How to cheat at EVE Online

EVE Online is probably the most challenging, deep, complex MMO game on earth. Developing a pilot in EVE takes careful consideration and years of planning and attention. Getting into true hardcore PVP can take months of skill training and establishing an ISK source is critical to cover the inevitable losses. This requires grinding up factions to access high paying mission agents or training skills for mining or industry to make ISK. All of these activities take significant time and attention.

However, there is a way to rapidly get access to the endgame content if you have deep pockets and don't mind jumping into the hidden markets of New Eden.


EVE Cheating 101:

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Start training up a scanning or cyno alt, which will be useful later.

Go to the EVE Online forums and browse through the available Pilots for sale. You should find a good selection of PVP specialists, Industrialists, Traders and Jacks-of-all-trades. Choose your poison and move on to the next step.

Buy PLEX to cover the ISK cost of your character and to purchase any ships or mods you like.

If you have trouble figuring out the ropes after the tutorials, join EVE University, take an Agony Unleashed class, or buy more PLEX and hire a mercenary corp to train you in PVP basics.

Please note, CCP officially sanctions this behavior. This procedure utilizes legal mechanics within the EVE Online TOS.

In fair warning, many pilots would be offended if they knew you achieved your power in EVE through such means. More importantly, having things in EVE does not equate to knowing how to use them. Should you get yourself blown up feel free to buy more ISK, and keep buying things from my market orders!

While you may be able to cheat your way to a Titan in EVE, keeping that ship alive will be a real challenge. In the meantime, by buying PLEX you are allowing established pilots to play EVE for free. Losing ships that you don't know how to fly benefits miners and industrialists who produce goods and work the markets. When you buy PLEX, CCP gets paid for making a great game. We all win!

Possibility space

I think EVE provides an ideal balance of possibility space vs. safety in its design. While you can hide behind CONCORD with reasonable safety in high sec, it is much more fun and rewarding to venture into areas with more risk. The mechanics allow for miners, traders, pirates and sovereign alliance wars. WOW!

The social dynamic is the secret sauce for EVE, and the game mechanics ensure that even Corps and Alliances are potentially full of intrigue given the ability for players to scheme, steal, and con their way to riches.  This leads to a paranoid feel when you are first getting to know Corp mates or applying for a Corp.  Trust is likely the most valuable commodity in EVE, there are even players like Chribba who make their living based on their trustworthiness.  

By allowing such varied interaction, EVE deepens the potential relationships and adds meaning to player interactions.  What other virtual world has inspired player run banks, investment schemes, mass territorial Alliance warfare, and a complex player managed market?  This depth and complexity of possibility distinguishes EVE from the alternatives and makes New Eden a virtual world like no other!

Budding mogul, or the pains of EVE newbishness

Diving into EVE is very challenging due to the way CCP designed the skill progression.  While I am slogging away at my learning skills, I have also learned enough about the game to now have a sense of what I NEED to be able to play more efficiently.

I have realized the possibilities of trading on the markets as a way to maximize profits.  Of course, now I need to train new skills so I can have more than 5 open trades at once.  I also need new skills so I can pilot my frigates more effectively.

I am holding my edge on a slippery slope.  If I give in and keep cheating on skills at the expense of learning skills, I will be less effective in the long run.  It would, however, be much more instantly gratifying to work on more of these support skills.  My immediate compromise has been to train some of the needed skills to 1 or 2, while returning to the Learning skills for the bulk of my current development.

LOTRO MoM was supposed to save me from this issue, as I was planning to be playing it as my main game while I trained up the basics in EVE.  While MoM is very awesome, I have been finding EVE irresistible lately.  I think this is mainly because I have always played LOTRO with Sedona, who is currently binging on DDO and not available to hang out with me in Middle Earth.  

As the strength of MMO's lies in the social aspect for me, without my favorite gaming buddy even an excellent game may be less captivating. It is amazing how much the "regular crowd" impacts the fun level of an MMO.  Since I have less expectation of playing EVE with Sedona, it has been a good place to spend time on my own.  Hopefully, I will establish corp membership in the next few weeks as well and start making some new online friends!  I hear that corp life opens up new dimensions in EVE's gameplay.