1. READ ME FIRST!
1.1. This web is just to give you the broad strokes of what you can do in eve. The major activities and there profitablility to help you decide what you wish to do with your time. If you wish to read about any given topic in more detail I would suggest looking at the Eve University Wiki LINK.
2. Types of Space
2.1. High Security Space
2.1.1. This is where you begin. There are hundreds of systems each in a unique configuration. This is the "safest" place in eve. Here you can persue many activities in relative safety. You are protected by CONCORD, the 'police' of new eden. They destroy anyone who breaks the rules. There responce time is slower in a .5 system than in a 1.0 system. There are also sentry guns surrounding stations and jumpgates that will attack any rule breakers.
2.2. Low Security Space
2.2.1. This space surrounds high sec. It is the least populated part of eve but it can be extremly fun for the PVP bound. There is no CONCORD here, however there are still sentry guns on gates and stations that attack those who go GCC (global criminal countdown). This is a place where Pirates and Militia's (see factional warfare below in PVP) roam frequently.
2.3. Lawless Space
2.3.1. This makes up the majority of New Eden and surrounds high and low sec. In this space alliances can take Sovereignity over systems and enforce there own rules. Fights between alliances and coalitions of alliances is commonplace with systems constantly exchanging hands. This is arguably the most profitable place in eve. And also the most costly.
2.4. Wormholes
2.4.1. To access this area you must scan down wormholes and enter them. Once you enter you will find an extremly different enviornment from the other spaces. There are NO jump gates. NO static asteroid belts, and the systems that you have access to is constantly changing. To enter or exit you must scan down other wormholes. Each wormhole has class which determines the level of difficulty in its hidden complexes as well as the rewards from said complexes. To be successful here teamwork is a must.
3. PVE
3.1. Overview
3.1.1. There are several types of PVE that are available in all four space types, these are as follows and explained in greater detail under their specific space type and catagory above. And as a frame of reference, in this description PVE is described as Player Versus Enviornment, encompassing NPC entities, random anomilies, and pretty much all predesigned content apart from construtction and assembling items, further discussed in the Industy heading.
3.2. The Basics
3.2.1. Missions
3.2.1.1. These are basically quests if you are familiar with other games and come in many different difficulty levels and types, each with there own reward and penalties. You will dock at a station where you have an agent available to you (based on standing with different NPC corporations and factions) he will assign you a task and you must complete it in the given time frame, usually 24 hours to one week.
3.2.2. Mining
3.2.2.1. This is a rather diverse and tedious task, however it is a steady income and its something you don't neccesarily need excellent skills to do. Basically you warp to the asteroid(s) you wish to mine, target it, and activate your mining lasers. There are several different methods and places where you can do this.
3.2.2.1.1. Asteroid Belts
3.2.2.1.2. Hidden Complexes (Gravimetric Sites)
3.2.3. Ratting
3.2.3.1. Ratting just means warping to each asteroid belt in a system(s) and killing the NPC pirates (rats) that spawn there.
3.2.4. Hidden Complexes
3.2.4.1. Hidden complexes are any site that require you to scan them down. For this you need the astrometrics skill, a core probe launcher, and core scanner probes. These sites have five basic classes.
3.2.4.1.1. Gravimetric
3.2.4.1.2. Ladar
3.2.4.1.3. Magnetometric
3.2.4.1.4. Radar
3.2.4.1.5. Unknown
3.2.5. Exploration
3.2.5.1. For this you will need an the same materials as in the hidden complexes, however under this we include wormholes as a proffession. In which you can do many complexes in relative safety. The rewards in wormhole space can be massive if done correctly, however the cost of failure is usually just as large. It takes a massive investment to make the big bucks here.
3.3. High Sec
3.3.1. Missions
3.3.1.1. High sec contains most of the NPC corporations for you to run missions for. The rewards are steady and many make a very nice livinoff of this activity here.
3.3.2. Mining
3.3.2.1. Mining here is somthing many do, its a steady, yet small income at little to no risk, good for newer players.
3.3.3. Ratting
3.3.3.1. Ratting in high sec produces minuscule rewards. With bounties of up too about 20k (taxable) per rat it just isn't possible to make a living off of this. It is however a way to practice ratting in low/null.
3.3.4. Hidden Complexes
3.3.4.1. The complexes in high sec aren't worth the time it takes to scan them down. You are better off mining in a frigate. It is however good practice for when you do complexes in other spaces.
3.4. Low Sec
3.4.1. Mining
3.4.1.1. Much more profitable than high sec however it is EXTREMLY risky and not advised.
3.4.2. Missions
3.4.2.1. There are many agents here, and only in low sec will you find level five agents. Some people love them, most hate them. There is however a massive risk in doing this. Be wary.
3.4.3. Ratting
3.4.3.1. Here ratting becomes profitable. Battleship rats are what you're aiming for with bouties from 400k to 1.5m its well worth the effort.
3.4.4. Hidden Complexes
3.4.4.1. These can range from very profitable to completely lame, its all chance based so you never quite know what you're gunna get from loot in the combat anomalies. The other sites are worth it, but again, be wary of pirates.
3.4.5. Factional Warfare
3.4.5.1. While primarily a PVP activity FW has a PVE side. There are plexes that are used to capture systems from the opposing faction, and special missions you can run in the cause of your faction.
3.5. Null Sec
3.5.1. Mining
3.5.1.1. Extremely profitable here, many corporations and alliances run corp mining ops and have systems where you can sell your ore or materials to them.
3.5.2. Missions
3.5.2.1. Missions are few and far between here and can only be run for the pirate NPC factions.
3.5.3. Ratting
3.5.3.1. This is how many people make a living in null sec. 70% of spawns have battleship rats and if you collect their loot too you can make quite a lot.
3.5.4. Hidden Complexes
3.5.4.1. The complexes here are as profitable as you can get in known space. Excellent sources of isk.
3.6. Wormholes
3.6.1. Hidden Complexes
3.6.1.1. This is what makes up wormholes. These sites are in my opinion the most profitable things you can do, at least in the higher classes. The only thing is above a class 3 you will need a group to run any of the sites, no exceptions.
4. PVP
4.1. Overview
4.1.1. PVP is any type of player versus player interaction where they are both striving for dominance over the other. Usually this means someone is going to loose a ship.
4.2. Greifing
4.2.1. Can Flipping
4.2.1.1. This is where somone steals from a miners cargo container, creating the opportunity in which the miner, and his corp, may attack the flipper. This is what the flipper wants.
4.2.2. Suicide Ganking
4.2.2.1. Most common where a scanning alt sits at a choke point between regions and scans peoples cargo holds for valuable items. When he finds one he signals his friends further ahead on the target ships route so that when it enters system they open fire and steal the valuable object (or destroy it). Attackersloose their ships to CONCORD but if the item is worth enough it wont matter.
4.2.3. Theivery
4.2.3.1. This is where a person infiltrates a corporation, preferably a corp with valuable assets and poor security checks. Once in he does whatever he can to gain access to the hangers/wallet etc. And once he does so he steals everything. Sometimeif they don't know who did it but don't believe it was the true theif he can do it multiple times.
4.3. Fleet Warfare
4.3.1. Small Fleets 2-19
4.3.1.1. Gangs of this size are common everywhere. They are a gray size if you need to keep agile and yet still pack a punch if in the right ships.
4.3.2. Large Fleets 20-60
4.3.2.1. Fleets of this size are more common in low sec or null, and usually pack sow sort of logistics and many scouts.
4.3.3. Very Large Fleets 61+
4.3.3.1. These fleets are most common in null where fleets up to a thousand battle it out for supremecy. These fleets usually contain wings of heavy hitting bbattleships with logistics support, multiple scouts, many small tackle ships and usually at least one cyno to jump in any capitals on standby.
4.4. Solo or 1v1
4.4.1. Pretty simple. Fighting between two players. One wins. The other goes home in his capsule.
4.5. Wars
4.5.1. Wars give you rights to shoot a corporation or alliance anywhere without CONCORD intervention. Commonplace in highsec this is a great way to train your troops or attack an enemies suppliers. But be careful who you attack for they may have more friends than you thought.
4.6. Mercenary Work
4.6.1. Until recently this profession has been dominated by a few elite groups. These groups will sometimes specialize in a certain type of warfare, but many do everything. Some corps have a payout system for kills, others just take a week off every once in a while to let there members get isk.
4.7. Sov Warfare
4.7.1. This is where gigantic null sec alliances claim space and battle for the space they want. Thisinvolved many alarm clock ops a a lot of wasted ammo on structures but can be fun.
4.8. POS Bashing
4.8.1. POS bashing refers to attacking a Player Owned Structure. These are used for moon mining, super cap and titan construction. Aswell as everything from staging positions to jump bridges.
4.9. Piracy
4.9.1. This isn't quite greifing. Here you actually loose security status, which effects where you're allowed. Once you drop below -2.0 you start being restricted from some high sec systems. At -5.0 you aren't allowed in highsec at all. The NPC faction police in the system will attack you. To actually be a pirate you must shoot someone who isn't at war with you or below -5.0. Normally pirates will roam around low sec looking for kills or camp a high sec gate and destroy any ships that enter low sec.
4.10. Factional Warfare
4.10.1. This is tied into the game lore. Approximately two years ago some stuff happened and now the four major factions are at war. Its Gallente & Minmatar Vs Caldari & Amarr. Once you join a militia (for the sake of an easy explination ill use joining Gallente as an example) you are able to shoot anyone in either the Caldari or Amarr militias. Corps can join the militias aswell but a certain standing is required to join and remain. Once in the militia your main objective is to take the opponents systems and occupy them. This is done through plexing special sites. While in the militia your side will form fleets to counter enemy fleets or hunt down the loner enemies. You will also come up against pirates in your fleets which make things more interesting.
5. Industry
5.1. Overview
5.1.1. Industry requires many specialized skills at the higher levels and can be quite time consuming and slow. But it can also be extremly profitable. Everything in eve (apart from skillbooks) is created and sold by you the player. All aspects hinge on the manufacturers producing modules and ships and also on the PVE'er and PVP'er loosing them. It is a noble and skilled proffession that is often under appreciated.
5.2. The Basics
5.2.1. Manufacturing requires the acquisition of the raw materials, either through mining asteroids and moons yourself, or buying them from someone else. These materials in the right quantities and combination can create anything. One thing that you must have before you even gather the materials, is the Blueprint (BP) of the item you're making. These in some cases can be bought from NPC sell orders, but in many other cases you'll have to buy them from other players. There are two types of BP's, BPC's (blueprint copy) and BPO's (blueprint original) the bpc's are created by players copying bpo's and are considerablly less expensive than bpo's.
5.3. Basic Construction
5.3.1. Here is where most tech I modules and ships are made. They require few materials and the bpo's are cheap. However you can make big money here producing large quantities.
5.4. Capital Constuction
5.4.1. This is construction of capital ships such as carriers up to titans. This is EXTREMLY EXPENSIVE TO GET INTO, but it can make you trillions. Some capitals can only be made in pos arrays and no capitals can be made or traveled in high sec. (Frieghters and Jump Freighters are an exception). This requires a ton of materials, most of which aren't base materials, so you'll need to go through several steps just to get the right materials.
5.5. Tech II Construction
5.5.1. In this field you will be constructing the best modules anyone can create. This is extemly costly and is difficult to get into but again can reap extreme rewards if done right.
5.6. Invention
5.6.1. Here you are trying to create tech II bpc's to sell or use. You make them using a bpo and datacores. The chance of success is chanced based but there are ways to increase this. This is an extremly risky thing to get into and can sometimes deliver only minuscule rewards. However it is essential to keeping tII production rolling.
6. The Market/Contracts
6.1. The Market and Trading
6.1.1. The market is made up of a few NPC sell and buy orders with the vast majority made of player buy and sell oders. There are dozens of regions in eve and each has there own market. So something you try to buy for 2million in one region could go for 900k in another. There are hubs of trade in pretty much every region, especially in high sec. The are howver four major hubs of trade in eve, one for each of the races. Jita. Amarr. Rens. And Dodixie. Jita (in caldari space) is the largest and usually contains around 1,800 players at any given time. Her you can find pretty much anything you'll need. Playing the market is simple, buy low, sell high. In hubs, and in Jita especially, people will counter your order quickly so you need to stay on top of it if ou want to.make the big bucks. You can also short sell items. Or buy bulk of a cheap item in one region and sell it in another region where that item goes for more.
6.2. Contracts
6.2.1. Contracts are another form of the market, except here you can sell faction items you can't on the market. You can also sell fitted ships, multiple items, and bulk items. It is used as a direct trade with someone who isn't online to revive the items, and can also be used to create coriour contracts to have stuff moved.
7. Getting Into A Good Corporation
7.1. What a Corp Provides
7.1.1. A good corp provides a safe and friendly atmosphere. They provide support and assistance and can help you grow in eve. The people are what makes eve such a diverse and exciting game. So don't settle for a group that you can tolerate. Go for people you enjoy talking too. People that you can joke around with. This game is no fun without corpmates.
7.2. How to Search
7.2.1. So youve figured out what youd like to do in eve, great! Now what? Well... There are several ways to search for a corporation that's right for you. There's an ingame channel called 'Recruitment' where you'll mostly find large corps slamming their pitch. But watch this channel and take notes on who seems interesting. Also there are the Eve Online forums where you can find full corp pitches, again take note of the corp and the recruitment contact.
7.3. Researching a Possible Match
7.3.1. Alright, you've got a list of corps you're interested in, now to narrow them down.
7.3.1.1. Primary Activity
7.3.1.1.1. For this youll need to ask the recruiter some questions. How often do they do what you're interested in? What else do they do? Does it sound fun?
7.3.1.2. Size
7.3.1.2.1. Look at the corp info to see how many people are in it. How big is the corp? What are you looking for in a corp? Keep in mind that on average at least a third of a corp is made up of alts.
7.3.1.3. Active?
7.3.1.3.1. This one is hard to tell. I've seen corps of fifty have five active members. And I've seen corps of twenty have almost 100% activity. You'll obviously want to ask the recruiter about this, and if it's a PVP corp check their killboard for the list of actives.
7.3.1.4. Location location location
7.3.1.4.1. Where is the corp located. (What do you want?) Ask for thir main base from the recruiter. Check the system out. Isit near a trade hub? How many kills have there been in that system? Get as much info using the star map and third party websites as possible.
7.3.1.5. Killboard Stats (PVP)
7.3.1.6. Google!!!!
7.3.1.7. Corp Website?
7.3.1.8. Friends?
7.3.1.9. Corp Ops?
7.3.1.10. Logistics?