Each of the 4 weapon subtypes (energy, missile, projectile, and hybrid) and each of the 4 weapon sizes (small, medium, large and capital) utilize a different group of ammunition. Each group of ammunition is further broken down into several different types, each of which has a different effect on weapon performance. Generally, this involves improving one area of weapon performance while sacrificing another, i.e. increased damage with reduced range.
Charges also include mining laser crystals (for improved yield of specific ore types), capacitor booster charges, (for a quick boost of energy), bombs, repair nanites, and scripts (used to improve module performance in one area while sacrificing another).
Drones are small unmanned modules that can be deployed and controlled by a player. Each type of ship is limited and the size, and number of drones that can be carried or launched at any given time. Drones can be deployed for mining, fighting, or electronic warfare.[1][2]
The vast majority of all in-game items are created by players through the use of blueprints. Original blueprints(BPOs) may be used an unlimited number of times, researched to improve manufacture time or cost, and copied. Blueprint copies(BPCs) have a limited number of runs and cannot be researched. Basic tech I blueprints can be purchased from NPCs. More advanced items (tech II) can be invented from their Tech I counterpart BPCs. This results in a Tech II BPC that can be manufactured. Manufacturing and inventing from blueprints requires a variety of items including minerals mined and refined from asteroids and moons, construction components (themselves created from other blueprints), and items either dropped by or salvaged from NPCs.[3][4]
Implants and boosters are plug-in modules for you character. Implants increase your character attributes allowing you to learn skills faster. Boosters can provide mining and combat bonuses for you character. Once implanted, both implants and boosters cannot be removed without destroying them. They are also destroyed when your character is killed. [5]
All players start with a small number of core skills (depending on choices made during the character creation process) and need to buy skill books in order to acquire new skills. Each skill has a different multiplier, or "rank," that determines how long each subsequent level takes to train. For example, the basic skills, with low ranks, may take the player 10 minutes to train to the first level, while high-ranking skills like Capital Ships take months to train to the highest level. Each skill may have pre-requisites - a requirement that other skills must be trained to a specific level before it can be trained.[5]
Ship equipment fits in specially designated slots on each ship. There are three types of slots: high, medium, and low. The amount and type of equipment that can be fitted onto a ship is limited by the number of each of these slots a ship has, as well as the items power grid and cpu requirements.
High slots typically fit weapons, probe launchers, tractor beams and salvagers. Weapons in EVE are divided into four types: turrets, launchers, drones and smartbombs. Each type requires a different set of skills in order to use effectively, and has distinctive behaviors and tactical uses. Each of the four playable races favors a different subcategory of these weapon types, e.g. Missile Launchers (Caldari, Minmatar and Amarr), Energy Turrets (Amarr), Hybrid Turrets (Gallente and Caldari), Projectile Turrets (Minmatar) and Drones (Gallente). Additionally, certain modules have an important effect on tactics used in combat including Warp Scramblers and Warp Disruptors (and their counterparts, Warp Core Stabilizers), Webifiers, Energy Vampires and Energy Destabilizers.
Every weapon has its advantages and disadvantages. Missiles are available that do different types of damage, and many launchers can use more than one type of missile. Slower missiles, such as torpedoes, tend to do more damage to large targets. Drones follow the target, and shoot at it, causing different types of damage based on drone type. Smartbombs are area-of-effect weapons that deal damage to any target within a certain radius of the ship, available in three sizes to reflect Powergrid/CPU use and net damage, and also different types that deal specific kinds of damage.
Mid and low slots typically fit support modules, including hull, armor, shield, electronics, engineering, and engine upgrades as well as electronic warfare modules. Electronic warfare is an important part of EVE; electronic countermeasures modules keep an opponent from achieving a target lock or interfere with weapon systems, and can be countered using various electronic counter-countermeasures modules.
Ship modifications or 'rigs' are one time use items designed to permanently increase one of your ships attributes, usually at the cost of another. Like implants and boosters, they cannot be removed without being destroyed.[6]
Ships in the EVE universe are organized into a variety of different classes, varying from minute frigates to titans thousands of times larger. Each of these types has its own advantages and disadvantages in the game. One should not simply assume that the bigger a ship is, the better. For instance, a frigate is incredibly small compared with a battleship, but many users outfit these smaller ships with equipment that impairs the abilities of the battleship. This leaves the battleship vulnerable to attack from other ships. However, some of the weapons available to the battleship could destroy that frigate in a few shots. The balance between ships is also maintained by the implementation of the signature radius. The smaller an object (ship or otherwise) is, the harder it is to target or damage, especially with the larger cruiser and battleship-sized weaponry.
The enormous scale of some of the newer vessels in the EVE universe can been seen the ship scale comparison chart to the right. Using the Caldari fleet as an example, the ten smallest vessels in the top right of the chart are frigates, along with the shuttle and a destroyer. Moving counter-clockwise around the Caldari fleet, the next four vessels are Cruisers, a Battlecruiser, two Battleships, a Carrier, a Mothership, a Titan, a Freighter, three Industrial Ships and finally the Dreadnought. Another useful frame of reference for the scale of EVE online is to realise that the Minmatar "Rifter"-class frigate has about the same dimensions as a Boeing 747.[7]
Starbase structures are needed to build player owned stations(POS). They consist of one control tower (various sizes are availible) and a number of modules designed for different purposes. As with ship and ship equipment, the number of modules that can be attached to each controll tower is limited by power and CPU requirements. Modules are availible for storage, moon mining, defense, weapons, laboratory operations, manufacturing, and ship maintenance.[8]
Trade Goods include various goods for different purposes. Some are used as mission objectives from NPC agents. Trade goods also include POS fuel and supplies, certain research, manufacturing, and copying components, and political paraphernalia[9]
