Inspired by our recent trip to Iceland, and Eve Fanfest, my wife recently subbed her first account and began her journey to becoming an ebil pirate. Every so often she'll stop by and let us know how she is doing.
Why you should play EVE with your partner/why your partner should play EVE with you.
I wanted to take some time to point out some reasons why I think l you should be playing EVE with your significant other. Judging by comments on previous posts there are some folks on the fence, maybe others who have thought about it but just aren't there, and then those that well maybe it just ain't never gonna happen. I thought about playing EVE for a very long time before I actually committed to it. I knew after years of watching Rixx play that it is a huge investment of time, and then there is all of the so-called "drama", and I have witnessed all of that. But here's the thing, I believe it is worth it. Here's why:
1. There are tons of sources for information on how to play EVE, some really great sources. But IMO there is nothing better than asking someone you trust, face to face, what the heck is a Plex (or whatever)? Sometimes it's more helpful to have someone who knows you explain these things to you in person. This is also a good lesson for the more experienced players to think about their knowledge of the game. Maybe there are areas you never bothered to learn much about, maybe it is time to start thinking more about those areas and how they could improve your gameplay. The only downside to having Rixx around to ask, is sometimes he responds with: check out such and such post on my blog. Which is usually a good excuse for me to make an obscene gesture at him. I have the maturity of a child sometimes :)
2. It is an activity you can do together. I will be the first to admit that there have been times where EVE was holding certain things up and I wanted to bash the computer with a baseball bat. I have things I would like to be doing too ya know!!! But those feelings typically stemmed from other issues and not the game itself. For us, it's a continuum of crazy kids and a psycho ex-wife who will not let things go. So there have been times over the years where it was far easier to complain about time spent playing a game then it was to say I am super stressed about our lives and I want to be an optimist but holy crap this is impossible. So I joined EVE so that I could come home from work, do the stuff that needs doing, get kids to bed, so I can blow stuff up in space for a few hours at night. The best part of this has been that Rixx is so excited that I am playing EVE, it is so much easier to pull him away to carry a load of laundry, deal with some disgusting pet/kids mess, or drive a kid somewhere. If we pool our resources we can both play EVE tonight!!!
3. You can find your own in-game interests and still enjoy the same game together-ish. There are a multitude of options and journeys within the EVE world. So if you think that you might hate what your partner does, go find something else in-game to get involved with, heck maybe blow each other up! No, that's not a threat to blow up Rixx. (Or is it?)
There is something for everyone in EVE. And if you both play you can probably buy yourself more EVE time, more understanding, and of course more fun. Now back to more skill training so I can blow up Rixx someday...
From Rixx: I'd like to add that in the time since she wrote the above, and with a little over 2m skill points to her name, she has already participated in her first PvP kills with me. We are slowly moving her away from High Sec ratting and into the dark corners of Low Sec space. She's been dipping her toe in from time to time already, just to get the feel of the place and has been blobbed already. So it was time for her to experience the other side of that coin.
The other night as we were about to log off for the evening I spotted a Cyno ship on another station in Ish. So I quickly grabbed a big ship and warped over to get point and aggro on it. She was in a Merlin so I knew the station guns would shred it unless I was primary. So I had her warp over and explode the Ibis herself. While that is a cheesy kill, it was a good first step and provided some much needed experience with certain aspects of the game. A good lesson.
Then, last night, I decided to start teaching her about Plex Mechanics and hunting prey. We spent some time traveling and making bookmarks, and then I used my Wife as bait. Yes, I have no shame. Blood and fire is the only way to learn. It took about 5 seconds for the first person to take the bait and soon we were both engaged by a Comet and an Enyo. It was a good fight and she even lived thru it! For good measure we also managed to catch and dispatch a Thrasher before it got late.
And yes, my Wife had the shakes. I think she has the PvP bug bad.