Industrial Ships

While slow, the industrial class does have the largest cargo hold of any other. Used for carrying large amounts of goods, industrials should always have a combat escort when in 0.4 space or lower. The number of industrial ships for each race differs, from one (Amarr) up to five (Gallente).

Interceptors

Interceptors utilize a combination of advanced alloys and electronics to reduce their effective signature radius. This, along with superior maneuverability and speed, makes them very hard to target and track, particularly for high caliber turrets.

Logistics

These are support cruisers that provide assistance to other ships, specially other Battleships. They can boost the targeted ship's shield, armor, and tracking abilities.

Mining Barges

Designed by the ORE Syndicate to facilitate the advancement of the mining profession to a new level, mining barges are equipped with electronic subsystems specifically designed to accommodate strip mining modules. Coupled with a sizable cargo hold and a goodly drone bay, this makes them extremely efficient ore extraction vessels.

Shuttles

Shuttles have but one design per race, and are simply a method of fast transportation between starbases - they may not equip modules or weapons and have minimal cargo space. They do, however, travel at a good speed and can make extremely long warp hops with ease.

Never too late

New players have joined EVE each day since its release, so you won't be alone as you enter the galaxy for the first time. Even players who have been playing since the beginning experiment with new characters, so not everyone will actually be a brand-new player.

Though there are certainly some players who have already amassed a great deal of wealth and equipment, but this will not affect your ability to competitively advance in the game. The high security areas are a safe place to start, until you are ready to venture into the more aggressive areas of the game.

Effects of massively multiplayer on game play

The basic role-playing and space simulation aspects of EVE are really just the tip of the iceberg. When players band together to form factions and alliances, the game becomes a grand-scale strategic drama. Political intrigue, corporate espionage, and the very essence of Darwinism bring dimension and depth to the game as the struggle for fame and fortune ebbs and flows with each new day in EVE.

However, the level at which each player decides to participate is a matter of personal choice. The game leaves ample room for continual progress and variety in all its solo playing aspects. For those who opt to do so, becoming the best lone-wolf pirate or bounty hunter is a never-ending task as the competitors are other human players who will employ every method at their disposal to gain an edge over the rest. Solo players are also able to hire out their services as mercenaries or hit men to other players or player-run corporations.

So, you've got a new frigate and you're itching to slap a bunch of weapons on it. Maybe you want to put in some shielding or a new kind of sensor. Maybe you're a miner and you want to add every kind of mining tool available. Ship fitting is something of an art and players have come up with some ingenious ways to get the most out of there ships and sur prise their enemies.

This guide will not go into the millions of permutations of ships and ship equipment. You'll figure those out as you play EVE, and you will find detailed discussions about each ship setup in the EVE Forums and on the many EVE fan sites.

Instead, this guide will introduce you to all the basics so you can start planning how you can outfit your ship and what you will have to do when you get a new one. Speaking of ships, let's start there.