All About EVE Online

‘Space is big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it’s a long way down the road to the chemist’s, but that’s just peanuts to space.’ This is a quote from one of my favorite authors Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy but I think this is very appropriate for this article.

Navigating around EVE Online can be complicate. So the Auto Pilot is real good at plotting your course from one system to another. There are a few things that you should be careful about. First thing you should know is that the autopilot will give you the shortest, most direct route. This can be dangerous if it puts you through low sec space (0.4 or lower). It could also plot you through heavy traffic systems (with over 700 pilots in) and you could suffer lag (sluggish response time and even delays or drops).  Another thing, if you have set up your autopilot setting before, and you have multiple waypoints set is you could just jump right through and on to the next location. It is always a good idea to NOT travel on autopilot while away from the keyboard (AFK).

So now I will walk you through a few settings that should make your navigation a bit easier.

Setting a Destination:

Your first stop point will be the ‘Destination’. To ‘Set Destination’, right click on the name of the system and select ‘Set Destination’. You can find this name in many ways, either from the market, your agent, or even a search of systems using the ‘People and Places’ window or anywhere that has the ‘Set Destination’ option.

Adding a Waypoint:

Like Destination, waypoints are any additional stops along your path. They are the second stop, or maybe your return trip, or if you are doing any multiple stops, these are all called waypoints. These are set the same way that you would a destination, just select ‘Set Waypoint’. NOTE: That if you should hit ‘Set Destination’ by accident, or to try and change your first stop, it will over write your whole course and you will have to start again. To Change order of stops or to remove one, see below.

Autopilot Settings:

To make changes to your Autopilot settings, open the ‘Map’ icon or hit F-10. Then in the menu, select ‘Autopilot’ tab then ‘Settings’. I suggest selecting the ‘Prefer Safer’ and make sure that ‘Disable autopilot at each waypoint’. Just because you have selected the ‘Prefer Safer’ does not mean you will never go through low sec space (there may not be any other route), always look at your route and do not fly afk.

Avoiding Systems:

Sometimes you need to avoid some systems (example Jita, it’s a heavy market area and can get very laggy). Sometimes there are systems that are known for suicide gate campers. To avoid a system right click on the name of the system (either through the map, name search, or whatever). Then drop down the menu to ‘Avoid Solar System’. If you need to remove the avoidance, go to ‘Autopilot’ tab in the ‘Map’ and select the ‘Avoidance List’ tab, right click on the name of the system and select ‘Do Not Avoid Solar System’. In the ‘Settings’ tab there is also an ‘Avoid systems where pod killing has recently occurred’ check I have not used this one, but it might not be a bad idea.

Moving/Clearing a Waypoint:

If you only have one destination set or want to clear all of them, open the ‘Map’ by using the icon on the left or by pressing F10. Then right click in the map area and select ‘Clear all waypoints’. If you have multiple stops and what to rearrange or delete one, Open the ‘Map’ area, then in the ‘Autopilot’ Tab go to ‘Waypoints’. You will get a list of your waypoints. If you want to see every system in the route check the ‘Waypoints Expanded box, or if you want to see just the stops, uncheck the box. Now select a waypoint and move up, down, delete whatever you need.

Tips & Tricks:

I want to let you know that if you just let the autopilot do its job, you will warp to a gate, but be about 15km out. Now you will jump once you are within 2500m, but it can still take time to get there. One tip is to manually warp to the gate (it will be in yellow in your over view, and if more than one is yellow, look on the left at your route and the ‘Next system in route’). Just select the gate, and hit the ’Warp to within 0km’ (->>>) key above your overview. Then you can turn back on the autopilot for it to do the jump, then turn off again on other side. Or just use the autopilot to plot your course (show everything in yellow) while you do it all manually (warp to, and jump), it faster and you spend less time being a target. If you are flying manually and you are warping to a gate while in low sec, once you see you are getting close to the gate start hitting the jump button (again and again) above the overview (the arrow in a circle) and then once you are out of warp and in range you will jump (not much time for a target lock by hostiles).

In closing I hope this helps you to get around a bit easier. So if you have any comments or questions be sure to ask. And remember to subscribe to my site to receive notices of new post and other responses. Until next time, Fly safe.

Reggi Mental