General things to know about EVE Online before beginning:

• pursue what you enjoy, avoid what you dislike, and ignore naysayers if their input isn't helpful

• all Exordium systems have Security Level 1.0, meaning PvP cannot occur there. involuntary PvP can occur wherever security is less than 1.0, i.e. everywhere outside Exordium
• you can be nonviolent and minimize your vulnerabilities, but outside Exordium, you cannot avoid the possibility of PvP; even the market is mostly PvP

• if something seems too good to be true, it's likely a scam. never accept contracts linked in Local chat or EVEmail. never pay a ransom or an entry/recruitment/trial fee
  • scamming is common and is not prohibited unless it involves out-of-game transactions or exploits

• given the risk of permaloss and the importance of trust, many groups have trial periods or otherwise gate for competence, compatibility, participation, willingness to learn, etc
  • many groups also require disclosure of all alts and submission of their ESI links prior to membership so their affiliations and financial histories can be screened
    • spying is a big part of EVE's meta. many of the game's most storied events involved spycraft, betrayal, retribution, etc. security is often taken quite seriously

• a character's Home Station can always be remotely reset to its School Station with no cooldown. School Stations for the other 3 empires are all considerably further from Jita

Specific suggestions for play:

1. do the starting tutorial. Career Agent missions may be of interest after the tutorial, but they're not vital
2. join a player-run corporation if you're not insufferable. EVE can be played solo, but it's best as a cooperative game. remember the warning about scams, though
   • WARNING: player-run corps may have war declared on them such that, after joining, you can be freely attacked in HS (normally, only suicide ganking is a threat there)
     • so, do not move valuables in EVE as a new player! liquidate nonessentials and buy things at your new corp's home
       • if nobody in the corp will help you do this or teach you how, find a different corp. I'm very serious! leaving shitty situations is healthy and wise, and not just in EVE
   • leave High Security space and join a corp anywhere else. HS is deceptively dangerous and ruthlessly exploitative of naifs and beginners. ways to find a good corp:
     • CCP's own EVE Academy YouTube video on corporations is excellent, as is their full article on the topic
     • the official EVE Online Discord and a link straight to the "looking-for-corp" thread there
     • reddit's EVE Jobs Board
     • DM me on Discord for help or advice; my username is Jambeeno
3. if you don't find a niche you enjoy, ask other EVE players for help! if you do find a niche, try new things every so often anyway
4. if your corporation/alliance/roles are not fun, step up and fix them or go elsewhere. again, I'm serious. don't let bad circumstances sour your experience of EVE
   • if you to take away one thing from my entire site, take this! we have too few spins on this crazy rock to waste them being bored/mad in EVE Online

A few broad tips:

• NEVER undock with PLEX, Skill Injectors, Skill Extractors, or Skin licenses unless you want to give them away by dying. what to do with them instead
• make instant-dock & undock bookmarks for stations you frequent
• repeating for emphasis: DO NOT move valuables as a noob! pay your corp/alliance pros or use e.g. GHSOL or PushX or RedFrog and always use appropriate collateral
  • you can learn to haul yourself, but moving valuable stuff is risky for new players with no knowledge of the many pitfalls involved
• if you don't know a word or phrase used in a fleet, ask with your voice. if you can't, check EVE University's EVE Lexicon page
  • speech is more considerate than text because it lets others respond without diverting visual attention. if you're deaf, worthwhile corpies will be accommodating
• trust as few guides/tools/mentors as you can and test/validate if you're uncertain. 3rd-party info/tooling, including my own, isn't necessarily correct or up-to-date
  • EVE Online came out in 2003 and is updated regularly, so lots of available information is outdated. veterans often return and die due to ignorance of mechanics changes
• seek out guides/tools/mentors and learn from them. this contradicts the above, but the point is: other peoples' ideas/tools can be constraints as much as catalysts
  • search engines are your friend! YouTube has plenty of guides if you prefer video, but again, check dates and take everything with a grain of salt
• don't fly what you can't easily replace. this isn't an iconclad rule, but it's generally best to keep a buffer of ISK/assets instead of pouring everything into one ship
• think of ships as ammunition & learn from losses instead of rueing them. its only pixels, y u heff to be mad?
  • consider chatting with your opponents. you might have a laugh, find new resources, or make lifelong friends. killing is just a means of communication, after all
• if you're making a big purchase, hover over the total cost and note that it's spelled out, e.g. 1.28 million or 4.56 billion (good mental scam-avoidance routine)
  • if you're unfamiliar with fair pricing, evaluators like Janice exist. beware: for low-volume items, evaluators are easily-gamed
• block toxic players (right-click their name in chat then select "Block"). most EVE players are chill, but some act terribly. report egregious behavior to CCP
  • do not report people for blowing you up or using rough words! "PvP everywhere" is fundamental to EVE Online, and learning to ignore shit-talking is a valuable life skill

EVE Online's essential knowledge

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