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I will have Learning 5 (rank 1), then all shall fear my power with multiplication tables.

The skill learning system is interesting and yet annoying since it sort of takes the MMO timesink convention to the limit.  Thank god we can do this offline.  I'm sure McQuaid would need us ATK at a forge 24/7.

5 is a LONG haul. Just finished 4 and am working on the rest of the stat boosts before I tackle the 5s.

2% Learning saves you 201 minutes on a 7 day (10080 minutes) skill.

I can't believe you're training the learning skills to V so early.  Don't you want to get the hell out of a frigate?  :-)

For the really long ones I plan to just do them in overnight chunks when I don't have another skill I REALLY need at the moment. I figure the faster the better on the learning skills though- anything that can cut down 90 day skill gains is useful.

per-cisely.  I am enjoying Eve, and I'm enjoying the offline training a lot, even though its long.  For me, I rerolled my main ("Soln") and have just been training Learning to 5 before finishing the tutorial and starting again.  I started up EQ2 again the meanwhile, but I think it's a good investment (the Learning skill in Eve, that is).

Same - i enjoy the offline training a lot. It kind of gives the game a longer term appeal to me as i can plan out a couple months and not worry that i don't have time to log in and 'ding!'. I have all the learnings at 4 now (well, will, int, perc, memory and cha).

Don't worry about Learning itself past 4, train the others (Analytical Mind and Instant Recall first, because the first-tier attribute skills all use those two) to the second tier, level 4 (Logic and Eidetic Memory for those two).  Learning is 2% across the board reduction, but the others are about 10% for the skills that use those attributes.  At tier 2 level 4, your attributes will be in the high teens to low twenties, and you'll train about twice as fast as at tier 1 level 4.  Level 4 to 5 in most skills is roughly 5 days times the rank (so I can train a racial frig skill from 0 to 5 in a little under 2 weeks).  You can cut it another third again with good implants, but those cost (you can get them from missions, though).

--Dave

Newb question:  are these extra skills available at a certain level?  What's the criteria to unlock them.  I don't have them visible to train yet is all.  Thanks for good advice.

You have to buy books to train any skills your character didn't start with.  Look on the market.