So how do I become useful to someone?

[Phunked]

A friend and I decided to try EVE as a 'different' MMO. We've gotten to the point where we sort of know what we're doing and it's fairly easy to see the appeal (though to be honest, I don't think I've ever debated market trends in real life with anyone as vehemently as I have in EVE, which makes me wonder what would happen if people channeled their financial brilliance elsewhere, but I digress). The problem we're running into is that the transition from completely clueless --> new, but useful, is difficult to make happen.

I know that the general advice is to join a corp and go from there, but it seems difficult to evaluate them.  Is corp age meaningful? Number of members? Proficiency at English? All of these? What about political affiliations? Which ones are the least douchy? Other MMOs have a much simpler system; "we killed final boss dragon man the fist week without letting any of the princesses die". Awesome. "Our miners bring in 350 million ISK a week"...awesome? Is that good? How do I tell? I realize that this is probably a very common theme in posts of newer players, but there really doesn't seem to be a good solution other than "ask the community" or "make the wrong choice and quit in two weeks".

[eldaec]

Flying with them and finding out that they aren't douchebags is the only method that works.

Also, join the f13 chat channel in game.

Theoretically we have a corp, though it is currently experiencing <ahem> technical difficulties. Matters should be resolved shortly.

[tgr]

Numbers of members are usually completely different from what's actually active members. I've joined corps with 300 members, where 10 were active. I've also been in a corp with 5 members, hell I've been in a 1200+ alliance, and they all looked good from their description and when I spoke to the representatives, but while the first two were very enjoyable, the last alliance was literally the worst 3-4 weeks I've ever spent because literally the entire alliance were nothing but spergy whiny fuckwads.

There's literally no reliable way of figuring out if an alliance or a corp is right for you, or what they'd like you to do for them, because I think it's much more about how compatible you're compared to them and what you end up finding fun. You can try to screen them as much as you'd like, but unless you actually spend time with them and see how they actually operate, you'll never figure out if it'll work.

Having said that, I've been useful doing literally everything carebearish, hauling etc, but I've also been useful by flying a rifter in large-scale fleet fights where I've done nothing except provide a warp-in spot ... in a rifter.

[TheDreamr]

For me the best way to "judge" a corp before joining is to hang out in their public channel ingame, talk to them, get an idea what they do, ask questions and generally see what you think - if you end up wanting to stab them in the face to make the stupid go away, probably not the corp for you.  Remember - this is also an opportunity for them to get a look at you.  Finally, ask if they take potential recruits along on ops - they may say no for a variety of reasons, but they may say yes and you'll get a feel first-hand for whatever they do.

Size or activity depends on what you expect the corp to be doing - I could write something long and boring, but the bottom line is two questions; Can they actually do what they said with that many pilots in-game?   Will I need more corpmates to interact with to make EVE not suck?

[tgr]

Just going to inject something here. There's not just the corporation you're joining to keep in mind, it's also the alliance the corp either is in, or will join in the near future. I fell in the trap of joining a corp which worked fine for me personally, but they then moved to an alliance (the 1200+ one) which was full of sperging whiny fuckwads, which didn't surface until 2-3 days into the move, when we'd settled in their space and had access to intel/alliance chat. It's never 100% unavoidable, so be prepared to reevaluate your surroundings.

Nothing ruins the experience more than a bad bunch of people to fly with, and nothing makes it more enjoyable than a good bunch of people to fly with, so don't be afraid to be very critical when both evaluating the corp prior to moving in, and the alliance (if any) after you have moved in.

[palmer_eldritch]

I don't think you'll ever be likely to find a large alliance with hundreds of players in an MMO who don't drive you a bit crazy if you take it too seriously. The main thing is to make sure there are at least a few people you like and can talk to.

I think finding the right corp for you depends partly on what you want to do. Most will advertise what they are about - industry and mining in high security space, piracy (eg ganking miners), living in the wild lands of 0.0 or whatever. So the first thing is to get some idea what you actually want to do in Eve, at least for now. If you don't like it, you can always join a different corp.

As Eldaec said, you could join the f13ers, once we get our act together, and if you do end up leaving in a couple of weeks then at least you'd know some people in game to talk to.

[Tuncal]

So if one were a complete EVE newbie, with little more than a week of sporadic playing and still trying to figure out the basics, what are the odds of them joining up with the rest of the f13ers?

[Numtini]

If people aren't hung up on Concord standings, how bout a low sec piracy roam? It's not very profitable compared to Delve, but it's a good amount of fun and it's mostly cheap frigates and maybe 1 or 2 T2 frigs.

[Pennilenko]

So if one were a complete EVE newbie, with little more than a week of sporadic playing and still trying to figure out the basics, what are the odds of them joining up with the rest of the f13ers?

Spy!

[sanctuary]

Just to reiterate what Eldaec said earlier - join the F13 chat channel, ask lots of questions. Mention which corps you're looking at joining and it maybe that one of us can give you further information.

[Slayerik]

So if one were a complete EVE newbie, with little more than a week of sporadic playing and still trying to figure out the basics, what are the odds of them joining up with the rest of the f13ers?

Spy!

This thread is a spy haven.

[Furiously]

Bobby Atlas stamp of approval.

[Setanta]

So if one were a complete EVE newbie, with little more than a week of sporadic playing and still trying to figure out the basics, what are the odds of them joining up with the rest of the f13ers?

Spy!

I have this theory that those that try to out everyone as a spy are most likely to be spies themselves 

[Pennilenko]

So if one were a complete EVE newbie, with little more than a week of sporadic playing and still trying to figure out the basics, what are the odds of them joining up with the rest of the f13ers?

Spy!

I have this theory that those that try to out everyone as a spy are most likely to be spies themselves 

We are all Spies, and Endie Alts.

[Phunked]

Just out of curiosity, did the developers never think that the 'spy' thing might make their game increasingly newbie unfriendly as time went on, which is the exact opposite of what they want to have happen?

[TheDreamr]

Honest, don't worry about the spy thing too much it's more for comedy value than anything as any given alliance will have it's own little network of independent spies already in place, and the good corps / alliances will be setup to handle the security issues this throws up.

There are certain times you simply don't recruit as too many critical things are going on (wars, withdrawing etc.), or you don't have the resources to integrate the new guys.

IMO more than anything at the peak of any alliances power it's not the spies this is intended to deter - it's the "fair weather friends" who want the going while it's good but don't want turn up when there's a chance they could lose.

[Kovacs]

... might make their game increasingly newbie unfriendly as time went on, which is the exact(ly).. what they want to have happen?

Have we met?  I'm Eve.

[Merusk]

Just out of curiosity, did the developers never think that the 'spy' thing might make their game increasingly newbie unfriendly as time went on, which is the exact opposite of what they want to have happen?

That's what makes it hardcore, y0.  If you can't handle it, you shouldn't be playing.  Or something.

Really, it hasn't mattered much. If anything it's probably what's fueling so damned many accounts being paid for.. so I can only see them making it more attractive.

[eldaec]

Just out of curiosity, did the developers never think that the 'spy' thing might make their game increasingly newbie unfriendly as time went on, which is the exact opposite of what they want to have happen?

I can't imagine there is anything CCP could possibly do to make EVE online less newbie friendly short of mailing goatse to anyone who signs up a new account.

[lac]

They've come a long way. The newbie missions are quite entertaining these days.

[Setanta]

And as an extension of that, the Sister's of Eve arc is fun to run as well for newbies although the last mission can be a pain without a friend (if it's a new account). Mind you, after 50 missions, most newbies should be in a cruiser or similar which might stand a better chance of dropping the final foe.