Tell the story of your most painful in-game loss!

Often, the pain of losing a ship is associated with its ISK value. However, for me, that’s not the case.

Let me tell you the story of a very inexperienced orik who, from the moment he started playing, only wanted to mine. The first logical step in that chain was to train for mining barges and then start working towards command ships. Once I had the necessary skills, I built my first Porpoise. For several days, I focused on mining all the required materials until I could finally craft it.

At this point, many might think the process was impractical, but it was something that excited me.

Since 2018, that ship, which I built entirely on my own, accompanied me on many adventures throughout my time in different corporations. It played an important role in my growth as a player.

Unfortunately, in November 2022, I was caught while traveling with my Porpoise to another system. Despite trying my best to defend it, its equipment wasn’t enough, and in just a few seconds, my journey came to an end before a formidable enemy.

Its ISK value is negligible, but that day, a piece of my character's story was destroyed. And even though I can now build as many ships as I like, none will replace the story of my first Porpoise.

Porpoise | orik Kado | Killmail

orik Kado (Spectrum.) lost their Porpoise in 3G-LFX (Etherium Reach). Final Blow by FITTIpalti (Beach Boys) flying in a Hurricane Fleet Issue. Total Value: 164,636,571.33 ISK

zkillboard.com

Ah Eve Online is kind of punishing when you "lose" , and for me I lost a lot in the early days , unfortunately I didn't record this story because It wasn't in one game session but Multiple ones so here how it goes :

When I joined the community of Eve Online and tried the game few years back for the first time, at first it was overwhelming sur but deep , so deep I was considering quitting, it felt like a job, but one side of the game had me interested and kept going till now .

It was Exploration, So I managed to skill my clone to be an explorer like no one in the game, and went out there Hunting for many sites to hack and loot I went to high low null then WH systems and there where I started to like the gameplay and the flow of exploration , so some times I go for a 4 hour session just jumping and scanning, hacking ( many failed ) , looting what I can, then Jump out to my next site, without going back and securing my loot( oh boy I was wrong ) I started to become a moving investment for me a new player, with half of a billion at one point.

After some time I started to park my ship in WH space in the void , till my next session . Imagine my stress level when I learned that not only My WH entrance and exit don't last for long and also those systems can have player corporations, So I started looking for my way out and every time I end up in dangerous parts of EVE's space, I was spamming the D scan 50 times/min , looking how to get to safety and when I give up, park my ship in a safe spot and hope tomorrow a WH will spawn .

Many days have passed , I thought this is the end of my clone cursed to never reach home , have to run for the rest of its life , until one last time I was scanning for WH and witnessed on my D scan some player combat probes , in my soul I felt freedom I said " Finally this dude will destroy me and I'll respawn in Jita system my home " but in front of me almost a Billion of items stocked in my cargo for weeks that I will lose , my inner Eve Greed bursted out and took control and I decided to do all I can to escape this gank.

Faster then lighting I Found an other WH and Tried to go through it, at that point everything seemed fine my heart started to decelerate , but the other side of the loading screen wasn't safety , wasn't an other dangerous WH space , but Null sec with a welcoming Party of few ships trying to go in … It was less then a second I a saw My clone floating in space without a capsule .

I felt pain and anger but , in the end we all have to lose something in Eve online , some lost their patience others their sanity , I lost my money that day …

My most painful loss occured while I was flying with Waffles. living in Kinakka. We had locals that often tried to catch our transports or other ships off the undock and as such had anchored an Astra just off grid of the main station in system. I often used it to cyno in and dock my Jump Freighter.

One particular time, I jumped in and had a solid 30 seconds of jump tunnel lag before loading grid. Once loaded, I noticed I had not received tether from the blue astra but instead was pointed by a hostile interceptor and shortly there after was one shot by a Nyx that had been in warp. I petitioned the loss, but per usual, the logs showed nothing and neither the ship nor the billions in cargo were reimbursed leading to a dead loss of around 20b isk, which at the time was a huge chunk of change to eat.

EVE had always been a thrilling roller coaster for me in terms of PvP. While I'm NOT the most daring pilot, the thrill of the hunt and the risk of losing it all were what kept me coming back. Despite a few close calls and costly mistakes, I was growing comfortable with the Abyss. It has a good loot and is unpredictable, so my shorter play sessions were more rewarding.

Then everything changed.

A swarm of coercers obliterated my beloved ship, the culmination of hours of research and ISK investment, and it was obliterated in seconds.

The loss was emotionally devastating because it felt like all my progress and the joy had vanished in an instant. It wasn't just about the ship, ISK or my pride... the freedom to explore the Abyss and the sense of accomplishment, before, during and after the adventure, were now gone. I felt trapped, unable to enjoy the parts of the game I loved the most.

What to do with that feeling? Do you take a step back and reassess your approach, or do you brush it off and dive back in Abyss?

The loss itself didn't break me, some sessions later I've already gotten over it, and it's just a game, but it did leave me feeling adrift for a while.

I had always prided myself on being a skilled pilot in EVE Online, particularly when it came to flying my beloved Stratios. With its sleek design and powerful capabilities, it was my trusted companion on countless missions. One day, I decided to venture into a particularly dangerous region, a place known for its hostile factions and unpredictable storms.

As I entered the system, the scanner lit up with warnings about a massive storm brewing ahead. I brushed it off; I had navigated through worse before. But this storm was different. The moment I crossed into its turbulent embrace, I felt my ship shudder. Systems flickered, and I realized with growing dread that my cloaking device was malfunctioning.

Panic surged through me. I tried to change course, but the storm was relentless, its winds howling and sensors spinning out of control. My heart raced as I spotted hostile ships on my radar, their signatures glowing ominously against the chaos. They were drawn in by the disturbance my Stratios was causing.

Desperate to evade them, I tried to engage my cloaking device again, but it sputtered and failed completely. The storm's electromagnetic interference was too strong. I slammed the controls, engaging my afterburners in a frantic attempt to outrun the incoming threats. But it was no use; the storm had me trapped.

One by one, the enemy ships closed in. I fought with everything I had, but the odds were stacked against me. My shields began to crumble under the relentless barrage of fire. I could see my hull integrity plummeting, and in that moment of desperation, I knew I was losing my grip.

As the explosions engulfed my Stratios, I ejected in my Virtue Pod, a sinking feeling washing over me. I looked down at my pod, which was worth as much as my lost ship, and tried to activate the warp drive to escape. But the storm had other plans. I was snagged in the chaos, unable to warp away.

The last thing I saw was the incoming fire converging on me, and the realization hit hard—I had just lost 4 billion ISK worth of ship and gear. As I drifted in the storm, a cautionary tale in the making, I couldn’t help but feel the weight of my mistakes.

From that day on, I made it my mission to share my story, warning others about the unpredictable storms that could cost even the mightiest pilot everything.