Hello, I've recently been looking into EU and have decided to play. After some time trying to decide between Calypso and Arkadia, I chose Arkadia due to a more positive reputation. The population here is probably lower than Calypso, but friendly and dedicated is what matters to me. I'll probably deposit $100, then try and find a helpful group/person. Thank you.
Do not try crafting ( yet ). I'D suggest to spend some money on the Gold Starter Kit. It is well worth the money.
Great that you are depositing but I am concerned you may waste ped early on. Try to stick with gear from the TT (trade terminal) to start with. Spending a lot early probably won't help you too much. In this game you can use any gear you can get hold of but if you skills are too low for the gear then ur use will be inefficient. Mining gear won't look so deep into the ground, weapon damage and chance to hit will be diminished. Sweating is really boring (I could only manage it for 3 days) but it's a good way to gain some skills, get comfortable with the game interface and meet people and ask questions. Get yourself a mentor, someone who can save you from expensive noobie mistakes. When you graduate you get some nice free gear.
I recommend trying a bit of everything, get a mentor and follow certain rules to make sure you don't waste ped... For Mining, use LBML (download from mininglog.com, you can find a setup guide on my page at greenleafmining.com) and start out with the TT equipment. The great thing about mining is it takes very little investment in equipment compared to hunting, but you do need a bigger ped reserve to stack resources in storage. Find an area that gives you good markup for your depth and mine that region to build stacks large enough to sell for good prices on the auction house. With 1000 ped reserve, you don't want to mine the whole planet all at once (we have like 80 or more different resources). Don't use amps until you've cycled at least 20k ped and made 2k ped profit, and then start with level 2 amps and don't go higher until you've got even more experience. Also get the mining missions for some extra skills. For Hunting, use TT equipment and start out on carabok until you have maxed your first weapon. I recommend skilling a blade first (SI combat knife is a great UL blade for small mobs) to build your strength and carrying capacity to 300 kg. Then max out the other TT weapons before deciding which you want to focus on. (Laser pistol is the typical choice for most new players because of the array of low level amps available.) Always use appropriate SIB weapons (maxed or "not anymore" when possible). When hunting very small mobs, avoid overkill by using a "finisher", a weapon with very damage. Don't wear armor until you get to level 10, by then you may have the graduation armor which will allow you to go up against bigger mobs. Avoid crafting (other than the disciple achievement) until you've more experience in EU.
If you have a personality that allows for the service industeries (medic, trader, etc...) that would be the best way to learn. You can build valuable knowledge observing those you help which imo would be the primary purpose of doing this while gaining some game skills (secondary) and also maybe making some ped. (least important at this stage) If you do not have that type of personality then Mining is your second best option for learning the economy in the least painful way. If you are looking for glory and recognition with no mind to the cost, then hunting and crafting are the best options.
