The Jita System. Home of the most important trading hub in all New Eden. Scene of the biggest riots EVE Online has ever seen. Den of countless scammers, con artists and felons. And yet, anchored off the fourth moon of the fourth planet in the system, the Caldari station continues to welcome capsuleers from across the galaxy.

It plays such an important role in EVE’s economy that almost every industrial corporation makes a regular visit, either to trade commodities or deliver finished goods. While there are other hubs to hawk your wares at, Jita is the one that most flock to. And, since I had minerals to sell, it was about time I made the trip for myself.

In EVE Online, the player is everything. Being a sandbox, there are no dungeons to grind, no raid bosses to master. While there are NPCs and missions, they don’t dominate the game. As senior producer Andie Nordgren once told me, as long as you’re undocked, you’re also content for other players to discover.

One strong example of this was the bitter end of the Fountain War, a drawn out battle over many months between two coalitions of alliances. The last hurrah had over 4000 players taking part, will redraw the political map of New Eden and even influence the player-driven economy.

And yet, for me it was something that almost felt like a different game. I’d enjoyed the propaganda wars played out on the different forums, but I couldn’t wrap my head around what it would be like to participate. Providing some explanation, GameSkinny described actually participating as “something in between a turn-based strategy and a play-by-mail game.” 

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. In EVE Online, that truism still holds, even among the politics, plots and machinations that gyre within CCP’s sandbox. But while trust can be earned in New Eden, it is also malleable, flashing from strong iron to intangible vapors in an instant.

Last week, I talked about declarations of war. With the corporation in lockdown for most of the week, I decided to spin up a reckless alt in search of trigger-happy adventure. But while mission running was making me braver and bolder than ever before, my PvP escapades had a little less luck. After burning through five destroyers and a handful of clones, I needed a change of tack.

By now, I’d been playing EVE Online for a month. After learning the basics of ship piloting and working my way through the tutorial, I’d headed out into space with no real goal in mind. I half-stumbled into a corporation, earned a healthy amount of money and started exploring some of the hidden mysteries.

It was at this point that I found myself at a crossroads. I could continue down the industrial road, become better at mining and earn even more money. Or I could use the money I’d earned to start buying powerful equipment and pursue the life of a battleship captain.

Little did I know that my hand would be forced. War was delivered to our doorstep, forcing me to reconsider everything.

New Eden is a vast universe, teeming with hidden riches just waiting to be discovered. Besides the planets and asteroid belts, solar systems might be home to hidden wrecks, pirate hideouts or even wormholes. And, as I continued to journey through EVE Online, I decided it was time for a change.

After earning a healthy amount of ISK from mining, I went in search of variety. The corporation I’d joined was full of chatter about how members go exploring or run missions when they’re not out mining the belts, and I was eager to find out more. With my mining barge safely docked, I headed into the depths of space in an altogether different vessel.

Choice can be intimidating.

In cuddlier MMOs, my choices after completing the tutorial would be limited to where I wanted to quest, or what type of hero I wanted to become. In the sandbox of EVE Online, my options were as vast as the universe in front of me. With enough time and skill, I could become anything.

It’s a choice that could wait for now. As mentioned in my previous article, I needed to start earning money so that I could afford whatever I chose to indulge in. For me, that meant mining. It would give me a chance to earn ISK (EVE’s in-game currency) relatively risk free, while giving me time to think about what I wanted to do.

Warping out in my small mining frigate, I left the starter area behind for a new home some distance away. It was a gamble to head out into unknown territory, but one that ultimately paid off.