Ladies and gentlemen, the Kübler-Ross model of the new player experience:

1. Denial.
New players are overwhelmed and they deny the fact that the information on screen is manageable and not that difficult to understand.

2. Anger.
New players become so angry and frustrated at their lack of progress that they conclude that they are not having fun and quit.

3. Bargaining.
New players innovate, spending hours trying to find shortcuts and tricks to make easy isk; some are successful but many return to stages 1. and 2. because they think it is too hard.

4. Depression.
New players “play” the game, but they don’t have fun: staying docked, ship-spinning, until content comes their way.

5. Acceptance.
New players realize that EVE is a grind that requires considerable time and hard work to gain momentum. They also realize that opportunistic thinking and patience can allow them to have a meaningful experience.

Let’s look at each of these stages.

Young players that are weeded out in stages 1. and 2. are going to be excluded in this article, under the broad (and most likely flawed) generalization that EVE just isn’t for them. The reasons for this may vary from the amount of free time they have to their discipline to their ability to research and read. I will touch back on them later in the article, but they are not the focus.

So let’s look at stage 3. Bargaining. This is really the stage in the new player experience where the average pilots are separated from the exceptional ones. Naturally, there are fewer exceptional capsuleers than there are average ones. A trendy example of an exceptional pilot is WiNGSPAN TT. He approached the game with energy, learned quickly, figured out what he wanted to focus on, and had fun as a result. He is an outlier. Most new players approach the game tentatively, learn slowly, find themselves aimlessly unsure of what to do, and quit.

EVE stands out for being harsh on casuals, and this is a necessary evil. But it means nothing if exceptional play is not rewarded, and the current state of the EVE economy is making the rewards of exceptional play less and less enticing. Seven years ago, 100 million isk was a lot of isk. Nowadays, having less than a billion isk is considered poor. The problem is, it takes the same amount of energy to generate that 100 million isk as a new player. New players in 2014 have it measurably harder than new players did in 2007. Inflation is what has kept rising subscription rates from CCP’s grasp, not an overwhelming UI or legions of griefers. The new player is a slave to the economy.

This brings us to stage 4. Depression. Under the criteria of exceptional piloting are tenacity and discipline, and those who lack in innovation and daring can make up for these shortcomings in the ability to slowly and patiently amass billions of isk. However, CCP’s decision to allow inflation to get out of control hurts these pilots as well. The time that dedicated players invest in EVE is becoming less and less valuable. This is what leads to the F1 pressing hordes who never undock unless they are beside forty other players. Getting good at solo and small gang pvp requires trial and error, and, the more the economy inflates, the more expensive trial and error becomes.

Another important aspect of pvp in EVE is having multiple accounts. Many pilots who consider themselves good at pvp fail to mention the fact that they have 12 accounts that generate enough isk to pay for all of them. They can have eyes in multiple systems at once, provide warfare links that give them an insurmountable advantage, infiltrate and spy on your corporation, afford snakes, and enjoy spare isk to pay for deadspace and officer modules all at the same time. A new player who does not have a hundred dollars to spend on a video game every month cannot hope to compete until he can get the isk flowing into his wallet.

So a new player has made it past the first three stages of the new player experience. He is making enough money to be part of an organization that is making a difference in New Eden, but he doesn’t have the isk, time or initiative to strike out and make an impact himself. If he loses a ship, he has to spend hours to get it back. This is when he decides to join a huge sprawling alliance that will replace his ratting dominix so that he doesn’t have to check dscan while he farms. Carebears do the same thing, except they reject pvp altogether having found some sick pleasure in shooting red crosses in highsec. Inflation forces them to avoid risk in order to slowly, but securely, accumulate isk. If they are having fun doing this, then more power to them, but they are deluding themselves if they think that they play a meaningful role as citizens in New Eden.

Finally, 5. Acceptance. There is a point where capsuleers start to make enough isk to be entirely self sufficient and to flourish as pilots. This takes about a year give or take. Most people I have spoken to say that they started finding deep enjoyment of EVE once they had been playing for two years. More pilots=more content. Is it worth it though? 1-2 years of grind is a serious commitment. That’s two years of college. That’s two critical years in your kid’s teenage years. That’s two years of overtime. Basically anyone who has been playing that long will think it’s worth it, but CCP have to ask themselves if they really think that new players are going to come to the game. The most effective way to make it less extreme will be to reduce inflation. Some young players quit at this stage, as they take into account how much time to play Eve they have.

Once you’ve finished these steps you’re here forever; if you try to quit you’ll be back.