Whether by galaxy, security system, or constellation, EVE Online space can be divided in many different ways. Most of those divisions can be further partitioned into subdivisions, and it can all get a little confusing for new players who may be looking to avoid PvP, or get on with some low-risk mining in relative peace. Therefore, the following guide simplifies and explains each of these divisions and subdivisions, as well as their unique features, local powers, challenges, opportunities, and other characteristics.
Because different players tend to specialise in one area of space, we asked the expert players in our community who do so to focus on characterising the area of EVE Online space they know best. After all, there wouldn’t be much value in getting a carebear’s* take on wormhole space. Other players specialise in a particular type of gameplay, and compare different areas of space according to where it can best be done. So rest assured, you’re in safe hands.
*Not sure what a carebear is? Have our EVE Online glossary on hand when you read this guide, it’ll help clear up any jargon.
EVE Online space, explained
At the top levels, EVE Online space divides into two galactic masses: the cluster of stars known as New Eden (for all intents and purposes: K-Space) and the pseudo-galaxy Anoikis (for all intents and purposes: J-Space). There are also some areas, like Pochven and Abyssal Deadspace, that don’t fit neatly into either of these two broad groups, and any one of those four areas can be broken down further into ever-smaller chunks: regions, constellations, and star systems.
K-Space
K-Space is the largest and most populated galactic mass, and it’s divided into three security systems: Highsec, Lowsec, and Nullsec. We’ll explain these in detail in the following subsections, but first here’s a K-Space overview from Luka Zaharin:
“Known space, most commonly known by its abbreviation K-Space, is connected by jumpgates. It’s the place every new player enters after the tutorial, and it connects most of the systems of New Eden. Its three security areas are controlled by different NPC and player entities:
“Highsec (security levels: 0.5 to 1.0): Where NPC police punish illegal PvP activities, generally a low-risk, low-reward environment.
“Lowsec (security levels: 0.1 to 0.4): One of the most dangerous spaces, but also sometimes very quiet outside of Faction Warfare areas. High risk, high reward for both PvE and PvP.
“Nullsec (security levels: -1.0 to 0.0): Split into Sovnull and NPC Null, with Sovnull being owned by large player-organised blocs. Expect large-scale battles and high-reward PvE and PvP.”
Those security levels determine the speed of CONCORD’s response to crime. A security level of 1.0 means almost instant punishment whereas a status of 0.5 indicates about a 20-second response time.
If you’re going to start your EVE experience in K-Space (you should!), we recommend reading this list of the best K-Space starter activities.
Highsec (high-security space)
Thanks to the strong presence and swift punishments of CONCORD, Highsec is widely regarded as the safest part of EVE Online space, though it’s worth remembering that ‘safe’ is always relative in EVE. Ruled and policed by sprawling NPC empires, it contains the game’s main trading hub: Jita.
Here are a few educational snippets from our members:
“Highsec is the new-player-friendly area of EVE Online. Its primary purpose is as a training ground. It’s also home to the mission system, which is a primary income stream for a lot of new players. It contains plenty of newbie mining ore and ice sites.” - FirestormGamingTeam
“I see Highsec as a welcoming zone. There aren’t many recognised threats other than gankers. Your activities will be limited, incentivising you to ‘leave home’.” - yan57436
“It’s ideal for newcomers and traders, mainly because you can mine, manufacture, and trade safely. Large NPC empires reign there, and there are trading hubs like Jita, shining as centers of civilisation.” - mypets
The greatest threats in Highsec are suicide gankers. If you’d like to avoid them, check out our gank-avoidance masterclass: EVE Online: getting ganked.
ShoMenao's contributions to this EVE Online space guide play to their strength: PvP. Here’s what they had to say about Highsec:
“Highsec is primarily a ganker zone, as many of the methods of fighting involve the killer losing their ship to CONCORD after killing their target. They then loot their victim using alts (alternative characters/accounts). The big targets here are freighters, jump freighters, and blockade runners who’ll often get caught near gates, as well as mission runners that get hunted around key mission-running hubs, particularly Marauders and faction battleships. All of those targets are relatively easy to overwhelm with a handful of destroyers or battlecruisers fit with maximum damage output and no tank."
Lowsec (low-security space)
Next up in K-Space is the decidedly less-safe Lowsec. While Lowsec is under NPC control and you’ll find missions and exploration opportunities there, the most popular pastime is PvP, including piracy, insurgencies, and Faction Warfare. Here’s an overview from Yan:
“This is the space between Highsec and Nullsec, where CONCORD is no longer so present. Expect a lot of pirates here. It’s a lot more demanding, and it’s a great place to hone your battle skills. Highsec is a place where newer players learn how to avoid ambushes; Lowsec is where they go to learn how to ambush.”
One of the reasons why Lowsec is a good place to learn, as Luka points out, is that it’s a “good place to chat”, including with those who’ve just blown you up: “most fierce PvPers actually like a good talk after turning you into a wreck.”
If you’d like to learn more about the specific types of engagement you’re likely to find in Lowsec as well as in other areas of EVE Online space, check out our EVE Online PvP guide. In the interim, we’ll pass back to ShoMenao for their PvP-centric take:
“Faction Warfare and pirate bands are the monarchs here. Battles will usually come in the form of smaller engagements, but large-scale brawls can break out. Often, the great levels of ISK fielded by both sides is determined by the modules and implants. That’s because pods are much more likely to escape in Lowsec, where warp-disruption bubbles are forbidden. Although it’s also because of the prevalence of wealthy organisations, with fewer solo pilots who can afford to field many shiny toys.”
That’s Lowsec in a nutshell, but what if you’d like to learn about its dangerous allure in the words of a pirate who calls it their home? Over to Rixx Javix for a Lowsec-lowdown, sales pitch, and warning:
“Space so scary it comes with a warning, Lowsec is the lawless domain of pirates, the amoral, degenerates, thieves, and elite pilots who’ve created a whirlwind of chaos so fierce it’s hard to wrap your head around. That’s why Lowsec is the most misunderstood part of New Eden - one of the many reasons the players who live there love it so much.
“As the pirate lord of Lowsec, this criminal area of New Eden has been my home for almost fifteen years, and few players love it as much as I do. From the vast tracts of empty void, the Jita gate camps of Tama, the insanity of Amamake, the Faction Warfare zones, and the new roving Insurgency of the Deathless, the Nullsec entrance gates, to the mission-running freaks, the gas cloud miners, and the multi-boxing hordes of Algos and Arbitrators - every single bit of its chaos and craziness is what draws me back day after day.
“The empires have no reach there. The Nullsec powers have no ownership there. Everything that happens in Lowsec happens because of the players who play there. This is fascinating, challenging, and daunting. Some players can learn to embrace the chaos, while others are consumed by it. Others yet still will try to dip their toes in for profit or gain. Whatever brings you to this Wild West adventure show, you should understand what you’re flying into. For those players willing to take on the challenges this unique space brings, the rewards can be astronomical.”
Rixx’s full post is too long to include here, but we strongly recommend learning from his hard-fought knowledge by visiting his submission, which goes into more detail about Faction Warfare, Insurgencies, Lowsec piracy, and the mission-running profiteers who inhabit the system.
Nullsec (null-security space)
Welcome to the jungle! Thinking of a trip to Nullsec? Heed mypets’ warning: “Here, we live in anarchy. No laws. No mercy. If you don’t know how to create relationships, you’ll be easy prey.” Scared? You should be. But between the DED complexes and lucrative ABC (Arkonor, Bistot, and Crokite) ore mining opportunities, the risks are, if not worth it, then sorely tempting.
As the name suggests, there won’t be any CONCORD security service coming to your aid here. In fact in much of Nullsec, known as ‘SovNull’ (Sovereign Nullsec), NPC factions’ influence is negligible. SovNull’s defining feature is that the players are in charge, thanks to the Sovereignty system, which allows players to own huge structures and areas, propped up by their own taxation systems. As FirestormGamingTeam says: “This is the home of EVE’s huge battles, with territory changing hands between player-run groups.”
PvP, you say? Here’s ShoMenao:
“PvP is the focus here. Recons and Marauders make up the region’s apex forces that many roaming gangs now struggle to compete with. Most commonly, assaults from smaller groups focus on long-ranged projection combined with EWAR (Electronic Warfare) in the form of damps or disruption to help alleviate the defender advantage. This is where the main ‘blob’ brawls take place as well, with thousands of pilots moving together as part of the major bloc alliances.”
For a deeper look at Nullsec, including the other part of Nullsec - NPC Null - we’ll hand over to orik Kado:
“Nullsec, the final frontier. It’s the deepest and most remote part of K-Space. It’s home to the largest alliances in all of New Eden, who - through the efforts of their members - can claim and dominate vast regions to conduct their activities. However, their presence is never welcomed by the various pirate factions, which are limited to controlling non-Sov spaces - these areas are known as NPC Null.
“Depending on the region, you can face pirate factions, destroy their locations, and claim bounties on their heads through PvE. Additionally, you’ll have the opportunity to gather intelligence needed to access their most secret sites, where great rewards may await you (Escalations).
“You can also access a wealth of minerals and resources to manufacture nearly anything required, along with rich planets offering specialised materials and lunar riches waiting to be harvested for the crafting of colossal ships required to maintain regional dominance. This dominance can be contested by any major alliance seeking to expand its harvesting zones. Hidden sites with data and relics also await explorers hungry for fame and fortune.
“Being part of a well-established alliance can simplify access to the immense wealth found in Nullsec. However, if you feel adventurous and capable enough, you may try to exploit its potential solo while its residents are distracted elsewhere. Remember, CONCORD has no jurisdiction in these areas, so there are no rules - only the dominance of the strongest... or the swiftest.”
It’s worth noting that if you’re part of a powerful player alliance, then parts of Nullsec can indeed be secure and safe, though heed our earlier warning about considering any area of EVE Online space truly safe.
J-Space
Not to be confused with Jove/Jovian space, J-Space gets its name from the ‘J’ that begins the six-digit names of its systems. It’s commonly referred to as Wormhole Space (WH-Space or just WH), and, like only the nullest parts of Nullsec, its systems have security levels of -1.0. That’s because it sits outside of New Eden entirely, in the semi-charted pseudo-galaxy of Anoikis. Instead of stargates, wormhole systems are connected by a web of shifting, unstable, mass-limited wormholes. We have a dedicated EVE Online wormhole navigation guide that goes into more detail on these terrifying phenomena, but here’s an overview from Luka:
“Wormholes have different classes representing different levels of NPC and environmental threats. C1 holes, for example, have weak effects and relatively harmless NPCs, but C6 wormholes are very dangerous and even require capital ships for survival against the NPCs within.”
They say in space that no one can hear you scream. That’s certainly true in wormhole space, where local chat is disabled. And other than Thera, there are no NPC stations. If Nullsec is a dog-eat-dog world, then wormhole space is a wolf-eat-wolf wasteland, with high levels of cloaked warfare and sharp, intense combat. That’s why, in their PvP breakdown, ShoMenao describes it as the location where all the “spooky fighting” occurs, continuing:
“The groups that dwell here are again some of the richest on a per-pilot basis, and they’ll often emerge from their holes blinged to the teeth with few ships but high skills. WH PvP focuses heavily on brawls near the wormholes with different fleet compositions than you’d see elsewhere, often featuring heavily armoured or shielded ships backed by a few triage force auxiliaries and neuting cores with high tank and high DPS. Wormhole mass limits prohibit swarms of large ships and restrict fleet composition types more than in other areas of space.”
A mysterious AI-based NPC presence known as the Sleepers is prevalent in J-Space. We’ll pass to JHenckes for an explanation of what life is like in their shadow:
“Wormhole Space is lawless and has no CONCORD presence, empire supervision, or Sovereign alliances. The six classifications of wormhole space (C1 to C6) represent, in part, how deep-rooted the Sleepers’ occupation is. This system has no stargates or stations. If you choose to live there, you have to start from a player starbase and accept that wormholes will be your only means of interstellar transportation.”
So why venture into such a hostile environment? Once again, greater risk brings greater reward. JHenckes continues, breaking down the opportunities available to the brave:
“Wormhole Space is surrounded by cloud-like nebulae that partially block the view. It’s said that the system has the physical conditions for the emergence of the rarest resources in New Eden. Exploration sites in WH-Space are different. They’re inhabited by Sleepers, who uniquely provide the materials for Tech III ships (tactical destroyers and strategic cruisers).
“There are four types of cosmic signature in the system:
“Gas sites: These sites contain gas clouds, which can be harvested to produce Tech III materials. They’re often quiet.
“Data sites: These contain locked containers, containing items such as datacores, which can be unlocked via hacking. Just be careful as the sites are heavily guarded!
“Relic sites: These sites will contain ancient relics in containers, which must be opened via archaeology. These sites are also heavily protected!
“Wormholes: These will not appear in your destination system until a player passes through. While by no means a guarantee, if you can avoid skipping through one of these, you’ll reduce the chances of accidentally sharing the system with other players."
If you’re feeling brave and want to give wormhole space a try, check out this list of the best starter activities in J-Space.
Recapping the four main types of EVE Online space
That’s a lot to remember, so here’s an at-a-glance, tongue-in-cheek recap from Kane Carnifex, along with a slightly rude but classic EVE meme he’s sourced from Reddit:
“Highsec: ‘Safe, but we will still steal your lolly.’
Lowsec: ‘Nice ship you have there, be a shame if a cyno got lit.’
Nullsec: ‘This is mine. That is yours.’
Wormhole space: Gurgles in ISK ‘Let it rain!’”
Additional areas of EVE Online space:
Those are the four main regions of space, and the ones where most players spend most of their time. But there are also smaller, specialised regions largely tied to specific activities.
Pochven
The most significant of these regions is Pochven. After the intense fighting during the Triglavian Invasion, which began in 2019, 27 systems were isolated from empire space, and its governing mechanics are an eclectic mix of many that we’ve just discussed - like wormhole space, its security level is -1.0, for instance. Luka Zaharin explains what’s up:
“Just as in WH-Space, Pochven has no active local or security forces, and its gates and pipe-like nature make it a highly dangerous PvP area. It has a unique Triglavian NPC ecosystem and some of the most stunning graphics in the game, though they’re best appreciated in a stealthed ship. Pochven can be entered and exited via wormhole connections and through the use of special filaments. It has NPC stations with standing requirements, as well as some player-led freeports. However, you cannot have jump clones or your home station in the region.”
Aggression will not impact your security status in Pochven, and your presence won’t appear in local chat unless you speak. To learn more about Pochven, we highly recommend Celltear's Origins of Pochven videos. We’ve shared the first part below, and you can find the second here.
Abyssal Deadspace
The Triglavians also rear their heads in Abyssal Deadspace, an isolated and enigmatic instanced area of space featuring time-limited PvE challenges. It can only be entered after acquiring special Abyssal filaments. There are limitations on the number of ships that can enter Abyssal instances, which are often referred to as ‘rooms’.
The challenges found in Abyssal Deadspace are fun, and the exclusive rewards coveted. But it features complex mechanics, dangerous localised environmental hazards, and NPC threats. If you’re considering a visit, check out this guide from the ever-helpful EVE University.
Zarzakh
Talking of environmental hazards, Zarzakh is a unique system introduced in the 2023 Havoc expansion. This pirate-controlled stronghold is home to the Deathless. It’s connected to New Eden by four ancient Jovian stargates, each pointing in a different cardinal direction:
Alsavoinon, Placid, to the west
G-0Q86, Curse, to the south
Turnur, Metropolis, to the east
H-PA29, Venal, to the north
Centred around the Fulcrum, a Jovian megastructure reclaimed by the Deathless Circle, it’s intended as a safe haven for pirate-aligned players. The system is chaotically beautiful, and unique opportunities can be found there for those who call buccaneers their friends, but so can dangerous gravitational effects.
Jove Space
Last, and in this case probably least, there’s Jove Space, also known as Jovian Space. Lore wise, the Jove are a mysterious, ancient race pulling the strings of New Eden. In real terms, they’re often used to explain game changes made by CCP Games that couldn’t otherwise be explained. As such the region known as Jove space or Jovian space is an area in which only CCP Games staff reside. Players only gain access to it on very rare occasions, such as during the Alliance Tournament.
Which area of space is your favourite? Which do you think needs a lick of paint? Let us know in the comments!
Some text has been edited for brevity, clarity, or spelling, punctuation, and grammar. You can find the original wording here. Image credit: FUN INC, Razorien on Flickr (and contributing authors, credited in-line).
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