The first thing you need to do is to download the client and apply for a 14 day free trial account since there is no point in playing a game you dislike or wasting those precious two weeks when you can get a freebie. Once your account has been setup, it’s time to log in and head to the character creation screen.

Basically, you would want to build up your character according to its role, and there are a few options available. First off, you can have a well rounded character with all stats having a similar level, a build which is good for profession switching later in the game, recommended if you’re new and undecided. As a rule of thumb, traders require a lot of Charisma and Willpower; fighters generally rely on Perception and Willpower, while haulers, miners, scientists and tanker types absolutely need Intelligence and Memory. My advice is to go for a fighter type since it will provide you with enough entertainment running NPC missions and will open up the way for becoming a pirate, or pirate-killer, since PvP is the most important aspect of Eve Online play. Bearing this in mind, your goal is to create a character that is low on Charisma, but has extremely high Perception, high Intelligence and Willpower, and moderate Memory. Each race has 30 points distributed among the stats so if you’re going for a low stat, you can spend the points somewhere else. Therefore, the lineage with the best starting stats is the Caldari Achura, with the ancestry providing the +3 Memory bonus. Spend 3 extra points in Perception and 2 in Intelligence. Formal character training will consist in him working for the State War Academy, always on the path which boosts Frigate handling, because it will get you the most starting Learning Points. You now have a good character build with decent skills and you need to make some money and start training.

The best way to make money early in the game and win some faction standing in the process is by running agent missions. Although they are a time sink, you will come to enjoy the variety of ship setups and conditions brought forth, since you’ve been breed for war in the first place. Money will soon enough flow in, enabling you to buy skills off the market. At this point, you should download an Eve Online Skill Monitor and get a skill setup ready for the next 2-3 months. I’m going to reiterate what the skill monitor will confirm with hard data. This utility is good for keeping track of skills while you’re offline and has the means to notify players upon skill training completion. It is important to always train your skills, since Learning Points go on while offline. First and foremost train Instant Recall, Analytical Mind and Learning up to level three each, then do the same with Spatial Awareness and Iron Will. I would suggest further training to level 5 for Analytical Mind and Spatial Awareness and getting their respective tier 2 counterparts, Logic and Clarity, to level 3 also. All in all, I would not recommend raising tier 2 learning skills unless you plan on extensively using them and playing Eve Online accordingly, for at least half a year. The Skill Monitor will help you develop good skill plans and they will ultimately show you if the time invested in learning will pay off or not. Don’t rush things, since learning will take up three to five weeks of your character’s time. Be sure to plug in some +1 implants, a cheap alternative to skill boosting. You will eventually switch to +3 implants when money will allow, which is usually right after you’ve purchased the first Battleship.

It’s never a good idea to trust the skill monitor 100%, so throw in some Spaceship Command skills so that you can fly Cruisers. Here you have a choice of either flying the slightly expensive Moa gunship, or the Caracal missile boat. I suggest you use the ship’s high slots to outfit as many weapons as possible and fit the medium slots with a target painter, a webifier, an afterburner and some shield extenders. Meanwhile, the low slots will definitely make up for the lack of skills with additional CPU or powergrid needs, because, let’s face it, you can barely pilot the cruiser as it is. It’s maybe the only part of the game where you can afford to be vulnerable, since players can’t really attack you without CONCORD blowing them out of the sky. As a rule of thumb, always insure your ship so that you won’t be left stranded with any options when your craft is destroyed. Eventually, every spaceship takes one too many hits. Cruisers will see you safely through level 2 agent missions and will prepare the way for flying Battlecruisers. The latter are essential in dealing properly with level 3 agent missions space rats (hostile NPCs) and provides a cheap alternative to the Battleships, which are demanding, both skill-wise and financially. It’s highly important since level 3 missions provide some of the best pay available in Eve Online for characters that like to solo, not to mention that it will take you a long time to gather the skills and resources needed to adventure on those perilous level 4 missions which will often enough require the help of another player. Battlecruisers are a different breed. Although the damage output will increase, it’s nothing dramatic, not compared to the massive boost in tanking abilities. I suggest you get tier 2 shield extenders, no less than five of them, the maximum number. Low Slots can be fitted with a ballistic control system for the extra punch and three shield power relays. The shield recharge time will drop to unbelievably low times, boosting the natural recharge rate through the roof. Forget about shield hardeners or shield boosters because you don’t need them with 15,000 shields and from 20 to 60 shield regeneration per second. Shield regeneration is lower when you are at full capacity and raises accordingly once your shield hit points drop, with a maximum effect at around 35%. As you kill your opponents, the overall damage per second done to your ship will decrease, along with an increase in regeneration. You will most of the time find yourself with half your shield up and enemies unable to damage you any further. Now that’s a sight! Be sure to stay in 0.5 security space where player pirates can’t attack. You will be sent into nearby systems which hold 0.4 and 0.3 status, but unless your gate is camped by a well organized gang, chances are you will survive every potential attack. It’s never a good idea to go away from the keyboard in low security space.

Once you’re done with training Learning and ship skills, you can properly start to strengthen your character with tanking and damage dealing abilities. Usually, there are choices to be made here. You can armor-tank or shield-tank, depending on which of these two statistics you want to boost by increasing the total amount and their respective damage resistances. The same goes for guns versus missiles, two ways of dealing damage. Guns have the advantage that can deal incredibly high damage, yet their use is situational, depending on the distance to the target. They also use cap while firing and impair to some extent the use of active shield boosters and hardeners, or any other cap draining modules. On the other hand, missiles have no such issues, yet they can be shot down with defender missiles by the opposition. Remember you are playing Caldari at the moment, and Caldari ships are known for their particularities. Having a good number of medium slots, over the few low slots also available, it’s safe to admit they are proficient at shield-tanking. By taking a look at the battleship setup, you can plainly see missiles are favored over guns in terms of damage dealing, so your options are pretty much set in stone once you’ve chosen the Caldari as your champions.

At this moment, you should be about three months into the game, with skills good enough for you to use various tier 2 implements like shield extenders, shield boosters, shield hardeners which will help you last longer in battle. Battleships should be in your league, so be sure to save up enough ISK and get yourself one. This is a turning point in your Eve Online existence because it will take you from 3 to 8 weeks to get your hands on a new ship, and chances are it will just be more crafty, but not necessarily significantly more powerful. Flying the Battleship is a rewarding experience in itself, yet you’ll eventually get bored, wanting to explore other possibilities. You must now think really well about the path you wish to take, since you’re going to leave the casual area of the game and enter the dedicated player area, where things suddenly get a lot more hardcore. Frigates, Destroyers, Cruisers, Battlecruisers and even Battleships have tier 2 counterparts with statistics you will come to love and envy at the same time, so there’s where you need to be heading. Be sure to check in-game each ship description to get a general idea of the vessel’s role, strengths and weaknesses before committing yourself to learning the skills. The fastest skills to learn will have you flying a Covert Ops ship or an Assault Frigate (in about 20 days), an Interceptor frigate with the option to go further and play the Interdictor tier 2 piece in about 24 extra days. Elite cruisers, also known as Heavy Assault Ships, will have you flying an assault frigate for an extra 35 days. I’m not even going to say anything about the elite battleship since the skill training times go off the charts. It’s hard to cover up the distance in skill points when you’re facing players that have been active for the past three years.

Although you’re a mean fighter, your stats are well balanced and you can actually switch profession at this point in the game. Since you have some faction standing built up, along with starter skills, you can safely use space station facilities when it comes to recycling, refining, manufacturing and research. You didn’t waste your time running missions; it was just one step in your ascension. So by all means, if training tier 2 ships is too much of a bother and you’ve had quite enough of more experienced players shooting you down in 0.0 space, be sure to switch to mining, industry or science. It can be just as rewarding money-wise, but this is a decision only you can make, so I’ll leave it to you.