“It’s often this element of a devastating loss that becomes a turning point for people in EVE Online. By losing your spaceship or making a mistake that costs you everything that you’ve earned so far, if you have the social support to get out of that, that’s really when you start to become an EVE player for real.”
That social support is the important piece of the puzzle, as Petursson explains that players will often band together and end up helping one another in times of major losses, and these self-identifying “helpers” are far more numerous than the killers according to Petursson. “In a game that has so many opportunities for mistakes and loss, that is where helpers thrive. And when we look at the people who identify as helpers, we see they have the highest engagement,” he notes.
On the subject of major losses, Wednesday, April 29th, marked the 14-year anniversary of the destruction of the first-ever Titan, the wreckage of which can still be found in-game today. CCP Games marked the occasion with a look back at a retrospective piece that was written on the event’s 10th anniversary.
Speaking of events, the Skillers in the Abyss event, which tasks players with taking on daily challenges in Abyssal Deadspace for Skill Point rewards, has been extended another week, now ending on Monday, May 11th, instead of Monday, May 4th.
