Expert Capsuleers,
Brand new Expert Systems will be coming to EVE Online in the near future! They are designed to help rookie Capsuleers discover and experience new activities by providing specific virtual skills and skill levels for a limited time that cannot be extracted through the use of Skill Extractors. For a one-week period per Expert System, Capsuleers will be able to taste the dream of a particular profession in EVE without having to commit to the skill training required by that path of progression and waiting for it to complete.
Developed by a grouping of Caldari megacorporations called PKN Interstellar, Expert Systems can be used as a tool for individual Capsuleers or corporations to bring new pilots and recruits up to speed more rapidly and interactively on elements of gameplay while those players train the necessary skills the usual way on their character. They will act as an introductory taste, a gateway to potential careers in a universe of opportunity, great for onboarding pilots.
Another benefit of Expert Systems is that the AI responsible for providing access to the skills is not located in the Capsuleer’s body or capsule, meaning that they will not be lost when a pilot’s ship or capsule is destroyed in space – similar to how Cerebral Accelerators work. Unlike Accelerators, however, the Expert Systems will be applied to a character upon redemption and cannot be transferred between characters or sold on the in-game market. While an Expert System is applied, players will still be able to gain Skill Points and train new skills (and of course train the same skills they have active in an Expert System).
Once an Expert System expires, access to the temporary skills and levels provided will be removed and Capsuleers would need to either extend their access through a repeat Expert System purchase or train the skills themselves. Given the potential repeat costs, it is more beneficial in the long run to train the skills permanently, rather than continue to purchase the same Expert Systems.
Expert Systems, in their current form, will be obtainable only from the EVE Store and others will occasionally be part of daily login rewards. Since the Expert Systems that are to be offered are a new player aid, they will focus on lower-level activities.
With over 1.3 million distinct human beings (not counting alts!) trying EVE Online for the first time in 2020, helping new players find their footing in New Eden remains one of the most important projects for the game. Feedback from new and veteran players has regularly referred to the complex nature of deciding what path to tread at the start of one’s New Eden adventure. Expert Systems will provide a solution for players who want to try a profession without committing fully to the skill training it will require – whilst not undercutting the value of skill training, Skill Points and Skill Injectors. The first of these products to become available will be focused on exploration, mining, and the core skills required to operate spaceships in EVE (commonly referred to as the ‘Magic 14’).
