Whether it's modules for the latest fleet doctrine, or your dream of owning your own titan, or replacing that mining barge you lost last night - ISK is the answer, and more of it is always the better answer.
There are myriad ways to make ISK in New Eden. Below you’ll find ten common money making opportunities to get you started. Some involve more risks but deliver greater profit per hour. Finding your own style is important since boredom will keep you from logging in to play. If that’s the case, remember that piracy, in one form or another, is always an option in EVE.
Virtually everything in EVE is player built, using resources gathered or salvaged by capsuleers. ISK is the currency of New Eden, and unless you’ve got a group willing to barter with you, you’ll need ISK to make purchases of ships, weapons, and supplies. If you’re willing to spend real life money you can buy PLEX, which can be legally sold for in-game ISK.
Mining
Mining Made Easy
Mining is the classic ISK making occupation for rookie players. You’ll receive mining frigates and basic tutorials as part of the new character experience. This training video shows you how to optimize getting into a bigger mining barge and making more profits.
A few ‘minor’ suggestions:
- Choose a mining barge optimized for: strong defense, minimal oversight, maximum profit
- Optimize your ship for solo or fleet mining - finding someone to haul increases your yield
- Consider selling on the open market, to your player group, or find a private buyer
- Decide whether to sell in system, in a regional market hub, or at a major trade hub
- Choose to put up raw ore, or compress it for transport, or refine it into minerals
Markets and Hauling
Markets and Trading and Hauling, Oh My!
If you’re willing to put in the effort, the path to true riches lies in skillful manipulation of markets. This is also the safest possible path to wealth, for those averse to watching their ship being vaporized by trigger happy goons. Competition is still fierce, so be prepared for cutthroat competition.
Starting tips for station traders:
- Buy low, sell high - patience is key - remember to keep track of your profit margins
- Focus on items that cannot be built - industrialists will flood the market sooner or later
- Learn to read the market data and reports - spot the trends and ride the profit wave
- Hauling can be profitable if you want to get out in space - research Red Frog for tips
- Scout ahead and be prepared to dock up - rushing into a gate camp is certain death
Planetary
Passive Planetary Profits
Planetary is definitely the least involved way to make ISK in the game presently. It requires some time to set up your planets initially, but minimal effort to maintain. If you can coordinate the output of multiple characters, the profits rise significantly.
Principles for passive income through Planetary:
- Time invested into skills will definitely increase your profit margin
- Learn to correctly scan and interpret resource maps
- Optimize unit placement and links in order to maximize production
- Creating bookmarks for your planetary hauler to warp to reduces time in space
Missioning
Make Money Missioning
Salvage is the initial payoff for characters running missions. But the true ISK payout comes from cashing in loyalty points, which enables you to obtain specialized equipment. Be sure to keep an eye on the markets to determine whether the value of your loyalty point items are falling or rising.
Mission Runner warmups:
- Finding an advanced missioner to salvage for may be a good way to get into the trade
- Do your research before choosing a mission agent, evaluate the worth of loyalty points
- You’ll lose standing with opposing factions, making it difficult to switch
- If you enjoy missioning, you should also consider Faction Warfare
- Beware attacking loot pirates (other players), they may be trying to provoke a fight
Ratting
Ratting 101
The depths of New Eden space are full of NPC hostiles, which you can fight for fun and profit. This method is very scalable - you can venture out in a cheap frigate or destroyer in the early days. Eventually, many players make serious money flying ratting carriers in the far reaches of null sec space.
Stay on your ‘tips’ toes:
- Although even a basic destroyer can make you some ISK, better ships will make more
- Bring a Mobile Tractor Unit (MTU) to efficiently collect up your salvage and loot
- Keep your eyes open, hostiles will hunt you in low and null sec space
- Salvaging increases your haul, or your can optimize for speed to max bounties per cycle
- Eventually, if you join a null sec group, you can make serious ISK ratting with a carrier
Data/Relic Sites
Exploration and Hacking for Fun and Profit!
If you’ve wanted to channel your inner Indiana Jones, then hacking data and relic sites is a great option for you. Once you master the skills, even flying a Tech I frigate in high sec space can yield decent profits. If you’re willing to invest in a better ship and venture into more dangerous systems, the profits rise rapidly.
Scan baby, scan!
- Scanning skills are essential to maximize profits, since you need to find sites first
- If you’ve mastered minesweeper at any point in your life, you’re ready to hack sites
- In low or null or wormhole space, keep a sharp eye on your surroundings
- Find your risk tolerance level, it sucks to lose hours of work to a trigger happy ganker
Wormhole Diving
Alpha Through the Wormhole
Hacking data and relic sites gets taken to a whole different level when you add wormhole diving into the mix. The profits are great, but the dangers are real. Remember Rule #1 of New Eden: don’t fly what you can’t afford to lose - avoid taking an expensive ship until you’re confident about your skills.
Bookmark EVERYTHING! Getting lost is no fun:
- A handy new feature is expiring bookmarks, which self-delete after 2 days
- Bookmark both sides of every wormhole, as well as when you arrive on site
- Stay alert! Hunters love to get to a site first and lie in wait cloaked up
- Sometimes an inexpensive Heron can make you as much as a tricked out Astero
Gas Mining
Mining Gas as an Alpha
Wormhole gas is an essential component of Tech III ships and modules. As such, it is definitely profitable for those brave enough to harvest it. If you’re looking to add some spice to your mining operations, this may be your solution.
Ninja mining for fun and profit:
- If you can survive as a wormhole gas miner, you can probably ninja mine anything
- Wormhole groups are some of the most tightly knit communities in EVE
- Make sure you have a plan for getting your harvest to market
- Watch your six, wormhole space is no place for AFK mining
Abyssal Space
Alphas in Abyssals
Akin to gas mining, diving into Abyssal Deadspace is the only way to retrieve essential Triglavian resources. Even a rookie character can make serious profits as this training video demonstrates. Find the right balance of tank, speed, and dps to survive and profit.
Fight hard, fly fast, loot everything!
- You’re not facing overwhelming hordes of enemies, so kill them quickly
- Speed is essential, if you’re in Deadspace when the timer runs out, you die
- The lesser loot drops will add up over time, same principle as salvaging rats
- Collect filaments as you go to perpetuate your ability to cycle through Abyssal pockets
Incursions
Rookies Ready for Incursion ISK
Incursion runners refer to this activity as ‘printing ISK’. Enormously profitable, this method does require significant teamwork and up front investment. Once you’re in the groove, however, it is fantastically profitable.
Warp to the dance floor:
- Incursions are group activities, and there are several outfits that welcome rookies
- Running an incursion is like a well-rehearsed ballet, speed and precision are prized
- The payout is the same per instance, so maximizing the instances pays out the best
- Principles learned by running incursions can be applied to other NPC fights
- Forward Operating Bases are an example of Incursion-like opportunities for ISK
Whatever path to financial freedom you choose, you should remember that:
Any and all of these ISK making activities involve a measure of risk. The most common risk you’ll face are other players who want to profit from your efforts via some form of piracy. At the end of the day, remember that if you can’t beat them, you can always join them!
Fly safe o/
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