Welcome along to another edition of Guild Chat, the space in which I get together with the MOP commenters to help a reader in need with his or her guild-related query. This time, an EVE Online player — who wishes to remain anonymous to prevent potential in-game grief — has asked for our help to determine how best to return to the game when the corp he previously enjoyed is now defunct. Unsure of where to place his loyalties and how best to carve out a new adventure, our reader in need is wondering how best to survive in what can be quite an inhospitable environment for lone players. Check out the full submission and my advice below, and don’t forget to put your thoughts in the comments below.
Hi Tina, long-time reader of the site and saw the guild chat column and I was wondering if you can help on a problem I’m having recently. I used to be big into MMOs but now I find myself hopping from one game to the next because I don’t always have a lot of free time to dedicate to one game especially if my friends aren’t bugging me to play. I recently got back into EVE Online after long time away after I got a reactivation offer and I’ve resubbed for a month and I’m now having a lot of trouble getting back into it. A load of stuff has changed like some of my ship fittings don’t work anymore and some of the old websites I used are gone but worst of all is my corporation (like a guild and that is why I wrote in).
My old corporation was small but a very close group and we did a load of stuff together. We did mostly social/industry/mining/missions in US time zone and I really loved it but now I’m back and nobody else is ever online. Looks like the corp is dead but I’m still in it because they don’t kick anyone and I’m kinda stuck because I don’t want to quit in case my friends come back. Everyone knows EVE is a bit crap without an active corp though so should I quit my corp and how should I find another one? I’m not sure if I want to leave the corp or just start a new character and get a completely fresh start and maybe try something different like PvP but I have 32m skill points already on this character and can fly a lot of ships already. I need advice for what to do when you come back to an old MMO and your guild is dead.
Rethink rerolling: This isn’t your typical MMO
I had a nice long chat with MOP’s own EVE specialist Brendan Drain about your situation before tackling this topic for you, and the one takeaway he was keen to impress upon me was that a well-established EVE character is quite a time commitment, so my first piece of advice is to avoid taking the reroll route if at all possible. I know that you have strong feelings about your corp and the memories of its greatness are making you feel nostalgic, but remember that your time there has directly aided in the development of your current character. Think of the time put into your skillset’s development: You don’t want to waste all of that progress and erase even more of your in-game history, and it’s not going to be as easy to recoup the loss as it could be in a more traditional themepark-style MMO.
There are plenty of people who have quit EVE for years and the community largely doesn’t discriminate against this demographic the way themepark communities might frown upon those who skipped a previous expansion and return for the new one, for instance, so you really don’t need to panic even half as much as you think you do. The reason for suggesting that you keep your character is that those skills are a marketable commodity in themselves: With a developed skillset, you can fit into corps far more easily, especially in PvP corps in which you’d be expected to fly the alliance ship setups. Consider your character’s previous development and you could well find that you are much more valuable for today’s corps than you think. Of course, even without an extensive skillset, you’ll still be able to find a home in a newbie corp should you wish without anyone batting an eye at your return to the game.
Leaving your corp is the best next step
EVE is a game that favours company, so I strongly urge you to step away from your old corp and get hunting for a new home. I promise that this isn’t as scary as it sounds: So much has changed in EVE since you last played that no matter where you call home, you’ll have some degree of relearning and finding a new niche to go through. Take your time with this and get reacquainted with the basics: Know your ships and modules, update your strategies, and get your finger back on the pulse of the game’s industry before you find a new haunt. There’s plenty of scope to make a tidy amount of ISK if you don’t ignore this crucial step in finding your feet again, so don’t rush ahead with your old playstyle and assume it’s still relevant in the EVE climate of today. Also, Brendan says to watch out for Svipuls when you’re flying around lowsec, whatever that means.
Gather together your assets — being careful that you don’t run into suicide gankers if you’re sitting on a mini ISK mine worth of stuff — and appraise the value of your stash. There could be a surprising amount of value hiding away in your dusty old stash that you’re unaware of, but this will depend on how long you’ve been away. Pay particular attention to rare old items that you can’t get anymore to see if you’re sitting on any hidden gems. Some may have become collectors items, and this could unlock a little bit of spending power for you to fuel your next adventure. Liquidate your old stuff and you’ll have the fresh start you’re searching for without ditching your character. At the very least you’ll be able to buy PLEX with your gains, and you can even purchase skill injectors now that will let you catch up with newer skills.
A fantastic bonus of joining a new corp is the opportunity to drastically change up your playstyle to suit your current preferences and real-world commitments. Plan out your rough gaming schedule and evaluate whether a change of focus might be beneficial. I’m guessing that if you took such a long hiatus from EVE in the first place, you must have had some sort of issue with your experience or with keeping up the pace, so it’s wise to use this chance to work on these issues. If you spent most of your time mining before, for instance, why not opt for a PvP corp or a wormhole corp this time around to mix things up a little?
How to find a suitable new home
The general advice given in previous editions of Guild Chat will stand you in good stead as you attempt to find a new corp to call home, but I want to give you some game-specific advice too since you were specific in your submission. The first place to look is in-game, of course: Check out the corp ads and prioritise places that work on a similar schedule to you and then match them to your chosen playstyle. Should the hunt prove problematic, don’t be afraid to take your search out-of-game as well because the game forum and Reddit have a large number of corps currently recruiting too.
It may seem a tad obvious, but do try to rekindle some of those old friendships should you see anyone from your old corp pop online. It could be the case that they can recommend a great new corp for you that greatly mirrors your old haunt, especially if their playstyles closely aligned with yours. Even if they can’t be of help, talking to old friends will help make you feel that little bit more comfortable about your return to EVE, and they might well have some strategy or build tips that could help your restart. Whatever path you take, I hope you enjoy revisiting an old favourite and find just as much enjoyment in the game this time around as you did before. My last bit of advice is to check out Brendan’s EVE Evolved column if you haven’t already for more detailed state-of-play information to get you quickly back into the swing of things. Enjoy!
Over to you!
I’ve taken my anonymous friend through my advice for starting up in EVE again after a long hiatus that has seen the demise of his corp, but I’m sure you’ll have plenty to add to my thoughts. What would you do if you returned to your favourite MMO only to find your guild in tatters? What steps do you take when returning to an MMO after a long hiatus? Get brainstorming in the comments!
Many thanks for this submission! If you have a guild issue you’d like some help with, email me a brief overview and I’ll do my best to feature you in the next edition of Guild Chat.
MOP’s Tina Lauro is on-hand to deal with all of your guild-related questions, queries, and drama in Guild Chat. Whatever your guild issue, she’s sure to have a witty yet sympathetic response. If there’s a specific topic you’d like to see dissected, drop Tina a comment or send an email to tina@massivelyop.com.
