So more recently since I got back from holidays and christmas visiting relatives I have been on and off the game.  I just love the way your character keeps ticking away developing – especially if you have a busy real life like myself.  I have logged back into eve several times ran a few level I’s and then logged out.  In that time I have had a few more discussions with some of the playerbase.  At times I honestly don’t get the advice.  Here is an excerpt from a conversation I had recently in Tweety Pub:

Vissari Nolen “So, Moriarty haven’t seen you around here.”
Moriarity Kanenald “Hi there – I have been away. Just bobbed in here to have a chat a week ago.”

I am wondering what is coming next.  Tweety Pub is full of enthusiastic players and I am always getting tons of advice from them.

Vissari Nolen “Ohh. Hopefully you put something long in your training queue?”

I am not that much of a nubbins. Well thats strictly speaking not true.  I sometimes got distracted by the pub and coffee shops and did not get back in time.  Plus it can slip your mind this training thing.  Anyway this instance I had left quite a long skill on so I replied:

“Yeah I have managed to get Passive Shield Tanking Standard. So working on DPS now. I am very new to the game. Just working out where to go next.”

Nolen replies “o.O your training via certificates?”
“Yeah I think the Certificates are handy.” I reply.  In fact I find them very very useful indeed.  They seem to guide me to where I want to be and after all I am in no hurry.

“Training via certificates is nice if you don’t really know what you’re doing.”  Tell me about it I am thinking!

“….but its better to train by manually selecting your skills, that way you get to your desired ships/modules faster because you don’t have to train anything extra that isn’t necessarily needed for your ship/module.” He has a point but he seems to be making a big assumption and that assumption is that I actually have a clue what ship or modules I need.  I have already tried just loading up a ship with stuff and that failed.  Secondly what is the big hurry?  Its like there is some huge rush to mince the game and hurry through to something.  Although I find the missions boring I am enjoying browsing forums and looking around and figuring things out slowly.  Anyway the conversation continues after I replied that.

“I manually select them but work towards certificates at a time. Its better than haphazardly trying to skill for a bit of equipment as I come across it.”

Vissari then responded by telling me that whilst “this is true…  once you get a good idea of what you actually want you should manually pick your skills you’re Minmatar right?”

Hell yeah I think!  Freedom fighters and tough sons of bitches! Anyway I reply “How can I know what to go for? I am trying to work that out. Certificates seem to help guide me.”

“I’ll tell you what to go for =P. You’re going to want to get into a battleship as soon as possible. So that you can do incursions and make a lot of money.” And there we have it.  The first vestiges of control, I know better I can tell you.

Well honestly how could he?  Whilst I think his advice was very well meaning and hell I liked this bloke.  The problem is he didn’t take the time to see what I am chasing.  Just jumped right in there and told me I need a Battleship.  A big expensive ship that I have to worry about all the time.  Making money.  I need to learn to make money in my virtual internet spaceship game.  I need to treat the game like it is my real life. I need that.  Thats just great!  So I replied by saying “nope!” Except he wasn’t listening.

“Incursions are the best source of income in the game at the moment. By far.”

“So I am looking to get into exploration. I am not after loads of isk….”  A tumble weed seemed to blow past in my head and there was a brief pause before Vissari replied. “hmmm.”

“I just want to explore eve and enjoy it.” I say, but Vissari was not convinced. Rather than bore you with the details of the conversation beyond that he was very supportive but because I was kinda working on a different path to him he did not seem to be able to provide the right kind of advice.  I knew I needed combat skills, I also knew I needed tanking skills.  Maybe nothing too drastic but good enough to be able to handle most of what was in the pockets.  Anyway the truth is he left me because he had to go out.

So whilst I think advice is all and good, sometimes there is a tyranny of control in all this advice.  I think the lesson I am learning about advice is quite an old one it is simply put as follows: caveat emptor—let the buyer beware.