EVE gets noob-friendly special edition

By Fred Dutton Published 12 October, 2010

Commissioned Officer Edition detailed.

A special edition of popular MMORPG EVE Online has been announced, aimed at making the game more accessible for new players.

EVE Online: Commissioned Officer Edition offers an exclusive in-game item – the Cerebral Accelerator – which boosts a new player's stats for a 30 day period while they get up to speed with how the game works.

The Cerebral Accelerator will not be available via any other means and will only be delivered to the first character created on the account.

The package also includes a CD key for starting a new account, a 30 days paid game subscription and an EVE poster featuring tips and advice for new pilots.

The special edition will only be available as a boxed product - not as a digital download.

All you EVE novices be careful out there though. One poor soul just lost $1200 worth of micro-transactions thanks to a vicious gang of opportunistic gamers.

EVE Online: Commissioned Officer Edition will be available for PC from 19th October.

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About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (16) Latest comment 2 years ago

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  • ResidentKnievel #1 2 years ago

    'noob-friendly'

  • Macross #2 2 years ago

    lol

    noob friendly until they undock for the first time and take advantage of the "free ammo" floating outside.

  • Cosquae #3 2 years ago

    If this item can be ganked, sold, stolen or destroyed then the race will be on to be the first person to do so.

    As it's an implant then it will be destroyed the first time they get podded. Or some smart ass will try and sell it and realise the money is more useful.
    Edited by Cosquae at 12/10/10 @ 21:08

  • Timbercottage #4 2 years ago

    I've always wanted to enjoy EVE but never managed to play for more than a few hours, hopefully this is the opportunity I need to get to grips with it.

  • Freek #5 2 years ago

    Getting a stat boost doesn't make you understand the game any faster, seems more like "getting enough rope to hang yourself with".

  • orpheus #6 2 years ago

    Anything that gives new players a boost and get the blasted learning skills out of the way faster is ok in my book. A few extra xp means a new ship or weapon for a new player, and it's exploring the different facets of the game that will get them hooked. Save the grind for the truly committed :D

  • Red-Moose #7 2 years ago

    I'm sure that said nubes will find their stats ripped off of them as some other playsers have probably got a system to strip your of all wealth and leave you naked on a space station.

  • AphoticCosmos #8 2 years ago

    I got to grips with the skill system in minutes. I am still learning about what makes EVE tick 3 1/2 years after I originally subbed with my first character. 30-dayes of nice skills maketh ye not a faire EVE playere.

  • ResidentKnievel #9 2 years ago

    You can actually get your stats ripped off you, Red Moose, if you fly around without an upgraded clone and get your ship and pod blown up by ebil piwates.

  • levitate #10 2 years ago

    I would love to be hooked on this game as it reminds me of the old Elite/Frontier games. I've tried several trials and for each trial I understand the game more and more, but not enough to be brave enough to take the plunge.

    A special 'newbie' version might be exactly what's needed. As long as it's not too dumbed down.

  • Cosquae #11 2 years ago

    @levitate

    It's not dumbed down, it's the exact same game as everyone else plays. It just comes with some hints on a poster and an implant that grants you extra skill points for the first 30 days. That said, it's one of those games that you keep learning more and more about all the time. Days, weeks, months or years after you start.

    You can play it a bit like the old Frontier Elite games, I did at the start albeit without the newtonian physics and the slingshot combat methods. Problem is you can't get away buying a comodity in station x, moving it 1 system away to station y and selling it at a huge profit like you could in frontier. You can make money as a trader but not as easily as that.
    Edited by Cosquae at 13/10/10 @ 08:44

  • Ryboy #12 2 years ago

    Been tempted so many times by EVE, but I'm not even going to try this with Cataclysm coming out...

  • DodgyPast #13 2 years ago

    It's a 'booster' ( Eve drug ) that lasts until the character is 35 Days old, so that'll get around the loss via podding.

    Will get you through the double SP period a bit quicker, and overlap with the learning skills so that there's probably not a huge fall off when they wear off. The 20% dps boost might be interesting, probably enough to help people break the tank of the boss in the Sisters of Eve arc.

    While I have all sorts of issues with PLEX for remap and MT, something that gives people a little extra leg up during their first month is probably a good thing bearing in mind that within a year most skills are more than a week.

  • governmentyard #14 2 years ago

    Those who have had a few goes and liked it but not gelled with it properly really need to sub for 1 month and join a corp that is friendly to n00bs. I'm not playing at the moment (skint) but when I return I know I'll have my corp there to support my re-entry to the game. After faffing by myself for a fortnight I got asked to join my corp, as they prefer not to have to untrain bad habits from people who've been playing a while. Mining, Manufacturing, PvP and PvE are all catered for, fresh meat will learn mining by hauling and mission running is always scheduled and led by someone who is happy to be as patient as necessary with newcomers. It's effectively having what was described above, a more experienced player on voice with you talking you through everything, answering questions, chucking you a new ship when yours gets popped.

    And that's the other advantage - cheap goods and ships, hangars full of stuff the n00b always needs more of across your corps highsec systems. Playing without a corp is unthinkable and I can only imagine what life in the wrong sort of corp for a n00b must be like.

    I shan't spam my corp on here but search for my profile in-game and you'll soon find out who they are.

    Aww, I need a job - I miss Eve :/

  • sherpa1984 #15 2 years ago

    Add me to the "always wanted to get into EVE properly- this might make me do it" group.

    Would lollipops for Rancors be willing to take a group of us nuggets under their wings?

  • Rack #16 2 years ago

    Hmm, I'm unaware of the details here, but this sounds a little like giving you a plastic sword to help fight off a pack of starving velociraptors.