CCP Games launched EVE Online on May 6, 2003 and it still runs on a single shard, so all of the roughly 7,800 star systems in New Eden are shared by the entire playerbase at once. Skills train in real time whether the client is open or not, and a destroyed ship is gone for good along with most of its fittings. Free Alpha accounts cover a wide slice of the game; Omega subscriptions open the rest.
This walkthrough takes you from your first session to endgame content. Each phase has specific goals, priorities, and milestones. New to the game? Start with our beginner's guide first.
Quick Progression Summary
| Phase | Area | Focus | Build | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Start | Jita 4-4 | Real time skill training basics | Industrialist | 1-2 hours |
| 2. Early | Low-sec | Security status zones mastery | Industrialist | 3-5 hours |
| 3. Mid | Null-sec | Capacitor management + gear | Miner or Industrialist | 5-10 hours |
| 4. Late | Wormhole space | Build optimization | Miner | 5-10 hours |
| 5. Endgame | Abyssal Deadspace | Min-max | Miner or Hauler | Ongoing |
See our maps guide for detailed area breakdowns.
Phase 1: Getting Started (Jita 4-4)
The Caldari Navy Assembly Plant in the Jita system, The Forge region. The main trade hub of New Eden with the deepest order book in the game, which makes it the reference price for nearly every item.
Level/Difficulty: Any character age Key Rewards: Best buy and sell prices, deepest market liquidity
What to Do in Jita 4-4
- Learn Real time skill training. Skills tick down on a queue whether you are logged in or not, and each has five levels with sharply rising training times. Spend your first session getting comfortable with this.
- Pick Industrialist as your starting build. See our builds guide for why.
- Train the core support skills before chasing a bigger hull. Capacitor Systems Operation, the shield and armor compensations, Navigation and the fitting skills raise the performance of every ship you will ever fly, while a battleship skill only helps in a battleship.
- Acquire your first equipment upgrade: Energy turrets or whatever's available.
- Clear all main content before moving on.
Phase 1 Checklist
- Understand Real time skill training fundamentals
- Industrialist selected and functional
- Jita 4-4 main content cleared
- Ready for Low-sec
Phase 2: Early Game (Low-sec)
Security 0.4 down to 0.1. CONCORD does not respond, though gate and station guns still do. Faction Warfare, better exploration sites and pirate ratting all live in this band.
Level/Difficulty: Roughly 5M skill points and up Key Rewards: Faction Warfare loyalty points, higher tier data and relic sites
What to Do in Low-sec
- Work on Security status zones. Systems are rated from 1. This system becomes critical from here on.
- Farm for Energy turrets if you haven't already. It's the key upgrade for this phase.
- High-sec is safe from most aggression but not all of it. Suicide gankers work the Uedama style choke points on the main trade routes, so set autopilot to avoid known gank systems and never autopilot a loaded hauler through them.
- Complete all objectives before pushing to Null-sec.
- Consider whether Miner might suit your playstyle better than Industrialist.
Phase 2 Checklist
- Security status zones integrated into gameplay
- Energy turrets acquired
- Low-sec fully cleared
- Ready for Null-sec
Phase 3: Mid Game (Null-sec)
Sovereignty space held by player alliances. The best ratting income, the best ore and moon mining, and no rules whatsoever about who is allowed to shoot you.
Level/Difficulty: Alliance membership strongly recommended Key Rewards: Anomaly ratting income, moon ore, capital ship production
What to Do in Null-sec
- Master Capacitor management. Guns, shield boosters, armor repairers, webs and the warp drive all draw from your capacitor. This unlocks a new layer of gameplay.
- Start working toward Hybrid turrets. It's the best equipment and becomes accessible around now.
- Alpha accounts fly Tech I cruisers and a large part of the exploration and mining line for free. Do not subscribe until you have picked a career path that genuinely needs Omega, because the free tier covers far more than new players expect.
- This area is the main skill check. If you can clear it, you're ready for late game.
- Start investing in Full loot destruction for the tactical depth you'll need going forward.
Phase 3 Checklist
- Capacitor management mastered
- Hybrid turrets acquired or in progress
- Null-sec fully cleared
- Ready for Wormhole space
Phase 4: Late Game (Wormhole space)
J-space systems with no stargates and no local chat, so you never know who else is in system. Connections shift constantly and every entrance is temporary.
Level/Difficulty: Experienced pilots with scanning skills Key Rewards: Sleeper loot, booster gas, high value site running
What to Do in Wormhole space
- Finalize your build. You should be running Miner or Industrialist with optimized gear.
- Hybrid turrets should be your primary. If you don't have it yet, prioritize getting it.
- Exploration is the best ISK per skill point for a young character. A Heron with a Core Probe Launcher, a Relic Analyzer and a Data Analyzer runs sites worth millions on a hull worth a few hundred thousand.
- Player driven market optimization starts here. Small improvements compound into massive advantages.
- Farm this area for the resources needed to push into Abyssal Deadspace.
Phase 4 Checklist
- Build fully optimized
- Hybrid turrets upgraded to max
- Wormhole space fully cleared
- Ready for Abyssal Deadspace
Phase 5: Endgame (Abyssal Deadspace)
Instanced pockets entered with filaments and run against a 20 minute timer. Difficulty runs from tier 1 to tier 6, and failing the timer destroys your ship outright.
Level/Difficulty: Tier 1 for newer pilots, tier 5 and 6 for specialists Key Rewards: Mutaplasmids, Triglavian modules, faction loot
What to Do in Abyssal Deadspace
- Abyssal Deadspace tests everything. Come prepared with your best build and gear.
- The Venture is the correct starter mining frigate and stays useful for gas huffing in wormholes long after you can fly a barge. Do not rush a Retriever until you have somewhere safe to sit through twenty minute cycles.
- The endgame loop: run Abyssal Deadspace, optimize gear, push harder content.
- Experiment with Hauler for a fresh take once you've mastered the standard builds.
- This is where Player driven market mastery separates good players from great ones. See our tips guide for advanced strategies.
Phase 5 Checklist
- Endgame content on farm
- Best-in-slot gear acquired
- Abyssal Deadspace fully cleared
- Ready for challenge content
Common Progression Mistakes
- Flying an expensive ship before you can replace it. The oldest advice in EVE is to never undock in something whose loss would end your play session, and it is still the most common new player error.
- Autopiloting through low-sec or gank corridors with a full hold. Autopilot warps you to 15 km from the gate rather than to zero, handing anyone waiting a long slow approach to shoot at.
- Training only ship skills and skipping fitting skills. A pilot who cannot properly fit a hull ends up flying a downgraded version of a ship they technically qualify for.
- Treating null-sec as somewhere you can visit casually. Sovereignty space is owned, watched and bubbled by alliances, and wandering in without standings usually ends at the first interdictor.
- Ignoring the market interface. EVE is an economy game first, and pilots who never learn to read order books pay full retail for everything and dump their loot into buy orders.
Key Tips for Smooth Progression
- Train the core support skills before chasing a bigger hull. Capacitor Systems Operation, the shield and armor compensations, Navigation and the fitting skills raise the performance of every ship you will ever fly, while a battleship skill only helps in a battleship.
- High-sec is safe from most aggression but not all of it. Suicide gankers work the Uedama style choke points on the main trade routes, so set autopilot to avoid known gank systems and never autopilot a loaded hauler through them.
- Alpha accounts fly Tech I cruisers and a large part of the exploration and mining line for free. Do not subscribe until you have picked a career path that genuinely needs Omega, because the free tier covers far more than new players expect.
- Exploration is the best ISK per skill point for a young character. A Heron with a Core Probe Launcher, a Relic Analyzer and a Data Analyzer runs sites worth millions on a hull worth a few hundred thousand.
- The Venture is the correct starter mining frigate and stays useful for gas huffing in wormholes long after you can fly a barge. Do not rush a Retriever until you have somewhere safe to sit through twenty minute cycles.
For more advanced strategies, see our tips & tricks guide.
More EVE Online Guides
- EVE Online EVE Online Overview
- EVE Online Best Builds
- EVE Online Tier List
- EVE Online Beginner's Guide
- EVE Online Tips & Tricks
- EVE Online Weapons Guide
- EVE Online Combat Guide
- EVE Online Boss Guide
- EVE Online Maps & Locations
- EVE Online Crafting Guide
- EVE Online Classes & Characters
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