Welcome to EVE Frontier, a sprawling universe of exploration, industry, and combat. This guide is designed to help new players understand the core mechanics, set up their bases, and begin their journey with confidence. Dive in to learn how to survive, expand, and thrive in this dangerous, dynamic galaxy.
Your adventure begins in a secluded, low-population star system, specially designed to introduce you to the fundamental mechanics of the game. During this initial phase, you'll learn:
- Piloting Basics: How to control your ship, navigate space, and use the Tactical Camera for better situational awareness.
- Base Building: Setting up your first structures, including refineries, storage, and manufacturing modules.
- Industry & Crafting: How to gather raw materials, refine them into usable components, and manufacture modules and ships.
- Combat Fundamentals: Engaging with NPC enemies, understanding targeting, firing, and ship repair mechanics.
Your starting ship, the Wend, is a versatile, expendable vessel perfect for exploration and resource gathering. The entire experience is designed to prepare you for the challenges ahead, giving you the tools and knowledge to explore the vast Frontier confidently.
¶ Gathering Resources: Scavenging Wrecks and Fuel
- Locating Wrecks: Use the Tactical Camera (F2) to zoom out and scan the environment. Wreck icons are visible as distinct markers; clicking on them reveals their contents.
- Looting Wrecks: Select a wreck, approach it, and click Open Cargo. This will auto-approach and open the wreck’s inventory. Click Loot All to transfer ore, materials, and fuel into your ship’s cargo hold.
- Repeat for Multiple Wrecks: Continue looting nearby wrecks to accumulate enough raw materials for manufacturing and refueling.
- Refueling Your Ship: Open your HUD’s fuel menu, select the type of fuel, and apply it to your reserves. Maintaining sufficient fuel is critical for warping, jumping, and other activities.
Tip: Always loot wrecks efficiently and keep your cargo space managed to avoid overloads. Gathering fuel early ensures you can sustain longer explorations.
- Use the System Map: Press F3 or click the system overview at the top of your UI to view celestial bodies—planets, moons, asteroid belts, and combat sites.
- Select a Suitable Celestial Body: Warp to a planet or moon that has accessible asteroid fields or resource sites. These locations will serve as your initial base.
- Locate L-Points: For advanced base building, find a Lagrange Point (L-Point)—a gravitationally stable spot near planets or moons ideal for deploying structures. Use the system view to identify these points.
- Consider Resource Density: Choose systems with abundant asteroid fields, especially Carbonaceous and Common Ore sites, to ensure steady resource flow.
Tip: Establishing your base at a strategic location minimizes travel time, conserves fuel, and maximizes resource gathering efficiency.
- Access Build Mode: Open the Terminal, click Inventory to view your collected materials, then press B to enter Build Mode.
- Select Structures: Under the Core tab, start with essential structures:
- Portable Refinery: Converts raw ore into refined materials and water ice into fuel.
- Portable Printer: Crafts modules, weapons, and ship components.
- Refuge: Acts as a safe storage and fitting station.
- Placement: Deploy structures close together within your L-Point or near resource sites for quick access.
- Gather Additional Resources: Mine common ore, carbonaceous ore, and metal-rich ore from asteroid belts, carbon fields, and natural asteroid clusters to support your building efforts.
Tip: Prioritize building a refinery early to streamline resource processing, and expand your base as your resource stockpiles grow.
¶ Managing Fuel and Capacitors
- Monitor Fuel Levels: Your ship’s fuel is vital for warping and jumping. Check the bottom right of your UI to see current fuel reserves.
- Capacitor Usage: The white bar indicates your ship’s capacitor, which powers activities like mining, combat, and warp drives. Fuel consumption (orange) depletes the capacitor during these actions.
- Refill and Balance: Keep enough fuel in your reserves to avoid getting stranded. Use the fuel menu to top up before long journeys.
- Efficiency Tips: Avoid unnecessary activities that drain your capacitor, and plan your routes to minimize fuel consumption.
Tip: Always carry extra fuel and keep your capacitor topped up to ensure smooth operations during exploration and combat.
¶ Refining and Producing Fuel
- Refine Ore: Interact with your Portable Refinery, select the Carbonaceous Ore job, and transfer ore from your inventory into the refinery.
- Adjust Job Settings: Set the desired output quantity and click Install to start refining.
- Produce Fuel: Refine water ice and carbonaceous ore to produce D1 fuel, which is essential for jump drives and interstellar travel.
- Mine Ore: Locate Carbon Fields or asteroid belts, lock onto carbon-rich asteroids, and mine using your laser. Keep an eye on your inventory to avoid overflow.
- Return and Refine: When your inventory is full, warp back to your base, transfer ore to your refinery, and process it into fuel.
Tip: Regularly refining and stockpiling fuel ensures you’re prepared for long-distance jumps and exploration.
¶ Expanding Your Infrastructure
- Build Additional Structures: Use Build Mode to craft:
- Smart Storage Units: For organized storage of ore and modules.
- Refinery M: For larger-scale refining.
- Printer S: For manufacturing modules and weapons.
- Hanger M & Shipyard S: To store and repair ships.
- Establish Multiple Bases: Set up bases in different systems with rich resource sites, especially those with Carbonaceous and Metal-rich ores.
- Create a Network: Build a Network Node at your main base to set it as your respawn point and enable non-portable structures.
Tip: Multiple bases allow you to gather resources efficiently across regions and provide safe respawn points.
¶ Manufacturing and Upgrading Ships
- Build Modules and Ships: Use your Printer to craft weapons, mining tools, and the Reflex hull.
- Assemble Weapons: Manufacture autocannons and ammunition, then fit them onto your ship via the Fitting Service.
- Upgrade Your Ship: Fit engines, shields, armor, and other modules to improve survivability and combat capability.
- Manage Power & Slots: Check each module’s power and CPU usage; ensure your ship’s fittings stay within limits.
Tip: Focus on fitting tanking modules (shields, armor, hull repairers early to survive encounters, especially in hostile zones.
¶ Combat and Exploration
- Engage Feral Drones: Warp to drone sites, lock targets, and use autocannons to clear enemies.
- Loot Valuable Items: Collect Feral Data and other loot for sale or crafting.
- Explore Rifts: Use scanners to locate Crude Rifts, which are gateways to rare resources like Aestasium and Hermetite.
- Mine Rifts: Once you have the Lens 3X, mine the Rift for fuel and rare materials.
- Plan Your Route: Use the map and route planners to chart safe, efficient jumps between systems, avoiding high-temperature or dangerous systems.
Tip: Always carry enough fuel and be prepared to jump back to your bases for refueling and repairs.
- Plan Your Route: Use tools like the Eve Datacore Route Planner or the Route command in our Discord to find optimal paths.
- Manage Jump Conditions: Keep your engines cool by jumping from system edges, and avoid systems with high temperatures.
- Build a Network of Bases: Establish multiple bases in different systems for resource gathering, exploration, and safe respawn points.
- Fuel Management: Carry sufficient fuel for multiple jumps, and refine ore along the way to produce more fuel.
Tip: Use the map to identify systems with rich resources and low danger, and plan your jumps accordingly.
¶ Progression and Ship Development
- Ship Upgrades: Progress from the Wend to Corvette, Frigate, and Destroyer as you gather resources and craft better modules.
- Ship Fitting: Use the Fitting window to optimize your ship’s modules for combat, mining, or exploration.
- Reusing the Wend: The Wend remains a low-cost, expendable ship for exploration and mining, especially in dangerous or uncharted territory, as it respawns free of charge after destruction.
Tip: Always keep a backup ship ready, and upgrade your ship’s modules as you acquire better materials.
- Discover Rifts: Use scanners (F3) to locate Rifts, which are gateways to rare materials.
- Mine Rare Crystals: Equip your ship with Medium or Large Mining Lasers and appropriate lenses (Luminalis, Radiantium, Eclipsite, Gravionite) to extract Aestasium and other rare resources.
- Plan Your Route: Use the map and calculators to find systems within jump range, and establish bases near resource-rich sites.
- Build a Network: Set up multiple bases with refineries, storage, and jump gates to facilitate large-scale mining operations.
Tip: Regularly explore non-combat sites and keep an eye on resource respawn timers to maximize efficiency.
- Define Your Path: Whether mining, trading, piracy, or exploration, your journey is yours to craft.
- Progression Path: Start with basic ships, establish bases, gather resources, craft better ships, and explore further.
- Stay Flexible: Adapt your strategy based on resources, threats, and opportunities.
- Set Your Respawn Point: Use "Set as Home" on your Network Node or NPC station.
- Organize Assets: Use the in-game Notepad (N) and custom chat channels to keep track of locations and resources.
- Stay Updated: Regularly check patch notes and community channels such as our Discord for updates and new features.
- Prepare for Wipes: Progress may reset periodically during alpha; focus on building a flexible, adaptable playstyle.