Analysis of free EVE Online: what should veterans and newcomers pay for? Clones Alpha and Omega in EVE Online Eve online alpha account skills.

Not so long ago, the developers of the space sandbox EVE Online– CCP Games – has introduced into its project the ability to play for free for an unlimited period of time. Anyone who does not want to purchase Plex for real money can create an Alpha clone and enjoy gameplay, as much as you like. True, unlike the paid analogue, the owners of Alpha clones are limited in a certain area, but over time you will be able to upgrade to a paid account, earning game currency using the methods described below. What are the ways to make money on Alpha Clone?

Factional Wars

So, the easiest way to farm game currency on PLEX is to participate in faction wars. This PVP/PVE activity is available to all players, which consists of completing global tasks to destroy hostile NPCs and capture certain areas on the map. Of course, you may also encounter a live player who will not be very friendly towards you, so you will have to be prepared to fight with an opponent who has real, not artificial intelligence.

The main goal here is to get as many reward points as possible, which are awarded to you and your faction for successfully completing missions. You will need to acquire a suitable ship and join the militia, after which you will have access to the map of factional wars, where you select the system for which we will fight.

Points received for battles are exchanged for various items, which can then be sold on the in-game market. We can spend the earned capital on anything, but the main goal for every owner of Alpha clones is to upgrade to a full-fledged account, which will remove all restrictions and allow you to enjoy playing EVE Online with all the available features.

Anomaly farming and expeditions

This method can be called a random method of earning money, since here luck also influences the success of the activity. In other words, we may be lucky to get a big trophy or, conversely, unlucky - then wasted time will come back to haunt us with a missed chance to earn money on PLEX.

According to this method, we will need to hunt for combat anomalies - NPC characters live there, for the destruction of which we will receive a reward. You can find them in almost any part of the game location, but we will get the most income if we go to the “zeros”.

After passing the combat anomaly (again, with a random chance), we can get a chance to complete the expedition. The enemies there are serious, but for successfully completing all tasks we may receive an expensive faction module. They are always valuable and experienced players are willing to pay several billion ISK for them, which will be an excellent investment in a future purchase of PLEX.

Selling experience points

The most popular way to farm game currency in EVE Online specifically for beginners who do not have the opportunity to buy ISK for real money or do not want to fight with others is to sell their accumulated experience. Yes, a new participant cannot boast of a huge number of accumulated skill points, since this takes a lot of real time. But every minute spent in the game can be converted into currency.

To sell experience points to other players you will need to purchase special items(Skill Injector), into which skill points are placed for further sale on the market. You can transfer great amount experience, the price of which is always stable, so this method of earning game currency should not be neglected.

Trade

To start trading, you will need to acquire a spacious spaceship and at least some starting capital, for which we will purchase a certain amount of goods. The easiest way to earn claims is to complete tasks (combat and training) from NPC agents. You should fly in safe locations, since merchant ships in “low secs” and “zeros” will be destroyed very quickly.

After this, we should select the product that we will trade and select suitable conditions for transactions. In the market tab, you can analyze the cost of products in various locations - both sellers and traders are shown there. For the owner of an Alpha clone, it is best to choose the most stable product for trading, which is always in demand. Prices for resources are always changing, so you can’t immediately decide which product is suitable for absolutely everyone.

Scanning and farming complexes

This method is not very different from going through combat anomalies, but in this case we will need to have a special ship - a scanner frigate. It has specific equipment (on-board probes), when activated, complexes are detected. Other ships are not very suitable for this, since they do not have such sensitive probes.

After the complex is discovered by a frigate, we will need to hack containers on a warship, hoping to receive an expensive trophy. Here, as in the case of anomalies and subsequent discovery of expeditions, the share of success depends on luck. But, as they say, those who don’t take risks don’t buy PLEXes.

Results

As you can understand from the material described above, it is very possible to earn game currency on PLEX, being the owner of an Alpha clone in EVE Online. For this purpose, the developers (and the players themselves) have prepared several simple ways, which can be used by all participants in space battles without any restrictions. You just need to choose a suitable activity (or several activities) for yourself, and set off to conquer the endless space of the Universe, trading valuable resources and destroying all ill-wishers!

Immortal capsuleers,

This is certainly a fundamental change for the world of EVE Online. We'd like to give you an overview of what's new, what led us to this decision, and what help we'll need from you to make sure everything goes smoothly. Then, towards the end of this article, you will find a list of answers to questions that are not addressed in the main part.

The innovation is based on cloning, a highly complex technology that gave rise to the era of capsuleers. Technological advances in New Eden have allowed for the development of new methods for producing and distributing clones; From now on, you can use clones of special Statuses. Thanks to this technology, clone producers can create and distribute basic status clones - alpha clones. Such clones can be improved or modified to change their status. However, the basis will always be the alpha clone. Clone status will affect parameters such as access to skills, ability to learn skills, or learning speed.

When we implement this innovation, two statuses will be available in the game:

• Alpha clone is the basic status for all clones in New Eden, it is available to everyone. Pilots of such clones will have the opportunity to learn a certain set of skills, as well as have access to fly frigates, destroyers and cruisers of their nation, using basic modules and guns. The learning speed of such capsuleers will be slightly slower compared to Omega clones.
• The Omega clone will be available by improving the base clone using various neurotechniques and neuroaccelerators, which will provide access to all skills. In terms of available capabilities, Omega clones are fully consistent with the pilots currently in New Eden with a paid subscription.

The status of the clone will depend on the status of your account. Characters who pay a subscription or use plex will be in Omega Clone. The alpha clone will be available to all players without a subscription.

You've probably already had a lot of questions, and we'll answer many of them below, but first let us explain why we're so excited about this change and why we've made this decision now.

As you know, EVE Online is a very... specific game. Since all players are on the same server, each pilot's influence is felt and can be exerted through the economy, resource extraction, battles or bad posts. This also means that with each new capsuleer, New Eden becomes a little more interesting, exciting and dangerous.

Like you, we've known about this for quite some time, and like you, we've been doing everything in our power to bring more people into our exciting sandbox. Open access has been part of our vision for the future of EVE Online for some time now, but given the nature of the game, we were aware of the risks associated with such a decision. We understood that unprepared opening of the gateway could lead to anything, from server crashes to the collapse of the game economy. Over time, our hardware has been improved, our software framework has (for the most part!) been optimized, and we've arrived at a design we believe in.

"Eva" is ready for this.

Let's take a look at the details of the new design and see how it works.

Clones Statuses – Details

First of all, the accounts will remain virtually unchanged. Each account has three pilot positions assigned to it. At any given time, only one of them can master the skill. At any given time, only one of them can be in the game. Other services (plex, simultaneous training program, joint venture trading) will not be affected at all.

But with alpha clones things are completely different. The most important characteristic of alpha clones is the limitation on the use of skills and the maximum degree of their mastery. To begin with, we plan to allow pilots with an alpha clone to fly on frigates, destroyers and cruisers of the first technical level. Pilots with alpha clones will be able to use exclusively ships, modules and weapons corresponding to their nation. If your Alpha Clone character has already mastered skills that are not available to an Alpha Clone, the ability to use them will be suspended until you return to Omega status. All new characters, just like now, will enter the game with an alpha clone and 400,000 SP and will be able to freely learn the skills available to their alpha clone. A fully trained alpha clone can store approximately 5 million SP. Full list

You will find the skills available for mastering in the questions section at the end of this article.

In parallel with the changes described above, we want to make sure that the game clearly states which skills, modules, certificates or actions are available to which status. That is why we are adding new designations to the character sheet and a number of icons in the game client that display information about the status of clones. Here is an example of the updated skill list interface and an example of a warehouse window containing items available only to an omega clone, as seen through the eyes of an alpha clone:

Many players who decide to return to the game without paying a subscription may find themselves in quite a difficult situations, depending on how and where they last logged out, such as while piloting a titan. You will find more information in the section below, but in general, our approach will be quite democratic - we will not forcibly teleport you or your ships, cancel projects or orders. Instead, you will find that skills that require Omega Clone will not be used, and modules that require those skills will be disabled.

The design presented in this article was created by our combined efforts, but we need your feedback to perfect the alpha clones and how they work. It is important for us to hear your ideas and your opinion on how exactly they can be used, especially in terms of potential problems. We also want to be as careful as possible when selecting the skills available to alpha clones. An important issue for us is how to help you when the flow of new pilots in search of a new home flows into New Eden.

The Player Council had the opportunity to become familiar with this concept a few days ago, but roughly speaking, they heard about it at the same time as you. We are announcing these changes now to allow Council members to gather feedback for the summit in September, to which for the first time in history we have invited the entire Council. If you prefer to communicate with us directly, you can do so in a thread on the forum (including threads with translations of this article, our community engagement specialists will process your feedback), we are also planning an AMA soon (ask me anything, approx. translation) on the Reddit portal.

We are looking forward to the Clone Statuses. Very soon, New Eden will meet a huge number of capsuleers eager to explore the world that we have been creating for the last 13 years. And it is you who will be able to shape their experience. Will you help outfit a destroyer to hunt pirates? Or maybe you will send this same destroyer to the barricades of a hostile alliance? Or maybe you can share a few salvos of “loose” hospitality? The choice is yours.

Clones statuses are waiting for us in November, what do they mean to you?

That's all,
Team Size Matters on behalf of the EVE Online development team

FAQ

Q: Where can I find a list of skills available to alpha clones?
A: The full list is published at the end of this page. Please note that we are still working on this list and will make changes to it as we communicate with you.

Q: If I upgrade to Omega Clone, will this affect all my characters?
A: Yes, all characters belonging to an account use the same clone status. Please note that you can only master one skill at a time (unless you are using the simultaneous mastery program).

Q: Can alpha clones use SP Injectors and SP Extractors?
A: You can use SP injectors at any clone status. Currently, we plan to only allow the use of SP Extractors for Omega clones and not allow the use of SP Extractors for Alpha clones.

Q: What restrictions should I expect regarding the simultaneous launch of multiple accounts with alpha status?
A: We have not yet decided whether to transfer the current restriction on entering the game for trial accounts to alpha clones. The answer to this question will depend in part on your feedback, but also on the technical capabilities that we will decide on in the near future.

Q: Can other characters see the status of my clone?
A: No, the status is visible only to you. We concluded that displaying clone status may be too sensitive strategic information to display publicly.

Questions about returning players:

Q: If I've played Eve before, do I need to do anything to activate the alpha clone?
A: No, all inactive accounts will be automatically converted and given alpha clones.

Q: What happens if I enter the game as an alpha clone while in a ship that requires an omega clone?
A: You will be allowed to control the ship until the next docking, but skills mastered by the character and not included in the list available to the alpha clone will not affect the characteristics of the ship.

Q: What happens if I log into the game as an alpha clone, but my ship has modules installed that require an omega clone?
A: These modules will be de-energized as soon as you enter the game.

Q: What happens if there are skills left in my character's mastery queue that require an omega clone?
A: Skill development will be suspended. You will need to manually remove these skills from the mastery plan and start mastering again, or pay for a subscription.

Questions about abuse:

Q: Will mass suicide attacks by characters with alpha clones become a serious problem?
A: We don't think clone statuses will have a big impact on suicide attacks or other forced interactions in high-sec. But we will be closely monitoring developments, and if we notice that this is becoming a problem, then we will consider a number of possible options, for example, automatically enabling the module blocking system for alpha clones in high-sec, without the ability to disable it, or revising the list of available skills.

Q: What about “bots”? Will they get out of control?
A: Automation game actions is a violation of the EULA and all such cases will be investigated as they are now. We do not expect a significant increase in the number of such violations, but we will expand our security measures to ensure that problems do not arise.

Q: What about abuse of systems such as production?
A: We have deliberately tried to limit the possibility of such abuse by selecting the list of available skills. Without skills that affect, for example, saving the amount of time required to run a drawing, it will be almost impossible to create farms that can disrupt the game’s ecosystem. But this is one of those times where we need your help, if you can describe potential abuse methods, please let us know.

Q: What about “lag”?
A: We are confident that the servers can handle quite a significant increase in load, so we hope that this will not be an issue. We are ready to make decisions regarding the design of this innovation if necessary, and as always, we continue to invest in hardware and code optimization.

Questions regarding solutions to this design:

Q: Why did it become necessary to tie the limit to each nation?
A: We came to the conclusion that it is very important not to complicate the list of available skills, and it is better to allow additional depth of development in the branch of one's own nation, rather than offering a transition to the branches of other nations. This will also limit the use of pirate and army ships, which makes sense given their power and complexity. Finally, we believe that new pilots will have an easier time learning the game by focusing solely on their nation.

Q: Why are alpha clones only qualified to fly frigates, destroyers and cruisers?
A: We believe that this set of ships gives the pilot the chance to have a tangible impact on almost any part of the game without disrupting its ecosystem. Larger and more advanced ships can easily lead to various abuses of the game mechanics, which will result in a blow to the experience for players with a paid subscription. However, we plan to make design changes based on your feedback and the activity we see in the game.

Questions about accounts and payment:

Q: Are there any plans to release updates or new content?
A: No, we will continue to develop and release new content for free as before.

Q: Should I expect changes in subscription prices?
Oh no.

Q: Will there be any items that were previously included in my subscription that I will no longer be able to receive without additional payment?
A: No - if you pay for a subscription, you will have the same resources and features as always.

Q: Will player support be the same for both alpha and omega clones?
A: We will try to make sure that the level of support is the same for all players, work in this direction is already underway.

Q: Will alpha clones have access to test servers?
A: Most of the time no, but there may be exceptions.

Q: What if my subscription ends while I'm in the game, will my skills stop working right in the middle of a battle?
A: In this case, the clone status will not be switched until you disconnect from the server. We will never turn off your skills mid-game session.

Space has always been far from us. And it also cost fabulous money. Although there were heroes who were ready to spend several hundred rubles a month buying themselves a license as a capsuleer, a space pilot. The most popular MMO about space, without a doubt, should be considered the old lady EVE Online, which has been welcoming players since May 6, 2003.

During a long journey of 13 years, the developers decided to make their project shareware. It is not entirely correct to speculate whether they will gain something from this venture or not, if only for the reason that in EVE there will still be the opportunity to pay money and, most importantly, there is something for it! Let's figure out what innovations CCP Games are preparing, what opportunities this opens up for players, and in what situations you will still need to pay real money.

The main change in the November patch will be the introduction of the Clone Status feature. All existing clones (characters that players copy from themselves, the originals, at special stations) will not only be divided into alpha and omega, but will also gain different levels of access. Alpha clones will become available to every player, which will abolish the very concept of a subscription to the game. Now you will have the opportunity to roam space, making your way through the most inaccessible wormholes of Eve completely free of charge. In EVE it has always been possible to create clones. The pilot's mind moved into them if the latter died in space. And the move with free alpha clones will be the most ambitious change in the game in the last 13 years, because it will seriously shake the in-game economy.

Although a global default should not happen. For many years now, those interested have been paying for gaming time by buying cards for credits at a local auction. By the way, World of Warcraft decided to take such a step only last year, when in EVE buying time for in-game currency was over 10 years old.

Briefly about clones:

Omega clones will be full-fledged heirs of existing ones EVE characters Online. Omegas will have unlimited access to upgrading their skills and quickly learning them.

Alpha clones are a new product available to everyone for free. They are able to develop within a special set of skills and use the most common ships - frigates, destroyers and cruisers (however, not all available in the game). Alphas are no strangers to trade, production and research. This wide range of talents allows them to explore the galaxy on an equal basis with other players.

The typology of your clones will be determined depending on the availability of a subscription. Until you pay for it or use a plex (game time card), only Alpha clones will be available to you. Plex or a paid subscription will raise your status to Exchange-clone for the amount of paid time.

This is useful: All characters on an account have the same clone status. If you upgrade to Omega Clone, this will affect all heroes on the account. You can also only master one skill at a time (unless you are using a simultaneous mastery program).

The status of your clone will not be displayed, because this is too important strategic information for enemies. So far, the developers have not made a final decision whether to transfer the current restriction on entering the game for trial accounts to alpha clones. As they told us, it will depend on player feedback and the technical capabilities of the servers after the patch is released.

If you've played EVE before and now want to return, there's no reason to worry. All inactive accounts will be automatically converted and given alpha clones. If you enter the game and your ship does not correspond to your status (what if you are piloting a Titan?!) or individual modules are too cool for your alpha clone, then the modules will be de-energized, and the cool ship will be allowed to be brought to the nearest dock ( accumulated skills will not be given in the process of accompanying the vessel to the dock).

If you are a distinguished veteran, I want to talk to you separately. Is it worth paying for the subscription further? It's definitely worth it. Because, if you are a renowned veteran, then you are probably in a corporation (or a universal pirate), your docks are full of luxury ships and you have served your faction for many years, guarding the Titans of your state. You will lose access to some of your capital ships if you do not pay a subscription. You will lose access to some of the most important modules for your life in the game. You will lose some of the skills you have been gaining for months constant game. The pillars of your glory and power will be cut down for you. Therefore, just as you paid in PLEX for game time, buying it at auction with money earned from mining minerals, you can continue to do so. Veterans who buy a subscription for rubles are strange and rare veterans.

No less important information is that the cost of the subscription will not change over time. The developers state this in the official FAQ. All subsequent addons that will be released will also remain free.

One of the hottest questions: What if my subscription expires while I'm in the game, and my skills stop working right in the middle of a fight?

The developers' response cannot but reassure: In this case, the clone status will not be switched until you disconnect from the server. We will never turn off your skills mid-game session.

Video embed: the most destructive battle in the history of EVE Online from 2014.

In conclusion, I would like to ask you, what was the significance of such a major milestone as EVE Online in your lives? If, after more than 13 years of existence of this absolute space hit, you have not yet found time for it, wait for the November update and jump into the cockpit of your cruiser to destroy empires and disrupt the plans of rival corporations.

Clones Alpha and Omega in EVE Online allow you to play the cosmic sandbox as if you had a subscription. with or without a board. Players who choose the free model will be somewhat limited compared to subscribers; however, the possibilities of the trial are still very wide. Let's take a closer look at the clone system in EVE.

Clone states 101 – “alpha” and “omega” branches of the same technology

As of the Ascension update released in November 2016, there are 2 ways to play EVE:

• You can play for free (i.e. without paying a monthly fee), but you will be limited in the skills you can train. This state is called "Alpha";
• Omega requires a monthly subscription and provides access to all skills in the game.

In the game this system is called "clone state". Characters on alpha accounts are called “alpha clones”, and characters on omega accounts are called “omega clones”, respectively. If you have paid for a subscription (using a time card, monthly payment or PLEX), your Account and all characters on it will receive Omega status until the subscription expires (or you cancel it) - at which point you will return to Alpha status.

Start playing today!

The Alpha and Omega clones in EVE Online do not differ visually or in any other external way. The transition from Alpha to Omega is instantaneous, while the transition from Omega to Alpha always occurs with the next entry into the game (i.e., in extreme cases, when the servers are rebooted daily). Being an Alpha, you can earn money to pay for Omega status with in-game currency. Start playing today!

If an Omega clone enters the Alpha state, any skill that was studied by the character and was not part of the Alpha skills becomes inactive and cannot be used; invested skillpoints cannot be lost under any circumstances. Any items or ships that require locked skills cannot be used, and the skill learning queue will be stopped (but can be resumed when logging into the game). If the account's subscription is renewed, the character is automatically transferred to Omega status and can immediately use all the skills that he has already learned.

What is the difference between Alpha and Omega clones in EVE Online?

Compared to Omegas, Alpha characters are limited in the following ways:

• Can only train certain skills;
• Learn skills 50% slower and have a shorter skill queue (24 hours compared to years for Omega);
• Cannot use skill extractor to remove skill points from Alpha's skill tree;
• Can use Skill Injectors, but apply them only to skills from the alpha set;
• Pay an additional 2% tax on industrial activities (production or research);
• If you log into the game as an alpha character, you will not be able to log into the game at the same time as any other capsuleer (so-called multibox).

Alpha and Omega clones in the world of EVE Online have access to basic and advanced versions of technology, respectively. The set of skills that alpha characters can learn include:

• Preferred weapon systems and ships of their race (Amarr alphas can only fly Amarr ships with energy cannons and drones, and not ships of other races with hybrid or projectile guns);
• Warships up to cruisers, as well as basic industrial ships;
• T1 modules and ships.

Interesting features of “Alpha” accounts

An interesting exception to general rule relatively basic racial technologies for alphas are the SoCT (Society of Conscious Thought) ships - the destroyer "Sunesis" and battle cruiser"Gnosis". These ships only require Spaceship Command I and offer very hefty bonuses.

Although Alphas are well suited to get into EVE Online, they should be considered endless trial, and not a full-fledged “f2p” model. Thus, Alphas are well suited for low-level PVP and PVE, as well as support roles in large-scale PVP (such as EWAR or tackler). However, their effectiveness will not be comparable to the Omega parameters, since the latter have the skills to use T2 modules.

What thoughts do you have about the Alpha and Omega clones? game EVE Online? Did CCP plan for all possible abuses? Share your opinion in the comments!

• 20383 views
• Published: January 23, 2017
• Updated: February 17, 2017