Sometime last night I hit 60m skillpoints on my oldest Eve character. For some reason, this milestone seems bigger than others I have passed. There are simple reasons. In the last few months I have finished training all T2 cruisers and medium weapons, and all T3 hulls. That is not completely true, I cannot fly Interdictors, Heavy Interdictors, or T2 industrials, but it is close enough. My main also has moderate competency in mining, industry, research, and a fair portion of invention, as well as the skills to fly an Orca. He can scan. He can lead a moderately sized corporation. He can anchor and operate any POS array. All in all, he has a very competent skill set across most facets of the game. Training has turned into a question of “What do I want?” not “What do I need?”
So how long did this take? My Eve career has been punctuated by long gaps without active subscription time. Averaged out, over 3.75 years Grimmash has accumulated 1800sp per hour. At this rough rate, I should break the 100m barrier sometime late in year 5. It will probably happen faster if I stick to training skills that align with my attributes and implants. At this point I imagine I will make it that far.
What has Grimmash accomplished? He’s been a director in some 3-4 corporations. He is now the CEO of his current corp, within a motley alliance of dirty pirates, filthy carebears, crazy wormholers and those who just like the ethos. He has spent time in high sec, low sec faction warfare, and now resides almost exclusively in wormhole space. His path seems to be away from the crowds, but towards communities. He’s lost a fair number of ships, and killed a few more. His kill to death ratio is currently 83:44, which considering his entire time in low and wh space, seems like a not terrible ratio. Not that it matters all that much.
What have I accomplished? I’ve made some friends, had a fair bit of fun. I helped capture systems in Black Rise, and made some silly posters for GalMil. I’ve been on the receiving end of ganks, conducted a few myself. I flown in fleets and flown solo. I’ve witnessed some corp thefts, and avoided the temptation myself once or twice. Although they say each person has a number, maybe I just haven’t hit mine yet. I started this blog, and its’ predecessor. Most of all, I’ve enjoyed playing with other people.
My favorite experiences in Eve have been with other players. Establishing a home in the stars for my corpmates. Conversations with pilots who have killed me or pilots I have killed. Silly roams through Black Rise. Nights on comms not really even playing Eve, just talking about random stuff. Sharing thoughts and minor debates on forums and websites. Random conversations with people in England, Scotland, Portugal, Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, Qatar, Costa Rica, and all across my home, the United States (of North America). Hundreds of small moments in time, where it has become obvious Eve is not really a game. Eve is a tool for creating community and interaction between players.
On the balance I have found my fellow players to be friendly and supportive, both in game and out, through situations virtual and actual. I look forward to the next 60 million skill points, and the interactions and relationships I will find along the way.
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