A Newblette in Space: The Great Corporation Hunt

A Newblette in Space is a weekly series about my adventures in Eve Online. Each week I’ll be rambling about something in the amazing vast space of New Eden that has caught my attention. Feel free to comment, heckle, request topics of discussion, or offer up interesting flames. 

After getting at least a little comfortable with the game, and picking a direction to fly in, it’s time to consider the next step – joining a corporation. It’s a cold, lonely space in New Eden, and finding a good corp that matches my needs is a good way to provide a little light in the darkness. I’ve heard over and over that finding a good corp is the key to enjoying the game to the fullest, and I never really appreciated that until I’d played for a bit. It’s perfectly viable to play solo, but most of what I’d call the most exciting action requires teamwork, and people you can trust to watch your back.

I’ll admit it, I’ve never been a fan of guilds. Many of them are great places to be, with great people, but despite that, I tend to think guilds are responsible for utterly destroying game communities. It’s true that I’m painting with a very broad brush here, but it’s been my experience that guilds have a tendency to close in among themselves and treat the game as ‘us or them,’ creating little pocket communities that rarely interact. I’ve seen more than a few in my time that insist all dungeon loot be kept by guild members – it’s fine to run with non-guildies, but they are not to be given loot unless no one else needs it. I’ve seen guilds that are not only fine with scamming and cheating non-guidies, they actively encourage it. Non-guildies in a dungeon competing for the bosses? Train them, and then do everything possible to block their return. I never join guilds unless I’ve grouped extensively with people, I want to make sure I’m joining one that’s friendly. I’ve been told I’m quite the hardcore player, but in my heart of hearts, I consider myself more a casual player because I really just want to have fun. Although I won’t deny I am a bit of a snob – I’ll never join a guild that spams recruitment on public channels, randomly sends me an invite, or has a lame name.

But Eve is different. Perhaps it’s the open cut-throat nature of the game that changes things.  It’s a dangerous world, a no holds barred battlefield, but no one expects to remain impervious forever, and there’s always room for good old fashioned retribution. I do so love open pvp games. Whatever it is – I am currently actively seeking a corp to join, and I won’t be delaying it the way I normally do. I’d have joined one already if I hadn’t had so many things completely prevent me from playing the past couple of weeks.

But which to join? And how to find it? There are hundreds, if not thousands, of corporations in Eve. There are corps for just about everything imaginable – pvp corps, pve mission running corps, corps that mine, corps that haul, corps that craft, trade, focus on incursions; I’ve even seen corps that hire out as salvagers to clean up missions other people run. I’m sure there are a hundred other things that corps do as well, I’ve only dipped my toes into the possibilities in Eve. If I looked I’d probably be able to find corps that specialize in espionage, assassinations, and scamming new players. I’ve never seen any, but I’m also sure there are pirate corporations, filled with players who rove the universe looking for people flying ships with valuable cargo they can steal. I’ve also been warned there are corps that recruit people just to victimize – you can freely attack anyone who is a member of your corporation. And many of them are recruiting – when I asked for advice on finding a corporation in the rookie chat, I was inundated with invitations.

Having thus far failed to actually join one, I only have one piece of advice when looking for a corporation:

  • Know what you want to do. With so many corps to choose between, you really need to know which direction you’re heading and what your ultimate goal is.

I’m sure if I could just stop getting sick, I’d be doing a much better job of finding a good corp. Until then, I’ll just have to console myself with blowing things up.

About Pherephassa 213 Articles
Pherephassa has been creeping around the etherspace long enough to have remorted so often that not even she can recall her original form. She loves sandboxes, challenges, chain mail bikinis and dungeons so large they take weeks, months or even years to fully explore. Currently seeking an MMO home, she can often be found on the side of the road, begging game designers for death penalties and slow leveling curves.