I want to write about why I stopped playing EVE Online. In my last EVE Online post, I wrote about flying the Nidhoggur carrier, what I learned, the fun I had, and how much I was enjoying the game. Before that, I shared my experiences joining a player corporation and exploiting the rich resources of nullsec (no security) space. Everything was going well. In fact, I was having some of the most fun I’ve ever had with EVE. So why did I stop playing?
What ended it for me was player politics. I was in a corporation called Silent Armada, which was part of an alliance called Game Theory, itself under the larger Phoenix Coalition. Phoenix Coalition controlled a number of solar systems, providing a sense of safety and stability for its members. But with structure comes leadership—and with leadership comes disagreement. From what I gathered (as a non-leader), the CEO of Silent Armada had a falling out with the alliance leadership. The disagreement centered around ship usage, specifically capital ships like my Nidhoggur. After a few players lost expensive ships to hostile players, the alliance began discouraging the use of capitals unless specifically authorized. This was meant to prevent us from appearing like easy targets.
Silent Armada’s CEO disagreed with this approach and eventually decided to leave the alliance entirely. The result was that all Silent Armada members were expected to move to a different corp, Angel’s Cry (yes, that apostrophe still bothers me), within a different alliance but still inside the Phoenix Coalition. This move required us to relocate, transfer assets, and start over. For me, that was the breaking point. I had spent 6–7 weeks building a life in nullsec, learning how coalitions function, investing in ships, setting up planetary industry, and integrating into the community. I made an effort to be involved, even in activities outside my comfort zone, all to feel like I belonged. Uprooting all of that because of leadership politics felt terrible. I didn’t want to start again. So I stopped playing.
On the plus side, I can finally share a video I recorded of myself clearing a Serpentis Haven in my Nidhoggur, without worrying about giving away intel.
Despite how things ended, I’m grateful for my time in nullsec. I learned a lot, including that life in nullsec is built on shifting sands. Threats come not just from other players, but from internal instability. For some, that’s part of the thrill. But for me, a sense of stability and security is essential to my enjoyment.
Almost a year later, I logged back into EVE to tidy things up. I sold nearly everything, and ended up with just over 20,000 PLEX, which was a surprise to me when I found out the market value for this is around £500! I also created a new set of characters and set up my own corp for a fresh start, I realize the reason I stopped playing EVE Online in the first place was because I didn’t want to start over, but at least this way it will be on my own terms.
On a personal note, logging in a game felt good. Life has been hard lately, and I haven’t been gaming much. Things are still hard, but they’re improving. Also, the featured image for this post was created using AI which is a first my blog, and I think it turned out pretty cool!
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