On training....

Many of the questions we see often asked on the Eve University forums and in various convos relate to skill training. New pilots want to get the 'right' answer. They seek a roadmap of specific steps to allow them to reach an undetermined future goal in the minimum amount of time.

Eve doesn't work that way.

Certainly, if you have a specific ship and fit in mind, EveMon will help you optimize the time that it takes to get there. But there are a couple of human problems with that approach.

First of all, rarely does the initial ship/fit goal of a brand new player survive more than a few days. As you gain a deeper understanding of how Eve works and what you find enjoyable, that initial ship will be shelved more often than not. So any initial plan that aims for a specific goal is quite likely to result in a mishmash of unco-ordinated, disjointed skills and some wasted time.

The alternative approach is to train nothing but learning skills in the beginning so that when you turn your attention to 'real' skills, your pumped up mind will minimize the training time required. That approach is clearly mathimatically valid. It's also no fun! While those that join the game at the same time as you did are off flying cruisers, you are still poking around in a low level frigate doing mental pushups. Bah!

For most people who want to balance long term efficiency with short term fun, a middle ground must be found.

Here are a few personal suggestions:

- Push a standard learning skill up quickly so that the next level takes 18-24 hrs.
- Train that skill when you are not in the game. When you get that one up to L4, pick another standard learning skill & do the same thing.
- While you are in game, train lots of different L1 skills. They train quickly and let you get into new ships and modules so that you can have some fun.
- A couple of weeks of this will help you settle on a realistic short term skill plan (say 3 to 4 weeks). Use EveMon to help you plan, but balance efficiency with fun!
- Never buy a skill book until you can train it.
- Never fly with a purchased skill book in your cargo hold. Start training it as soon as you buy it, even if you only train it for 30 seconds. A skill book in your head cannot be mislaid, lost, sold by accident, destroyed or dropped as loot if you should have a close encounter of the pod kind while returning home from the store.


Generic skillplans are just that. Generic. The right skill plan for you is the one that provides your personal balance between having fun now and having more fun later!