EVE Online, just the name is enough to derail a conversation for gamers. Depending on who you ask its the only truly challenging MMO or a special place for neckbeards, griefers, basement dwellers and accounting geeks to keep them away from more popular MMO's. The fact that you're reading this and that I'm writing it probably means we're both in the former camp.
I've played EVE on and off for a few years under various accounts. I've always had a problem, which I think of as "hitting the wall". Its common to PVEers. After a while, CCP's content starts to get a bit repetitive. You find yourself grinding out missions or wormholes or whatever with your friends more for the sake of hanging out with them than for EVE itself. Maybe you make enough for a PLEX so your play is "free" but then you're playing a game you've lost interest in to make virtual spacebucks to pay for a game you're not interested in.
Still, year after year and account after account, EVE kept drawing me back. The single shard design, the depth of the game system and just the fact that I like spaceships and transhumanism kept calling to me. So what makes this time different? Well, first I started reading Gevlon's blog. I liked his dispassionate view of maximizing his returns from the game. Love him or hate him, Gevlon knows what's fun for him and pursues it in the game without apology. I don't really see ISK as a goal, or even a way to keep score. Its just a means to an end. On the other hand, if Gevlon's advice helps me get those monthly PLEX's with a minimum effort, then great.
The important thing is that Gevlon got me thinking. Aside from the nebulous concept of fun, what's my personal way of keeping score in EVE? The answer is Sov, short for Sovreignty for the two of you who aren't familiar with the term. If an Alliance could conquer every 0.0 sec system in EVE and hold it against all comers they could be said to have won EVE Online. Gevlon refers to this in his own blog as The One Alliance.
Now I don't have anything like enough time for running a small alliance, let alone The One Alliance. On the other hand, if score is kept by Sov, then there are still things I can do to compete on that level. Joining an Alliance and helping them keep or expand their Sov is one option, of course. That seems to me a lot like having a day job. I log onto my recreational activity and some guy tells me what the schedule is for fleet actions, or mining operations or whatever.
That's when I discovered The Mittani's column on Ten Ton Hammer. I highly recommend reading the whole thing if you want an overview of espionage in EVE and its history. Its quite fascinating both on that level and to see The Mittani writing in a distinctly non-Goonish style. Now spying, that sounded like fun. I'd go into it not for the tears, just to pit my wits against the top players of EVE, the Sov holders, and do my best to come out on top. It was an approach that didn't require 20 hours a week of grinding or waiting six months for my skills to finish training. Keeping score would not be a matter of taking Sov but breaking it. Every system that my infiltrators set up to fall from the inside would be a victory. Every alliance destroyed would be a mark on the scorecard. The moment the idea crystallized in my mind, I knew this was my hook. This, THIS was what could hold my interest in EVE. I've done my share of theater work and fancy myself a pretty convincing actor. How hard could it be to get started?
Harder than you might think. I had a few hurdles to overcome. First, to infiltrate a corp I was going to need a headset since every damn corp uses Teamspeak or equivalent these days. Quick run to the local Supermegabigblockmart after dinner took care of that. Next, I couldn't risk my cover so I would need a permanent character on a clean account. That's Agent Black Cat. He'll never train a skill, never leave the rookie school, never fly a ship. He's just an EVEmail box.
Then there's this blog, of course. Its another visibility tool, a way for you to find me. In it I'll share some of the background details on my life as a spy, interesting tidbits of intel I come across independent of my undercover work and the like. I'll also be happy to take intel, suggestions of who to infiltrate and even just plain ISK. Along the way I'll be laying out the sources of intel I use, how I hide my identity from my targets, how I use the psychology of other players to my benefit.
At the same time I hope those of you who have experience in the spy game, or the counter-spy game will step up to demonstrate how much more you know about all of this than I do. I have no illusions about being an elite, alliance killing spy (yet), so feel free to point out the errors in my thinking so that I can get better at it. Then everyone will know from your comments how much better you are and how incompetent I am.
Tomorrow: How to make an infiltrator toon and associated expenses.
Total characters in action as of 6/22: 1 (Agent Black Cat)
Total ISK: 500
Random intel tip for the day: FCON fleet forming up directly before downtime 6/23 for an op to follow downtime. Staging area is K-8SQS inside the station. Ship types - Drakes, Scimitars, Recon, HICs and Hurricanes. Op will run 60-90 minutes.
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