These masterclasses were the result of a bounty asking our expert EVE community to share lessons on the subject they’re most passionate about. That bounty itself was the result of a suggest-a-bounty submission from Brother Grimoire. So when you smartbomb a loot-laden vessel midwarp or become an ISK quadrillionaire through planetary industry, you know who to thank. Well, him and the six EVE Online tutors below, of course.
Masterclass #1: Mid-warp smartbombing
Tutor: MacGybo
Lesson length: 37 minutes
We’ll start off with a couple of hyper-niche tricks that many EVE players won’t even know are possible. Did you know that you can get killed mid-warp? Exactly. Armed with the knowledge that shuttles travel at 5au a second and that the EVE server updates every second, you can pinpoint a shuttle’s trajectory and intercept it. MacGybo explains how this “fun, hilarious, and mind-blowing” mechanic works in the video below.
The commands in the video are as follows:
/cmd_activate_high_power_slot1
/cmd_activate_high_power_slot2
/cmd_activate_high_power_slot3
/cmd_activate_high_power_slot4
And like any responsible tutor, MacGybo provides his students with a cheatsheet in the form of a smartbombing fit:
Maller, Midwarp Boss
Reactor Control Unit II
Reactor Control Unit II
Reactor Control Unit II
Mark I Compact Reactor Control Unit
Mark I Compact Reactor Control Unit
Mark I Compact Reactor Control Unit
Large YF-12a Smartbomb
Large YF-12a Smartbomb
Large YF-12a Smartbomb
Large YF-12a Smartbomb
Prototype Cloaking Device I
Medium Ancillary Current Router I
Medium Ancillary Current Router I
Medium Ancillary Current Router I
Masterclass #2: Blackglass implant farming
Tutor: EVEIL
Lesson length: nine minutes
EVEIL has long been interested in the lesser-known aspects of EVE, both for PvP and ISK-generation. Until recently, blackglass implant farming wasn’t a widely known pursuit. It takes advantage of the Project Discovery treasure hunt, an older event that’s still active. It can generate up to 300 million ISK per hour, much of which can be done while AFK.
Note that this is not a passive method for generating infinite free ISK. As EVEIL warns, there are risks attached, and you’ll likely want to bricktank. The final step of this semi-exploit requires pilots to fly to a particular site in Lowsec “where the locals will know exactly what you’re up to.” For that reason, EVEIL notes that this lesson is “only for the brave”.
Like MacGybo, EVEIL has been good enough to share the various fits discussed in their video. The video explains when, how, and why to use each fit.
Nereus, Simulated Nereus Fitting
IFFA Compact Damage Control
Shield Power Relay II
Shield Power Relay II
Shield Power Relay II
Shield Power Relay II
Large F-S9 Regolith Compact Shield Extender
Large F-S9 Regolith Compact Shield Extender
EM Shield Amplifier II
Shield Recharger II
Shield Recharger II
Entosis Link I
Medium Core Defense Field Purger I
Medium Core Defense Field Purger I
Medium Core Defense Field Purger I
Hobgoblin II x3
Acolyte II x3
Strontium Clathrates x117
Praxis, Brick Blackglass
Reinforced Bulkheads II
Reinforced Bulkheads II
Reinforced Bulkheads II
Reinforced Bulkheads II
Reinforced Bulkheads II
Reinforced Bulkheads II
Damage Control II
Large Shield Extender II
Large Shield Extender II
Large Shield Extender II
Multispectrum Shield Hardener II
Multispectrum Shield Hardener II
Large Shield Extender II
Multispectrum Shield Hardener II
Entosis Link II
Large Transverse Bulkhead I
Large Transverse Bulkhead I
Large Transverse Bulkhead I
Huginn, Solitaire Toaster
Reactor Control Unit II
Reactor Control Unit II
Reactor Control Unit II
Capacitor Flux Coil II
500MN Quad LiF Restrained Microwarpdrive
Stasis Webifier II
Stasis Webifier II
Stasis Webifier II
Sensor Booster II
Medium Cap Battery II
Entosis Link II
Medium Capacitor Control Circuit II
Medium Capacitor Control Circuit II
Scan Resolution Script x1
Masterclass #3: Faction Warfare
Tutor: Eaglefirefly
Lesson length: 22 minutes
The next few lessons are on less niche topics and instead provide expertise and clarity on some of EVE’s major features. Eaglefirefly has chosen to share a guide on Faction Warfare (FW).
Their video was published in December 2022. Given Havoc’s major changes to FW, the video isn’t as comprehensive as it once was, but it’s nonetheless full of useful and still-relevant advice on topics such as how to join FW, how to get the most enjoyment out of it, ship choice and fits, alliance contracts, skill plans, the FW interface, the advantage system, and fleeting up.
Masterclass #4: Industry and booster manufacturing
Tutor: orik Kado
Lesson length: nine minutes
Orik Kado offers less of a masterclass and more of a master’s degree. Industry is their EVE Online passion, and so they’ve devoted an entire series to it. The video below is just one lesson in that series, covering booster manufacturing.
A quick note on languages: Orik’s video is in Spanish, and at this early stage of development Just About doesn’t officially support non-English content. However, YouTube’s auto-translated subtitles give a good English-language translation of what is some excellent advice, so remember to switch them on via the ‘settings’ cog in the bottom-right.
Masterclass #5 - Planetary Industry (PI)
Tutor: JAKEL33T
Lesson length: 42 minutes
While we’re on the topic of industry, you don’t want to miss JAKEL33T’s informative PI lesson, which is ideal for anyone hoping to get set up quickly, learn how to navigate the interface, optimise, and watch that ISK roll in. The video covers everything you need to know to become a budding planetary industrialist, including the best ships for the job, scouting planets, the must-have skills to choose, and even the skills that - though they may seem relevant - you can actually do without.
Let us know how you get on.
Masterclass #6 - Alliance Tournament
Tutor: greybill
Lesson length: nine minutes
The Alliance Tournament (AT) is EVE’s premier winner-stays-on PvP event. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a little confusing. Greybill is passionate about making the AT a success. They’ve created two different guides explaining what goes on, “and there’s a lot going on”.
As well as explainers of the basic rules, bans, and the arena itself, the first blog - How to watch the Alliance Tournament for dummies - explores the AT broadcast overview. It’s dense with information, and requires a veritable Rosetta Stone to decipher. And here is that Rosetta Stone:
"In EVE Online, many fights are decided before the first shots are fired. The ship and fitting meta is often compared to playing rock-paper-scissors." In his second AT blog, greybill focuses on common ship compositions such as ‘flykillers’, ‘kingslayers’, and ‘octodads’, laying out their strengths and weaknesses against one another.
In case you need any further reason to read greybill’s guides, here’s what FUN INC thought of them:
“Love love love! Great job!”
If you found these tutorials helpful, be sure to subscribe to the tutors’ channels and blogs. Here they all are again: MacGybo, EVEILOnline, Eaglefirefly, orikKado, JAKEL33T, and greybill.
If you were going to give an EVE Online masterclass, what would your lesson cover? Let us know in the comments!
Some text has been amended for brevity. You can find the original wording at the bounty post.
Image Credit: Razorien on Flickr
Created at . Page last updated at .