would tell you - you are going to hear a bunch of high sec carebears tell you that you "can't" go into low or null sec until you have specific skills or a specific ship. Ignore them. These are the people who have been hugging high-sec all their lives and are always "almost" ready once they get that "one more skill" or that "one more ship" - then after they get it, there will be just "one more thing" they need to get - repeat until death due to boredom.

I've personally witnessed accounts less then eight hours old flying with and taking part in some epic fun pew pew space battles against other players.

So again, welcome - and my best piece of advice - don't believe anyone when they tell you how to play EVE. Most of them are too cookie cutter to try anything new or original, or have been simply fed the same line by someone else and will pass it on to the next generation of newbie. Hell, I know players who in their entire eve career have never even come up with a original fitting for a ship - they just ask others what the "Best" fitting is, and use that every single time they fly that kind of ship. Then they will cry when they are countered easy by other cookie cutter fits designed to counter the original cookie cutter fit. Think outside the box, man!

And ya... aside from direct "how to" advice on interfaces and such... I'm savoring learning the game mechanics and trying to learn/ move on my own in a direction toward goals. Little things.... like placing an afterburner on my big slow-ass Sigil so that I can pick up my packs faster.... etc. etc.

Now back to mining!!!

oh crap they are all running locator agents on you so they can kill you in your noob ship with a dreadnut. Stay out of low sec, get a retriever, buy a copy of excel and skill books and learn how to set skills and develop skill plans and ship fittings. Park at a trade hub so you don't have to fly for parts pickup, buy some plexes and keep your head down.

You are not a real player until you fill all your character slots.

One AFK miner, one AFK gate camper and one fully active forum alt.

Mr Epeen

So much to live up to.... I'll remember u when I rule the universe.

Smart player, has Ambition, enjoys EvE, managed to get a 3 page thread without (much) trolling. We'll hear from this man in the future....

PS: you can rule the universe in many ways, but not all of m together! (Trademogul, Industrygiant, Nullsec Lord, Third party service provider, etc)