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Storytime! Tell us about a lesson you learned the hard way for $20

Posted by Ford James in EVE Online

EVE's learning curve is steeper than the Grand Canyon. Whereas most games feel the need to babysit new players - we get it: push forward to walk forward - EVE players must instead undergo a trial by blaster fire.

We want to hear your best story about a lesson you learned the hard way. Perhaps you lost your favourite ship exploring a C5? Perhaps you trusted the wrong stranger in Nullsec? Share your tale of woe with us. and perhaps a reader might learn the lesson without the cost. If your story is well told and engaging, you might win $20 for your trouble.

already paid

$40 / 60

Reward details

This reward closed to entries at 9:57am on October 10, 2023 but you can still reply, react, and join the conversation below! If you’d like to enter other rewards which are still open, click here.

Created at 1:32pm, 26th September, 2023. Page last updated at 2:43pm, 16th May, 2024.
Deadline at 10:30pm, 3rd October, 2023.

orik Kado 10/3/2023, 7:01:39 PM

Certainly, one of the major lessons with large ships I learned in a brutal and swift manner.

On that fateful day in October 2019, I was preparing my Carrier to move a small fleet of mining ships for an alliance activity. The idea was to mine as a group and have an enjoyable time. We had system control, good intel; it seemed to be one of those rare calm days. So, in an attempt to save on jumps and with the need to fetch some additional ships for the operation, I decided to move my Carrier the usual way, by using gates. Little did I know, this would be the end of my Carrier.

Crossing the first gate went smoothly, so I aligned my ship for the next system. Once at the right speed, I initiated the warp to the next gate. Midway through the journey, three neutrals appeared in local. As if by magic, a wormhole had just opened. On the other side, a fleet from WE FORM V0LTA was poised and ready for prey. Their tacklers quickly positioned themselves ahead and waited for me on the other side of the gate, deploying sabres and preparing for my arrival. It was a dreadful experience. My first capital was destroyed in less than 5 minutes. That day, I simply didn't log back in. I couldn't grasp what had happened, how a capital ship could be destroyed so easily. After a few hours, I realized it was the result of my poor decisions. So now, I'll share the lessons learned that day:

1.Never move a capital without scouts, especially through gates. They're very slow and vulnerable when alone

Even if the intel appears calm, always remain vigilant for new anomalies. You never know where a wormhole with hostiles might open.
Learn to accept significant losses; surrender is never an option.

https://zkillboard.com/kill/79373240/

Wadd Enderas 9/29/2023, 12:17:35 AM

One of my favourite EVE memories led to a couple of lessons learned the hard way in one moment.

I was out running a mining operation in hi-sec with my corporation, we were popping out of wormhole for our once a week Veldspar gathering session. I was flying my Orca, operating boosts for the fleet, which, in the days before shipboard compression, isn't the most engaging style of gameplay. Having said that, we all know that mining fleets in general don't offer much engagement through that activity itself, all the fun comes from messing around on comms and having a good ol' social.

One additional responsibility for the Orca pilot was also to carry the ore mined by everyone else and so this involved using a tractor beam to scoop up ore that had been jettisoned by miners, this is important for the story!

So we've been in fleet a couple of hours, it's hi-sec so there's not much threat and we're generally just mucking about. To wind me up a bit, some of the miners start dropping single random items and modules into their jetcans (and removing their ore) so that I'm wasting time tractoring in worthless empty cans instead of the good stuff. This is of course all very funny, so I think to myself I'll drop my drones and start popping the cans, we're in fleet so what's the harm, and they'll run out of stuff to put in the empty cans.

No sooner have I sent my drones over to the first can... 'kaboom'!! I'm sat in space in my pod and my Orca is no more, just a nice large piece of wreckage. Comms goes silent for a second, then suddenly there's a chorus or 'what the f***?!', 'where are the gankers?!' etc..... I quietly pipe up to inform everyone I've just been Concorded and lost a billion or so isk Orca because who knew you couldn't aggress fleet members jetcans?!

Cue massive laughter and ridicule that somehow managed to last several weeks after I replaced the Orca and a few more, hiccup free, mining fleets!

So yes, a couple of lessons:

If you agress a fleet members jetcan in hi-sec, you will be Concorded (killed by the hi-sec police) because... reasons I guess.
Always have your safety set to Green in hi-sec

Wadd, you fool.

The proof, if it's needed:

The proof, if it's needed: https://zkillboard.com/kill/90941166/

Swagger Olacar 9/27/2023, 12:57:03 AM

Do not fly anything you can't afford to replace.

Many people call it the golden rule, something that I always beleived in but when you start flying with the most competent pilots there are you sometimes can get cocky, forget about your own skill and rely on others, sometimes leading to the point of ignoring your instinct. Such was the case on this story. It was June of 2022 and I had recently aqcuired my first Black Ops battleship, a Widow, man I loved that ship, at the time it had completed tenths of firing missions and gottent 25 killmarks on it, it wasn't optimal for solo/small gang Blopsing but at the time it was the most expensive ship that I owned. We used to got into the adjacent region of Branch to mess with Fraternity's renters, killing ratters, miners, DED runners, anything unlucky enough to be caught by our hunter. It was a relatievely quiet evening, we had caught nothing then until our hunter spotted a Golem, it took him a bit of time to pinpoint it but he hed him. We where only 3 Black ops battleships, at the time the Marauder buff was very recent and they had a 30 second bastion cycle and could output twice the DPS that they could before, we were unsure of how he was fitted so we checked his Zkillboard, we found his most recent Golem loss was a poorly fit ratting fit, something was not right I thought to myself, we took too long to find him in the system, and we even took extra time to find his most recent loss, that was plenty of time for him to escape, my gut was telling me to not take the fight, it was as if he was trying to get caught, I decided to ignore my instincs and went for it. Next thing I know i was scrammed, webben, being neuted and there was a Bifrost landing on him to provide links to aid his already un-breakable shield tank. The other Black Ops warped off while I was left behind, eventually my tank failed and I lost my first Black Ops Battleship: https://zkillboard.com/kill/101208274/

I was devastated at the time and as the tittle suggest I could not afford to get a new one, but with help of some members of B0SS and dear friend of mine I managed to buy a new Widow, not nearly as blingy as the first one but it is fleet fit and works just fine. It was almost a whole month of belt ratting before I could even afford the hull, since then I went to kill many things with Black ops battleships and to lose some along the way, after you lose 2 you stop caring "ships are ammo "we say in B0SS, I am proud to say that every Blops that I lost this far met its end in glorious combat and did not die without taking down something with it as a last act of defiance. If this anecdote reaches anyone that has lost a blingy ship or is afraid of losing one I'd like to tell you that is fine, fear not, for ships are just ammo and this is just a game, and despite what the bitter-vets want you to think CCP has put alot of effort in this game for you to have fun, lose ships, have fun, losing a ship won't define the rest of your gameplay, what you decide to do following that loss will. Thanks to you, the reader for sticking to the end.

Fly dangerously o7

Kane Carnifex 9/26/2023, 3:01:22 PM

Lost my High-Grade Snakes to the first version of the Triglavian Gate Guns.

Insta locking (better than any player could be)

Open a Support Ticket which the mechanic felt was wrong. Decliend, CCP says works as designed.

Few nights later

CCP decides to nerf Triglavian as they are overpowered.

No more instalocking

Conclusion: Sorry for not being sorry.

JAKEL33T 9/26/2023, 6:55:43 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFp5jI6qkRU

https://twitter.com/Jakel33T/status/1706744137582887233

MacGybo 9/27/2023, 7:50:44 AM

The first time I encountered a loot thief.

I'd killed a target and was happily going to get the loot when someone else swept by and emptied the wreck. They managed to do it in a straight line, fast, without slowing down or stopping at the wreck. My mind was blown for a couple of reasons.

How did they do it that fast? How did they know the wreck was going to appear?

I'd thought that I was the thief, but that powerful bit of karma combined with the loss of something that was never technically mine made me simultaneously laugh and also be really impressed with the maneouver.

Many times since, I've been targetted by different styles of loot thief. It's good. It keeps me on my toes and keeps things interesting.

Daniel 9/27/2023, 8:02:09 AM

In my eagerness to prove myself at a new job, I took on too many responsibilities and projects simultaneously. I worked late nights and weekends, believing it would lead to success. However, the stress and burnout took a toll on my health and personal life. It was a painful lesson in setting boundaries and prioritizing self-care. I learned that success should not come at the expense of well-being, and now, I strive for a healthier work-life balance, valuing both professional achievement and personal happiness.

AlexGra 9/27/2023, 8:04:54 AM

In the fast-paced world of cryptocurrency, I made the mistake of diving in without a solid plan. Fueled by the promise of quick riches, I invested recklessly, ignoring the need for research and strategy. The market's volatility hit me hard, and I watched helplessly as my investments dwindled. It was a painful lesson in the importance of due diligence and prudent financial management. I've since learned to approach crypto investments with caution, understanding that gains require patience, knowledge, and a well-thought-out approach.

FUN INC 9/28/2023, 7:11:42 AM

Don't fly what you can't afford to lose, and always use freight services instead of moving it yourself - red frog, black frog, pushX etc

It is so cheap to use freight services and will save you time, and save on any embarassing losses.

Contracts can be made in Jita or any trade hub and the products can be moved anywhere for a price. Let those guys do the heavy lifting so that you don't have to.

I learnt this twice.

My first time was pure stupidity, and impatience. I managed to move 1 or 2 runs of loot in a small ship which had the benefit of fast aligns and speed etc, and as I had a clear tun through opted to take a slower less nimble ship. I hopped into Pakonen, and got ganked Iteron Mark V | keacte | Killmail | zKillboard and lost a load of modules and loot.

My second time was on the undock in Amarr - before grid had even loaded properly i was in my pod - similar thing - i opted to move modules rather than use a freight service Iteron Mark V | keacte | Killmail | zKillboard

My eternal lesson from then onwards has been use freight services - let them do the heavy lifting and pay. This frees me up to do stuff that i want to do, rather than stuff that i should do but always fail at when doing!

Heretical Coffee 10/3/2023, 2:50:55 AM

When I first started becoming a Wormholer I did not understand the importance of proper bookmarks and route maintenance. I joined the WHPD and was learning the ropes, making shoddy bookmarks and not understanding how to use tripwire.

One day I wasn't paying attention and warped away from my entrance wormhole without bookmarking it, and to make matters worse this system I was in was a drifter hive wormhole. So I now had to spend 40 minutes with mediocre scanning skills to try and find my original entrance out of 64 cosmic signatures.

People gave me a good ribbing in our discord chat, told me I would learn after that and surely they were correct. I am now extremely careful with ensuring I bookmark my wormholes, both my entrances and all of the other signatures using our Patent Pending, Wormhole Identity Classification System Designation.

I have vowed to never get lost in a Wormhole again, unless I planned on getting lost.

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