Ascension Day

Today is the day when EVE Online goes freemium. Well, a lot of other things are happening, like turning fleet boosts into a more active activity, the introduction of new industrial structures and ships, a balance pass for tech 3 destroyers, and the use of a cool new fitting simulator. But mainly, the expansion is all about the introduction of alpha and omega clones and the ability to play EVE without paying a subscription.

I am looking forward to starting up an alpha account. My quest for the Nestor is a grind. I'm almost done, but I don't want to mine anymore. Add in the horrible election and salty aftermath and I haven't really felt like playing anything, much less EVE.

I think I've decided which race to play on a new alpha account. People ask why I don't just create one of each race. The answer is simple. When I play an MMORPG, I want to develop my character. That means playing the game and living through the experiences. Just letting a character sit around gathering skill points isn't as satisfying.

I also want to do some things I haven't done in 7 years of playing EVE. Like PvP. Okay, I ran in fleets when I was in Eve University, but that was over six years ago. I hear that the new New Player Experience will push players to join factional warfare. One thing I have never done is run FW plexes. I hear it is quite lucrative. I'm also under the impression that if I fit a ship for PvP while running a plex that I can catch some people by surprise. In other words, I'd have a chance to win a fight. Probably never happen, but the Cubs did win the World Series this year.

Also, starting an alpha clone could prove a walk down memory lane. Perhaps I shouldn't try to relive the days when I began EVE, but I'd like to try. At the very least, starting over with an alpha account will give me something to blog about. I also have a crazy idea, but I'll save that for tomorrow if I actually go through with it.

I'll just close with an amusing fact I found in the patch notes. The new NPC mining operations will most often occur around selected stations owned by NPC corporations. Each of the three empires have three designated NPC corporations, but I found the Minmatar selection puzzling. The Minmatar Mining Corporation makes sense as the MMC is the main Minmatar NPC mining corp. Thukker Mix is reasonable if one forgets that the NPC corp is part of the Thukker Tribe, an independent faction from the Minmatar Republic. The third? The Vherokior Tribe. Huh? To me, that makes no sense. Then again, both of my main characters are Vherokior, and have done quite a bit of mining. I still think the choice is weird, though.